This study investigated Accelerated Literacy Learning (ALL) trained teachers' implementation of sensory activities into their classroom instructional practice. There were 38 participants in Phase One that completed questionnaires using a 5-point response scale to indicate their frequency of use for each of 30 sensory activities. All but one participant reported a high use of sensory activities in their literacy lessons, although the grade level did influence the variety and frequency of their reported use. Most primary level teachers reported a high use on many of the activities. Seven teachers of the participants from Phase One participated in interviews for Phase Two, and four of the seven participated in Phase Three which included classroom observations. The major themes that were found in the written comments on the questionnaires and in the interviews were: teacher change, teacher empowerment, strategy talk, and student empowerment. Overall, the teachers reported that their ALL training made a difference in how they conducted their literacy lessons. Teachers' classroom use of sensory activities was compared to the teachers' reported use in the questionnaires. Although some items were over reported and a few under reported, a similar pattern of sensory activity use was found both in the reports and in classroom observations. The book level growth of struggling readers within the classrooms was compared with sensory activity use. The comparison between reading growth and sensory activity use proved to be inconclusive, as other factors such as the variety of activities and the amount of time and text were factors that would need to be taken into consideration.

Section A is a systematic review of the literature surrounding school-based interventions to address the stigma faced by people diagnosed with mental health problems. It asks the question of what the role of these interventions currently and potentially is and what is important for their efficacy. It begins by acknowledging the problem that stigma and discrimination presents, identifying what leads to and perpetuates this stigma. It then presents key theoretical and empirical contributions to our understanding of stigma and also to our understanding of how learning develops and attitudes form. The review goes on to look at what has been done in schools to date and highlights ‘active ingredients’ in these programmes, discussing the extent to which the current picture addresses theoretical and empirical contributions. Suggestions for further research are provided. Section B provides the findings of a grounded theory study investigating how primary school teachers communicate with children about mental health problems. Individual semi-structured interviews were carried out with fifteen teachers in three state schools. A model of communication is presented, which explains why discussions about mental health problems are absent from the primary school classroom. There appear to be a number of reasons for this. Teachers have fears about the implications of talking about mental health problems with children. These are connected to their beliefs and fears regarding those with mental health problems, their beliefs about mental health problems in relation to children and its place in the classroom, and about their professional roles. Relating to theory, teachers perceive themselves as part of a homogenous ‘in-group’ as distinct from a homogenous ‘out-group’ with mental health problems. Fears, beliefs and ingroup perceptions lead teachers to ‘play safe’ and avoid conversations about mental health problems in the classroom. This absence of discussion may reinforce for children that mental health problems are taboo. Greater links are required between schools and mental health services, and clinical psychologists need to be proactive in influencing policymakers by promoting the argument that teaching on mental health problems has an important place within the British school curriculum. Section C is a critical appraisal of this research, including discussion of the experience of being a researcher throughout this process. Consideration is given to the skills developed, areas where they may need to be expanded upon, areas where things could have been done differently, as well as research and clinical implications of the findings.

This doctoral research was concerned with the role of language and its implications for the learning, teaching and assessment of mathematics for children aged 4-9 years. Earlier research by the author had established language and assessment as bridges enabling learning although they had the potential to increase the divide between teacher and learner. Reflection raised the question on how children achieved in mathematics despite potential difficulties with language and assessment. Review of the literature concluded that resources and sociocultural norms were also bridges between learner and teacher. A model was established of the relationships and processes between all perceived variables that provided an external, theoretical structure to be evaluated against structuralist, pragmatic and integrational linguistic approaches and empirical outcomes. The overarching approaches adopted were institutional ethnography and case study. An appropriate methodology was devised whereby sophisticated ICT equipment captured all visual and speech events during classroom interactions. Frequency analysis at word level, content analysis at utterance level and discourse analysis at total speech level triangulated with content analysis of interviews and evaluation of documentation completed the empirical research. Data analysis revealed five registers of children’s talk. Evidence suggested that the peer-peer ‘conditioned talk’ used in focused group work was the most effective for learning as it enabled them to discern the small steps in the inferential leaps in discourse made by their teachers, work out problems together, inform their peers, share findings and reinforce each others’ learning. Learners’ language showed aspects of structural, pragmatic and integrational linguistics, confirming a conclusion of the literature review that the various linguistic approaches discussed should be used to support and not exclude each other. The contribution made to knowledge is the ethnomethodology provided by the model, ICT resource and the five registers of talk revealed by the linguistic approach to discourse analysis. Teachers would be able to understand nuances of language used by their pupils and acquire essential skills and tools to put into effect the personalised learning agenda. Peer-peer observation of teachers would be an appropriate platform for the observation of the different registers used by learners, the resources that generate those registers, and their most effective use to close the gap between natural language and the subject specific language of mathematics.

This study investigates the challenges facing leaders and managers of independent special schools during the period during when inclusion of SEN students in mainstream schools has been government policy. The challenges investigated centre around ascertaining the key role of these schools at this time, the general challenges they have faced, and the implications for them in the years ahead. This has included research on how independent special schools respond to external demands and expectations and how they balance these with their own internal imperatives. The research was carried out using an empirical phenomenological approach, with the objective of gathering qualitative data through the undertaking of interviews at both the micro and meso level of the organisational structures involved in SEN education. Participants were drawn from three approved independent special schools and three non-maintained special schools from the south east regions of England. Schools represented varying medical forms of SEN such as deafness, physical disabilities, severe learning difficulties and specific learning difficulties. Interviewees consisted of the headteacher, a deputy and classroom teacher from each school and the data was triangulated through documentation analysis using the participating schools’ recent OFSTED and CSCI reports as well as interviews with three SEN Caseworkers employed by three different LEA regions. The findings revealed that a key role for independent special schools is propping up a seemingly failing national strategy. Challenges arise from educational matters when internal visions of what good special education should mean are over-ridden by external ideologies. External accountability tends to suppress innovation and change within the school by making the change process unwieldy. External accountabilities are inclined to conflict when they encroach upon the professionalism of staff, yet complement internal interests by effecting motivation to question objectives more closely. Balancing internal/external accountabilities is no problem for these leaders and managers, because their internal imperatives will always come first. Implications for the years ahead will arise from the success or failure of the national inclusion strategy to accommodate a rising number of SEN students under limited state provision.

This research developed the first ‘Green’ model for primary school leadership, which aimed to address some of the actual and anticipated environmental problems through the way schools operate in the context of Curriculum, Campus and Community. It emerged through an empirical investigative study of eight English primary school Head Teachers who are pioneering environmental sustainability. A Post-modern perspective influenced the research methodology and helped to take a fresh and sceptical look at the leadership aims of primary schools in relation to the education system and general society. This involved a critical examination of the National College of School Leadership’s ‘Leadership for Sustainability’ and literature from the ‘Green Movement’. The findings suggested that leaders are needed with a certain kind of ‘Green’ values, knowledge and skills. Questions arose about how a type of ‘Distributed Leadership’ might lie within the new model and whether the model is feasible, given that the pursuance of its main objectives are not currently the priority of most schools. The thesis pointed to the need for a radical revision of what it means to be a primary school leader, in order to assist with the imperatives of a green sustainable economy which promises a better quality of life for more people. This is a ‘Big Claim’ for a small-scale study. It is hoped, therefore, that this modest thesis could be a catalyst for more wide-ranging research and thinking in this most vital area, in terms of education leadership’s role in securing the viability of modern civilisation.

Η παρούσα έρευνα αποσκοπούσε στη διερεύνηση των επιμορφωτικών αναγκών των νεοδιόριστων εκπαιδευτικών που συμμετείχαν στην εισαγωγική επιμόρφωση του ΠΕΚ Πάτρας την περίοδο 2009-2010, ως αναφορά το βαθμό και το είδος της βοήθειας που πρόσφερε η εισαγωγική επιμόρφωση όταν ανέλαβαν τα καθήκοντά τους. Παράλληλα γίνεται προσπάθεια ανίχνευσης των προβλημάτων που αντιμετωπίζουν οι νεοδιόριστοι εκπαιδευτικοί στο εκπαιδευτικό τους έργο κατά την πρώτη φάση ανάληψης των καθηκόντων τους. Για τη μελέτη των παραπάνω θεμάτων χρησιμοποιήθηκε ως γενικό θεωρητικό πλαίσιο ο δομολειτουργισμός και ειδικότερα ο δομολειτουργισμός του Merton. Ως ερευνητικό εργαλείο χρησιμοποιήθηκε η ημιδομημένη συνέντευξη. Για την επεξεργασία των δεδομένων χρησιμοποιήθηκε η ποιοτική ανάλυση περιεχομένου. Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας έδειξαν ότι οι νεοδιόριστοι εκπαιδευτικοί βοηθήθηκαν από το πρόγραμμα της εισαγωγικής επιμόρφωσης αν και τα προβλήματα και οι επιμορφωτικές τους ανάγκες κατά την φάση ανάληψης των καθηκόντων τους είναι πολλά και ποικίλα. / This study aims to investigate the training needs of newly appointed teachers who participated in the initial training of PEK Patras during the period 2009-2010, regarding the degree and the type of help the initial training offered them when they took over their duties .We are also making an effort to find the problems that newly appointed teachers are dealing with at their educational work during the first phase of undertaking their duties .In order to investigate the above-mentioned subjects ,as a general theoritical context we have used structural functionalism of Merton .As a research tool in our study we use the semi – structured interview. In order to analyze data qualitative content analysis has been used .The results of the study showed that they were helped by the initial training program while the problems and the needs during the phase of undertaking their needs are several and diverse.

Η παρούσα εργασία έχει στόχο τη μελέτη του πεδίου της Εκπαιδευτικής Αξιολόγησης , με τη συγκριτική προσέγγιση των εκπαιδευτικών συστημάτων Ελλάδας - Ουγγαρίας - Σουηδίας, ως προς την Αξιολόγηση της Πρωτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης, σε σύγκριση με την Αξιολόγηση μαθητών, εκπαιδευτικών, εκπαιδευτικού έργου και κατά συνέπεια τη σύνδεση αυτών με την ποιότητα της εκπαίδευσης. / The aim of the assignment presented, is the study of the Educational Evaluation field, by the comparative approach of the educational systems of Greece - Hungary - Sweden, with regard to the Evaluation of the Primary Education, in relation to the Evaluation of students, educators, educational work and consequently the connection of them to the quality of education.

Magistro darbe yra išanalizuoti ir susisteminti įvairūs moklinės literatūros šaltiniai apie Švietimo pagalbos šeimoms auginančioms vaikus iki 7 metų. Darbe išanalizuotos ikimokyklinės įstaigos galimybes organizuojant tėvų švietimą, remiantis tėvų nuomone. Taip pat surinkta informacija apie tėvų švietimo formas Šiaulių ikimokyklinėse įstaigose. Apžvelgta ,,Šiaulių krašto“ laikraščių tematika, tėvų auginančių vaikus iki 7 metų švietimo klausimais (2008-2009). Pasitvirtino darbo hipotezė, kad tėvai skiria permažai dėmesio švietimui ir bendradarbiavimui su grupėje dirbančiu pedagogu. Taip pat išaiškėjo, kad pedagogai naudoja įprastas švietimo formas ikimokyklinėse ir priešmokyklinėse ugdymo grupėse. / The Master paper analyses and systematises different scientific literature on educational assistance for families having children under 7years old. The paper explores arranging of the pre-school possibilities according to the parents opinion. Information on parents education forms in the pre-school institution is being collected. Moreover, topics on educational issues on parents having children under 7 years old relieved by Šiauliai Kraštas newsletter (2008-2009). Hypothesis is being approved that parents pay too little attention to education and co-operation with pre-school teachers. It explores also that pedagogues use ordinary educational forms in the pre-school groups aged from 1 to 6 and from 6 to 7.

Education broadens the life choices and capabilities of those who receive it, and confers external benefits to society as a whole. In sub-Saharan Africa, a major issue concerning school attendance among the poor has been the direct monetary costs represented by primary school “user” fees, which became particularly commonplace in sub-Saharan African countries during the post-colonial period. While fees have been advocated in the past as a way for impoverished governments to fund the improvement and expansion of primary education, in more recent years the position of the international development community has shifted in favour of fee abolition as a means of achieving Universal Primary Education. This thesis examines the long-term relationship between school fees and education quality and access over the past 40 years in seven sub-Saharan African countries. I find that the introduction of fees decreased primary school enrolment, primarily by keeping the poorest children out of school, without achieving significant quality improvements. A fall-off in government spending following the introduction of fees is presented as a possible explanation. I also focus on the quality impacts associated with the major increases in enrolment following fee abolition, and emphasize the importance of government commitment to making up the funding shortfall generated by this policy change.

Bakalauro darbe analizuojamas pradinių klasių specialiųjų ugdymosi poreikių (SUP) turinčių mokinių kalbėjimo ir klausymo gebėjimų ugdymo procesas per lietuvių kalbos pamokas. Tyrime dalyvavo 98 bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų pradinių klasių pedagogai. Anketinės apklausos metu tirta, kokiais metodais ir priemonėmis pedagogai ugdo SUP turinčių mokinių kalbėjimo ir klausymo gebėjimus. Analizuojant tyrimo duomenis, buvo siekiama atskleisti SUP turinčių mokinių kalbinio ugdymo prioritetus; išsiaiškinti kokie veiksniai lemia SUP turinčių mokinių kalbėjimo ir klausymo gebėjimų ugdymo sėkmę; išskirti dažniausiai patiriamus kalbėjimo ir klausymo gebėjimų ugdymo(si) sunkumus per lietuvių kalbos pamokas. Tyrimu nustatyti tokie SUP turinčių mokinių kalbinio ugdymo prioritetai: vertinimas pasiekimų knygelėse už skaitymą ir rašymą; pateikiamos užduotys – pasakojimai iš patirties arba pagal paveikslėlius; daugiausia galimybių kalbėti SUP mokiniams suteikiama per lietuvių kalbos pamokas. Dažniausiai kalbėjimo ir klausymo gebėjimai ugdomi taikant informacinius metodus (pokalbis, pasakojimas, vaizdas); didaktinius žaidimus. Priimtiniausia SUP mokinių kalbėjimo ir klausymo gebėjimų ugdymo sritis – dialogas. SUP mokinių kalbėjimo ir klausymo gebėjimus labiausiai padėtų tobulinti naujos metodinės priemonės bei glaudesnis darbas su įvairiais specialistais ir vaikų tėvais. Pedagogai nepatenkinti dėl per didelio vaikų skaičiaus klasėje, nepakankamos pagalbos iš SUP turinčių vaikų tėvų. Pedagogams sunku... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Process development of speaking and listening skills of the primary grades pupils with specific educational needs (SEN) were analysed during the Lithuanian lessons in this bachelor paper. 98 pedagogues of general education schools parcitipated in research. Teachers` education methods and means were investigated by questionnaire, they teach speaking and listening skills of the pupils with SEN. Researching this analysis information was tried to reveal speaking and listening development priorites of children with SEN; ascertain what factors determine speaking and listening ability, education success of the pupils with SEN; exlude mostly used speaking and listening ability development difficulties during the Lithuanian lessons. Linguistic education priorites of pupils having SEN were defined by this analysis, such as assessment for reading and writing in the aschievement books; mostly given tasks – tellings from experience or according to the pictures; children with SEN most chances to speak are having during the Lithuanian lessons. Usually speaking and listening skills are tought by information methods (conversation, tale, view); didactic games. Dialogue is the most acceptable speaking and listening ability education range of children with SEN. New methodical means and closer work with various specialists and parents of children would be the best help for speaking and listening skills improvement of the pupils with SEN. Pedagogues are not satisfied with too many children in... [to full text]