This thesis has developed out of a classroom practitioner’s desire to find out what works when trying to improve both the quality of the writing and the attainment of GCSE Business Studies students. It investigates the body of literature on writing approaches and in the context of the current educational framework in UK secondary schools considers how suggested writing interventions can be used. It describes the use of an exploratory randomised controlled trial conducted with 14-15 year-old students in English state schools who were studying business start-ups as part of a course in ‘Business Studies’. Students participating in the trial were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group within each class in each participating school. The intervention uses a ‘Story Grammar’ strategy to improve students’ reasoning by increasing the frequency and complexity of their use of ‘connectives’ such as ‘when’, ‘if’ and ‘because’. The analysis reports positive effects of the intervention on students’ understanding as judged by the use of a standard examination style mark scheme, and the number and complexity of connectives used by students in their extended writing. The design of the experiment and its practicability as a model for investigating effects of classroom interventions are discussed.

This thesis aims to explore and analyse the culture of violence which is, arguably, deeply embedded in South Korean schooling and to suggest how this can be re-directed towards a culture of peace through peace education. In order to achieve this goal, fieldwork was conducted for a year, employing critical ethnography and case studies. Data gained from this fieldwork were analysed and discussed within the conceptual frameworks of Bourdieu’s symbolic violence and peace education theories – Hick’s defining peace in particular. This finding of this thesis fall into four parts: some selected cultural elements of everyday school life; symbolized and institutionalized violence; authoritative school management and increasingly atypical employment; and how to change this culture of violence to peace: possibilities of peace education? These findings are discussed in relation to theories to show the ways in which socio-historical backgrounds and ideologies (e.g. colonized false ideologies) are infused in South Korean schools fostering a culture of violence, and the extent to which peace education may be relevant for changing the status quo by changing individuals’ value bases, which, it is hoped, can bring changes to the wider society. Four themes are discussed: school habitus, experienced as necessary in the field; symbolic violence in classrooms: misrecognizing the procedures of education; and defining peace in classrooms; pedagogical change, the possible educative remedy of transforming individuals to contribute to a culture of peace. Throughout the thesis, educational implications are elicited and subjected to scrutiny.

The increased prevalence and negative impact of mental health difficulties amongst those with autism and Asperger syndrome has been reported by researchers, clinicians and people with autism themselves. Schools are key environments for those with autism, but there is little research regarding how they promote or demote their mental health. Eleven young people in Key Stage Three from three mainstream schools were part of a multiple case study, which explored and compared the perspectives of young people, their parents and school staff, regarding the mental health of those with autism or Asperger syndrome. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and subjected to thematic analysis. The well-being of many young people was reported to be good, although two showed signs of stress daily. In some cases well-being had varied significantly over recent years. Eight pairs of factors that promoted or demoted mental health were identified. These related to ethos, awareness of needs, friendships, learning support, pastoral care, noise levels, predictability and organisational skills. Further research is needed to clarify these factors, but this study supports the notion of schools as mental health promoting environments for those with autism and Asperger syndrome and highlights potential areas of focus.

School attendance is a high profile issue at both national and local levels, and links have been made between poor attendance and low attainment, poor employment outcomes and antisocial behaviour (Reid 1999, 2002). This small scale research study focuses on a group of young people referred to as school refusers, who experience difficulties attending school associated with anxiety and emotion. This small scale, case study based research revolves around five young people who have been reintegrated into mainstream school following a period at a Short Stay School (PRU) for key stage 3 and 4 pupils with mental health and medical needs. In addition to the young people, participants include their mothers, the learning mentor from the Short Stay School and a mentor from the receiving mainstream school. Findings underline the heterogeneous nature of cases and an experience of school refusal associated with intense emotions for the young people and their parents. Change associated with school and home factors are implicated in school refusal as are factors including social anxiety, bullying, the child/parent dynamic and characteristics of the young person. School refusal is a long term matter requiring ongoing support even after reintegration.

This research examines the relationship between Cognitive Style and Learning Styles of senior officers in the Fire Service and their preferences for different training delivery methods. Data has been gathered from students attending courses at the Fire Service College, in particular those attending the Divisional Command Course (DCC), which is a personal and professional development course for officers aspiring to a senior role in the Fire Service. Three data gathering instruments were used in the research, the Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA) (Riding, 1991), the Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ) (Honey & Mumford, 1982), and a questionnaire specifically designed to gather students’ preference ratings across a range of 14 training delivery methods. The research examines the psychological and educational derivations of models that underpin the CSA and LSQ instruments in order to help clarify the construct systems used to describe both cognitive and learning style; and to examine their relationships with other psychological constructs. Further exploration of the relationships between cognitive and learning styles attempts to answer the question as to whether they have similar attributes and also whether the instruments have any practical predictive utility in predicting suitable delivery methodologies for training. The data findings suggest that the officer students formed a homogeneous group with regard to cognitive style on the ‘wholist–analytic’ dimension, the tendency for bias towards the analytic end of the scale, but were evenly distributed on the ‘verbaliser–imager’ dimension. The sample exhibited a more normal distribution of type with regard to learning style (using the LSQ), although there was a tendency for them to be more ‘reflector’ orientated than a standardized group in the general population. The sample group showed preferences for certain delivery methods that encouraged interactive participation in the learning process but these did not appear to show any significant correlation with either cognitive style or learning style.

This study offers an understanding of the emotional challenges encountered by AGIS (Association of German International Schools) head teachers in the course of their role; the consequences and impacts these challenges have on their personal and professional lives and the strategies they use to cope. This mixed methods study employs a questionnaire survey of 34 AGIS leaders, plus semi-structured interviews with eight of them, to explore their lived experiences in relation to the emotional demands they face. The findings show that, in addition to the challenges experienced by heads in wider contexts, AGIS leaders face demands specific to the multi-cultural context and transitional nature of international schools. They also highlight how school leaders may contribute to the challenges they encounter through their poor understanding of the cultural contexts that they operate in. The demands that heads face, may lead to a range of negative consequences and impacts for many. The coping strategies upon which they draw, reflect the context in which heads operate and their individual resilience capabilities. The study suggests a range of strategies by which leadership-training providers, school boards and regional and local networks may better support international school leaders. It is also suggested that international school leaders take greater initiative for both their own cultural literacy and the development of personal resilience capabilities. Such steps should reduce the demands placed on heads and enable them to better withstand the challenges they face.

This small scale qualitative study interviewed 33 maintained school headteachers and academy principals to identify their attitude to and perceptions of effective school to school collaboration. The research has been informed by Hall and Oldroyd’s (1992) model of the collaboration process and by Coleman’s (2011) model of collaborative leadership. Evidence of the anticipated linear nature of Hall and Oldroyd’s model was not found, rather there is evidence that frequently collaborations slip back to earlier more confrontational stages of development. Whilst this in some cases can derail the collaboration totally, in others it can galvanise the group into developing more effective partnership working than might otherwise have been the case. The study has been able to explore the various elements of Coleman’s leadership model and contends that there needs to be an elasticity in the way in which the elements are utilised to maximise effectiveness. This has implications for future leadership development. As with all qualitative research, the findings have raised some interesting questions beyond the main focus of the study which need further exploration. One such question concerns the increasing political emphasis placed on the importance of academy chains and the implications of their role in the educational landscape. As chains take on many of what would have been Local Authority functions, will they become the new ‘middle tier’ of accountability superseding the Local Authority organisation? As the educational landscape in England continues to change, there remains a need for balanced, in-depth research into the impact and implications of the change.

This study explores the views and experiences of home educators, children and young people with regard to elective home education (EHE) practice and learning and its position in society. The outcomes of this provision are also examined. This study is topical due to the anecdotal evidence which suggests that home education or home schooling is growing in the UK and worldwide, and there is a resurgence of interest in home education in political and media discourse in the UK. Moreover, this study is also timely due to home education being an under-researched area generally, with children and young people’s views rarely elicited. The study found that the practices and activities pursued by EHE families were diverse, whether they were focused in the home or other environments. The diversity of the practices followed also echoes the diversity of the sample population itself; although dissatisfaction with schools or established schooling ranked high among those reasons. The experiences and outcomes afforded by EHE were on the whole positive but nonetheless challenges were mentioned with regards to support and funding. Recommendations include greater awareness about EHE as a legal alternative to school; access to/and funding for exams; and increased training for Local Authority officials charged with overseeing or monitoring this area.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the links between risk and protective factors or experiences in the lives of looked after children (LAC), and their subsequent levels of resilience. In order to inform this study a literature review was undertaken. A consistent finding, through this review, was that LAC named a significant adult in their lives as providing an important protective factor. However, previous research has concentrated on what protective factors are pertinent for adolescents, and not whether the same protective factors are significant for younger children. Therefore, this exploratory study explores the experiences of 10 LAC aged 9 to 11 years. Through the administration of a scale from the Resiliency Scales (Prince-Embury, 2007) and semi-structured interviews, it was concluded that LAC who were found to have high to average resilience levels reported having a significant adult, stable care placement and good relationship with social worker. This raises important implications for future Local Authority (LA) practice. The foster carers of each LAC were also interviewed, and all reported that awareness training for school staff would comprise a useful step toward enhancing levels of resilience in LAC. Carers stressed their opinion that schools are generally ill prepared to deal with behaviours commonly exhibited by LAC. From an EP perspective this raises an important discussion regarding future practice; these findings indicate that it may be necessary for EPs to engage in more systemic work when supporting LAC.

Reading and understanding texts in English is problematic for university EFL students in Libya, and processing English literature is even more so. Some of these difficulties are related to teacher-centered approaches that focus on form, accuracy, and translation rather than on students’ abilities to make meaning. The aim of this study is to determine an instructional approach to help Libyan EFL university students learn to read and respond to fiction (short stories) by drawing on their imagination. Therefore, this study set out to explore the role of the imagination in meaning making in education (Vygotsky, 1930; Dewey, 1938; Egan, 1992; Craft, 2005), the role that literature plays in Libyan culture (in both its oral and written forms), the role of education in Libya and the place of English therein, and the challenges of reading in a second language (English). By analyzing the literature on the imagination and its role in learning, on reading processes in L1 and L2, on Reader-Response Theory, and on the process of meaning making in literature, I was able to answer the first research question, namely how the imagination could be stimulated and developed to extend Libyan EFL students’ abilities to read and respond to short stories. Then I synthesized that analysis into a conceptual model. Features of the imagination that have been conceptualized in the model for imaginative reading and meaning making include: schema (background knowledge and experience); the interactive theory of reading; the role of the imagination in learning (meaning making), which includes an intellectual faculty or ‘analytical thinking’ and an emotional faculty or what is called ‘intersubjectivity’; the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD); and possibility thinking. The next stage was to demonstrate that this model could be applied to the design of a reading program which makes a transition from a teacher-centered and translation-centered approach to reading literature (short stories) to a student-centered and interactive approach. The study relates the model to the literature on syllabus design to set up a framework for selecting and grading texts into five levels. I drew on the literature for interactive task design and standard EFL approaches of teaching reading to design lesson plans for the five stages of the program. The study concludes by suggesting that for the successful implementation of the model, there is a need for a shift in attitudes to more interactive approaches that facilitate meaning making. It also suggests conducting a series of workshops to introduce interactive teaching approaches and provide teachers with techniques for dealing with the challenges of shifting from teacher-centered to student-centered teaching. Finally, the thesis provides ideas on how to further the current research by evaluating the effectiveness of the program through empirical enquiry.