No description available.

The central contention of this thesis is that story as an aid to learning, particularly student nurses' own stories of practice, is not being used to its full potential in nurse education. The dominant tendencies in nurse education are briefly outlined; the first, a ‘top- down’, managerialist approach, which is theory-focused, and where ‘reflection-on-action’ from an essentially theoretical perspective, with assessment strategies related to extrinsic criteria, is predominant; and the second, a ‘bottom-up’ approach, focused on practice itself as a resource for learning, with ‘reflection-in-action’ (moment-to-moment decision-making) as its major pedagogic strategy. This thesis argues that these approaches are too often treated in isolation from one another, but that for nurse education to be effective, professional practice must unite the two, and that story is an imaginative and stimulating method by which this can be achieved. The thesis outlines the ways in which story has been explored in the literature, but the emphasis is on the ‘humanness’ of stories and the varied and diverse roles they could play in the development of nurse education. This discussion of the unique contribution that story can make to nurse education is placed in the context of two major theories of learning: constructivist and social constructivist, with particular emphasis on the seminal work of Schon. The research methodology adopted is that of narrative, and data were provided by student nurses’ written stories and learning accounts of practice, and notes taken during focus groups. The data were supplemented by the use of my own stories of experience of clinical practice. In all, 55 students’ written stories and learning accounts were collected, and then analysed using a three stage approach: first, reading the stories and learning accounts; second, a two- part analysis using content analysis and analysis of form; and third, a structured presentation of findings. Therefore, whilst accepting that direct learning from story is difficult to demonstrate, the evidence presented in this thesis illustrates the different ways in which stories can be an aid to student learning from practice, particularly by encouraging students to differentiate and structure clinical experiences that might otherwise remain undifferentiated and unstructured, and acknowledge and identify the tacit nature of their learning in practice and develop strategies for making it explicit. The evidence presented in this thesis supports the contention that inclusion in the curriculum of students’ stories of clinical practice can contribute towards the transformation of nurse education.

Saudi Higher Education has started to move with the international trend towards blending face-to-face with online instruction when developing new educational processes. As a contribution to the innovations in Saudi Higher Education, this study explores the perceptions of Saudi female lecturers and undergraduate students towards blended learning from their experience as participants in blended courses. The advantage of blended learning was recognized by the Ministry of Saudi Higher Education as a solution to the challenge of providing college education to the rapidly growing student population. As the move to a blended learning model represents a radical shift in the Saudi educational system, this study shows how Saudi students and lecturers reacted to this change and how it affected the quality of their learning and teaching experience. The objective of the study is to identify Saudi female undergraduate students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the advantages, challenges and future of blended learning. Consequently, the key factors that influence the lecturers’ and students’ views are discussed, and recommendations for future research, strategy and practice are provided. Qualitative methods were used to obtain rich descriptive data to facilitate the exploration of the phenomena. Based on interpretative philosophy, the data was analysed in the form of explanation and interpretation of the participants’ perceptions of blended learning. The study concludes that blended learning has the potential to offer a successful learning experience in Saudi Arabia. As there are always challenges of adaptation when a new approach is employed, this research provides insight into how the challenges of implementing blended learning in Saudi Higher Education could be addressed. A theoretical blended learning framework is introduced to provide the factors that influence the implementation of blended learning. One of the major conclusions is that a blended learning environment offers Saudi females the flexibility to continue their higher education while maintaining their own cultural values and traditions.

The ubiquity of mobile devices together with their potential to bridge classroom learning to real-world settings has added a new perspective to contextualising mathematics learning, but this needs further exploration. The aim of this thesis is to examine the effects of using mobile technologies on students’ attitudes, engagement and achievement in mathematics. The study starts with a systematic review of maths and mobile learning studies followed by three iterations of data collection. The three studies were mixed-methods studies guided by the micro, meso, macro (M3) Evaluation Framework. The studies included eight mobile learning sessions spread over three months covering topics on geometry and information handling. These sessions were conducted as collaborative learning activities in indoor and outdoor settings. Participants were Primary 6 and 7 students from three different schools in Scotland. In Study 1 (a single-group design, n=24), students had positive evaluations of mobile learning but some technical problems experienced lessened their initially positive views. There was a small effect in student self-confidence (ES=.20) and a significant positive difference between pre and post-test achievement scores. Breakdowns identified via the critical incident analysis in Study 1 informed the activity design of Study 2. In Study 2 (a quasi-experimental design, n=52), students had more positive perceptions about the use of mobile technology. The experimental group had higher gain scores on the maths test than the control group. In Study 3, a randomised controlled trial over six weeks (n=74), students also had positive evaluations of the mobile learning activities but this varied by gender. Analysis of the maths test scores with pre-test as covariate showed both groups had significantly improved their scores, but no significant treatment effect was found. For items relating to common student misconceptions on angles, students in the experimental group had significantly higher gains than the control group. The overall results from the three studies provide some evidence that students can have positive perceptions about the use of mobile technologies and that these can be effective in supporting students’ engagement and performance in mathematics, especially when learning takes place outside the classroom. It also showed that the success of a mobile learning intervention is dependent on various factors, such as student and teacher characteristics, stability of the technology and content compatibility, among other factors. There were several limitations including sample size, length of intervention, and programme fidelity. Implications for practice and future researchers are discussed.

Existing literature surrounding the topic of ‘school exclusion’ and ‘reintegration’ has predominantly focused on the views of professionals with regard to secondary school-aged pupils. The present study was emancipatory in nature and aimed at enabling Children and Young People (CYP) to express their views and ultimately, to ‘be heard’. An eco-systemic perspective was embraced to explore the views of pupils, who had experienced permanent exclusion and placement in alternative provision, regarding the factors that had supported their successful reintegration into mainstream education. Q methodology was employed to highlight some of the strategies that pupils may have experienced as helpful during the reintegration process. Nine pupils (aged 10-16) were asked to express their viewpoint through engaging in a Q sorting exercise, which involved ranking 37 statements (representing different strategies that may support reintegration) according to personal significance (from ‘most helpful’ to ‘most unhelpful’). The overall configuration of statements was subjected to factor analysis, from which a two-factor solution was identified. This highlighted two distinct viewpoints that existed within the participant sample regarding the factors that supported successful reintegration. Aided by the use of quantitative and qualitative data, the emergent viewpoints were interpreted and a descriptive account of each was written to ‘bring the viewpoint to life’. The findings were discussed in relation to existing literature and theoretical frameworks, and the implications for practice were considered. It is hoped that the research will address the need within the literature to listen to the views of CYP regarding ‘what works’ and to employ creative and innovative research methods to encourage their active participation in research projects. Limitations of the study were acknowledged and recommendations for future research suggested.

This thesis validates the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory for the first time in a field based environmental setting using a water quality-monitoring program within a girls' high school and compares the cognitive achievement of students in the water quality-monitoring school with those in non-water quality-monitoring schools. The psychosocial learning dimensions of the water quality-monitoring program are assessed using a modified form of the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory.The results indicate that students involved in the water quality-monitoring school were more homogenous and ranked higher in their cognitive achievement and transferability of concepts than students in the non-water quality-monitoring schools. Pre and post testing together with anecdotal information affirmed that there was a direct association between the quantitative results and qualitative information in relation to the learning dimension scales of the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory.Comparisons were made between similar water environmental programs in different countries and the water quality-monitoring school program results. The use of skills and constructivist techniques indicates that the water quality-monitoring program together with real life problem solving work is an effective method for improving science learning.

This thesis investigates professional learning in a school-based community of science teachers. Transcripts of science staff meetings were analysed using two frameworks. These frameworks relate to the notions of community and professional learning. The school-based community is interpreted in terms of three metaphors of understanding: meanings, practice and identity. Professional learning is interpreted in terms of how the teachers learn the episteme, techne and phronesis of their science teaching. I propose that professional learning occurs when teachers engage in virtues-based personal reflection and/or public discourse around episteme, techne and phronesis in the spaces 'in-between' the metaphors of community. This proposition raises implications for the accessibility of professional learning and the relationship between community and organisational boundaries.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.