Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Educational equalization – Great Britain'

This study explores the education of children living on the home front in England, and to a lesser extent Wales, during the Second World War. It uses oral histories, written memories and contemporary material, such as classroom work and children’s diaries, alongside archival documents. This multi-faceted approach allows us to ask what young people thought about school and in what ways their lives in the classroom adhered to or differed from the plans of political and educational authorities. In doing so, this thesis contributes to a growing literature which sets out to incorporate the child’s perspective into histories of education. Each chapter considers education from an increasingly broad perspective. It begins in the formal classroom familiar to children during the inter-war years but gradually expands to look at other sites of education – the outdoor environment of the countryside, the purpose-built camp schools, the wireless, and finally the streets and bomb-sites where children found themselves during long periods of school closures. Modes of learning beyond the traditional schoolroom reveal a more complete picture of children’s educational lives. Primarily, this research challenges the historiographical assumption that education was a ‘casualty’ of the Second World War. While acknowledging the disruptions facing the school system, it reveals the many ways in which individual institutions adapted to the circumstances of the conflict and took the opportunity to introduce a more child-centred curriculum suited to children dealing with difficulties elsewhere in their lives. This research also brings to light two models of citizenship underpinning state attitudes towards the education of children: the informed citizen and the participatory citizen. The authorities wanted to create a generation of active and educated young people and this took on a particular urgency during wartime. It is also possible to determine children’s reactions to this rhetoric. Some took great interest in the events of the conflict and joined local war efforts, but others rejected adult demands by becoming truants or recording discontent in their diaries. Although in many ways confined by adult structures, we see that children were able to negotiate agency over their learning lives within the context of these constraints.

The article provides an overview of different types educational technologies used for learning and teaching in Art and Design higher education of Great Britain. In particular, special attention is paid to the use of 3D visualization technology for educational purposes.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2004.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In England, education settings have embraced the philosophy that it is the human right of pupils to be taught in inclusive schools with their peers. Part of the school's readiness and willingness to accept all pupils requires that it adopt a whole-school philosophy, which includes support staff provision, for example in the form of teaching assistants. Taking the above into account, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of participation in the NCFE Level 2 programme for teaching assistants on the professional development of teaching assistants working as support staff in inclusive classrooms. The research design is evaluative in nature and both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection are used. The in-service programme was delivered during weekly three hour sessions over a period of thirty weeks. The programme consisted of five units: • Developing professional skills and knowledge • Understanding legal and national requirements • Supporting the teacher in relation to pupils' learning • Exploring the management of pupils' behaviour • Supporting pupils with special educational needs. Analysis of qualitative data such as observations and interviews indicates that participants benefited from programme participation and that, by the completion of the prgramme, there was a marked increase in confidence, knowledge and application of newly acquired skills. Analysis of quantitative data such as the pre and post self-assessment questionnaires indicate a significant difference between the pre and post scores on all the sections confirming improvement of participants' levels of confidence, knowledge and application of practical skills. It seems that programme participants benefitted significantly from participating in this in-service training programme.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Opvoedkundige instellings is Engeland ondersteun die filosofie dat dit die mensereg van leerders is om binne inklusiewe skole, saam met hulle portuurgroep, onderrig te ontvang. As deel van skole se gereedheid en bereidheid om alle leerders te aanvaar, is die implementering van 'n geheelskool filosofie wat onder andere ondersteunings personeel byvoorbeeld leerondersteunings assistente insluit. In aansluiting by bogenoemde was dit die doel met hierdie studie om die effek van programdeelname aan die 'NCFE Level 2 Certificate for Teaching Assistants' te evaluaeer ten opsigte van die professionele ontwikkeling van leerondersteunings assistente in inklusiewe skole. Die navorsingsontwerp was evaluerend van aard en het beide kwantitatiewe sowel as kwalitatiewe metodes van data insameling ingesluit. Die indiensopleidingsprogram is weekliks aangebied in drie-uur sessies oor 'n tydperk van dertig weke. Die program het die volgende vyf eenhede ingesluit: • ontwikkeling van professionele vaardigheidskennis; • begrip van nasionale beleidstukke en regsaspekte; • ondersteuning van onderwysers met verwysing na leer; • verkenning van die gedragshantering van leerlinge • ondersteuning van leerders met spesiale onderwysbehoeftes. Kwalitatiewe data analise dui daarop dat programdeelname bygedra het tot 'n verhoging in die vlak van selfvertroue, 'n verbetering in die toepassing van nuutaangeleerde vaardighede en 'n vermeerdering van kennis vir leerondersteunings assistente. 'n Kwantitatiewe analise van voor en na programdeelname vraelyste, dui op 'n beduidende verskil tussen die twee evaluerings metings en ondersteun bogenoemde aanname ten opsigte van 'n verhoogde vlak van selfvertroue, 'n verbetering in die toepassing van nuutaangleerde vaardighede en 'n toename in kennis vir leerondersteunings assistente. Uit bogenoemde kan dit afgelei word, dat leerondersteunings assistente beduidend baat gevind het by deelname aan hierdie spesifieke indiensopleidings program.

This study aims at ascertaining via a cross-country/cross-city comparison why different national contexts characterized by allegedly opposite ideologies concerning the incorporation of immigrants (namely, the British Race Relations/multicultural model and French republicanism) have led to the adoption of similar policy tools in the prevention of forced unions amongst young people of ethnic minority background. In order to do so, the study will examine French republican and British multicultural rhetoric and policies aimed at the prevention of forced marriage at different institutional levels, with a focus on the preventive role played by the educational sector and within a historical institutionalist theoretical framework. The comparison begins with a consideration of French and British national rhetoric and policies against forced marriage from 1997 to 2008 to develop an adequate framework for the analysis of the preventive role attributed to educational policies in four major localities (the capital cities, Paris and London, and the second two largest cities per population size, Lyon and Birmingham). Despite differences in the policies and rhetoric adopted by multicultural Britain and republican France to tackle forced unions, the study hypothesizes a common trend in the ways French and British public authorities conceptualize the practice of forced marriage - intended mainly as the product of cultural difference. Similarities in the conceptualization of the practice, in turn, have contributed to the identification of similar policy tools despite dissimilar institutional contexts. Such a hypothesis contrasts with one of the key claims of historical institutionalism, according to which dissimilar institutions lead to different policy outcomes across different countries. The study will introduce the role of ideas – in the form of frames (Bleich 2003) – as a tool to explain the reasons why French and British policies aimed at the prevention of forced unions have led to similar policy outcomes despite dissimilar institutional contexts.

The area of 14-19 education and training was a significant priority for the Labour Government of Tony Blair and New Labour. Reforms such as the 14-19 White Paper (Feb 2005) were seen as key to this government’s ‘third term’ agenda. This research has at its heart the desire to identify the true drivers for 14-19 education and training reform, and critically analyse the results against alternative ‘aims’ of education. Much of current policy for this phase of education mentions the economic imperative of providing young people with the skills which both they and businesses need to compete in the global economy. This research intends to question the fact that economic goals appear to be inexorably entwined with this area of education, and analyse if this is an appropriate philosophy on which to base reform of the 14-19 phase. To achieve this, document analysis was used to identify the drivers for education reform contained within five policy documents in an attempt to understand the goals of New Labour’s 14- 19 education and training reform policy between May 1997 and February 2005. The conclusions which came from this analysis point to a consistency in the 14-19 reform programme of New Labour around the theme of the economy, with much of the content of the reforms focusing on adapting the phase in order to promote economic objectives. It is argued that by accepting economic objectives as a basis for educational reform, New Labour confused the influence of the economy for an educational aim.

In 1839 the English Parliament first disbursed funds for the formal education of teachers. Between 1839 and the McNair Report in 1944 the institutional shape and the intellectual resources upon which teacher training rested changed profoundly. The centre of teacher training moved from theologically-based colleges to university departments of education; the primary source for understanding education shifted from theology to psychology. These changes altered the ways in which educators contemplated the nature of the child, the role of the teacher and the aim of education itself. This thesis probes such shifts within a variety of elite educational resources, but its major sources of material are ten training colleges of diverse types: Anglican, Nonconformist, Roman Catholic, and University. The period covered by this thesis is divided into three broad blocks of time. During the first period (1839-1885) formal training occurred in religious colleges, and educators relied upon Biblical narratives to understand education. This first period also saw the birth of modern psychology, whose tools educators often deployed within a religious framework. The second period (1886-1920) witnessed the growth of university-based training colleges which were secular in nature and whose status surpassed that of the religious colleges. During this period, teacher training emphasized intellectual attainment over spiritual development. During the third period (1920-1944), teachers were taught to view education from the standpoint of psychological health. The teacher's goal was the well-developed personality of each child, and academic content served primarily not to impart knowledge but rather to inform the child's own creative drives. This educational project was construed in scientific and anti-metaphysical terms. The replacement of a theological and metaphysical discourse by a psychological one amounts to a secular turn. However, this occurred neither mechanically nor inevitably. Colleges and theorists often seem to have been unaware of the implications of their emphases. This thesis contemplates explanatory models other than the secularisation thesis and raises important historical questions about institutional identity and the processes of secularisation.

Scottish institutions within the educational networks, including Government, local authorities, and schools, are entangled in performative activities dedicated to improvements in student attainment. Secondary school performance in Scotland is measured nationally predominantly by the number and level of national qualifications achieved. The thesis makes the case that this attainment agenda places enormous pressures on Headteachers to ensure student outcomes are maximised and that the culture of performativity is a major factor in shaping the roles and practices of Headteachers. The study is based on four new secondary school Headteachers in a single Scottish local authority. It is through an examination of their work practices that the formation of subjectivities within a range of power relations and discursive regimes are explored. Performativity and accountability influence the role and actions of the Headteacher in many ways which are unanticipated. There is an ongoing power struggle engendered by the pressures and controls imposed on new Headteachers which modify and discipline their behaviours. In this thesis, a case study methodology is employed and the concepts of Michel Foucault are applied to provide an alternative means of understanding the practices of Headteachers. A Foucauldian approach also provides a different perspective on the problematic conceptualisation of school leadership. The aim of this study is to make a research-based contribution to our understanding of the complexities and competing priorities negotiated by new Headteachers. The research evidences the dominance of the attainment agenda on the lived lives of the new Headteachers. This study should enable the development of additional ways to assist with Headteacher preparation and the provision of improved support in the early years of Headship.

The thesis studies the impact of new technology on the transmission and promotion of heritage on primary school pupils in order to demonstrate the importance of an alliance between history, visual culture and technology. Two case studies with two distinct types of corpus generated two experiments in situ: ancient architecture in Verona (Italy) and eighteenth-century landscape garden at Hestercombe (Britain). Verona and Hestercombe are two sides of the same patrimonial coin. The co-supervision was done under a specialist in digital story telling of history, Corrado Petrucco (Un. of Padua) and one in eighteenth-century garden and landscape history, Laurent Châtel (Un. of Lille). Mobile Learning began in the 80’s when portable computers (the “in-thing” in those days) where first introduced into the classroom on an experimental basis being a genuine take-off in the late 1990’s thanks to experimental educational programs aimed to exploring the didactic potential of PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant). From the mid 90’s to today, three different phases can be pinned down: a tool-focused phase, extra-mural learning, and an emphasis on student mobility. What this study shows is that the teacher’s role is of fundamental importance. The learning process is on site, situated and enhanced by AR tools and devices (which are equipped with an ‘app’ developed specifically for this project): the ‘app’ is however not intended to replace the guide or the cultural educator, but to be complimentary and to enrich his/her route. In its documents such as “Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe (CHCfE). Towards a European Index for Cultural Heritage" the EU Council of European Ministers recognized heritage as a "strategic resource for a 'sustainable Europe" and a source of benefits – a source of creativity and innovation, generating new solutions to problems. This thesis shows why and how heritage education when augmented via technology improves the interpretation of historic environments and buildings, and also makes them accessible to citizens and visitors.
Le doctorat étudie l'impact des nouvelles technologies sur la transmission et la promotion du patrimoine culturel sur les élèves des écoles primaires afin de démontrer l’importance d’une pensée éducative qui allie ‘histoire’, culture visuelle et ‘technologie’. Deux études de cas à partir de deux « corpus » distincts ont permis de conduire deux expérimentations in situ : l’architecture antique en Italie à Vérone et le jardin paysager du XVIIIe siècle en Angleterre à Hestercombe. La co-tutelle été encadrée par un spécialiste italien du story-telling éducatif en réalité augmentée (Prof. Corrado Petrucco, Padoue) et un spécialiste français des jardins et du paysage dans la culture britannique des Lumières (Prof.Laurent Châtel, Lille). Il ressort de l’étude que l’apprentissage par réalité mixte mobile (Augmented and mixed Reality Mobile Learning) est particulièrement pertinent. L'apprentissage mobile est né dans les années 80 lorsque l'ordinateur portable (sommet de la technologie de l'époque) a été introduit dans la classe sur une base expérimentale. Puis sa popularité est venue à la fin des années 90 grâce à des programmes éducatifs expérimentaux pour explorer le potentiel éducatif du PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Depuis le milieu des années 90, on a pu identifier trois principales phases de l'apprentissage mobile, qui ont trois approches paradigmatiques différentes : les outils, l'apprentissage en dehors de la salle de classe, la mobilité des étudiants. Le rôle de l'enseignant devient plus fondamental encore : l’utilisation d’une application sur tablette ne vise pas à remplacer la guide ou l’éducateur culturel, mais à compléter et à enrichir la visite. Du point de vue pédagogique, l'accent sera mis sur une approche constructiviste de l'enseignement et l'apprentissage qui va stimuler les étudiants à devenir des citoyens actifs, bien conscients de leur identité historique : en tant que personnes informées et responsables, elles sont en meilleure mesure de préserver leur patrimoine. Dans sa publication " Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe (CHCfE) Vers un indice européen pour le patrimoine culturel", le Conseil de l'UE des ministres européens considère le patrimoine comme une "ressource stratégique pour une Europe durable" et une source importante de créativité et d'innovation, qui génère de nouvelles solutions aux problèmes, tout en créant des services innovants - allant de la numérisation des biens culturels à l'utilisation de la technologie de la réalité virtuelle de pointe - dans le but d'interpréter les espaces et les bâtiments historiques et les rendre accessibles aux citoyens et aux visiteurs.

This thesis examines the history of the Manchester Art Museum (Manchester, England), which was founded by Thomas Coglan Horsfall (1841-1932) in 1886. It considers the museum’s permanent collections and its programming from 1886 to 1898 with brief notes on the later years of the institution. While, like previous work on the Manchester Art Museum, the thesis contextualizes the museum within Victorian arts and community institutions, it breaks new ground by highlighting the ways in which it diverged from these institutions. The analysis of the museum’s collections and programming emphasizes the contributions that Horsfall and the Art Museum Committee made to museum education through the museum’s circulating loan collections and school tours.

Le doctorat étudie l'impact des nouvelles technologies sur la transmission et la promotion du patrimoine culturel sur les élèves des écoles primaires afin de démontrer l’importance d’une pensée éducative qui allie ‘histoire’, culture visuelle et 'technologie'. Deux études de cas à partir de deux « corpus » distincts ont permis de conduire deux expérimentations in situ : l’architecture antique en Italie à Vérone et le jardin paysager du XVIIIe siècle en Angleterre à Hestercombe. La cotutelleété encadrée par un spécialiste italien du story-telling éducatif en réalité augmentée (Prof. Corrado Petrucco, Padoue) et un spécialiste français des jardins et du paysage dans la culture britannique des Lumières (Prof.Laurent Châtel, Lille). Il ressort de l’étude que l’apprentissage par réalité mixte mobile (Augmented and mixed Reality Mobile Learning) est particulièrement pertinent.L'apprentissage mobile est né dans les années 80 lorsque l'ordinateur portable (sommet de la technologie de l'époque) a été introduit dans la classe sur une base expérimentale. Puis sa popularité est venue à la fin des années 90 grâce à des programmes éducatifs expérimentaux pour explorer le potentiel éducatif du PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Depuis le milieu des années 90, on a pu identifier trois principales phases de l'apprentissage mobile, qui ont trois approches paradigmatiques différentes : les outils, l'apprentissage en dehors de la salle de classe, la mobilité des étudiants. Le rôle de l'enseignant devient plus fondamental encore : l’utilisation d’une application sur tablette ne vise pas à remplacer la guide ou l’éducateur culturel, mais à compléter et à enrichir la visite. Du point de vue pédagogique,l'accent sera mis sur une approche constructiviste de l'enseignement et l'apprentissage qui va stimuler les étudiants à devenir des citoyens actifs, bien conscients de leur identité historique : en tant que personnes informées et responsables, elles sont en meilleure mesure de préserver leur patrimoine. Danssa publication " Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe (CHCfE) Vers un indice européen pour le patrimoine culturel", le Conseil de l'UE des ministres européens considère le patrimoine comme une "ressource stratégique pour une Europe durable" et une source importante de créativité et d'innovation, qui génère de nouvelles solutions aux problèmes, tout en créant des services innovants - allant de la numérisation des biens culturels à l'utilisation de la technologie de la réalité virtuelle de pointe - dans le but d'interpréter les espaces et les bâtiments historiques et les rendre accessibles aux citoyens et aux visiteurs
The thesis studies the impact of new technology on the transmission and promotionof heritage on primary school pupils in order to demonstrate the importance of an alliance between history, visual culture and technology. Two case studies with two distinct types of corpus generated two experiments in situ: ancient architecture in Verona (Italy) and eighteenth-century landscape garden at Hestercombe (Britain). Verona and Hestercombe are two sides of the same patrimonial coin. The cosupervisionwas done under a specialist in digital storytelling of history, Corrado Petrucco (Un. of Padua) and one in eighteenth-century garden and landscape history, Laurent Châtel (Un. of Lille).Mobile Learning began in the 80’s when portable computers (the “in-thing” in those days) where first introduced into the classroom on an experimental basis being a genuine take-off in the late 1990’s thanks to experimental educational programs aimed to explore the didactic potential of PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant). From the mid-’90s to today, three different phases can be pinned down: a tool-focused phase, extra-mural learning, and an emphasis on student mobility. What this study shows is that the teacher’s role is of fundamental importance. The learning process is on-site, situated and enhanced by AR tools and devices (which are equipped with an ‘app’ developed specifically for this project): the ‘app’ is however not intended to replace the guide or the cultural educator, but to be complimentary and to enrich his/her route. In its documents such as “Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe (CHCfE). Towards a European Index for Cultural Heritage" the EU Council of European Ministers recognized heritage as a "strategic resource for a 'sustainable Europe" and a source of benefits – a source of creativity and innovation, generating new solutions to problems. This thesis shows why and how heritage education when augmented via technology improves the interpretation of historic environments and buildings and also makes them accessible to citizens and visitors

The thesis is about assessment for learning. It aims to examine the gap between theory and practice in assessment for learning through a case study approach. By examining closely the assessment practice in one higher education institution in the UK, the thesis presents a number of original contributions to the literature, knowledge base and practice of assessment for learning. The thesis challenges the established literature in assessment for learning and proposes that the literature should move away from the dichotomised view of summative and formative assessment. The thesis also highlights the lack of an explicit theoretical underpinning in assessment for learning and proposes that the social constructivist approach should be made more explicit in the assessment for learning literature. With the case study demonstrating that lecturers often take a surface approach towards assessment for learning principles, the thesis proposes that dialogue needs to be seen as the common thread in assessment for learning. By understanding that assessment for learning is about a process that involves meaningful dialogue between 1) tutors and tutors, 2) tutors and learners, 3) learners and peers and finally 4) learners themselves, lecturers will be presented with a new knowledge base to re-consider their assessment practice. The case study also reveals that lecturers from certain disciplines found the notion of assessment for learning aligned with their disciplines more readily. This finding together with the contributions to literature and knowledge base will present a new perspective towards assessment for learning and look to inform practice that will result in a deep approach to assessment for learning.

The international drive among western countries to shift from industrial to knowledge economies has focussed considerable attention on education. United Kingdom government educational policy, influenced by the global knowledge economy, has shifted responsibility for learning work skills from the workplace to schooling and post-compulsory education. Government policy emphasises the importance of education's role in preparing students with the skills, knowledge and understanding required to enhance the United Kingdom's competitiveness in the global market. In contrast to the work-related emphasis of the wider educational context, music education emphasises the enrichment of experience. The value of music education is related to people's needs, and the functions it performs in their lives. Music education should be transformative, creative, enriching and relevant. Participation in music education is motivated by the intrinsic satisfaction of making music, rather than the extrinsic need for work-related competencies and qualifications. Music education competes for students with other subjects in the educational marketplace when the music curriculum ceases to be compulsory at age fifteen. Therefore, it is important to understand how students relate not only to music education, but also to the wider work-related educational context in which their subject participation choices are made. Therefore, the purposes of this study are twofold: (1) to establish an overview of how students perceive music education and the factors that influence their enrolment intentions, and (2) to establish an overview of how students perceive music within the wider context of education. Statements were chosen that were considered representative of the rationales for education presented by the government and the music education community. Questionnaires and interviews were developed using the statements, and were ii administered to a random sample of Year Nine and Ten (GCSE Music and non - GCSE Music) students Music was not a relevant subject for most students. However, the perceptions of a small percentage of students (mainly Music students) did find music education relevant in the ways the literature suggested it should be. The most common influences on enrolment were perceptions of ability and enjoyment (or lack of). Despite the strong emphasis on work-related skills and qualifications in the wider educational context, students generally agreed that Music was a subject better suited to enhancing life and lifestyle than career options. However, reflecting the wider educational context, Music was perceived as being more careers/future study orientated than transformative, creative, enriching and relevant.

This thesis documents and explores health-related exercise (HRE) policy and practice within selected secondary schools in England and Wales, and examines the impact of the National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE) revisions (DfEE/QCA and Welsh Assembly, 1999) on the status and expression of HRE in the curriculum. It also considers the factors affecting teachers' approaches to change and their consequent decisions and behaviours. Specifically, the research makes comparisons between the policy and practice in schools at the time of data collection (2000) and that reported by Harris (1997). The methodology incorporated both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Case studies were completed in 2001 in five strategically selected mixed sex state schools, three of which were located in one Local Education Authority (LEA) in England and two of which were in one LEA in Wales. One of the English schools was a specialist sports college (SSC). Case study data analysis focused on the status and expression of health within each school, with particular attention to HRE policy and practice prior to and following the National Curriculum revisions. This analysis also explored the factors influencing the delivery of HRE in each department. The case study element of the research included the lesson observation of a unit of work on health-related aspects of PE in one school from the English LEA. This allowed an examination of the translation of school level policy into practice. A survey of all the secondary schools in the two case study LEAs in 2001 elicited questionnaire responses from 67.5% of heads of PE departments (PE HoDs). Analysis employed the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The findings revealed that delivery of HRE in case study schools was based on a fitness for sports performance perspective, utilising fitness testing and training. This was despite many teachers reporting a philosophy for physical education that reflected a fitness for life perspective with pupils adopting active lifestyles as its goal. Case study schools reported that the NCPE had influenced HRE delivery, however, limited change had resulted from the 1999 revisions.

This research is a case study of the quality improvement process in an English further education college. It examines the way that staff involved in the design and operation of the quality system shape the process in a part of the education sector that struggles with issues of performance. The case is placed into the context of an unstable policy environment, where further education colleges have been subjected to frequent bouts of government intervention and a funding regime that is unfavourable when compared to secondary schools and universities. The contribution to knowledge of this thesis is that it addresses an under-researched area of further education by viewing the quality process from the perspective of the governors, managers and professional staff responsible for its design and operation. As such it addresses a problem where a lot of attention has been given to teaching staff who experience the quality process or to macro studies where the focus is on outputs in the sector. However, less attention has been paid to the governors, senior staff and quality teams who assess teaching and learning in colleges. The data for the case study were gathered over a two-year period between 2010-2012 and include interviews with college staff, senior staff from OFSTED and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and staff from a second college, used to help verify the findings. In addition to this, documentation for the quality system was gathered including inspection documents and policy documents. The data were analysed in order to surface traits of social and organisational practice that address the problem of operating a quality system in an environment that is highly resistant to systemisation and predictability. The findings are presented as 'fuzzy' generalisations supplemented by guidance in the form of design principles. The thesis provides an empirically grounded description of key elements of the relationships and the surrounding sociotechnical system that were found in the case. The design principles augment the case study and provide guidance on how a combination of trust relationships, resilience of processes to disruption and flexibility of application provide a background for the quality improvement process at Stretchford College, which was rated as 'Outstanding' at the time of the research.

English is used worldwide as a native, second and foreign language and as a language of international communication. The uses and status of English in Sweden have been discussed in terms of its influence and ubiquity, with its presence in daily life leading some to consider English could be better described as a second, rather than foreign, language in the country. This study analyses how English is presented in the Swedish educational television series Pick a colour and considers how this can be related to the status of English as a global language and specifically the use of English in Sweden. This paper uses an approach drawing on nexus analysis, together with content analysis, to trace the key language ideologies surrounding English presented in Pick a colour and its surrounding texts, and to locate them within the context of the existing discourses in place. Analysis reveals that the series and related documents make attempts to move away from traditional native speaker British English and American English models of the language, and towards a “Global English” not linked to any specific geographical region and with a focus on communicative competence. However, as British English and American English and native-speaker models of the language are not directly challenged in the documents, and are given the greatest prominence in the series, it seems moving away from the status quo is still difficult in practice. The Swedish settings shown in the series, and emphases on the use of English in pupils’ daily lives allude to English being approached in a way more similar to a second, rather than foreign language in Sweden.

This study explores teacher's knowledge and practice of empowering young children as learners. Empowerment is a complex and multifaceted construct, and a recurring theme in early childhood literature. This study took place in four early childhood settings in Australia and the United Kingdom. The research was conducted using qualitative methodology, primarily with the use of video-taped observations and stimulated-recall teacher interviews. Findings indicate that the teachers enacted their knowledge and practice of empowerment. However, empowerment was interpreted differently by each teacher. The current study found links existed between teachers' knowledge and practice and their pedogogic orientation.

Children from armed forces families are identified internationally as a group facing challenging situations, circumstances which can have a negative impact on their educational experiences. The main focus in existing research has been on measuring children's outcomes, but these studies generate little insight into how children themselves make sense of their experiences. There are only a few in-depth qualitative studies, mostly conducted outside the UK, exploring the lived experiences of children from armed forces families. This study explores how children of armed forces personnel from schools across Scotland expressed their experiences. It aims to better understand approaches to the provision of inclusive educational support. A suite of methods - object elicitation, video diaries, peer interviewing, drawing, and vignettes - was employed, to generate expressions from a total of 41 children and young people aged eight to 14 years, from three primary and two secondary Scottish schools. A post-qualitative orientation supported the inquiry to look beyond children's voices in isolation. An assemblage approach was taken to the analysis of the audio/video recordings, transcripts, artefacts, and field notes from the research encounters. The analysis showed how the different and shifting conditions of the research led to the creation of ongoing productive encounters. A key insight was that schools have much unrealised capacity to positively contribute to the experiences of these children. Methodological insights alongside empirical findings are used to generate signposts for the provision of improved educational support. The thesis argues that, ultimately, any improvement will involve entering into reciprocal, experimental, and socio-materially mediated dialogues with children in ways that both align with children's lived experience of armed forces life but also allow for the exploration of change and becoming-different as outcomes of those dialogues.

У дослідженні з᾿ясовано організаційно-педагогічні засади відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії. Визначено, що доцільність наукового опрацювання організаційно-педагогічних засад відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії зумовлено необхідністю подолання низки суперечностей у системі вітчизняної вищої освіти, зокрема між: сучасним вектором розвитку вищої освіти України, що спрямований на інтеграцію до Європейського простору вищої освіти та недостатнім рівнем системного вивчення й узагальнення європейського досвіду організації відкритої освіти; між визнаним в усьому світі досвідом відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії та відсутністю аналізу концептуальних, нормативних, організаційних та методичних засад британського досвіду у педагогічній думці України; між зростаючими потребами українського суспільства в індивідуалізації та технологізації навчання та недостатнім рівнем методичного забезпечення відкритої освіти у вітчизняних закладах вищої освіти. При розробленні конкретної методології дослідження використано системний підхід, який надає можливість розглянути відкриту освіту як систему, що функціонує й розвивається на основі взаємозв’язку та взаємодії всіх її складових; історичний підхід, який має на меті вивчення досвіду відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії в її історичному розвиткові; компаративний підхід, що дозволив порівняти практики навчання у закладах відкритої освіти Великої Британії та України, окреслити можливості використання елементів британського досвіду в аспекті досліджуваної проблеми у вітчизняних закладах вищої освіти. З’ясовано стан розробленості проблеми відкритої освіти у вітчизняній науковій думці. Результатом застосування загальнонаукових методів аналізу, синтезу, зіставлення, порівняння, узагальнення, що застосовувалися для з’ясування стану розроблення проблеми, стало виокремлення таких аспектів її розгляду, як теоретико-методологічний, освітньо-політичний, професійно-педагогічний, соціально-педагогічний, методичний, технологічний. Виявлено, що у вітчизняній педагогічній компаративістиці організаційно-педагогічні засади відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії не були предметом цілісного дослідження. Структурно-логічний аналіз досліджуваного поняття дозволив виокремити такі аспекти її розгляду: концептуальний, нормативний, організаційний та методичний. Подано визначення ключових понять дослідження («відкрита освіта», «організаційно-педагогічні засади відкритої освіти», «відкрите навчальне середовище», «відкрите навчання», «відкриті освітні ресурси»). Організаційно-педагогічні засади відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії сформульовано як основні положення та принципи, що визначають особливості її реалізації у закладах вищої освіти. Відкриту освіту визначено як систему, що має на меті розширення доступу до вищої освіти, максимальне врахування освітніх потреб та можливостей кожного студента шляхом використання відкритих освітніх ресурсів й ІКТ, нових підходів до організації навчального процесу (дистанційне, змішане, он-лайн тощо), оцінювання, атестації та акредитації освітніх програм; дозволяє здійснювати вільний обмін інноваційним досвідом викладання та навчання студентів. Систематизація поглядів вітчизняних і зарубіжних науковців на поняття «відкрита освіта» дозволила виокремити й схарактеризувати такі концептуальні підходи до його тлумачення: 1) відкрита освіта як філософія; 2) відкрита освіта як реформаторський рух; 3) відкрита освіта як система навчання; 4) відкрита освіта як освітня практика, що передбачає застосування певних технологій та організаційних підходів. На основі хронологічного та порівняльно-історичного аналізу наукових джерел з досліджуваної проблеми, виокремлено етапи розвитку відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії: кореспондентська освіта (середина ХІХ ст. – 10-ті рр. ХХ ст.) – поява заочного навчання, здійснюваного за допомогою листування між закладом освіти і студентом, спричинена стрімким розвитком економіки періоду індустріалізації; теле-радіо освіта (20-ті рр. ХХ ст. – кінець 50-х рр. ХХ ст.) – поява радіопрограм, телевізійних освітніх програм, інтегрованих теле-радіо освітніх програм, спричинена розвитком стратегічних галузей економіки у післявоєнний (перша та Друга світові війни) та міжвоєнний період; мультимедійна освіта (початок 60-х рр. ХХ ст. – середина 90-х рр. ХХ ст.) – виникнення дистанційного навчання, мультимедійних засобів навчання, спричинений потребою в подальшому професійному розвиткові населення з можливістю використання ІКТ у навчанні; он-лайн освіта (кінець 90-х рр. ХХ ст. – середина 10-х рр. ХХI ст.) – виникнення електронного навчання, Інтернет-ресурсів, МООС, навчальної аналітики, що спричинює підвищенням можливостей здобуття а також вимог до якості освіти в умовах глобального інформаційного суспільства. Нормативні та організаційні засади відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії окреслено на наднаціональному, національному та інституційному рівнях. Показано, що документи та аналітичні матеріали наднаціональних організацій (ЄП, ЄК, ЄАУ, ЄСС, Європейська рада інноваційної освіти, Міжнародна рада з відкритої і дистанційної освіти, Інститут неперервної освіти ЮНЕСКО, ОЕСР тощо) визначають стратегічні пріоритети та перспективи розвитку відкритої освіти, які стосуються соціального, економічного, академічного вимірів розгляду проблеми. Зазначені документи мають рекомендаційний характер та виступають підґрунтям для розроблення стратегій розвитку відкритої освіти національного рівня. Узагальнення та систематизація документів освітніх реформ Великої Британії дозволило виявити, що документи національного рівня регламентують такі аспекти розвитку досліджуваного освітнього феномену: чинники (суспільно-політичні, соціально-економічні, технологічні, культурно-освітні); цілі (стратегічні, тактичні) та завдання (реалізація яких є відповідальністю держави, закладів освіти та їх педагогічного персоналу); типи закладів вищої освіти (відкриті та змішані), у яких може бути надана відкрита освіта; форми надання послуг у системі відкритої освіти (дистанційне, мобільне навчання); особливості взаємозв’язків університетів з місцевою освітньою адміністрацією у контексті надання відкритої освіти; організаційну структуру закладу вищої освіти; шляхи співробітництва університетів з підприємствами; особливості управління вишами. У контексті з’ясування організаційних засад відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії виокремлено та схарактеризовано структурні компоненти, що визначають способи взаємодії суб’єктів відкритої освіти: мотивацію утворення, цілі та особливості функціонування закладів відкритої освіти; професійні функції та обов’язки учасників навчального процесу; переваги відкритого навчання, що є результатом використання інноваційних ІКТ. Виокремлено та схарактеризовано типи закладів вищої освіти, у яких надаються послуги відкритої освіти: відкриті університети; гібридні університети; регіональні філії відкритих університетів; коледжі вищої освіти, у яких надаються послуги відкритої освіти. Визначено методичні засади відкритої освіти у вищих навчальних закладах Великої Британії: зосередженість на питаннях структурування курикулуму, його вбудовування в єдиний освітньо-інформаційний простір, проектування і впровадження інноваційних технологій е-навчання, створення нових навчально-методичних матеріалів, орієнтованих на використання в системі відкритої освіти, що мають як загальний характер, так і вузькоспеціалізований, що враховує особливості окремих галузей знань, їх розділів та тематичних напрямів. З’ясовано тенденції подальшого розвитку методичних засад відкритої освіти в університетах Великої Британії: удосконалення методики відкритої освіти в межах реалізації національних стратегій доступності навчання; розробка нової методології проектування навчання за допомогою інноваційних підходів до розробки освітніх програм; оновлення ІК-технологій дистанційного навчання; розробка та упровадження інноваційних методик використання ІКТ у навчальному процесі; удосконалення системи безперервної професійної освіти викладачів. Обґрунтовано рекомендації з використання елементів прогресивного досвіду університетів Великої Британії щодо розвитку відкритої освіти в Україні на національному, регіональному та інституційному рівнях в освітньо-політичному, організаційно-педагогічному, науково-методичному та технологічному аспектах. Аргументовано, що серед поданих найбільш перспективними для реалізації на сучасному етапі визначено такі рекомендації: на національному рівні: удосконалення та деталізація нормативного забезпечення відкритої освіти; подальший розвиток практики створення відкритих університетів, координаційного «Центру розвитку відкритої освіти»; удосконалення механізмів диференційованої урядової фінансової підтримки закладів вищої освіти в інноваційній діяльності щодо удосконалення методів і технологій відкритої освіти; на регіональному рівні: створення регіональних центрів із підготовки/перепідготовки викладачів для роботи в інформаційно-комунікаційному середовищі; на інституційному рівні: налагодження ефективної співпраці з галузевими науковими установами, підприємствами, ІКТ-розробниками; належне забезпечення освітнього процесу інноваційними ІКТ; ефективна організації науково-методичної роботи вишів у межах відкритої освіти, створення відкритого освітнього середовища, підтримка програм безперервного професійного розвитку персоналу та їх роботи у сфері науки та інновацій, надання можливостей для мережевої взаємодії між університетами задля обміну прогресивним досвідом. Практичне значення дослідження полягає в тому, що концептуальні ідеї, організаційні та методичні засади відкритої освіти, реалізовані в університетах Великої Британії, можуть бути творчо використані в організації відкритого навчання в українських ЗВО. Теоретичні положення і фактичний матеріал, отримані в ході дослідження, використовуються у викладанні навчальних курсів з історії педагогіки, інноваційних педагогічних технологій, порівняльної педагогіки інноваційного менеджменту освіти. Прогностичний потенціал дослідження зумовлює можливість використання його матеріалів і висновків для здійснення подальшої науково-дослідницької роботи щодо відкритої освіти у процесі модернізації української системи вищої освіти.
The thesis is devoted to studying out the organizational and educational foundations of open education at the universities of Great Britain and to determining the possibilities of using the progressive experience of the British higher education system in the aspect of the investigated problem in Ukraine. The clarification of the organizational and educational foundations of open education at the universities of Great Britain gives grounds for formulating the following conclusions: The analysis of the state of investigated problem in Ukrainian pedagogical innovation is carried out. The application of the structural and logical analysis of a wide range of studies made it possible to distinguish the following aspects of the consideration of open education in the universities of Great Britain: educational and political, vocational and pedagogical, socio-pedagogical, scientific and technical, content. The theoretical foundations of open education in the universities of Great Britain were described, which allowed to define the conceptual terminology of the research, especially its key concepts: «openness», «open education», «open learning environment», «open learning», «open educational resources» the preconditions and stages of open education development are distinguished. They are the following: 1) correspondence education (mid-nineteenth century – 10th years of the ХХ century); 2) TV-radio education (20-ies of the XX century – the end of the 50-ies of the ХХ century); 3) multimedia education (early 60-ies of the ХХ century – mid-90-ies of the ХХ century); 4) on-line education (the end of the 90-ies of the ХХ century – the mid 20-ies XXI century). The main normative foundations of the introduction of open education into the educational process of the universities of Great Britain are outlined: ensuring the availability and flexibility of learning through ICT; the possibility of continuous lifelong learning; the possibility of using innovative learning tools; the possibility of improving and assessing the educational process; the possibility of active interaction of educational communities. It is found out that the methodological foundations of open education in the universities of Great Britain are: improvement of the content and methods of open education within the framework of the implementation of national strategies for the availability of training; development of a new methodology for designing learning through innovative approaches to the development of curricula; updating of content and methods of distance learning programs; introduction of innovative methods of using information and communication technologies in the educational process; improvement of the system of continuous professional education. The organizational principles of open education were found out. There are such kinds of institutions as open universities, hybrid universities, regional education institutions, colleges of higher education. The proposals based on the positive conceptual ideas of the British open education for the Ukrainian higher education system on the national, local and institutional levels are given.

Defence date: 14 June 2016
Examining Board: Professor Pepper D. Culpepper, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Sven H. Steinmo, European University Institute (Co-Supervisor); Professor Ben W. Ansell, University of Oxford; Professor Marius R. Busemeyer, University of Konstanz.
Awarded the Linz-Rokkan Thesis Prize in Political Sociology at the European University Institute conferring ceremony on 9 June 2017
In this thesis, I ask about the political determinants of educational inequalities, and posit that as school quality differs, the competition for school places poses a problem to the social right of equal educational opportunities at the compulsory education level. What are the policy options to equalise access to quality education? When are these reformed? These questions motivated the design of a typology of Student Sorting Institutions with which we can meaningfully compare formal institutional arrangements that interfere in the competition for quality school places. A critical review of sociology of stratification and economics of education literature suggests classifying Student Sorting Institutions along two dimensions: whether they grant school choice to parents, and whether the allocation process permits academic selection. Building on recent insights of the field of political economy of education, the thesis explains institutional reform with an interest-based approach. Policymakers encounter a trilemma between high choice, low selection and enhancing school quality in disadvantaged neighbourhoods: the high choice/low selection option of regulating school choice particularly benefits students that want to opt out of disadvantaged neighbourhood schools, hence risking increasing segregation of such schools. The winners of each institutional arrangement vary according to income and education. How the trilemma is solved depends on parties in government who cater to their electorates' interests. These then change with educational expansion. The high political cost and uncertain benefit structure of such institutions favour the status quo. With the use of new insights in the methodology of process tracing, I show that the theory empirically accounts for variation of reform trajectories in France, Sweden, and the UK (England for school policy) from the 1980s to the 2000s. In contrast, I argue that my findings shed doubt on the explanatory role of neoliberal ideas and path-dependent feedback effects to account for these reform trajectories.

“Expanding Educational Empires” explores the interventions of American philanthropic foundations in educational programs for British Africa after the First World War. It reveals the extent to which a discourse of education – pedagogy and research – allowed American philanthropic groups, and the numerous governmental and nongovernmental organizations with which they cooperated, to shape the interwar British Empire, and institutionalize a colonial ideology that aligned with American corporate and cultural interests. American philanthropists portrayed these interwar colonial activities as benevolent, apolitical enterprises, glossing over the fact that their influence over the overlapping agencies with which they cooperated filtered easily into official organs of power. By the 1940s, when the Anglo-American partnership no longer served the interests of American-based global capital, American philanthropists performed an effortless volte-face against a mercantilist British Empire. They now found it expedient to invoke both their nation’s ingrained hostility to colonialism and their expertise in native affairs, which had been attained primarily through support of interwar British imperialism, as justification for meddling in the postwar international arena, using education to construct a global community committed to corporate American preferences. This project investigates the close collaboration between American and British agents in the formulation of interwar colonial education, exposing it as a comprehensive program that entailed accumulating knowledge about British territories, particularly in Africa, and disseminating the findings worldwide, thereby establishing new ideological and economic international assumptions. It reveals that American interference in this ambitious project constituted an extension of the longstanding domestic state-building endeavors of early-twentieth-century American philanthropic foundation managers, and their partners. The “unofficial”, humanitarian framework of education allowed a web of American agents to smoothly and remarkably embed themselves in a foreign government’s operations with the ulterior motive of powering American international influence, a story that has significant implications today.

The thesis studies the impact of new technology on the transmission and promotion of heritage on primary school pupils in order to demonstrate the importance of an alliance between history, visual culture and technology. Two case studies with two distinct types of corpus generated two experiments in situ: ancient architecture in Verona (Italy) and eighteenth-century landscape garden at Hestercombe (Britain). Verona and Hestercombe are two sides of the same patrimonial coin. The co-supervision was done under a specialist in digital story telling of history, Corrado Petrucco (Un. of Padua) and one in eighteenth-century garden and landscape history, Laurent Châtel (Un. of Lille). Mobile Learning began in the 80’s when portable computers (the “in-thing” in those days) where first introduced into the classroom on an experimental basis being a genuine take-off in the late 1990’s thanks to experimental educational programs aimed to exploring the didactic potential of PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant). From the mid 90’s to today, three different phases can be pinned down: a tool-focused phase, extra-mural learning, and an emphasis on student mobility. What this study shows is that the teacher’s role is of fundamental importance. The learning process is on site, situated and enhanced by AR tools and devices (which are equipped with an ‘app’ developed specifically for this project): the ‘app’ is however not intended to replace the guide or the cultural educator, but to be complimentary and to enrich his/her route. In its documents such as “Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe (CHCfE). Towards a European Index for Cultural Heritage" the EU Council of European Ministers recognized heritage as a "strategic resource for a 'sustainable Europe" and a source of benefits – a source of creativity and innovation, generating new solutions to problems. This thesis shows why and how heritage education when augmented via technology improves the interpretation of historic environments and buildings, and also makes them accessible to citizens and visitors.

In this study, we employ the theory of deconstruction to challenge and reject the contention that a knowledge paradigm was non-existent among the indigenous people of Zimbabwe before the arrival of the colonisers. This is necessary because the imposition of the colonisers’ knowledge paradigm was premised on the supposed absence of an epistemology among the indigenous people. In defending the thesis that education and indeed an epistemology was in existence among the indigenous people of Zimbabwe, we submit that education is part of any given culture. In the light of this, it becomes untenable to deny the existence of education among the indigenous people of Zimbabwe before the arrival of the colonisers. Knowledge ceases to be the exclusive preserve of the colonisers. It must be noted that the imposition of the colonisers’ knowledge paradigm was accompanied by the suppression and partial destruction of the epistemology of the indigenous people. The suppression and partial destruction of the indigenous people’s epistemological paradigm is called epistemicide. The epistemicide that the colonisers inflicted on the indigenous people led to the exclusive dominance of their knowledge paradigm in the school curriculum at the expense of that of the indigenous people. In the light of this status quo, we present transformation and Africanisation as corrective to the unjustified dominance of the present day curriculum by the epistemological paradigm of the colonisers. We argue that despite the commendable proposals contained in the Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training (1999: 24) to change the curriculum so that unhu/ubuntu becomes its organising principle and to allow the co-existence of the indigenous people’s epistemological paradigm and others, in practice the dominance of the colonisers’ epistemological paradigm remains in place. We submit that the Africanisation of the curriculum is a matter of justice that demands the end of the dominance of the knowledge paradigm of the colonisers and the co-existence of the indigenous people’s knowledge paradigm and others
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
D.Litt et Phil. (Philosophy)

The Diploma Thesis deals with an influence of Anglo-American culture upon Czech society in 1918- 1938. The main focus is dedicated to the Czech intellectual environment, which has accepted Anglo- American culture and spread it among general public. An importance of T. G. Masaryk to introduction of English philosophy at the Czech philosophical faculty is shown here as well as his support of Anglo- American culture in the time of establishing the Czechoslovakia. Famous Czech author K. Čapek is presented as an admirer of American pragmatism and his further relationship towards American culture is also shown here. A part of thesis deals with Čapek's well known travelogue called Anglické listy. Except of famous personalities, the importance of English department at Prague faculty of arts is also taken into account. The department was lead by the founder of Czech English studies Vilém Mathesius, whose linguistic and cultural studies are also presented here. The last part of thesis is dedicated to introduction of compulsory English language classes into secondary schools and to analysis of curriculum and text books.

The aim of this dissertation is to describe the role of teaching assistants in the matter of support for pupils with barriers in learning at primary school. In the theoretical part, the main focus is on legislative anchoring of teaching assistant's position, on establishing the responsibilities and the content of teaching assistant's work, on methodical support which is provided by schools' headmasters or particular organisations, on support for teachers and on discovered benefits that are secured by the role of teaching assistant. Everything mentioned is placed in contrast with the scholar system in Great Britain, especially with the way the local authorities deal with the post of teaching assistant. The empirical part of the dissertation explore the cooperation of teaching assistant and teacher by using the method of in-depth interview with teaching assistants and observation their work in class. The result of the dissertation is showing the evidence of teaching assistant's importance in educational process and his/her help and support for teacher. KEYWORDS Teaching assistant, teacher, cooperation, pupil with special educational needs, conditions for a teaching assistant in the Czech Republic and in Great Britain

Multicultural education is only one of the major changes, which have occurred since the inception of the new democracy in South Africa. However, this inevitable change has resulted in many challenges for both educators and educational institutions. A literature study was done to discuss and clarity concepts of multicultural education, culture, race, ethnicity, bias and anti-bias. The perspectives, principles and history of multicultural education in the United States of America, Britain and South Africa were also investigated. An exploratory study, using a qualitative research design, was done to investigate educators' viewpoints on multicultural education in schools. The results of the investigation indicate that there is a lack of tolerance in schools and that educators require training and intervention strategies to help them cope with the changes in a multicultural education system in South Africa. Recommendations regarding training and policy implementation were discussed and intervention strategies for educators have been given.
Educational Studies
M. Ed. (with specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)