Among educationalists there is some uncertainty about how best to teach children drawing skills and among psychologists there is uncertainty about how different approaches might influence children's drawing development. In the National Curriculum children are taught both expressive and representational drawing ability, but there is concern that the arts are being 'squeezed out' in favour of more 'academic' subjects. In contrast, children in Steiner schools experience less directive instruction in drawing, but experience an education where the arts and creativity are highly valued. However, little is known about the home drawing experiences of these pupils and the views of their teachers. This thesis aimed to identify similarities and differences in the drawing abilities and styles of pupils and the drawing attitudes and practices of the pupils, their parents and teachers. In study one expressive, representational and free drawings of 180 pupils (age 6 to 16 years old) were assessed for ability, style and creative intention. In study two 180 pupils, their teachers and parents were surveyed about attitudes and practices relevant to children's drawing experiences. Steiner pupils were found to have superior representational drawing ability but no consistent between-school differences were found in expressive drawing ability. Stylistic difference were evident in the free drawing. Drawing attitudes and practices of children were generally positive and few between-school differences identified. Parents and teachers associated with the Steiner schools tended to value drawing more highly, were more aware of the wider benefits of children engaging in art. However, National Curriculum teachers and parents tended to be more involved with children's drawing experiences. The studies presented in this thesis represent ground breaking research comparing drawing ability, and the art attitudes and practices that shape children's artistic experience in their respective Steiner and National Curriculum schools as well as their homes. More similarities were identified than anticipated. This suggests that school and home drawing environments may be less influential than previously thought. Alternatively, there might be fewer differences between the school types than the curricula suggest. Consequently, future research should consider the artistry of teachers and parents and observational data of classroom art lessons and home drawing experiences.

Alternative provision schooling is an important and on‐going part of our education system. Annually around 45,000 pupils are educated in alternative provision schools and despite the existence in general of an underpinning rationale of inclusion this number does not seem to be diminishing. In fact, when New Labour focussed on and were successful in getting the number of pupils excluded from schooling down, over the same time period the number of pupils based in pupil referral units (PRUs are considered a type of alternative provision) increased significantly. Given the intransigent nature of the problem of mainstream schooling being unable to cater for all pupils there is a need to think deeply about and theorise effectively the field of alternative provision schooling. In addition to the perennial nature of the problem, the characteristics of pupils, the experiences they are more likely to have had, and the destinations and the outcomes they are more likely than the average young person to experience there is a moral imperative to develop positive and effective practice in this field. This thesis set out to explore two questions. These were the nature of alternative provision, and the effect of this kind of schooling on the young people who attend. Methods used included a survey of providers, qualitative interviews with a sub sample of this group, in‐depth life history interviews with 18 young adults and further qualitative interviews with key professionals. In doing this an articulation of mainstream and alternative provision schooling as distinct fields (using Bourdieu’s field theory) has been developed. This analysis underpins a model of the types of experience of pupils who end up marginalised and excluded from mainstream schooling and of likely trajectories of success for each of these pupil experience types. The dominant habitus in mainstream schooling necessitates that pupils internalise insignificance and inferiority in the pupil teacher relationship. In alternative provision the dominant habitus is a relationally mediated equality which influences pupils in a number of ways connected to the experiences which have led to their exclusion from mainstream schooling.

When we watch an expert perform, how does that inform our own knowledge and skills in that subject, or establish what our potential might be to become a ‘better’ learner? There is much policy and rhetoric around the development of this ‘expert’ learner through ‘Learner Voice’ initiatives, yet this is a sparsely researched area. Mainly anecdotal, with poorly documented methodology, it is also heavily biased towards compulsory-aged education. This study, set within Further Education, adds to knowledge by providing evidence of how learners can improve the quality of teaching, and their own learning, through direct involvement in reflection and discussion with teachers. It also considers the implications of this for those involved: learners, teachers, the organisation and wider policy. Using an action-research model, and observations, eight volunteer participants from a teacher training curriculum area engaged with this study: two ‘learners’, each paired with a different ‘teacher’ for the observation; three teaching staff who were ‘observed’; and the curriculum area manager. Interviews were conducted throughout the research, with main participants interviewed up to three times to draw out their phenomenological interpretations and reflections. Working within a community of learning, with multiple points of interaction and ‘layers’, two theoretical frameworks were used in analysing the interviews: communities of practice and ecological learning systems. Finding them insufficient in isolation, to improve the data analysis, and the nuances of these layers – ‘micro’, ‘meso’, ‘exo’ and ‘macro’ – a ‘continuum of practice’ was devised to combine these frameworks. Additional theoretical concepts – self-efficacy, self-esteem, self-concept and self-categorization theories – were also used to interpret evidence of an individual’s sense of identity and their perceived trajectory. Evidence suggests interactions within observation partnerships, including those observed, were influenced by the theoretical framework embedded within that interaction: an appropriate framework approach can enhance the quality of outcome from these collaborations.

In the increasingly popular area of research into creativity in education; students’ perceptions of creativity are an important consideration for developing a creative environment. Consequently, student’s perceptions of creative thinking and practice are a key resource for educators to be innovative in creating educational excellence. The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions about their art classroom environments which either stimulate or inhibit the development of creative thinking and practices, in girls’ intermediate schools (12-15 years) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It addresses the following research question: Is it possible to improve perceptions of creative thinking and practices, of adolescent girls in Saudi Arabia, through control of art classroom environments? There were three parts to this study: firstly, the pre-intervention study to explore and identify a range of factors with potential to influence perceptions of creative thinking and practices; secondly, the main part of the study was the intervention to determine the impact of manipulating classroom variables with potential to influence perceptions of creative thinking and practices; and thirdly, follow up visits to determine whether the environmental changes, and the changes in perceptions, had continued. The samples used in the intervention study were students (n = 225) all from second year classes in nine secondary schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The research findings were obtained by observation using behaviour mapping and Likertscale questionnaires indicated that students’ perceptions of creative thinking and practices were improved through changing table and seating arrangement and wall displays. The contribution to new knowledge in this study will inform participants working within and related to the field of education and in particular art education, proposing considerations for appropriate improvements to learning environments by: · Developing a research process for identifying and testing environmental influences upon the perception of creative thinking and practices. · Evidencing how table and seating arrangement, and wall display, can improve perceptions of creative thinking and practice in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The purpose of this research was to determine how MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) can be introduced and implemented in Higher Education institutions in Mauritius. The study explored the perspectives of students, teachers and educational leaders using an exploratory case study approach, and involved the implementation of short MOOC-based courses in three areas of higher education in Mauritius. While much of the existing literature on MOOCs has used quantitative data to explore patterns of enrolment and retention, this study explicitly focused on student experience, and used Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s (2000) Community of Inquiry (COI) model to explore patterns of ‘presence’ and pedagogical preferences and needs of learners. In order to explore how these preferences, together with other contextual factors might affect the adoption of MOOCs in Mauritius, Venkatesh and Davis’s (2000) Technology Acceptance Model2 (TAM2) was used. The COI and TAM2 models were used both as analytical frameworks, but also to develop a new composite model that also can function as a boundary object (Bowker and Star, 1999; Fox, 2011) enabling different stakeholders to understand each other’s needs and expectations and communicate better with each other. For Mauritian learners, teaching presence in online environments is of critical importance: this is reflected in different scenarios of MOOC implementation identified, and in a proposed staged model for MOOC adoption across the HE sector in Mauritius. This involves further pilots and preliminary research (stage 1), integration of MOOCs into practice (stage 2), customisation and development of MOOCs (stage 3) and a MOOC for Mauritius (stage 4), with each stage informing the implementation of subsequent stages as part of a broad action research framework. The original contributions made by the research to the knowledge base of its possible audiences include: providing models of practice for teachers and educational leaders; informing the educational leaders and policy makers about how MOOCs can be successfully implemented in Mauritius; providing detailed case studies on MOOCs to the academic audience interested in MOOCs specifically; and proposing a new composite, pedagogically-informed, technology acceptance model to those academics who are interested in online pedagogy and technology acceptance. The results of this PhD research can also inform the introduction and effective implementation of MOOCs in other less-economically developed countries.

The post-conflict nature of the Kosovo society and economy led to an urgent need to address educational policy, specifically to raise the quality of the reconstituted formal schooling system. To address this priority major foreign aid and government subsidies were targeted at both the demand (students) and supply (school) side. One of the major contributors, the World Bank, aimed to improve the supply side by allocating development grants to schools in order to improve student performance. In this thesis the following four research questions are addressed: how appropriate are current evaluation strategies of education policy initiatives in developing countries, what has been the impact of school development grants on student dropout, attendance and student attainment, what are determinants of pupil dropout, attendance and attainment and what are the implications of the answers to the above questions for the reform of education policies in developing economies and the evaluation of policy initiatives. This is the first study that critically reviews previous attempts at evaluating educational initiatives in Kosovo and then employs econometric methods to measure the impact of school development grants on educational outcomes. A quasi experimental approach is utilised and comparisons made between schools with treatment and schools without treatment. A similar study for Cambodia serves as a reference for our research, though we have extensively refined the approach taken in that study. The empirical evidence presented in this thesis suggests at best only a marginal positive impact of these policy initiatives on educational outcomes. More specifically there is some evidence of reduced dropout but no effect is found on student attendance and attainment. These findings are consistent with the results of recent reviews of the literature on this type of policy initiative. This study seeks to act as an example of best practice which can be followed in future evaluations of policy initiatives in countries like Kosovo. It draws important conclusions about the need at the policy design stage to formulate appropriate evaluation strategy and to address related issues about data quality, collection and analysis.