Research has shown self-concept to be a significant influence of later success in life, yet studies have rarely focused on the perceptions of students in all educational placements and achievements – specifically, those identified as gifted and with a learning disability (G/LD) (Rudasill, Capper, Foust, Callahan, & Albaugh, 2009). Adopting a qualitative case study approach, and guided by the Marsh/Shavelson model of self-concept (1985) and the Social Identity Theory (1986), this study explored 1) how G/LD students perceive the development of his or her self-concept over time and 2) how labelling and educational placement interact with the development of self-concept. A Body Biography and a discussion/ semi-structured interview were used to explore these questions with eight English-speaking post-secondary G/LD students. During the discussion/ semi-structured interview, participants discussed their completed Body Biography and responded to questions focused on self-perceptions of educational placement, labels, social identity, group membership, and self-concept. Findings of the study revealed that participants tended to perceive the gifted and LD components of the G/LD identification as separate components, rather than as a whole identification; participants appeared to consider themselves as part of a gifted in-group when reflecting upon their strengths and within a LD in-group when reflecting upon their weaknesses; and educational placement experiences exerted a strong influence upon participants’ self-concepts, depending on how well they perceived their educational placement experiences met their academic needs. Overall, the domains of self-concept were very closely related to one another, with academic, social, and emotional self-concepts being the most influenced by identification, labels, and educational placement. The findings from this study support the notion that each G/LD student is unique and there is no singular best method of identification, nor is there one specific educational path that meets the educational needs of all G/LD students.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century British costume museums were failing to attract audiences; consequently, all but the Gallery of Costume, Manchester and the Fashion Museum, Bath were closed to the public. This thesis has sought to examine the traditional display methodologies of historic costume museums, using the Gallery of Costume as its primary case study of practice. This investigation problematises the theoretical assumptions upon which the gallery’s display methodologies are founded and compares its approaches to those taken in contemporary displays of historic dress. The findings of this investigation have been used to propose new approaches to the display of historic dress that aim to engage contemporary audiences. Using the research methods of participant observation, interviews and archival research the first chapter of this thesis outlines the development of the Gallery of Costume’s display methodologies, highlighting the agency of individual curators. The next two chapters explore the ways in which curators of dress reconstruct the bodies and personalities that give form to worn dress in the museum. The thesis moves on to examine both the methods by which the Gallery of Costume’s constructed history in its displays of history and the theoretical assumptions underlying its historiography. This chapter is followed by an exploration of the performance of fashion within the museum, attending to the way in which exhibitions can express dress as ‘living’ concept within accepted conservation guidelines. Finally, this thesis outlines a framework upon which reflexive exhibitions of historic dress can be built.