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This study explored the perception of risk of adults with learning difficulties who had been assigned reputations for challenging services. Adopting a standpoint epistemology the research sought to give voice to the alienated knowledge of adults with learning difficulties who had experienced exclusion from the community on the basis of the perceived risks they posed to themselves or others. The concept of risk was used as a lens through which to uncover the situated knowledge of research participants and to consider the extent to which this knowledge was reflected in risk and disability theory and practice. The research was informed by a broad range of theoretical approaches to risk ranging from the technico-scientific tradition exemplified by the psychological school and socio cultural perspectives drawn from the disciplines of anthropology, philosophy and sociology. Influences were also drawn from the range of academic disciplines that inform disability theory. The research was undertaken within a social constructionist framework and adopted a participatory methodological approach. Data collection and analysis spanned a two year period and processes of constant comparative analysis (Charmaz 2006) were applied to explore underlying concepts and relationships. The study evolved over its duration and the reflexive processes that informed the emergent methodology are incorporated in the findings. Consideration was given to the ethical dilemmas associated with adopting the dual roles of a practitioner and researcher. Through the core themes of voice, harm and relationships the views of research participants challenge the existing hegemony and offer an alternative perspective on the concept of risk. Participants provided an alternate rationale for behaviour as a form of communication rooted in a context of oppression and resistance. Reframing behaviour as actions of resilience and resistance offers valuable insights that should inform the development of risk and disability theory and practice.

Hong Kong, a populated city, meets all the necessary technological and economic conditions for e-learning to be thriving in higher education. However, online survey results of students and teachers of a major tertiary educational institution over a period of three years showed that e-learning is not nearly as popular as anticipated and traditional face-to-face learning remains the preferred mode of study. Are the benefits and impact experienced in other countries equally applicable to Hong Kong? What are the barriers to e-learning diffusion in Hong Kong? Answers to these questions were sought from the teachers and researchers of e-learning in Hong Kong higher education. The research was based on a grounded theory methodology and used a three stage mixed-method design for data collection and analysis. The key informants were the teacher-researchers in higher educational institutions in Hong Kong. Several potential issues arising from three rounds of large scale online surveys were explored with them through in-depth interviews, which generated a framework for analysis, and based upon which a follow-up questionnaire survey was formulated and conducted. Inferences were drawn from the combined results of the online survey, the interviews, and the follow-up survey. The results from the study showed that the benefits, impact and barriers identified were broadly similar to those experienced in other countries. Whilst some personal and social conditions such as age, gender and, family and home conditions are not perceived to be important factors in hindering diffusion, certain unique social conditions in Hong Kong - such as the two official languages, the popular mixed-code phenomenon, the teacher-centred and assessment-centric culture, are perceived to contribute to some extent to the hindrance of e-Iearning diffusion. However, the teachers and researchers see more serious barriers in the unfavourable perception and negative attitudes of students and teachers towards e-learning and the lack of self-motivation and self-discipline. Based on these findings, certain areas of further study were suggested for future research.

This thesis develops a class-biographical analysis of ‘widening participation’ students’ transitions to higher education (HE). It unpacks the participants’ complex educational, professional and family biographies, and depicts the nuances of class instability and credentialism that defined their educational strategies, which centred upon gaining the ‘piece of paper’ (HE qualifications). Through this class-biographical analysis the thesis focuses on how these participants understood and placed value upon HE and its credential system, rather than focusing on how HE might see them (that is, as bluntly defined ‘non-traditional’ or ‘non-standard’ students). The participants narrated their ‘return’ to education in relation to their early experiences of compulsory schooling, FE and work which were mediated by family and social class relationships, the ‘turning points’ that led many to reconsider the possibilities offered by education and their lived experiences of loss, gain and vulnerability. Drawing upon Bourdieu’s concepts of capital and habitus, three types of ‘widening participation’ trajectory are suggested: securers, enrichers and builders with each implying different understandings of class location and credentialism. The thesis concludes by restating the importance of retaining a research interest in mature returners (such as those in this study) in the widening participation landscape.

The phenomenon of student voice, namely the institutionalisation of students’ contributions to the evaluation of higher education, is embedded into the daily business of universities. Activities relating to student voice such as national surveys, representation, complaints and protest are subject to considerable emotional, material, and financial investment by managers, academics and students. These developments have had profound effects on the everyday practices and discourses of academics and students alike, yet researchers have not yet explored their implications for the identities and subjectivities of those who participate. Drawing on two case studies undertaken at English universities (a pre and post-92), the thesis problematises the narratives associated with student voice. The research found that student voice means different things to different people and is underpinned by a range of, at times competing imperatives. These can be empowering, but they shape, in subtle but significant ways, the manner in which managers, academics and students come to regard themselves, each other and the fundamental nature and purpose of higher education. The thesis suggests that by acknowledging power, and the complex identities that student voice shapes, activities could become more productive and empowering. This has practical and educational implications for stakeholders in the university sector.

This thesis investigated the provision and impact of Foundation degrees for teaching assistants by examining; teaching assistants on Foundation degrees, Foundation degree providers, Head teachers, and local authorities across four different areas of the Midlands. Findings confirmed that teaching assistants on Foundation degrees gain many personal and professional benefits from their course. These are determined by internal and external factors but include the support received during their Foundation degree course. In their workplace the teaching assistants are given additional responsibility but often this is not acknowledged through financial recompense or enhanced status, a consequence of which is that teaching assistants are very discouraged about the lack of recognition for their Foundation degree. This is exacerbated by the fact that whilst Foundation degrees are being promoted as having employer engagement, most head teachers lack knowledge and understanding about Foundation degrees for teaching assistants, nor do many teaching assistants feel supported by their employer. The implication of this thesis is that whilst accepting the many benefits to the individual and their workplace, Foundation degrees are contributing towards the creation of divisions and frustration levels of teaching assistants. In this case, the impact on pupils needs to be explored.

Special Educational Needs and Disability reforms are due to come into force in Local Authorities from September 2014. Accordingly, services need to consider how they can meet the aims of supporting Learners with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities up to age 25. Educational Psychologists currently offer support to young people whilst they attend school and many Educational Psychology Services will need to consider how to extend their support in view of the SEND reforms. This case study explores the views of professionals, within one LA, of how the EPS and local Further Education College can work collaboratively. Participants include EPs, College Tutors, the SEN Team and the Connexions service. Data was gathered using interviews with Managers and focus groups with main-grade professionals and analysed using Thematic Analysis. Implications for the EPS within this LA are proposed, considering supportive factors, potential constraints and considerations that need to be given to the relationship before it is initiated. Proposed next steps include: explaining the role of an EP to the College staff, their partners, LLDDs and families to ensure the service is used effectively and efficiently; offering consultation and training to College staff and ensuring there is sufficient EP resource to meet the needs of the College prior to establishing a relationship.

This thesis explores the experiences of women who study on a part-time Foundation degree and transition on to part-time Bachelor level study. Using Foucault’s construct of governmentality, it investigates how external and internal forms of power through discourse influence the development of academic and personal identities. Data collection involved a questionnaire given to all internally progressing students followed by two stages of in-depth interviews involving five women. The first interview involved the use of images to support the creation of narratives. The second interview reviewed these narratives and considered transitional experiences. Finally, two focus groups held one year apart offered collective transitional accounts. What emerged were ways in which the women in this study responded to personal and relational forms of power through discourse. Resilience was revealed as a personal form of resistance to power that when linked to motives for study, interdependent learning and the internal progression the women experienced on to the Bachelor degree underpinned the development of strong academic and personal identities. These identities meant the women in this study considered themselves as personally and academically transformed through their experiences of studying on the Foundation degree and their subsequent transition on to Bachelor level study.

Graduate recruitment in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is largely neglected, overshadowed by larger enterprises more traditionally associated with graduate employment. This thesis addresses this oversight by exploring graduate employment in small firms located in the West Midlands, with a specific focus on small Business and Professional Services (BPS). The thesis examines whether attitudinal barriers deterring graduates from small firm employment, and small firm employers from recruiting graduate employees, as summarised by the concept of mutual unattractiveness, is supported by the experiences of graduates currently employed in smaller firms, and by the experiences of owner-managers that have employed them. The research specifically explores employer interpretations of graduate contributions and skills deficiencies, and graduate interpretations of training delivery and developmental practices. A qualitative approach enables the study to gain a deeper understanding of manager-graduate relations in small firms, while supplementary interviews with careers service, large firm and intermediary organisation representatives generates a multi-perspective approach appreciative of wider regional graduate employment access and engagement. The study finds that whilst graduate and employer experiences in many ways reinforce factors that deter both parties from engaging in such employment, their experience also demonstrates the positive rewards ensuing for both parties. This thesis illustrates how small firm graduate employment is complex and informed by comparative decisions. It also shows how recruitment decisions concerning small firm graduate employment require a more informed approach such that expectations may be managed accordingly.

This research focuses on the productive learning processes of students studying a blended e-learning programme for practitioners and carers of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It is an ethnographic case study undertaking a holistic analysis of learning processes. It draws upon socio cultural and activity theory as theoretical lenses and using dimensions from the communities of practice framework to interpret the kinds of discourse that are suggestive of a community of practice. The study examines how learners appropriate the professional discourse, values and goals of the ASD carer and the kind of collaborative engagement students have with each other’s contributions. Findings highlight that online discussions are powerful mechanisms for the development of reflection, for giving parents a strong voice and for shaping the values of this community. The research suggests that a facilitation model that enables students to be co-learners and co-tutors together, supports the development of a community of practice, thus enabling students to acquire knowledge in one context in order to transform it to another. Recommendations include the need for further studies that examine a particular communication medium in detail and over time, that communities of practice can add value to pedagogy in higher education and that programme tutors need to consider the specific properties of different communication mediums when designing programmes.