This thesis will illustrate the strong, significant and positive relationship between attendance at secondary schools in England and the role of the form tutor. The aim of this thesis is to use narrative methodology to show how this relationship is auto/biographical in nature and how it could potentially be critically important to understanding and raising attendance levels. Part I will provide evidence that school attendance is currently officially approached in a restricted, quantitative manner. This has led to inaccurate and ill-defined data and initiatives, with little success in raising attendance. Further, there is a lack of qualitative understanding surrounding the role of the form tutor. Thus, although students and form tutors recognise how their personal and qualitatively described interactions influence attendance, this is not identified by official publications. Part II will argue that a new epistemological approach is required to incorporate the qualitative, individual and auto/biographical elements already positively influencing attendance but currently unable to gain just recognition. Wittgenstein’s (1953) philosophical theories will be argued to include dialectic elements of meaning and therefore provide grounding for a new approach to attendance. In turn, this requires the structure and content of narrative time, identity and ethics, based upon Ricoeur (1955, 1965, 1969, 1975, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990), to fully communicate the significant relationship between attendance, individuals and the role of the form tutor: ultimately enhancing the accuracy, definition and understanding of attendance. Part III will discuss the practical implications of this new epistemology and methodology, through an analysis of the methods used here to undertake research with a small group of form tutors within a secondary school in England. It will also be noted how narrative theory and my own auto/biographical experiences have affected this thesis. The content presented crosses multifarious boundaries, bringing together a passion for mathematics, philosophy, science and self-consciousness, with a personal experience of family love and professional experience of attendance. Consequently, this thesis auto/biographically brings together academic, practical, applied, theoretical, professional and personal concepts to gain a more meaningful understanding of secondary school attendance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:509513 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Elhaggagi, Claire Elizabeth |
| Contributors | Clarke, Gill |
| Publisher | University of Southampton |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/73332/ |
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