This study provides a baseline analysis of the extent to which the primary education system in Pakistan is capable of enhancing or inhibiting children’s creativity. It involved 1008 primary schools who participated in a survey, 154 children who took the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, and classroom observation in 16 schools as well as documentary analysis of the education policy documents, curriculum and the official science textbook. The research presents the findings related to the definition of ‘creativity’, and the means used to identify, assess and enhance it as well as the importance and the obstacles faced in doing so. The study finds that while policy documents mention the introduction of creativity in education, and the curriculum lays emphasis on the concept in a comprehensive manner, the designated textbooks and teaching practices do little more than encourage rote memorization and regurgitation of information. The measurement of children’s creativity in this study has shown that children have the ability to produce ideas which are at times also original. But they appear to be weaker in other areas such as being able to produce abstract titles, and remaining open to going beyond the ‘ordinary’ in their thinking. This is due to the fact that much of the teaching is only geared towards knowledge acquisition. This research has reinforced the need for a systems view of creativity, in order to provide a more holistic and less distorted view of the phenomenon.

This study develops understandings of CPD leadership development in an FE college in Cambridgeshire through an exploration of the practices and perspectives of CPD and senior leaders. The research methodology used semi-structured interviews to capture accounts of the experiences and perspectives of ten CPD leaders and seven Senior Management Team members (SMT) as they described their perceptions and interpretations of the term CPD, their individual roles and responsibilities, how CPD leaders were supported in their professional development and finally the challenges and barriers they encountered while carrying out their CPD leadership roles. The findings show that CPD tended to be implemented at the college on an ad hoc basis, and seems to assume a distributed leadership style. Despite the distributed modes of leadership that appeared to underpin implementation of CPD across the college, decisions about the content of CPD provision tended to be shaped by institutional priorities identified by members of the senior management team. CPD leaders and teachers appeared to be excluded from the process of CPD planning and policy development.

Co-location involves the physical placement of two schools onto one site. By some it is seen as a ‘compromise policy’ which prevents inclusion, whilst other authors argue that it offers ‘the best of both worlds’ in allowing pupils with special needs to access both mainstream and special school environments. The teacher-research presented here focused on the co-location of a special school with a mainstream secondary school. It used formal interviews and questionnaires to explore the attitudes of staff and parents towards the co-location and a ‘mosaic’ (Clark and Moss, 2001, p.1) of child-friendly methods to access the opinions of pupils from both schools. The research also included case studies of two co-located special schools which further explored the concept of co-location and considered the relationship of co-location to broader literature relating to the educational placement and inclusion of children with special needs. The research discovered that participants from the mainstream school were generally less concerned about the co-location than the special school participants. Participants from the special school were concerned about bullying, inequality and educational failure as a result of the co-location. Participants from all groups spoke with enthusiasm about the potential of the co-location to deconstruct prejudices and offer staff and pupils opportunities to learn together. The research concludes that co-located schools can be ‘autonomous’ and joined only by their physical placement on the same site, or that the schools can become ‘collaborative’ and work together to offer a unique inclusive learning environment.

This thesis explores the relationship between parents and schools in the context of reformed public policy. Following a loss of public confidence in the state system of schooling, reformed systems of school governance and arrangements for the involvement of parents in their children's schools have been introduced which champion the consumers of education rather than the producers. In order to understand the present relationship, the thesis argues that we need to understand its origins and how it has evolved over time. It is argued that current relations are shaped by a dominant tradition based on an alliance between the state and professional groups which kept parents at arm's length. The thesis uses structuration theory to explain how practices and beliefs inherent in the tradition continue to reproduce that tradition unless beliefs are challenged and new practices introduced into institutional structures which support parental agency. The thesis draws upon quantitative survey data and qualitative case-study data to investigate the parent as consumer, co-educator and citizen in comparison with the dominant tradition and draws the conclusion that there is evidence of practices and beliefs which support all of these but that the repositioning of the parent as 'active-consumer' provides evidence for a new emergent tradition.

This is an ethnographic study exploring interactions between adults and children within the Early Years Department of a primary school for children described as having social emotional and behavioural difficulties. The study is based on an interpretation of the children’s needs which recognises that there may be mismatches between child and adult perceptions of the environment within which they operate. This interpretation arises from an awareness that each child’s unique constellation of difficulties relate to core skills, including language and communication. Video observation was used to record interactions between children and adults. Linguistic ethnographic analysis was used to interrogate the resultant data. These data showed evidence of collaborative problem solving techniques which built on Post-Vygotskian concepts of learning. The identified patterns of language and communication brought about the notion of behaviour supportive learning; that is symmetry in interaction which contributes to children’s ability to evolve situation appropriate behaviour. Similarities between behaviour supportive learning and dialogic teaching are observed.

In recent years there has been a significant increase in interest around career development in Educational Leadership. Through my own personal drive and leadership qualities, I began to question the idea of performance for successful leadership. Following observations of a particular leader I was even more intrigued about how one ought to perform as a leader and whether it is a conscious act dependent upon the message being delivered and the audience in which it is being enacted to. As I began to explore this concept further it became apparent that there was little research existing on how leaders perform and learn to perform. This study is set out to investigate the perception of headteachers’ from the West Midlands who are in practice to demonstrate the concept of performance ‘as’ and performance ‘is’ leadership. Semi-structured interviews were used between July 2012 and January 2013 to secure their perceptions of their own relatable understanding of performance in leaderships, including their professional development to equip them with such enactment skills, and the emotional cost that this has on their professional identity. This study captures ways in which you need to perform as a leader to be successful in delivering your messages to your followers. However, during such acts of performance there is a need to stay true to ones self and honest to the performance, resulting in an emotional cost to ensure that a professional identity is maintained. Leaders learn most of their skills through experiences, which takes time and opportunities to fine tune. This raises the questions that in todays’ current school led system do we have the experience to role model and develop such skills? This piece of research is set out to inform the future research agenda for professional development of school leaders developing strategies and opportunities for leaders to grow.

This thesis describes an investigation into the changing professional practice of educational psychology services in England and Wales with particular reference to the consultation meetings held between educational psychologists and teachers in the schools they visit. The study uses sociocultural and activity theory models and research to structure and guide the analysis and in particular utilises a developmental work research methodology. As part of the investigation a historical-genetic account of evolving EP services describes their progress, the contradictions and underlying psychological paradigms governing practice since the beginnings of the twentieth century. A second phase of the research describes and analyses some of the working practices of EP services based on a national survey conducted in 1998 in England and Wales utilising data from 92 Local Education Authority Educational Psychology Services. The final phase of research considers the mediating artefacts, activity levels and contradictions that form important elements of the meetings between EPs and teachers. The study concludes that role of educational psychologists historically and currently is heavily restricted by their employment basis and the resulting enforced focus upon children with special needs. The use of sociocultural and activity theoretical approaches is highly recommended as a theoretically rich and creative paradigm. Developmental work research methodology, although in its infancy, provides a flexible but robust framework for structuring the recursive research process.

Government demands to increase the number of physiotherapy students have led to problems in acquiring extra placements in which these students can experience their clinical education. This problem has been accentuated by difficulties with recruitment and retention of physiotherapy staff that might take on the role of clinical educator. This study uses empirical data to explore how further placements could be found without compromising the quality of the learning experiences. Action research is used to identify current practice and areas where change may be advantageous. Perceptions are drawn from professionals and students - physiotherapy managers, clinical educators and physiotherapy students. Data collecting techniques include interviews (13 physiotherapy managers) and five questionnaires – with clinical educators (n=67 and 42) and students (n= 73, 76 and 62) as samples. All data are triangulated to justify the study findings. The findings are framed around concepts of management and learning within clinical education. Evidence that emerged during the action research process led to two main changes. Firstly more junior grades of physiotherapy staff were included within the pool of clinical educators. Secondly a new ‘model’ of facilitating learning was established through the creation of ‘learning teams’ where both students and clinical educators worked together to share and develop knowledge. Changes meant that increased student numbers were accommodated without compromising quality. This was demonstrated through positive student evaluation of clinical placements at the end of their degree course. The impact of accommodating students within physiotherapy settings is discussed in relation to departmental, personal and professional management. Priority could be given to improving how student learning might influence not only personal but also professional development.

This action research study considers the challenges of organisational culture, leadership and management, staff development and collaboration in achieving quality of provision in educational and other services for people with profound and complex learning difficulties/disabilities. A holistic paradigm is formed from the study, in which the organisation is considered as an entity of which each learner and staff member is an element of the whole. Development of emotional intelligence competencies in addition to specialist skills and knowledge is explored, in relation to improving the responsiveness of staff to individual learner needs. The study casts a spotlight on the benefits of continuous creative dialogue within and between organisations that centres on the quality of experience of each person with profound and complex learning difficulties/disabilities as a potential partner in the development of the organisation.

This study sets out to discover how behaviour in school can be improved, in particular, for pupils with autistic spectrum condition at playtimes. It was prompted by the recognition that there had been little scholarly attention paid to playground behaviour for some years. The lack of written evidence on the subject was noted by Blatchford and other researchers in 1989; and 16 years later in 2005 Pellegrini made a similar observation. In the Primary National Strategy for playtimes and lunchtimes, DfES (2005a) it was suggested that without clear organisation structures and caring supervision, playgrounds can become unruly places where symptoms of unease can aggravate and grow. These concerns were also recognised in the school where this study took place and was a catalyst for the research. Through an action research approach of planning, implementing and then reviewing the cycles of research, some conclusions have been reached. The school where the study was conducted has since closed. It was a mixed community special school in South Yorkshire. The study was conducted by a class teacher at the school and concludes with a discussion of a topology of behaviours which could affect conduct on the playground for children with autistic spectrum condition.