This thesis investigates the experience of adults undertaking Open Studies courses organised through Warwick University's Continuing Education Department. It focuses on a cohort of 13 students undertaking two-year certificated courses in Labour Studies, Women's Studies and Counselling. This longtitudinal period was chosen because it was felt it would allow enough time for the courses to make an impact on the students. To set this against a broader context, other Open Studies students not taking certificated courses were also interviewed. This included a group of five adults who started their own self-help Psychology group after being inspired by an Open Studies course. The aim was to measure the impact of the courses on the students' sense of identity, since it was felt that there was potential for the learning on the courses to change students perceptions of themselves; in Mezirow's terms, they would experience 'perspective transformation'. This was felt to be an important effect, since it implies the continuing potential for cognitive development, and thus learning, in adults - a contentious issue - and also the ongoing concern with identity, as adults continue to 're-make' themselves in the face of their experience in an ever-changing world. In order to reflect actual student experience, a qualitative approach is taken, relying heavily on in-depth interviews with the students. Although the research draws on the established adult education literature, it breaks new ground in its use ofRossan's model of identity to investigate adult experience in Open Studies (an under-researched area) and the implications of this for perception of adult potential generally, which until recent years has been largely negative. While the results are not as clear-cut as a 'hard' scientific project might generate, there is evidence that the courses did have an impact on adult identity, and that this project has introduced a fruitful area for future research.

This thesis is set in the context of learning early secondary algebra using ICT. It argues that the support offered by a collaborative interaction of elements (pupils, teachers, language and computers) in lessons, that is, the affective dimension of pupils' mathematical constructions, has not been emphasised enough in studies about the impact of ICT. Through a classroom-based intervention study, pupils’ conceptual understanding in algebra was monitored. The study examined the effect of introducing a technological tool on pupils’ interest in algebra, their involvement and engagement in mathematical learning, and the role of the teacher in ICT-enhanced settings. Research was conducted during secondary mathematics lessons in England and in Kenya. This intervention used ‘dialogic teaching’ and Grid Algebra as catalysts, with traditional resources alongside new technologies. The study sought to demonstrate that a ‘blended’ approach to learning can mediate the pupils’ access to algebraic concepts. The study employed a mixed-method strategy including: written work, observations, interviews and pupil questionnaires. Analysis of collected data underlines the value of formative feedback, clear expectations and developing mathematical language. The study concludes that appropriate use of computer software can have a significant impact on a whole year group. Additionally, emphasising affective aspects which reinforce ICT use in mathematics instruction can create an enabling environment for active learning. This thesis makes an original contribution to effective teacher development and delivery on the premise of a social model of learning mathematics with ICT.

This thesis addresses issues in philosophy, politics and education. Its starting point is a review of some of the theoretical and practical approaches to the moral education of children that have achieved popularity in the last three or four decades of the twentieth century. Despite areas of evident divergence amongst these approaches, it is argued that they nonetheless share similar philosophical underpinnings. Building upon some initial criticisms of these positions, the thesis subsequently explores some of the more recent philosophical challenges they have faced. From this basis, a broadly Aristotelian model of moral thought and practice is discussed and advocated across two chapters. This account pays particular attention to the role of the affective domain and the 'education of the emotions'. In the second half of the thesis, the focus moves towards the political suitability of this preferred conception of the nature of morality and moral education. It is argued that the essential interdependence of moral development and the moral character of political society - such a central part of Aristotle's account - is ill-appreciated by much popular and academic comment of recent times. By means of a discussion of the distinction between skills and virtues, techne and arete, the possible consequences of a full appreciation of this interdependence are debated. The remaining two chapters address two ways of answering the question which arises: "Can we have a true education of the virtues in the political context of contemporary pluralist societies?" In the first of these chapters, the thought of Alasdair MacIntyre is considered as an exemplar of the negative response to this question. In the second, some contemporary examples of liberal political thought are interrogated in the hope of discovering a positive response. It is concluded that the so-called 'liberal perfectionism' of Joseph Raz provides us with some reason to think that such a response may be both legitimate and attractive.

The purpose of this study is to find out Turkish prospective teachers' subject matter knowledge of variables and pedagogical content knowledge of variables and also the nature of the interactions between these two types of knowledge. One hundred and eighty four students participated in the study. Questionnaires were distributed to 2nd, 3rd, 4th year mathematics education faculty students of three different universities. The questionnaire included 16 fixed and open-ended questions about (a) the principal uses of variables, (b) the awareness about different roles of variables, (c) the flexibility, versatility and connectedness among the different roles and uses, and (d) ways of presenting the subject matter, (e) curriculum knowledge. As a follow-up study, ten students of different year groups who completed this questionnaire were interviewed. The outcome of this study is that prospective teachers have different perceptions of the notion of the variable which are reflected in their pedagogical content knowledge in a complex way. Results indicate that the majority of prospective teachers are successful in manipulating variables; however they have problems in moving flexibly between different meanings and representations. Concrete objects and numbers are identified as two main forms of analogies that they would use to explain ideas relating to manipulation of symbols. The results indicate that there is a complex interaction between subject matter knowledge of variables and pedagogical content knowledge which may involve the prospective teachers' own learning experiences, general pedagogical knowledge and the robustness of one type of knowledge.

This study examined the assertion that, in spite of the twenty-first century rhetoric of equality in English education, class and values based prejudice in schools remains strong. It particularly explored how practitioners perceived different groups of students, students’ self-reported attitudes to school, and whether or not the between-group differences perceived by practitioners reflected the self-reported views of students. Furthermore it examined whether practitioners’ perceptions of students were linked to gender, SEN, ethnicity, academic ability, or economic, familial, and cultural capitals, and whether students with socio-economic status and cultural capital closest to that of practitioners were viewed more positively than other students. Finally, it questioned whether school practice widened the achievement and attitudinal gaps between different groups of students. The study followed 156 students for their first four terms in secondary school. Student questionnaires were used to create group profiles for initial and post-first-year attitudes, academic self-concept; cultural capital, and socio-economic capital. Practitioner perceptions of students used teacher-awarded motivation grades, detention and behaviour logs, ability-group placements, and questionnaires with pastoral managers. Analytical procedures included factor analyses, comparisons of means, and a regression analysis. The findings showed that practitioner-perceived group differences were much larger than the differences perceived by students. Practitioners perceived larger differences between English ability groups compared to Maths groups. Also, practitioners perceived girls and high cultural capital students as more motivated and in-tune with school values than others. Poorer male students, SEN students, and students with a single parent were perceived less positively than others. An elite group of students had more economic and cultural capital than others, and were viewed very positively by practitioners. There was a suggestion that non-white students were not viewed as positively as they should have been. The study suggested a need to further explore the situation of mixed-heritage children. The study suggested that teachers as individuals, and schools as institutions, need to question whether they discriminate against poorer students and those with cultural capital different from their own. They also need to question whether they are gender stereotyping and ask if they are offering boys from disadvantaged backgrounds an appropriate curriculum delivered in an effective pedagogical style. The findings of this study had important policy implications for pedagogy, curriculum content, school organization, and equal opportunities. They suggested that some practices exacerbated pre-existing achievement and attitudinal gaps.

This study describes the design and evaluation of an in-service professional development program (CPD) to enable teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Saudi Arabia (SA) to develop their use of information communication technology (ICT) in their teaching. The study covered two interventions, one in an English language teaching department in a higher education (HE) institute in SA, the other a secondary school in which English is taught as a compulsory subject in SA. The overarching aim of this study is to evaluate how ICT CPD could have an impact on university and school EFL teachers’ attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour towards the use of ICT in their teaching. The thesis reports on the two rounds of ICT CPD design, implementation, and evaluation. The design phase includes needs analysis questionnaires (n=28) and pre-course interviews (n=14), leading to an online intervention in which a four-level reflective model was adapted to introduce a triggering event that leads to a reflection on practise, which leads to construction of meaning through an integration process and finally the ability of making resolutions of the knowledge constructed. Evaluation of both cases was carried out through during and post course interviews (n=26), online observations (n=5), and post course group discussions (n=12). The thesis describes a bottom-up design of ICT CPD, in which the idea of teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) was influential. The ICT CPD was largely well perceived, but its impact was mixed in both contexts. As regards to take up of ICT, three user patterns emerged. Optimistic users tended to value the use of ICT in their teaching and experimented with almost all of the tools/applications presented in the training and were able to adapt some of the tools/applications in their teaching. Cautiously optimistic users saw the value of using technology in their teaching but were tentatively cautious and adopted a relatively smaller number of tools/applications. Sceptical users tended to be reluctant about using technology in their teaching and experimented with only a few of the tools/applications presented. In terms of the overall evaluation of the initiative, it was found that almost all of the participants had reported positively on the general design, online delivery, and content presented. Working hours and commitment were seen as barriers to face-to-face CPD in both contexts. Contextual barriers to ICT use covered class size, students’ language levels, and access in the university context; whereas class time, facilities, and support were seen as barriers in the school context. Also, casual, intervening and contextual conditions shaped teachers’ use of ICT. This research contributes to the field of ICT CPD studies in that it addresses the issue of whether ICT CPD interventions can have an impact on teaching practice. It sheds light on the under researched area of ICT use in SA. It covers a context where access to facilities and teachers’ competence are taken for granted and teachers are expected to use technology in their teaching. It further contributes to an understanding of the design of ICT CPD.

The lack of pupil voice activities within my work context influenced the introduction of a variety of opportunities for pupils to contribute to the leadership of their year group. In order for pupils to effectively lead, it was necessary to develop within them leadership skills. With the intention of promoting pupil voice, more specifically consultation and engagement (the lack identified by pupils), were used as the main tool to develop the content and delivery of the leadership development programme. This study assesses the extent to which consultation and engagement could be used to aid student leadership development in an inner city secondary school. During the research, pupils contributed the content for the leadership development programme and dictated how and when the content should be delivered. Pupils were given opportunities to exhibit the skills they developed when they acted as Head of Year and led their own research. Assessment of student leaders’ leadership skills along with their personal testimonies suggests that they developed leadership skills. The research shows that the experience, in which pupils were also given a plethora of engagement and consultation opportunities, helped pupils to overcome individual and collective concerns. The research proposes that consultation and engagement can be used to develop leadership within pupils. This can be done through pupil-influenced content, pupil-influenced tools and pupil-influenced-research. This research has proposed a model to develop leadership within pupils and in so doing makes an original contribution to existing pedagogy and knowledge.

Throughout my professional journey, I have encountered many thought provoking experiences which have, not only helped to shape my practice, but have also encouraged me to deeply question my purpose as a leader within education. Children growing up in the 21st century will encounter rapid change within their lives. The question that resonates deeply within me is what and how do we teach them today so that they are better prepared for tomorrow’s world? It is this concern that provides the impetus for this research. The idea of learning being placed at the heart of the core business of leadership is embodied in what is understood as Instructional Leadership. Through practitioner action research, this study investigates the leadership of curriculum change that takes full account of the views of children. It explores the kind of actions that need to be undertaken as a leader to effect curriculum change; actions that serve to locate the child as the lead learner. In developing an inquiry based approach to teaching and learning, this study investigates how resources and the tool and artefacts of teaching are deployed, pedagogical strategies implemented and considers the development of a cultural, emotional and cognitive climate conducive to inquiry learning.

This thesis explores the use of situated, location-based mobile games for supporting learning in the field, to determine how these types of activity can support learners with reference to specific curricular aims, beyond just providing highly engaging and motivating activities. A software toolkit was developed to support the design and deployment of situated mobile learning activities. This was used to design and deploy mobile learning activities for two field studies. The first study used the critical incident technique to identify specific benefits and problems arising from outdoor mobile learning. We found that whilst learners were highly engaged by an outdoor learning activity facilitated by mobile devices, they were engaged only in the surface level of the activity and did not reflect on what they were doing. The second study comprised a grounded theory analysis of learner behaviour in the context of a location-based, enquiry-led learning game designed to overcome the problems found in Study 1 and in other projects. We present an analysis of learner interactions with the environment during an enquiry-led learning activity. Compared to an equivalent paper-based activity, the game helped to coordinate the learners’ activities and unexpected results from game actions prompted learners to reflect on their actions and what they observed. The physical environment also prompted discussion and reflection, but we saw specific problems arising from learners becoming distracted by their previous experience of the environment and by the proximity of environmental features. We discuss these findings and present implications for the design of future mobile learning games.

This study investigated how academic mentoring in two secondary schools in England could support personalised learning. The focus was limited to academic mentoring of year 11 students by members of staff, which aimed to improve academic performance. Academic mentoring was one of the strategies used after the introduction of school accountability measures such as league tables and school targets. School accountability is based upon the policies that are believed to have consequences for educational attainment. The overall picture from literature was that mentoring is difficult to define for specific contexts and is linked to many positive outcomes for mentors and mentees. However the link between achievement and mentoring is problematic due to the limited evidence and the complex interplay between different factors. With the introduction of personalised learning in schools, a new and additional dimension to mentoring was provided besides the enhancement of exam performance. The definition of personalised learning was imprecise and this provided schools with the flexibility to develop initiatives to meet their own needs and context. Despite the research on school based mentoring and its potential outcomes, little was known about how mentoring could support personalised learning beyond the advice and guidance suggested by different models of personalised learning by Hargreaves (2004a) and the DCSF (2008b). This was partly due to the lack of shared understanding of ‘personalised learning’ and which activities could be classified under this term. The aim of the study is to explore how academic mentoring can support personalised learning. The sub-aims are: 1. How do students and staff understand the purpose of mentoring? 2. How does academic mentoring help students achieve their targets? 3. How does mentoring work effectively for different types of students? 4. How do staff understand personalised learning? 5. What might a mode of mentoring look like to support personalised learning? This study adopted a qualitative approach in two case study schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students, of differing abilities and gender, and in groups and individually, at the beginning of the mentoring programme and near the end to identify any changes or similarities in their responses regarding mentoring. Staff completed a questionnaire initially to inform the sample choice then semi-structured interviews were conducted regarding their understanding of the mentoring programme and personalised learning. Interviews and documentation were analysed using NVivo 8 software to identify themes in participants’ responses. An analysis of student and staff interviews, relevant documentation and a staff questionnaire yielded insight into the participants’ definition of mentoring, activities and perceived outcomes of mentoring, the logistics of the mentoring programme, and staff perceptions of personalised learning. The findings of this study suggest that personalised learning and mentoring are poorly understood concepts, but any suggested definitions tended to be context specific. The personalised learning agenda tends to be better understood at the senior leadership level as they are responsible for the integration of the policy into their school. The role of mentor is not viewed in isolation from the other roles a teacher inhabits. However a pre-existing relationship between the mentor and mentee was viewed as the foundation on which to build a successful mentoring relationship. The mentoring outcomes suggested by participants goes part way to preparing students for personalised learning, however there needs to be a consistent approach to ensure that students develop the necessary characteristics to enable them to take responsibility for their learning and progress.