This study is concerned with school-children’s communication, behavioural, and emotional development, in which the first concern has been to focus on their laughter. Although commonly thought of as an integral component of childhood, children’s laughter seldom receives the attention it deserves. The significance of laughter’s correlation with children’s social connectivity remains largely undiscovered. Little account has been taken of laughter’s exclusive orientation, and the strain this may create in schools with an avowedly inclusive ethos. Teachers and pupils who agreed to take part in this study were recruited from two primary schools. Together, they formed the substantive part of a pair of ethnographic case-studies. Data obtained from a series of playground/classroom observations and informal interviews were framed around Robert Putnam’s theory of social capital, and its own inclusive-exclusive (bridging and bonding) dynamic. Findings indicate that our diminishing stocks of social capital may be directly correlated with our decline in laughter production. They also confirm the view that it is unhelpful to consider inclusive and exclusive entities in isolation. Exclusive laughter appears to be a fundamental condition of inclusive schooling, with pupils and their teachers apparently natural exponents of a form of behaviour that may be described as inclusive-exclusive.

Working on What Works (WOWW) is a solution-orientied classroom management programme which targets both teachers and students, aiming to improve behaviour and relationships within the classroom (Berg and Shilts, 2004; 2005). The intervention is delivered over 10 weeks with the support of a WOWW coach. It centres on complimenting, goal setting and scaling. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impacts of WOWW when it is adapted from a whole-class intervention to a small-group intervention. The small group in the present study were five children in Year 2 with internalising and/or externalising behaviour difficulties, as identified by their class teacher. The research employed a case study design to explore the effects of the adapted WOWW intervention on the children's behaviours and to investigate participants' perceptions of WOWW. The study used both quantitative and qualitative measures, including classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, questionnaires and ranking and rating activities. Previous research on WOWW is limited, but indicates positive effects on teacher confidence and teacher perceptions of student behaviour. The findings of the current study suggest positive trends following the adapted WOWW intervention; the children's on-task behaviour increased while the teacher's ratings of their inattention, aggression/disruption and anxiety all decreased. Perceptions of the intervention were positive and the teacher commented on the significant impact WOWW had on the group of children. The findings support previous WOWW studies and suggest its possible utility as a classroom intervention.

Seven experiments determined whether young children's comprehension of aspectuality, when acquired, was robust enough to cope with demands and variations to the task. Four to 5-year-olds were able to choose whether to look or feel to find out information about a hidden item that was identifiable by sight or touch (Experiments 2 & 7). However, they had difficulty when the test question did not directly refer to a perceptual aspect of the target item (Experiment 7). Four to 6-year-olds coped well with irrelevant verbal descriptions of the items included in the test question (Experiments 2 & 3). Five and 6-year-old‟s performed well whether the target had to be discovered or located (Experiment 1) but had difficulty when irrelevant partially differentiating information was included in the array of items (Experiments 3 & 4) and when they received verbal pre-trial experience of the items (Experiments 5 & 6). In conclusion, children depended on their recall of their pre-trial experience of the items, even when it was unnecessary to do so. They had difficulty recognizing the relevance of verbal information and problems recalling it. Hence, their understanding of sources of knowledge is limited until at least 7 years of age.

This thesis presents novel and original studies on the relationship between early vocabulary and gesture development. The thesis is split into two halves. First, the thesis addresses the issue of how seeing gestures can influence verb learning in 3-year-olds. Although previous studies have shown that gestures can aid word learning, the issue of how has not been addressed. This thesis is the first to demonstrate that gestures could help children to generalise novel verbs to specific referents within complex novel scenes. Secondly, the thesis investigates the relationship between language and gesture in the left hemisphere, as indicated by the right-over-left preference for gesturing, in previously untested age groups. The thesis provides evidence that at the onset of referential communication a reorganisation occurs and this may be driven by receptive, rather than expressive, language development. Observational results showed that 3-year-olds tended to use their right hand when they had built multimodal representations of novel verbs. This thesis then describes the first study to manipulate gesture handedness in children, which suggests that encouraging right-handed gesturing has an advantage over left-handed gesturing in a language task. This thesis extends the current literature with studies that have important theoretical and practical implications.

Speech and language therapists (SLTs) have expertise in supporting schools in meeting language needs but SLTs are part of the health service. The First Schools Project was developed as a way of collaborative working between a speech and language therapy service and primary schools and for its evaluation Pawson and Tilley’s (1997) model of realistic evaluation (with its principle of explanatory causation) was chosen. This was innovatory use of the model in educational research. Realistic theories were developed in the form of Contexts (possible explanations for Outcomes), Mechanisms (the structures of the First Schools Project e.g. regular school visits) and Outcomes. There were two parts to the inquiry. Part 1 was concerned with identifying regularities (i.e., which Mechanisms of the First Schools Project were occurring with which Outcomes) and a questionnaire with school staff was used. The purpose of Part 2 was to explain those regularities by collecting data that would support, modify or challenge the realistic theories. A version of the realistic interview (Pawson, 2006) was used with stakeholders (parents, teachers and SLTs). Contexts that facilitated the working of the First Schools Project were identified and suggestions are made for future education researchers who choose the model of realistic evaluation.

The research undertaken was an ethnographic study of a single junior school was founded on the premise that children have considerably more knowledge about ‘citizenship’ and democratic processes than their teachers appreciate or are willing to acknowledge. It was my contention that in developing a citizenship programme and scheme of work in school this should be taken account of to inform, not only the curriculum, but also teaching and learning. My concern was that without doing so, paradoxically, citizenship might have more to do with social control than the intended outcome of empowerment. A key finding of the study was that teachers taught social and moral responsibility rather than rights and that responsibility was inextricably linked to pupils’ behaviour. It also found that much of the information, knowledge and understanding, about democratic processes held by children appeared to be caught rather than taught. The study also showed that teachers taught about ‘safe issues’ whilst avoiding any teaching relating to local, national or world political events that might be contentious or controversial. From the findings a theoretical model for citizenship was developed that shows the relationship between citizenship knowledge, social control, empowerment, and teaching and learning. This study has contributed to the developing understanding of citizenship as it has been implemented in primary schools in England. The evidence suggests that unless teachers take account of pupils’ prior knowledge of citizenship they will by default indeed be teaching for social control rather than empowerment.

Despite serious attention given to talent management in schools over recent years, a leadership crisis remains (DfE, 2015). This study assists in closing the gap, outlining how schools can effectively identify, develop and sustain leadership potential. It builds on previous work, using a case study of five Birmingham primary schools, with interviews from Heads, Senior and Middle Leaders and documentary sources (Rhodes and Brundrett, 2006). Findings indicate a greater shift towards the inclusive but strategic nature of educational leadership talent than traditionally assumed (CIPD, 2007). Significantly, proficient teachers are indicators of potential leaders in primary schools (Gunter, 2005). An ability to influence, emotionally connect and demonstrate willingness are further indicative to the profile of high-potential leaders (Hay Group, 2008). Teacher-leader approaches – shadowing and co-coaching – are central to talent development. A morally-connected approach is crucial for leadership sustainment (Fullan, 2004). The study also reveals that, to avoid a perpetuation of leadership bias, long-term development must address the matter of disillusionment amongst experienced leaders. Evidence collated helped to refine common talent development interpretations and frameworks. The study provides a useful model for sustaining educational leadership. It also highlights implications and provides recommendations for policy-makers, academics and practitioners wishing to sustain leadership talent.

There is a significant body of research on children's preconceptions concerning scientific concepts and the impact this can have upon their science education. One active issue concerns the extent to which young children's explanations for the existence of natural kinds rely on teleological explanations. These explanations either propose a purpose (e.g., muddy puddles are for jumping in) or suggest goal-driven behaviour (e.g., tigers decided to grow stripes for better camouflage). It has been argued that this teleological tendency is a major barrier to children's understanding of causality in the natural world, particularly when learning about evolution. This thesis details four studies which explore and seek to limit children's use of teleological explanations for natural kinds. Study 1 investigated two factors (question wording and questioned topic) that may have led to an overestimation of children's use of teleological explanations for natural phenomena (i.e., time-constrained, natural events or processes such as snow, clouds or night). The findings indicated that children's (aged 5- to 8-years-old, n = 66) responses to open questions involved significantly fewer teleological answers than to the typical leading form used in prior research. Furthermore, the concept of teleology is more nuanced than often suggested, as levels of teleological explanation varied considerably within the category of natural phenomena. Consequently, young children may be more able to learn about causal explanations than the literature implies. Study 1b used methods from corpus linguistics to explore the naturally occurring discourse surrounding the examples of natural phenomena investigated in Study 1. Teleological and scientific patterns of discussion were identified in a specially created corpus of children's discourse. The results of this analysis indicate that the patterns of language that children experience can influence their use and the form of teleological explanations. Studies 2 and 3 consisted of efficacy tests of an intervention designed to limit children's endorsement of teleological explanations to account for the existence of a) natural phenomena (e.g., snow or rainbows) and b) organisms' traits (e.g., giraffes' necks or zebras' stripes). The interventions consisted of short discussion-based activities which sought to develop children's understanding of why teleological explanations are inappropriate to use in scientific contexts. (Study 2, 5- to 7-year-olds, n = 54; Study 3, 9- to 10-year-olds, n = 24). These studies suggest teleology need not be a major barrier to teaching and learning about causality in Early Years education. After only limited discussion about styles of explanation in science, the results revealed that children's teleological preconceptions were malleable to change, a finding which runs counter to current thinking on children and teleology. In terms of a contribution to knowledge, it is proposed that children's use of teleological explanations is more nuanced than currently suggested by the literature. Furthermore, children's use of these explanations can be limited with a series of simple, short discursive lessons. Lessons that do not require additional pedagogical knowledge on the part of primary school teachers.

This study examines stakeholders’ experiences of the English primary curriculum reform of grades 3 and 4 in Omani state schools. At the macro level, it examines the impetus for reform and its aims. At the micro level, it examines the challenges and opportunities teachers experienced, the quality of support and training they received from supervisors and trainers, and the views of both students and their parents. A mixed methods design was adopted, using questionnaires, focus group interviews and one-to-one interviews. Phase 1 involved a scoping exercise in the Muscat (capital city) region through the collection of data vis-à-vis a questionnaire from primary school children (n=151) in years 3 and 4 and their parents (n=126). English teachers (n=5) were also interviewed in five schools. In Phase 2, emerging themes from Phase 1 were explored in greater depth through a questionnaire completed by primary school children (n=210) and their parents (n=191) from the AL Dahira region. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with students (n=13) from the Muscat and AL Dahira regions. Three focus group interviews were conducted with English teachers (n=15) in three regions (Muscat, AL Sharqia South and AL Dahira regions) supplemented with semi-structured interviews with policymakers (n=2), supervisors (n=3) and trainers (n=3) from the three regions. Although the findings indicated that progress had been achieved in introducing shared writing, reading time, vocabulary and grammar rules in grades 3 and 4 (reform), the findings also suggested that a number of challenges were identified. Teachers’ views about much of the contents of the compulsory school textbook in relation to choice of topics, the development of the productive skills, lack of resources, and problems with assessment were overwhelmingly negative. The gap between policymakers and teaching communities was also observed, where the latter emphasised the fact that they were not part of curriculum development process. Furthermore, it seems that curriculum reform was neither adequately underpinned by theoretical principles, nor supported with appropriate teacher development. Nonetheless, the study found a high level of enthusiasm for English learning amongst students and their parents. In essence, the study established tensions between the intended, written, supported and taught curricula, which have significant implications for future curriculum development.

This research aimed to investigate the starting school transition by exploring how the transition from home and/or nursery was being understood, interpreted and experienced by school staff, parents and children. Furthermore, it aimed to explore the discourses that surround the transitional experience and gain an understanding of how they may impact upon the daily experience. It found that the parents and children socially constructed the transition using the discursive notion of a ‘good’ school child (Thornberg, 2009) which was understood to represent one who is able to follow the rules, carry out the work and listen to adults. Additionally, the parents appeared to be drawing on a number of discourses (e.g. ‘good’ parents and ‘pushy’ parents) that impacted upon their overall experience of the transition and which also impacted their understanding of what the concept was about. This is because the discourses meant that the parents were peripherally positioned (Davies and Harré, 1990; 1999) within the child’s transitional experience, even though they are positioned within the wider schooling discourse as being equal partners (DfE, 2010b; 4Children, 2015). During the transitional experience, three discursive practices were observed that helped the children understand what a ‘good’ school child was and how he or she was being constructed. These were the three R’s of transition: the use of school routines, school rules and the reduction of the children’s rights. These disciplinary tools (Foucault, 1982) were used in a manner in which they shaped the children’s behaviour and expectations of the schooling experience. Finally, these tools also allowed the children to be positioned and repositioned (Drewery, 2005) in a variety of ways. These positions were related to the ‘good’ school child notion entwined with this transition. However, the use of agency (Devine, 1998; James, 2011) in the uptake or refusal of these positions was also observed meaning the children had a choice in the position they were given by others or which they produced for themselves. The research concludes by suggesting that the social construction of the transition by families and individual schools and their communities needs to be considered when anticipating the support required for this transition. Attention needs to be paid to the positioning of the parents and their ability to offer support to their child’s experience and also to the positions made available within the classroom for the children to take up. A number of suggestions are made that will assist the overall experience stemming from the starting school transition.