<p> The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between college male leaders and their perceptions of masculinity, gender role norms and their leadership style. This qualitative study utilized a brief questionnaire and semi-structured, one on one interviews with 14 former Interfraternity Council and/or North American Interfraternity Conference fraternity chapter presidents at one of two site institutions near a Mid-Atlantic metropolitan area. Bandura&rsquo;s (1971) social learning theory was used as a framework in this study. A post-intentional phenomenological approach was used to gather data reflecting the experience of the participants through their term as a fraternity president. </p><p> Nine themes emerged to answer the two research questions of how perceptions of gender role norms inform leadership styles in college men, including what messages of masculinity and gender role norms college men receive and from where those messages are received, and how leadership styles of college men are reflections of their learned masculinities. The themes identified in this study contributed to four findings. First, authoritarian approaches to leadership hide a lack of confidence in knowledge and abilities of leading a group. The second finding is that in caring for others, participants saw themselves as their organization&rsquo;s savior. Third, the participants had such difficulty navigating conflicting expectations of gender and unprovoked attacks on campus that they chose to disengage entirely. Finally, participants isolated themselves from their organization in order to maintain moral authority and power over their members. </p><p> Five recommendations for practice are outlined based on the findings of the study. The first recommendation is to develop materials to help students decide to run for a position and facilitate transition into that decision prior to their fraternity elections. The second recommendation is to provide ongoing training and debriefing for fraternity chapter presidents. Third, it is recommended to incorporate healthy masculinity into new member programming. The fourth recommendation is to encourage and facilitate relationships between chapter presidents. Finally, it is recommended to develop a campus or fraternity Good Samaritan policy.</p><p>

<p> Why are the needs of Division I intercollegiate student athletes important in relation to their overall growth? Answering this question requires a consideration of the way in which student athlete needs continuously evolve and how the quality of leadership from the head coach plays a significant role in orchestrating a team environment that ensures needs are adequately met. The researcher was inspired to study servant leadership and its impact on student athlete personal development and fulfillment to address how Division I head coaches can skillfully serve the needs of their players, enabling them to grow towards self-actualization. Twenty Division I women's soccer student athletes and their head coach were interviewed and observed for four weeks during the fall 2018 season. To corroborate the qualitative data, a survey gauging the degree to which student athletes felt their head coach espoused servant leader behavior, was also deployed to all student athletes within this particular Division I athletic department. </p><p> Findings indicate that it is the head coach who creates an environment fostering peak experiences for the student athlete, allowing them to further identify their needs in and out of the practice setting. Findings also indicate the student athlete prefers a head coach that truly cares for them beyond their athletic identity, serving their needs as a person and not just a student athlete. Ultimately, servant leadership in Division I athletics is demonstrated through an intricate process of head coach balance between harder and softer approaches, identity symmetry, and the accommodation of student athlete needs, impacting the student athlete&rsquo;s overall university experience and their journey to personal fulfillment. Findings are presented as a cultural portrait, incorporating views of the participants and observational impressions from the researcher. This research validates demonstrates the importance of the head coach-student athlete relationship and its influence on the student athlete&rsquo;s self-concept through the espousal of servant leader behavior.</p><p>

Advancing clinical reasoning skills is one of the main outcomes of postgraduate master's level (M-level) programmes approved by the Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (MACP). While, the outcomes of these programmes were investigated in multiple retrospective studies, there is a limited understanding of the learning culture that drives change. Thus, the aim was to examine the learning culture of an MACP approved programme to capture the sociocultural mediators that advanced clinical reasoning skills. An empirical longitudinal mixed-methods theory-seeking case study was conducted over a period of 18 months. Participants included seven educators and six students. Data analysis was premised on the methods of a Constructivist Grounded Theory. Gradual and progressive advancement of clinical reasoning skills was identified. A model of a culture of convergence and synergy was constructed to conceptualise the relationship between students, the programme and the wider context. It demonstrates the value of convergence and synergy in supporting professional learning. This novel conceptual understanding of advancing clinical reasoning through M-level education suggest that pedagogues need to actively seek to create a culture convergence and synergy to achieving successful learning outcomes. The context-bounded knowledge provided in the thesis aid pedagogues to better design M-level curriculums.

The National Student Survey (NSS) reveals that in the UK Higher Education students are generally dissatisfied with course assessment and feedback processes. This thesis investigates and evaluates a range of assessment and feedback strategies used during Initial Teacher Training (ITT) teaching practice. The views of trainee teachers, school based tutors and university based tutors with regard to the effectiveness of these strategies are also evaluated. A cross sectional research design employing questionnaires, interviews and a focus group interview was used to obtain and analyse data. The findings show that overall, the stakeholders in this study are satisfied with the assessment processes used to assess trainee teachers on teaching practice. These research findings are contrary to the NSS data. Insights gained contribute to the knowedge of the assessment of ITT trainees. This thesis indicates why the assessment strategies used on teaching practice are effective. The lesson observation and subsequent discursive feedback and action point setting is regarded as the most effective assessment strategy. Analysis of the research data suggests that lesson observation and feedback is effective because it provides an authentic assessment experience. The thesis argues that authentic assessment strategies have a positive impact on student experience.

This thesis reports on a longitudinal qualitative study of the L2 motivational systems of a group of South Korean university students. The study adopts a complex dynamics system approach to the collection and analysis of data, and develops an original three-level model of context to investigate the interaction of elements within the learners’ motivational systems and to track how these interactions led to perceptible changes in these systems over the course of the research. The study highlights the complex, dynamic nature of L2 motivation and the necessity of including context as a key part of the L2 motivational system. It further calls into question traditional conceptions of autonomy in the field and the general applicability of some current concepts in L2 motivation. In addition, it emphasizes the importance of non-quantitative approaches in illuminating the motivational processes at work within individuals. On the basis of these findings, the thesis calls for the general incorporation of complexity perspectives in L2 motivation research and for language pedagogy to incorporate the insights gained from such studies to enhance the classroom environments and learners’ investment in language learning.

The purpose of this research is to explore CSCL as an instructional model for developing the skills and competencies required in the „knowledge society‟ and to suggest under what conditions CSCL might be effective. To this end, an in-depth investigation of students‟ collaborative interaction patterns, their perceptions of their learning and the variables impacting on their interaction was conducted. The four contexts of study looked at alternative communication tools, collaborative task types and distance versus campus modes in South Korea and the UK. Data collection from these diverse contexts adopted a mixed methodology. Data analysis initially focused on the first two case studies and was then extended across the remaining contexts which explored alternative tasks and media. Students‟ collaboration patterns indicated that students input more effort on doing the work for which they were individually accountable rather than toward a group effort. The process of negotiating meaning was found to be weak in asynchronous online discussion and the most difficult aspect of group project tasks for students. Students‟ socio-emotional aspects also influenced collaboration patterns. Nevertheless, students‟ perceptual data indicated that they believed CSCL had diverse learning merits. In conclusion, some conditions for effective CSCL design were suggested.

Data-Driven Learning (DDL), an approach developed by Tim Johns, is an exploratory learning methodology which enables students to analyze the lexical and grammatical patterns of key words in various authentic contexts, organized into a series of concordance lines. It is a learner-centered approach that encourages students to work autonomously, engaging in what Johns calls ‘discovery learning’. DDL has proven itself to be an effective tool for advanced students to further improve the depth of their linguistic knowledge, but the wider possibilities to which DDL might be applied have been sparsely researched. In this study, I investigate the efficacy of DDL as a core component of two communication-oriented English language learning courses at a Japanese university. The courses couple traditional concordance line analysis with communicative activities. I call this novel teaching methodology ‘Communicative Data-Driven Learning’. This study is a form of action research, which involves actively reflecting upon and revising approaches at every stage, from planning, through execution, to observing results. The data was collected in two years: in 2014 and 2015. The results demonstrate that Communicative DDL has immense potential for developing students’ language competencies, especially with respect to their fluency and confidence when communicating in English.

This study explores the dynamics of leadership of Asian, Black and Minority Ethnic (ABME) principals in England’s Further Education colleges. It identifies and describes the motivations and characteristics of their leadership which propel and sustain it. The research outcomes suggest that their leadership is learner and community focused. It is aimed at improving fairness, equality and social justice. The principals are driven by their deeply rooted principles, passions and values flowing from their direct experiences of disadvantage, disparities and racial discrimination. Their personal up-bringing, socialisation and heritage have not only inspired and encouraged them to come into education, but have also energised them in their journeys as leaders. The ABME principals’ trajectories, however, have been mediated by a persistent tendency within the establishment to marginalise and underestimate their capabilities, compounded by FE bureaucracies and organisational impediments. They have taken these obstacles as challenges and seized opportunities for further formalising their passions and principles into leadership strategies for transforming their colleges and influencing the FE environment. This thesis is based on empirical evidence, collected from interviews with the first generation ABME principals: the class of 1998/9 – 2008/9, offering an historic snapshot of their experiences, within the conceptual framework provided by the review of literature on educational leadership, FE management, race and ethnicity.

This research investigates Further Education (FE) governance and governors’ role(s) in college improvement and related issues. Empirical data is derived from semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis of governors’ meeting minutes. A total of 14 Standards committee (SC) governors and 6 principals from 6 FE colleges in the Midlands region of England agreed to be interviewed. Data from these individual interviews were supplemented by an analysis of SC governors’ meeting minutes from each of the 6 colleges in order to obtain rich data on the role of governors in college improvement. Findings suggest that ‘good’ governors with a good skill base can contribute to college improvement through their monitoring and challenging role; their role in appointing the principal and senior management; setting the strategic direction of the college and by acting as a ‘critical friend’ to the principal. It emerged from this study that governors are a group of individuals with different family, educational and professional backgrounds who are seeking a new identity and they need help in their ‘identity transformation’. This study, therefore, suggests the need for an induction and training programme for new governors, which includes ‘coaching and mentoring’ so that governors are continually supported in their ‘governorship’ journey.

The aim of the study was to investigate linguistic interaction in a vocational classroom based in a Further Education college in the UK. The course was designed for adults wishing to become qualified primary teaching assistants. The study was ethnographically grounded and, in keeping with a Linguistic Ethnography approach, it also incorporated close linguistic and narrative-in-interaction analysis. This enabled me to show how educational discourses shape local interactions and how, in particular types of classroom interaction, participants appropriate wider discourses creatively for their own goals. Through detailed analysis of whole class discursive interactions, I show how the tutor appropriated and mediated the curriculum content and discourses for and with her class. She did this by constantly shifting identities and relationships along clines of power, social solidarity and social distance, by drawing on funds of knowledge from her own lived experience and those of her class, and by creating spaces to talk about the different domains of social life: further education, primary school and local life worlds. In their turn, the learners drew on their previous experiences of education, their work experience and their own local life worlds, to make sense of the content with the tutor and their classmates.