Nurture Groups are targeted, school based interventions, aimed at meeting the developmental needs of vulnerable children identified as having social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Staffed by two ‘nurturing’ adults, Nurture Groups provide a safe, containing, and highly structured environment to support children’s social and emotional wellbeing, and their capacity to learn and achieve. Past research has focussed on the impact of Nurture Groups on children’s outcomes, with some highlighting the importance of the relationship between the Nurture Group practitioner and child. This research aims to explore and explain the practitioner-child relationship, asking Nurture Group practitioners how they make sense of their relationship with the Nurture Group child. The purpose of this research is to identify what makes a successful nurture relationship, and identify factors which challenge it. A symbolic interactionist and critical realist ontological and epistemological position was taken, and a grounded theory methodology adopted. Five Nurture Group practitioners from three full-time, Key Stage 1 Nurture Groups were interviewed. Results revealed a ‘relationship journey’ between the Nurture Group practitioner and child, which develops into a ‘close’ relationship. As the practitioner and child get to know and understand one another, the practitioner becomes attuned to the child’s needs and emotional experiences, enabling them to provide containment to the child and put appropriate support in place. The relationship journey contains a number of challenges, which the practitioner tries hard to overcome. These challenges place a significant emotional load on the practitioner, who in return, seeks containment. However, these challenges contribute towards the development of the relationship, where trust emerges, and a ‘close’ relationship forms. The relationship journey is discussed in relation to psychodynamic and attachment theories, and implications for Nurture Group practitioners, stakeholders and Educational Psychologists explored.

In surveying the cultural context of modern-day Turkey it must be acknowledged that, historically, there have been critical problems between different ethnic (Turkish and Kurdish) and religious groups in Turkey arising from prejudice, intolerance and leading to hatred and conflict. One way of easing the tension between these groups could be by challenging prejudice through developing empathy, understanding and respect. Among a number of ways this could be done, researchers in the field of literacy and children’s literature have stressed the positive effects of reading books that emerge from the transaction between the reader and the text which have the potential to raise awareness about prejudice (Arizpe et al., 2014b; Farrar, 2017). However, research suggests that young people’s amount of reading books is low in Turkey (OECD, 2009; OECD, 2012); in addition, the Board of National Education in Turkey (BNET) and education policies in Turkey have not paid attention to young people’s reading interests or their reading for pleasure (BNET, 2011a and b). Based on the theoretical tenet that reading fiction can affect readers’ thoughts and emotions, the wide aim of this study was to explore the potential of reading fiction for developing empathy and understanding. Given that young people’s reading interests have not been considered in Turkey in detail, this thesis had to begin by investigating what kind of books were preferred and what effects they had on adolescent readers in that country. In order to accomplish this, a case study method with a mixed method design was employed and it was decided that an approach using the Transactional theory of reading as well as Cognitive Criticism would help to achieve this goal. In total, 381 students (aged between 16 and 18) responded to an online questionnaire and 10 of these students participated in interviews and reading activities. The data was analysed using the IBM SPSS 22 statistical analysis program and NVivo qualitative analysis software. The findings of the study identified the significant impact that gatekeepers and facilitators (government, publishers and social community) have on Turkish adolescents’ reading attitudes and choices. It was also found that, although young people liked reading contemporary fiction and online texts, so far this has not been taken into account in the Curriculum and in the promotion of reading in Turkey. The study has identified a major gap between what schools offer and what students read (or between in-school and out-of-school practices), a key aspect in reducing students’ interest in reading books and therefore a missed opportunity for raising awareness about prejudice. Finally, this study provides strong evidence about the potential of reading and discussing books with a small group of adolescent readers, an activity that enabled them to express their thoughts about serious issues and thus supported them in developing self-understanding and understanding of others.

The aim of this study was to explore teachers’ professional learning in a community of practice (CoP) in South Korea and its impact on teachers’ and pupils’ learning. The study employed qualitative research methods within a case study framework. Data were collected in South Korea from September 2014 to June 2015. A professor who created the CoP, 8 secondary school physical education teachers (as case-study teachers) and 41 pupils from 8 different schools participated in this study. Five different data collection tools were used: individual interviews, observations, focus group, open-ended questionnaires, and document analysis. Three key findings from this research are: 1) five different activities supported in the CoP helped teachers to develop both ‘pedagogies’ and ‘teachers’ characteristics’ and they impacted together on pupils’ learning; 2) teachers’ professional learning in the CoP was influenced by: retaining a focus on developing pedagogies together, professional intimacy between members, appropriate support from the professor, and temporal and spatial issues; and 3) teachers’ professional learning and its links to pupils’ learning were influenced by factors at the micro, meso and macro levels. Insights into the value of CoP theory are discussed and implications for the effectiveness of teachers’ professional learning identified.

This thesis presents a linguistic ethnographic case study on a large Chinese complementary school (CCS) in Birmingham, England. Guided by Bakhtin’s theory of heteroglossia, the study investigates multilingual practices of adult participants in and around the school, focusing on the changing constructions of language ideology, Chinese teachers’ professional identity and the ethnic identification of Chineseness. It documents the impact of globalisation on the shifting relations among Chinese varieties and English in the Chinese diaspora. The 10-month fieldwork for the study was conducted in 2013/14 academic year, with observations and interviews as dominant methods for data collection. Main findings are: (1) an ideological ecology including ‘separate bilingualism’, ‘translanguaging’, ‘a hegemony of Putonghua’, and ‘a preferred school-wide monolingualism’ is dynamically constructed in the school. ‘Language as pride’ and ‘Language as profit’ are simultaneously in play leading to the dynamic ecology; (2) Chinese teachers’ professional identities are shaped by the changing structure of Chinese diaspora, the shifting power balance among different Chinese varieties and English, and teachers’ own biographical trajectories of settlement into English society; (3) practices in CCS context reflect an evolving ethnic identification of diasporic Chineseness which ‘de-freezes’ from a cultural heritage affiliated purely with the past and the national homeland.

I begin the thesis with an action research account of an intervention with respect to gender on a mathematics Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course at a northern university in 1989-90. Two years after the intervention, I visited in their schools three of the students (now teachers) who had been involved and I interviewed each of them there, with a view to finding out what impact, if any, this intervention had had on their beliefs, understandings, commitments and practice. In the light of this experience, I sought out three teachers who had followed the course and who I had heard were working for change. I conducted several interviews with each of them. I constructed a model of the ways of knowing of (new) teachers of mathematics and linked one epistemology, that based on the authority of self and reason, to an emancipatory curriculum and to critical mathematics education. I have considered, briefly, the implications for initial teacher education. The research was conducted and this thesis is written as a praxis-orientated inquiry and both have been influenced by feminism, critical theory and postmodern tendencies. In this sense, the thesis itself is a research experiment.

This study focuses upon the experience of identity through gathering and studying accounts of the personal and professional lives of twenty women who are headteachers and mothers in the North Midlands of England. The enquiry is shaped by a conceptual framework which grows out of an in depth review of the UK and international literature. The interplay between agency and structure within the social construction of a gendered identity and the value systems based upon this lead to a consideration of the history of headship and its reworking, within Government agenda, as school leadership through the National College for School Leadership. A consideration of research methodology explains the choice of survey as a qualitative approach influenced by the feminist stance, and a semi-structured interview method. Presentation and analysis of the fieldwork has an emphasis on ensuring that the subjects' voices are prioritised. The complex dialogic nature of identity is clearly heard and the women demonstrate that their struggle for agency within this demands a manipulation of Government and social agenda.

This thesis asserts that an Irish dimension reflects approaches towards diversity within the English History Curriculum. An Irish dimension is explored within the context of Multicultural Britain, debates over ways in which the past has been constructed and changes in the history curriculum. A series of ‘fuzzy generalisations’ of an Irish dimension in the curriculum emerge from questionnaire and interview case studies. This approach is based on Bassey’s (2001) premise that case studies can lead to tentative generalisations, which are subject to being challenged by findings drawn from different contexts. This study explores the perceptions of primary and secondary teachers, together with participants in Irish related projects and key ‘movers and shakers’ working outside the classroom. The research findings suggest that a respondent’s perceptions of the importance of an Irish dimension in the curriculum reflect a range of influences including values, pragmatism, subject knowledge and expertise. The researcher accepts that the extent to which an Irish dimension contributes to the history curriculum will vary between different school contexts. However, the thesis argues that the way in which an Irish dimension is developed and how it relates to the teaching of diversity within the history curriculum is of more importance than the amount that is taught.

Extensive guidance is currently available regarding how best to support the needs of pupils experiencing SEBD. However restricted guidance is currently available which specifically relates to effective practice within SEBD special schools. The aim of the current research was to develop a greater understanding of ‘outstanding’ practice within an SEBD special school, with a prominent focus upon the strategies which were believed to enhance pupil attainment, attendance and behaviour. It was anticipated that this enhanced understanding would support the development of high quality practice within additional SEBD provisions. A single, instrumental case study was conducted within an SEND special school, identified as demonstrating ‘outstanding’ practice by Ofsted. The views of three participating groups were elicited. The data elicited from the school’s Senior Leadership Team and participating pupils was analysed using thematic analysis. Participants identified a wide range of strategies which were most effective in enhancing pupil attainment, attendance and behaviour. Additionally a number of key factors were identified by the SLT and pupils, which they believed underpinned the school’s outstanding practice. The key factors can be incorporated within 5 key themes:- curriculum focused, holistic and recurrent support, collaboration, engagement and adaptive practice. A number of implications were identified for other contextually relevant SEBD special schools.

It has been said that of the various possible school-based factors, it is the headteachers’ leadership that has the second greatest impact on student outcomes. If that is the case, it is not surprising that a great deal of research has focused on headteacher leadership. There has been very little research, however, that focuses on the leadership of selective schools. This study, therefore, considers headteacher leadership in four state, boys’ selective schools. The study considers the interaction of three issues – what it is the headteachers say they are doing (their declared conceptualisations of leadership), what their staff expect of them (the staff’s conceptualisations of leadership) and the perceptions and judgements made by the staff of their headteachers. The study generates four models of headteacher leadership, three from the data and one from the literature. The three are perspectival in origin, although one of them is abstracted beyond its original perspective. Three of the areas considered in relation to perceptions and judgments are: headteacher ‘success’, communication, and conflict. The subsequent discussion leads to the development of new models and frameworks, plus the extension of two concepts in new ways and also recommendations for both practice and research.

There has been a significant increase in interest in the development of childhood education and care in England in recent years and this has been supported by a plethora of initiatives and policy reforms. During this period of change there has also been a debate concerning the nature of „quality‟ in Early Years provision. However, little research has focussed upon the quality standards and systems that are part of this evolution of Early Years Education and, in particular, the area of Early Years inspection has been given only limited consideration. This study explores stakeholder notions of „quality‟ in Early Years Education and their perceptions of the new integrated approach to Early Years inspection within five distinct types of nursery provision in the state and private sector in the West Midlands. This study captures insights which could inform the future research agenda in Early Years education and care, in particular the findings connected to the parental questionnaire highlight the need for an informed and documented dialogue between stakeholders. This work concludes by suggesting strategies including the establishment of evaluative partnerships between state and private settings, encouraging and developing collegiate critical reflection on practice whilst fostering the collaborative culture.