The focus of this thesis was to explore educational professionals' everyday experience of English educational policies; narrowing its focus to policy which promotes an inclusion agenda. The findings are presented in three sections with the first two papers prepared in accordance with the author guidelines of the journals proposed for submission. The first paper offers a review of literature which represents teacher relationship (see Braun, Maguire and Ball, 2010; Fullan, 2006; Luttenberg, Imants and van Veen, 2013; Luttenberg, van Veen and Imants, 2013; Wexler, 2002) with English educational policies. Teacher perspectives illustrate how the implementation and practice of policy heavily guides practice, both in terms of pedagogy and content, and detail the difficulties teachers have in establishing professional identity whilst trying to accommodate policy into practice. It is suggested that in order for teachers to adopt new educational policies they need to be able to take some ownership of both the policies themselves and of their own professional development; but most importantly, that they need the space to engage in dialogue around their practice to do this. The first paper provided a frame for the second by offering a description of the current climate teachers find themselves in and by discussing what might be needed to bring about the professional development necessary to embed policy into practice. The second paper then presents a description of a collaborative action research project within an English high school; a group of educational psychology, teaching, support and pastoral professionals worked collaboratively to develop person-centred practice through their engagement in an inquiry group. The inquiry group engaged in dialogue around practice; exploring their own personal and professional values as well as the values embedded within person-centred practice. This paper offers an account of the inquiry group's journey, highlighting key themes as identified by the group: ownership of, and confidence in, the learning process; developing reflective practice; and the challenge of engaging others in the learning process. The findings suggest that an action research approach can facilitate the learning and development necessary to embody collaborative person-centred practice. The third paper then offers a critical appraisal of the role that educational psychology can have in disseminating findings and promoting teacher development; in particular through the facilitation of collaborative action research within the school context.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:734230 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Greenwood, Joanne |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/educational-professionals-experience-of-english-educational-policy-developingand-promoting-inclusive-practice-through-collaborative-action-research(71b447f1-6102-4817-9b61-0b4cf764cfd1).html |
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