The English government is significantly expanding the number of free nursery places for two-year olds; but little is known about what sort of training and professional development might help early years practitioners to offer appropriate styles of early education and care for such young children. This thesis explores a project to offer professional support and development to eight early years practitioners working with two-year olds in a highly socially disadvantaged area in London. The project began with the participants being trained to use a structured child observation tool, and developed through fortnightly group meetings over a three-month period. These provided an opportunity for the participants to engage in dialogue and critical reflection about their data. The data were interpreted using a qualitative research methodology drawing on grounded theory and constructivist grounded theory. Evidence from the study suggests that the participants developed skills in “keen observation” (Dalli et al. 2009), and that they used the data they had gathered to develop their understanding of the children’s learning. The findings from the research increase the visibility of the practitioners’ theories: in particular, their theory that their work enables the children to act more autonomously in the nursery settings. Both the methodological approach used and the small size of the sample mean that no generalisations can be made from these findings. However, widely-held assumptions that early years practitioners are lacking in the capacity to reflect on and theorise their work are not supported by this research. Future studies might continue to make practitioners’ own theories about their work more visible, in order to explore them more deeply. This would enable the further development of approaches to training which engage with and enrich the practitioners’ own thinking.

Collaborative group work in the primary classroom is considered to hold academic and social benefits for pupils, in providing opportunities for them to develop thinking through interaction with others. It is widely recognised, however, that teachers find it challenging to incorporate group work into classroom practice because of the difficulties pupils often experience with this form of learning. The aim of this research is to explore psychoanalytic theory as a way of thinking about the emotions, both conscious and unconscious, that might circulate in the group and affect the ability of group members to achieve the explicit task that has been set. I present four case studies of group work, involving children in a Year 5 class; each study illuminates aspects of the emotional difficulty children might experience, for example, the tensions of belonging to a group, the frustrations of learning with others and the anxieties that might be stirred. I argue that teachers and educational leaders would benefit from attending to the emotional significance of group learning, rather than invest in the ‘fantasy’ that suggests affect and cognition can be kept separate in encounters with learning and with others.

A key finding from the research into school effectiveness is that children's educational progress is highly dependent on effective teachers (Darling-­‐Hammond, 2000; DEST, 2005; NCQT, 2011). But, the literature into teacher effectiveness offers less literacy-­‐specific evidence. Nonetheless, successful literacy learning in Grade 1 is crucial as it has long lasting consequences on children's literacy development (Riley, 1996, 2007; Tymms et al., 2009), thus making the effective teaching of literacy an important focus of investigation. Researchers have also raised the issue of the inter-­‐relationship of effective teaching and the context within which it takes place (Hopkins and Reynolds, 2001; Campbell et al, 2003). Within the specific context of Cyprus there is a paucity of evidence into teachers' literacy practices in correlation with the insights from the effectiveness research. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate this particular context and use the insights offered in order to illuminate thinking about effective literacy teaching practice. In order to do so, it draws upon relevant bodies of literature, to identify the features of effective literacy teaching in Grade 1 classrooms. By using these teachers as a lens into teaching practices, the study explores what these teachers do and also how the omissions in their practice compare with the literature in the field, as well as what they do differently and which has not, as yet, been widely recognised. In addition, the study examines what teachers report they rely on and how they claim to have learned their practice. The study is located within a qualitative -­‐ interpretive paradigm, using thematic coding to deductively and inductively analyse classroom observations and interview data from fifteen teachers who were deemed to be effective. The findings offer an agenda to re-­‐consider both the content and pedagogy of effective literacy teaching in Grade 1. Also, the implications that arise for programmes of Initial Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development are addressed.

The current study examines the pupil, classroom and school level characteristics that influence the attainment and the progress outcomes of young Maltese pupils for mathematics. A sample of 1,628 Maltese pupils were tested at age 5 (Year 1) and at age 6 (Year 2) on the National Foundation for Educational Research Maths 5 and Maths 6 tests. Associated with the matched sample of pupils are 89 Year 2 teachers and 37 primary school head teachers. Various instruments were administered to collate data about the pupil, the classroom and the school level characteristics likely to explain differences in pupil attainment (age 6) and pupil progress. The administered instruments include: the Mathematics Enhancement Classroom Observation Record (MECORS), a parent/guardian questionnaire, a teacher questionnaire, a head teacher questionnaire and a field note sheet. Results from multilevel analyses reveal that the prior attainment of pupils (age 5), pupil ability, learning support, curriculum coverage, teacher beliefs, teacher behaviours and head teacher age are predictors of pupil attainment (age 6) and/or pupil progress. Residual scores from multilevel analyses also reveal that primary schools in Malta are differentially effective. Of the 37 participating schools, eight are effective, 22 are average and seven are ineffective for mathematics. Also, in eight schools, withinschool variations in teaching quality, amongst teachers in Year 2 classrooms, were also elicited. Illustrations of practice in six differentially effective schools compared and contrasted the strategies implemented by Maltese primary school head teachers and Year 2 teachers. A discussion of the main findings as well as recommendations for future studies and the development of local educational policy conclude the current study.

School principals’ leadership is key to successful school reform, as is increased student achievement. This nonexperimental ex post facto study tested relationships among secondary school principals’ leadership behaviors, school climate, and student achievement. Of 165 secondary school principals from the three largest school districts in South Florida, 58 completed three online survey instruments: the Leadership Practices Inventory, School Climate Inventory-Revised, and researcher-designed Demographic Questionnaire. Student achievement was measured by students’ scores on the reading and mathematics Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests. Three null hypotheses tested relationships among (a) five principals’ leadership behaviors and seven domains of school climate; (b) principals’ leadership behaviors and student achievement; and (c) principals’ leadership behaviors, school climate, and student achievement. Multiple linear regressions were used to determine the degree to which the independent variables predicted the dependent variables for the first two hypotheses. ANOVAs tested possible group differences between the demographic and research variables as controls for the third hypothesis. Partial correlational analyses tested the strength and direction of relationships among leadership behaviors, climate, and achievement. Results revealed partial support of the hypotheses. None of the leadership variables significantly predicted school climate. No significant relationships were found among the five leadership behaviors and student achievement. Demographic group differences in school climate and student achievement were marginally significant. The leadership behaviors of Inspiring a Shared Vision and Enabling Others to Act were positively linked to reading achievement. Partial correlations were found (r .27 to -.35) among school climate variables of Order, Involvement, and Expectation and achievement variables. The Modeling the Way leadership variable was negatively associated with reading achievement. After controlling for gender, years at current school, and years in the district, partial positive correlations were found among leadership, school climate, and student achievement. Inspiring a Shared Vision, Enabling Others to Act, Encouraging the Heart, and Challenging the Process leadership variables were partially correlated to Order, Leadership (Instructional), and Expectation climate variables. Study results should provide policymakers and educators with a leadership profile for school leaders challenging the status quo who can create schools for enhanced student learning and relevance to the needs of students, families, and society.

<p>In 2002 Tanzania initiated the implementation of the Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP), in which a substantial capacity expansion and quality improvement of primary education was outlined. The most important measure in the plan was to make primary school free and accessible to all, irrespective of financial capabilities. This thesis is a qualitative policy study, which aims at finding out whether or not primary education is free and equally accessible to all in Tanzania. Besides establishing if it is in fact free and accessible, the thesis identifies the main costs and restraints to access and also brings forward the children’s perceptions on these restraints. The answers to these questions were sought in a case study, conducted in Babati District in Northern Tanzania. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with households, school staff and primary school children and their responses has been compared to the national policy on primary education. The main conclusions of the study are that: Primary education is not free in Tanzania, as there are significant costs involved to send a child to primary school, such as school uniform, school material and various contributions to the running costs of the school. Neither is primary education equally accessible to all, as children from households, which cannot pay these costs, are sent home from school on a regular basis. Lastly, being sent home has a damaging effect on the children’s school performances and self-esteem.</p>

In 2002 Tanzania initiated the implementation of the Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP), in which a substantial capacity expansion and quality improvement of primary education was outlined. The most important measure in the plan was to make primary school free and accessible to all, irrespective of financial capabilities. This thesis is a qualitative policy study, which aims at finding out whether or not primary education is free and equally accessible to all in Tanzania. Besides establishing if it is in fact free and accessible, the thesis identifies the main costs and restraints to access and also brings forward the children’s perceptions on these restraints. The answers to these questions were sought in a case study, conducted in Babati District in Northern Tanzania. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with households, school staff and primary school children and their responses has been compared to the national policy on primary education. The main conclusions of the study are that: Primary education is not free in Tanzania, as there are significant costs involved to send a child to primary school, such as school uniform, school material and various contributions to the running costs of the school. Neither is primary education equally accessible to all, as children from households, which cannot pay these costs, are sent home from school on a regular basis. Lastly, being sent home has a damaging effect on the children’s school performances and self-esteem.

One of the key recommendations of the Williams review of primary mathematics (2008) was for every school to have a primary mathematics specialist teacher (MaST) with ‘deep mathematical subject and pedagogical knowledge’ (Williams, 2008 p. 7). This knowledge would act as a ‘nucleus’ (p.1) for the whole school, with MaSTs supporting the teaching and learning of mathematics across the primary phase. As yet there is no model for the knowledge of these specialist teachers. This study aimed to examine the nature of this knowledge conceived of by a small sample of MaSTs, by conducting interviews as they undertook the role, and after developing it over two years and completing the Masters level training programme. The interviewer identified with the MaSTs the knowledge they conceived that they drew on in their teaching of one aspect of the mathematics curriculum and which they identified as deep subject knowledge. There were common features in this knowledge, which are argued to be indicative of the knowledge of the specialist teachers more generally. These features related to knowledge of progression across the primary phase. The MaSTs perceived that they gained new knowledge of mathematics and pedagogy which enabled them to support other staff but also impacted on their own teaching. The research found only a partial relationship between the current models which articulate the knowledge of primary classroom teachers of mathematics (Rowland et al 2009; Ball et al 2008; Ma, 1999) and the knowledge which MaSTs conceived that they drew on, and identified as deep. The research examined the relationship between the perceived knowledge of these teachers as specialists and class teachers, finding examples of case and strategic knowledge (Shulman, 1986). The MaSTs identified their new knowledge as distinct from that gained by classroom experience and valued the Masters aspects of their training programme.

The thesis research explored children’s physical activity levels that occurred within the primary school setting. It examined the contribution that Physical Education lessons make to children’s overall measured physical activity levels within the school day. It investigated children’s perceived level of physical activity and compared this with children’s physical activity measured by accelerometers. For the purpose of the thesis research, physical activity was regarded as, “any bodily movement resulting in energy expenditure” (Sirad and Pate, 2001, p.440). The majority of previous physical activity research has focused on secondary aged children and adults, with little on physical activity levels achieved by primary aged children within school time, or on the comparison between infants (6 – 7 year olds) and juniors (9 – 10 year olds). Data were collected within a case study setting in one school, over one school year. 20 children, 5 infant boys (mean age at start of data collection, 6 years 4 months), 5 infant girls (mean age at start of data collection, 6 years 6 months), 5 junior boys (mean age at start of data collection, 9 years 4 months) and 5 junior girls (mean age at start of data collection, 9 years 4 months) wore Actigraph accelerometers to record physical activity intensity levels throughout the school day from 9am until 3.10pm. A repeated measures 3 factor ANOVA was used to analyse the effects of factors including the following: type of day (days including a Physical Education lesson (PE days) and those that did not (Non PE days); year group (infants/juniors); parts of the day (curriculum time/morning break/lunchtime/afternoon break) and gender (male/female). P values of <0.05 were taken as the value for statistical significance ± one standard deviation. Statistical analysis was completed using SPSS 17.0. An interactive tool, (Qwizdom) was incorporated with a questionnaire that was adapted from Kowalski et al. (2004) in terms of language and vocabulary to suit the age of the children which assessed the children's perceived levels of physical activity. The perceived activity was compared with the accelerometer physical activity data. The findings revealed that children were more physically active on school days that included Physical Education lessons. Boys were more physically active at a moderate to vigorous level than girls. Junior boys were able to accumulate 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity within the school day on a day that included Physical Education lessons and in doing so reached the Department of Health's (DH, 2005) and the World Health Organisation's (WHO, 2010) recommendations for children’s physical activity within the school day, even though these are for the full day not just the school day. Children’s perceived physical activity levels matched their accelerometer recordings, in particular for junior boys during break time and for girls during Physical Education lessons. The results present the potential for broader claims to be made, relating to: the contribution primary schools make to children’s physical activity levels, the contribution Physical Education lessons make to children’s overall physical activity levels and the potential provision of opportunities for children to be physically active outside of Physical Education lessons during the school day.

This thesis is formed from two papers: a systematic literature review and an empirical research study. The first, a systemic literature review, explores and critically discusses the current research into acculturation, specifically research into acculturation approaches adopted by children of minority groups and their families and perceptions of the majority host group. It further considers research focusing on minority group members of Muslim faith. It critically explores the effect of acculturation approaches on prosocial adaptation in children and on academic achievement or school success. The second, an empirical research study, explores the acculturation approaches adopted by children of Muslim faith from four different Arab ethnicities (Somali, Saudi, Yemeni and Libyan), as well as their perceptions of the approach to acculturation adopted by their families and White British peers. Prosocial adaptation and academic progress was also explored in order to identify any correlations between the approach to acculturation and adaptation. This small exploratory study did not find any relationship between the approach to acculturation (of self and outgroup) and prosocial adaptation and academic achievement. However, findings tentatively suggest that children of Libyan and Yemeni ethnicities adopt less co-evolved approaches to acculturation and also perceive their families and White British peers to ascribe to less co-evolved approaches to acculturation. It also found positive correlations between resilience and academic progress and between age and level of isolation and loneliness. Limitations of this exploratory study are discussed and recommendations made for further research. Implications for the practice of educational psychology are presented.