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One result of the political changes in Hungary in 1989-90, was the sudden switch, within state education, from compulsory study of Russian to a free choice of foreign languages. Most pupils (or their parents) opted to study English or German. Opportunities to study these languages in schools had previously been limited, and consequently there was a severe shortage of trained teachers. The English Language Teacher Supply (ELTSUP) project, was established by formal agreement between the British Council and the Hungarian Ministry of Education and Culture to counter this shortage through the provision of new, three year, initial language teacher training programmes, at nine Hungarian tertiary institutions. ELTSUP's rationale, and initial stated wider objectives were principally quantitative; to increase the supply of trained English teachers to the state education system and so the number of students able to learn English. By the mid 1990s, due principally to the 'turbulence' referred to in the title, it was clear that the above aim would not be met. Project objectives, now became qualitative; the integration of three year programme curriculum change into the existing, still largely unchanged, philologically focussed, four and five year language teacher education system. The thesis is a longitudinal, single case study. Its aim is to investigate and analyse the educational change process in one ELTSUP institution between 1991 and 1998. From 1993- 1998, the writer was employed by the British Council at the case study institution. He was thus a participant observer (Marshall and Rossman 1989, Yin 1989), throughout the data collection period. The research is grounded in educational and organisational change literature, particularly the work of Fullan (1991,1992,1993) Louis and Miles (1992), Whittaker (1993), Harris et al (1997), Pettigrew and Whipp (1991), Hatch (1997), Webb and Cleary (1994), and the qualitative research writings of Lincoln and Guba (1985), Denzin and Lincoln (1994), Erlandson et al (1993), Coffey and Atkinson (1996) and Crossley and Vulliamy (1997). It is an inductive qualitative study, based initially upon 'etic' and later upon "emic 1 issues (Stake 1995), and consequently had a research focus that evolved throughout the two years of the data gathering cycle. The three main sources of data are semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and project documents. The core data consists of interviews, carried out in three rounds over a two-year period with those most centrally involved, the 10 Hungarian implementers of the project. In addition, 22 other people closely connected to ELTSUP, at either national or institutional level, were interviewed. Questionnaires, sent out to past and present students, their school supervisors and other British Council contract staff in Hungary, were used to provide further evidence about the wider Hungarian environment and to corroborate interview data. As a participant in the changes under investigation the writer had access to all English language project related documentation, throughout the case study period. Data was analysed using a two dimensional framework based on Fullan's (1991) chronological division of the stages of the educational change process, Planning- Implementation-Continuation, and the components of any organisational change process suggested by Pettigrew and Whipp (1991), Content, Context and Process. Together these gave a nine cell matrix, allowing data first to be mapped and then analysed, broadly as suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994). The main findings include: On educational change projects involving more than one educational culture, and where one educational culture is accepted as bringing with it expertise that the other lacks, aims can never remain purely quantitative. Qualitative educational change is cultural change. It is therefore complex and takes a long time. It is rare to find measurable, direct evidence of success in the short-term. The necessarily long time scale and the unpredictability of the behaviour of the wider The necessarily long time scale and the unpredictability of the behaviour of the wider environment, make detailed advance planning of the change implementation process impracticable. Educational change is an evolving and incremental process. The rate and route of change followed throughout the implementation process is likely to be strongly influenced by, often unpredictable, occurrences at all levels of the environment. If change is ever to begin to become part of the wider educational culture beyond the project, local implementers need to be consistently supported throughout their personal change process. For such consistency to be possible, change instigators need, at the initial planning stage, to understand both what is realistically possible and what their roles within the project are likely to be. They thus need, in outline at least, to understand both the micro and wider change environments. Environmental assessment need not be complex to be valuable. It does, however, need to be continuously updated to take account of changes in the wider environment. Cultural change is hard work for those experiencing it. Perceptions of its utility can quickly become negative, without tangible recognition for work done, and periods of stability in which to consolidate new skills. Change instigators, expecting (and expected) to operate in a world that increasingly seeks rapid, measurable returns on any investment, find most of the above very difficult to accept.

This research examines the post-study abroad experience of Bangladeshi academics who returned to their home country after studying in various Western countries for their MA or PhD degrees. A multitude of studies exist on the study abroad experience of learners in higher education but post-study abroad experience, especially after years of returning, remains an under-researched area. The goal of this phenomenological study was to explore the common experience of academics who had returned from study abroad. Their motives for taking up the challenge of studying overseas, the challenges faced on their return, their contribution, the obligations they felt, the difference in re-entry experience between male and female academics, and stakeholders' perceptions of the returnee academics were also examined. Data was gathered from two sets of participants: 35 male and female academics working in different private and public universities in Bangladesh and the stakeholders, i.e. members of University Grants Commission, Vice Chancellors and Heads of Departments, the British Council and the American Centre. Phenomenological interviews were used to collect data for the first set of participants and semi-structured interviews for the second. Phenomenological analysis was carried out on the data gathered and data was interpreted in the light of social theories, notably Neoliberalism, Neoliberal Feminism and Social Role Theory. Findings showed that the common experience of Bangladeshi academics returning from study abroad ranges along a continuum from elation to despair. Academic reintegration of the participant academics was affected by, inter alia, resistance to change from colleagues and administration, a politicised higher education system and unhelpful policy while social reintegration revolved mainly around adjustment of family and children. The stakeholders interviewed showed awareness of some of the challenges associated with reintegration but had mixed feelings when asked about fulfilled and unfulfilled expectations from returnees. The study also showed that the experience of reintegration of male and female academics varied considerably, starting from their decision to study abroad to their personal and professional reintegration. The study draws out implications for policy and practice in Higher Education for both Bangladesh and UK.

The role of symbiotic bacteria in determining their host's phenotype has become increasingly apparent in recent times. These bacterial communities can influence a range of host traits and fitness correlates. Symbiotic bacteria can alter their host's immune function, metabolism, reproductive fitness, sexual and social signals as well as behaviour. The amount of research into the host fitness effects of symbiotic bacterial is rapidly increasing, however; few studies are investigating how these effects vary across different host genotypes. This thesis investigates the relationship between host genetic background and bacterial symbionts across a range of sexually selected fitness measures in Drosophila simulans. We focused on two main types of bacterial symbionts; exosymbionts, that consisted of gut bacterial communities and surface bacteria that inhabit the fly cuticle, along with the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia pipentis. Wolbachiais known to influence host fitness in a range of ways that vary from parasitic to mutualistic. The nature of these effects has previously been found to depend on both the host and the strain of Wolbachia. Previous work has attributed fitness effects found when curing Wolbachia infection with antibiotics to the change in the Wolbachia infection status. Antibiotic treatment is likely to change other bacterial components of the microbiota alongside removing Wolbachia infection. In chapter 2 I found that antibiotic-caused male sexual-fitness rank changes across genotypes were caused by Wolbachia curing and not altering exosymbiotic bacterialcommunities. In Chapter 3 I found that the level of bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility suffered when mating with a standardised tester mate, was dependant on the genotype of the focal host. This effect was true for both focal males and females. In Chapter 4 I tested whether D. simulans populations evolving under elevated or relaxed natural and sexual selection for 38 generations differed in their gut bacterial communities. We found evolving under elevated sexual selection resulted in more diverse gut bacteria for males but not females. We also found sexual selection altered the gut bacterial community composition of both males and females. We found no effects of natural selection on gut microbial communities and no interaction between natural and sexual selection intensity on these communities. In Chapter 5 I found that altering exosymbiotic bacterial communities had fitness effects on both 3males and females. In females these effects were only present when the bacterial communities were altered,not if the bacteria were simply removed. In Chapter 6I found that Wolbachia infection affects female choosiness dependent on the females'genotype. Removing the exosymbiotic bacteria from females had no effect on their choosiness and genotype did not interact with this bacterial treatment. I also found that removing the symbiotic bacteria of females reduces their adult body size,however hosts infected withWolbachia did not experience the same body size reduction with exosymbiont removal. Symbiotic bacteria are playing an important role in many sexually selected fitness traits. The direction and scale of these fitness effects depend on the host's genetic background. Sexual selection is also able to act on a host's gut bacteria. This means that a host's symbiotic bacteria are likely to play an important role in the evolutionary outcomes ofsexual selection. This thesis increases our understanding of the role symbiotic bacteria playinsexual selection.

The focus of the thesis is on how Nepali school head teachers develop awareness, understanding and practice of social justice within educational leadership. There is extensive international research into social justice and educational leadership. However, key influences and experiences in head teachers’ personal and professional lives shaping social justice consciousness in the Nepali context is under-researched. A mixed methods approach, underpinned by a pragmatic and transformative philosophy was adopted to gather qualitative and quantitative data from four focus groups, a survey with 108 respondents and interviews with 12 Nepali head teachers from different cultural, educational and geographical settings. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach, head teachers were provided with opportunities to share experience, insights and personal and professional stories through their own narratives. The findings suggest both personal and professional influences and experiences impact equally on head teachers’ social justice understanding and practice. Analysis of survey data revealed differences of approach and understanding according to heads’ gender, their years of experience as educators and more significantly, heads’ geographical locations. Nepali head teachers’ conceptualisation of social justice is primarily focused on students’ welfare, characterised by recognition of injustices and wider societal challenges of inclusion. In seeking to elicit head teachers’ visioning for more effective social justice educational leadership, the need to collaborate with other stakeholders and address the lack of professional development were highlighted. The study concludes with a model to enhance head teacher capabilities to promote social justice leadership within schools and encourage further professional development, especially at local and regional levels. Recommendations include utilising the interpretive phenomenological approach and narrativity analysis as professional development opportunities to assist head teachers in transforming their social justice leadership. Further research is proposed to capture a greater range of head teacher voices across this geographically and culturally diverse country.

Teacher Research (TR) can be broadly defined as research conducted by teachers in their own classrooms as part of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). In TR literature, the purpose, process and value of TR are often conceptualised for teachers by leading scholars, with teachers being expected to engage with such conceptualisations unquestionably. The literature offers few examples of TR conceptualisation based on teachers’ own conceptions of TR and of its feasibility for their context. My research explores the possibility of developing a contextually appropriate conceptualisation of TR for CPD at a Saudi university English Language Institute (ELI). To this end, the study investigated participants’ understanding of the purposes of CPD, their understanding of TR for CPD, their conceptions of what might constrain the use of TR based CPD in their context and what would be needed to support it. Using a collective case study approach, the data were sequentially generated over four phases through open ended questionnaires, a first set of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and a final set of semi-structured interviews. The findings of this study show that the purpose of CPD as understood by participants is to help teachers develop their practices and thinking. Participants understand an ELI- relevant conceptualisation of TR (which can help teachers develop) as one which is carried out by teachers to understand and address issues in their classrooms and institution through a data driven process nurtured by reflection and informed by relevant literature if feasible. The findings further indicate that TR at ELI needs to be subjective in nature, but transparent enough to be first shared locally at ELI and then possibly disseminated externally through different means. The insights of this study suggest that while the teacher conceptualised version of TR is relevant to teachers’ needs in their context, it is not automatically applicable. Some barriers to the implementation of TR at ELI (such as standardisation, prioritising ‘best’ practice based CPD on the part of the institution) need to be considered. Participants propose several ways to address the constraints and to enable TR to become one means of engaging in CPD at ELI. This study contributes to TR literature through providing understandings of how the conceptualisation of TR based CPD can be made context specific through teachers’ own conceptions and informed by TR literature.

This study investigated student teachers’ teaching of English during the practicum with a particular focus on the teaching of speaking in the secondary school context in Korea. A multiple case study was conducted with three state teacher education institutions based in large cities in Korea. The aims of the study were to understand the student teachers’ practices and views of the teaching of speaking during the practicum and to identify any influence on their practices while undertaking the practicum. By tracing any change in their cognition after the practicum it was also aimed to understand to what extent the practicum had an impact on their learning to teach speaking. This study collected data via classroom observations, subsequent interviews with the student teachers and their trainers as well as their mentors and head teachers during the practicum, and relevant documents gathered in the research context. The analysis of the cases showed that there was an impact of the practicum on the trainees’ learning to teach speaking but this was limited and bound to their teaching context and that the extent of their learning or cognition change also varied to different degrees according to their teacher competency. Overall, no significant development in their cognition during the practicum was found. There was also incongruence between the trainees’ initial expectations of the teaching of speaking with their actual practice, although their initial pedagogical beliefs with regard to student-centered communicative teaching were to some extent consistent throughout their practice. This incongruence was caused by the gap between the nature of teacher training and the reality of teaching in the classroom with a lack of collaboration between teacher colleges and secondary schools. This study sheds light on the area of teaching speaking on which little research has been previously conducted particularly in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context by providing an in-depth qualitative account of student teachers’ learning to teach speaking during the practicum through empirical research. This study, therefore, contributes to our understanding of teacher learning in the field of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) teacher education.

Statement of the Problem The problem of this study was to identify and analyze selected teaching practices used in teaching first-year Gregg Shorthand in United States high schools.Procedures Participants in this study were teachers of first-year Gregg Shorthand randomly selected from each of the 50 states. The population for this study consisted of schools systematically selected from Patterson's American Education resource book. A sample by state was obtained by selecting one school per page using a table of random numbers. A total of 511 questionnaires were mailed; 284 were returned.Treatment of the Data Teachers' responses were analyzed statistically using subprograms of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). ONEWAY, REGRESSION, PEARSON CORR, FREQUENCIES, and CONDESCRIPTIVE were utilized to treat the data.Conclusions Recognizing the limitations of this study, the researcher drew the following conclusions based on the findings obtained from this research study:1. Total time available for classroom instruction in first-year shorthand did not substantially affect estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement.2. Size of class had a substantial influence on estimated new- matter dictation speed achievement. The mean speed achievement of 76.38 words a minute for classes consisting of from one to 10 students was considerably higher than that for other classifications. A definite trend was indicated. As class size increased, mean speed achievement declined.3. No substantial differences were determined in estimated new- matter dictation speed achievement for various practices used to assign homework in Book I or Book II of first-year shorthand.4. No substantial differences were determined in estimated new- matter dictation speed achievement for various practices used to test reading progress in Book I or Book II of first-year shorthand.5. No substantial differences were determined in estimated new- matter dictation speed achievement for various practices used to teach writing from dictation in Book I or Book II of first-year shorthand.6. Substantial differences in estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement were determined for various practices used to teach brief forms in Book I of first-year shorthand. The mean speed achievements of 75.72 words a minute for teachers using duplicated tests and 72.21 words a minute for teachers using dictated tests were considerably higher than that for other classifications. A substantial difference was determined for various minimum end-of-year accuracy requirements for brief form performance in first-year shorthand. The mean speed achievement for groups requiring from 95 to 100 percent accuracy on brief form performance was considerably higher than that for other classifications. No substantial differences in estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement were determined for various practices used to teach brief forms in Book II or for various practices used to teach commonly used phrases in Book I or Book II of first-year shorthand.7. Various practices used to encourage the writing of theoretically correct shorthand outlines in Book I and Book II of first-year shorthand did not substantially affect estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement.8. Substantial differences in estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement were determined for number of tests for evaluating students’ ability to write new-matter dictation in Book I and Book II of first-year shorthand. The mean speed achievement for teachers who gave new-matter dictation tests three times a week was considerably higher than that for other classifications. No substantial differences in estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement were determined for the day or lesson when new-matter dictation was introduced, length of new-matter dictation tests, or accuracy requirement on new-matter dictation tests in either Book I or Book II of first-year shorthand.9. Substantial differences in estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement were determined for amount of time devoted to typewriter transcription in Book I and Book II of first-year shorthand. The mean speed achievement for teachers who devoted 61 minutes or more of class time per week to typewriter transcription was considerably higher than that for other classifications. Differences were greater in Book I than in Book II. No substantial difference in estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement was determined for when typewriter transcription was introduced in either Book I or Book II of first-year shorthand.10. No substantial differences were determined in estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement for various practices employed in using shorthand laboratories in Book I or Book II of first-year shorthand.11. Time spent on various class activities in Book I and Book II of first-year shorthand did not substantially affect estimated new-matter dictation speed achievement.

Group work is defined as an instructional strategy to encourage social interaction among pupils. Pupils are more likely to work in groups to perform their daily based learning activities in most of primary classrooms in England. Pupils sit around the table and apparently work in groups. However, putting pupils in groups does not always guarantee that they interact and communicate with one other to fulfil the theoretical expectations advocated in constructivists’ theories of learning. There can be various factors related to pupils and their context which can affect their interactions to make group work successful in any classroom. This study was aimed to explore the nature of pupils’ interaction and their perceptions of working with others during their routinely organised group work in a state primary school in England. The primarily focus of the study was to analyse the nature of pupils’ interactions under various grouping structures organised by the class teacher, to explore pupils’ perceptions about group work while identifying various contextual, social and cultural factors which can influence pupils’ interactions and their perceptions of group work. In this small- scale qualitative study, I used naturalistic participant observation to observe pupils’ interactions during their routinely organised group work in one primary classroom. I also used informal conversational interviews to explore pupils’ perceptions about their experiences of working with others in groups. Both the class and support teachers of the observed class were also involved in the research to gain their perspectives on the organisation of group work. The qualitative data gathered in form of pupils’ conversations, actions, verbal and non-verbal interactions and dialogues was analysed by using first thematic and later on through discourse analytical approaches. The findings of my research are drawn on the ecological model of Bronfenbrenner which revealed that the pupils adopt dynamic, situational, cooperative and non-cooperative interactions towards their peers during their group work. They participated in task-related discussions and remained cooperative by showing positive social attitudes of helping and encouraging others. They showed non- cooperative interactions by being competitive and showed mistrust towards their peers. The pupils also exhibited gender biased attitudes which influenced their decisions of being cooperative or non- cooperative towards a particular peer. The use of ecological model helped me to illicit that pupils were influenced from their immediate and wider contexts while interacting with their peers. In the immediate setting of the classroom, pupils were dependent on the group structure, teaching instructions and learning tasks to work as a group or as an individual. Similarly, pupils were dependent on and were influenced by their wider contexts (i.e. interpretations of the national curriculum guidance, pupils’ socio-cultural backgrounds and community influences) to adopt competitive and gender biased interactions. In the light of these findings, I suggest that the success of social interactions among pupils is dependent on the context which is interwoven by various internal organisational, social, educational as well as cultural layers. These influences coming from the internal and external contextual layers cannot be ignored in any educational research aiming to investigate classroom practices or pupils’ learning experiences inside the state primary schools.

This thesis investigates the evolution of knowledge and beliefs of four newly qualified English teachers in their first year of teaching in Malaysian primary classrooms. Although there has been an increased interest in the study of teachers’ cognition in general education research over the years, studies on the cognitions of language teachers in their first year in the classroom remain limited, particularly research into the use of a longitudinal approach to case studies on newly qualified teachers’ beliefs. The aims of this qualitative multiple-case study were to explore the evolution of newly qualified teachers’ (NQTs) beliefs about teaching and learning during their first year of teaching, and to examine the factors that might influence their thinking and classroom practices. The four research participants were from the first cohort of a new Bachelor of Teaching (Hons) course in the Teaching of English as a Second Language (Primary Education) at an Institute of Teacher Education (ITE) in Malaysia. The data was gathered from Skype interviews, classroom observations, stimulated recall interviews and journal entries throughout the participants’ first year of teaching. They were then analysed both manually and using nVivo, a qualitative data analysis software. The outcome provides interesting insights into the evolving thoughts of the four NQTs. As well as shared areas of concern, they each display relatively distinctive reactions to their first-year teaching experiences. The findings support the current movement towards viewing teachers’ cognition constructions as an individual process, and classroom experience in a given moment seems to be the strongest element in NQTs’ belief formation. This study hopes to add to the understanding of the complexity of teachers’ cognition and the appropriacy of the existing pre-service training courses for teachers teaching in public schools. The potential impacts of the study include understanding the importance of providing real support systems for NQTs and adjusting the curriculum structure, content and pedagogy in pre-service English language teacher education to better prepare NQTs for the reality of the classroom.

This thesis explores teacher educators’ cognitions in the context of a new five-year-long undergraduate English Language teaching programme at a private university in Chile. This programme is called Integrated Curriculum since its main principle is to teach all its curricular strands, i.e. integrated English language (IEL), methodology, education and school internships in an integrated fashion, enabling the content and teaching/learning processes of each strand to feed into and draw from the others. The Integrated Curriculum is inspired by the principles of critical pedagogy and social justice. This case study followed a qualitative research design, within a critical theory paradigm. The data generation consisted of semi-structured interviews and classroom observations of four teacher educators teaching at the IEL strand. The IEL strand concentrates 60% of the teaching hours of the integrated curriculum, and most teacher educators work on this area. Interviews also included the programme leaders, and twenty-six student teachers. The findings showed that teacher educators are very committed to the programme. However, the complex organisational system hinders their opportunities for reflection, on-going improvement, and addressing student-teachers’ teaching and learning needs. The programme leaders are aware of the difficulties that teacher educators face while implementing it. Student teachers seem to have a limited perspective of the integrated curriculum and appear to struggle to understand the innovative language teaching approach promoted by the IEL. This study demonstrates that complex curriculum change takes time and resources. In this case, despite being well intended, the speed of the change, the lack of forward planning, and existing models to refer to, have limited the IC achievements. Findings suggest that changes in teacher education require a close connection with the school contexts to gauge the feasibility of the innovation in reality, to inform teacher educators and student teachers to teach and learn in mainly unchanged educational contexts.

This thesis sets out to explore the status of the professional development of the Iraqi EFL teachers in post-invasion Iraq. English language teaching in Iraq has witnessed a huge transition period after the invasion and a new English language curriculum was introduced as a result. The introduction of the new English language curriculum has, therefore, brought huge challenges for the EFL teachers. EFL teachers are in the middle of a challenging transitional period as far as their professional development is concerned due to the absence of in-service training. The new curriculum is significantly different from the old one because it contains a lot of communicative activities and technology based tasks that Iraqi teachers are not used to. They seem to be following the old professional development style and training that is stuck in their minds from the period prior to the American invasion of the country (although nothing available at the moment) which has now become unsuitable for the new curriculum that requires more up to date methods in teachers’ training and development. From 2003 access to technology and the Internet became available in Iraq, but learning through the Internet has not been applied yet in the education sector. As there is currently a lack of in-service training for Iraqi EFL teachers, this study investigates whether teachers in the ‘new’ Iraq consider it feasible to use technological tools as a platform for teachers’ professional development. Using a thematic perspective, the study investigated the perceptions, understandings and responses to status of teachers’ PD in a complex and chaotic setting in one province in Iraq. Data were generated through multiple qualitative interviews carried out over five research phases. What has emerged from the findings of this study is that the teachers’ professional development process currently remains in a state of chaos as a result of the political changes in the country following the American invasion in 2003 and the educational changes that followed. The data shows how English teachers in one city have responded to the idea of using technology for their PD purposes. It suggests that use of the now widely available aces of technology, and particularly the Internet, might provide a solution to the lack of more formal PD provision.

This study analysed the educational life histories of five EFL teachers at a Mexican university. The aims of the study were: 1) to explore how these teachers’ beliefs about student-centred learning had evolved over the course of their lives; and 2) to examine the relationships between their beliefs and teaching practices at different points in time. In order to achieve these aims, a life history approach was adopted, which incorporated a series of extended interviews as well as an innovative timeline activity. Classroom observations and student focus groups were also included, mainly for triangulation purposes. The four main findings which emerged from the study were as follows. Firstly, all five teachers’ felt their early beliefs about teaching were predominately teacher-centred, which appeared to be linked to their immersion in the generally teacher-centred Mexican educational culture. Secondly, all five teachers felt that their beliefs eventually became more student-centred over the course of their educational life histories. These changes towards more student-centred beliefs were attributed to a number of experiences the teachers had over the course of their lives, and in particular, the characteristics of certain training courses. Thirdly, despite all the teachers eventually starting to believe in more student-centred approaches, they reported that they were rarely able to fully put these beliefs into practices. These mismatches between beliefs and practices seem to have been linked to a number of contextual constraints which they encountered within their working contexts. Finally, all five teachers started to believe in more “hybrid” approaches to teaching by the ends of their educational life histories. This implied using a combination of teacher- and student-centred practices, depending on how appropriate they were perceived to be within their specific contexts. The emergence of this more “hybrid” approach raises important questions about what we should realistically expect from educational changes and whether student-centred learning should still be considered the undisputed “gold standard” of education.

Sexual conflict can occur whenever the evolutionary interests of males and females differ, and when sexually antagonistic selection acts upon traits shared between the sexes, one or both sexes can be constrained from reaching their phenotypic optima. This intralocus sexual conflict can be characterised by a tug-of-war of allelic replacement until it is resolved, but examples of well-characterised sexually antagonistic loci are rare. This thesis investigates the basis and dynamics of intralocus sexual conflict over insecticide resistance at the Cyp6g1 locus in Drosophila melanogaster, and wing colouration in Drosophila simulans. In D. melanogaster, the Cyp6g1 locus is the site of a series of insecticide resistance alleles, one of which is sexually antagonistic when back-crossed to the old isogenic lab strain Canton-S. I investigated the presence of sexual conflict over this same allele in a recently collected and genetically heterogeneous population. I found evidence of balancing selection on resistance (Ch. 2) that could not be explained by overdominance or sex-specific dominance (Ch. 3). However, balancing selection could be explained by resistance conferring increased fecundity to females (Ch. 2-4), and decreased reproductive success to males (Ch. 4). This male cost can in turn be explained by a negative genetic correlation between reproductive success and Cyp6g1 expression (Ch. 4), possibly influencing levels of reproductive investment (Ch. 2). Additionally, I explored the dynamics of the sex-specific fitness effects of resistance across three Cyp6g1 alleles back-crossed to a single genetic background. I found no evidence of sexual antagonism, but revealed that the cost of resistance increased with more derived alleles, and that all alleles were more costly to females (Ch. 5). After decades of strong selection imposed by insecticide use an unresolved sexual conflict persists at the Cyp6g1 locus despite sexual dimorphism in resistance, and it does not appear that more derived Cyp6g1 alleles are necessarily involved in mediating this conflict. Wing interference patterns (WIPs) are a newly discovered trait subject to female mate choice in Drosophila. I explored the potential for intralocus sexual conflict over WIPs by measuring WIP traits from males and females from populations of D. simulans evolved under relaxed or elevated sexual selection. In response to sexual selection male WIPs evolved to be brighter, higher contrast, and shifted to longer wavelengths of light, but there was no associated response to selection in females (Ch. 6). While WIPs did not appear to be constrained from detectably responding to selection by acute intralocus sexual conflict, male WIPs from the relaxed selection regime were similar to female WIPs, suggesting a cost to sexually selected WIPs that may be indicative of sexually antagonistic selection. IASC is pervasive and can influence a wide range of fundamental evolutionary processes including sexual selection, speciation, and extinction. The research presented in this thesis adds to a body of evidence that sexual dimorphism does not necessarily resolve IASC, and documents the first evidence that WIPs do not appear to be subject to acute IASC and can evolve in response to sexual selection.

This thesis is about the outcomes of an intervention that employed a collaborative approach to implement for supporting primary teachers to adopt formative assessment for classroom teaching and learning in a Tanzanian education context. Taking into account of recent work on teacher learning about teacher change and the Tanzanian cultural context, the investigation employed a collaborative approach in implementing the intervention for adoption of formative assessment. The continued outcry on decline in quality of classroom teaching and learning and poor performance in national examinations constituted the first motive for undertaking the study on formative assessment. The investigation on formative assessment was also a response to the 2005 Tanzania's adoption of competence based curriculum that espouses a constructivist view of learning. The main research question that informed the study was what happens when Tanzanian primary teachers adopt more formative assessment approach for classroom teaching and learning? Methodologically, the study employed a grounded theory approach. Interviews, focus group discussions, documentary sources and classroom observation were used to obtain the data for the main research question. A purposeful sample was employed to obtain a group of ten primary teachers to implement the intervention for adoption of formative assessment for a period of 11 months. The findings of the study showed that adopting formative assessment for Tanzanian teachers was beneficial to the teachers in supporting their teaching and pupil learning. On the other hand, the adoption of formative assessment posed challenges to teachers mainly because of the cultural view about learning and assessment, roles of teachers and pupils in a classroom context. However, the study also demonstrates the effectiveness of collaborative approach for supporting teachers in changing their classroom practices towards more formative approach of assessment. The findings were discussed in terms of the benefits, challenges and implications for teacher support in adopting formative assessment in the light of the existing literature and the Tanzania cultural and material contexts. Recommendation for policy practice in teacher support process for adopting formative assessment for classroom teaching and learning for Tanzania and other educational contexts are provided. The need to roll out the intervention in the wider context of Tanzania's schools has also been recommended.

This study examines the contribution of the practicum to student teacher learning and investigates the factors hindering or facilitating such learning in a pre-service English language teacher education context in Turkey. For the purposes of the study, student teacher learning is defined as a change in student teachers’ stated cognitions and teaching practices. Adopting a sociocultural perspective to learning, it is assumed that any learning that takes place would be mediated by the socialisation of the student teachers into the practicum context. Qualitative longitudinal research was conducted into five cases of student teachers situated within their supervision triads through classroom observations, semi-structured and video stimulated interviews. Drawn from narrative and thematic analysis of the data, the findings show that during the practicum, the student teachers gained basic instructional skills, recognised tensions between the ideals promoted by the teacher education programme and the realities of the classrooms, strove mainly to survive the assessed practicum and to develop a perception of themselves as teachers. While the student teachers benefited from practising teaching in real language classrooms, the main factors impeding their learning were limited access to teaching, the absence of constructive feedback and the lack of communication among the partners who were involved in the organisation and implementation of the practicum. The opportunities created for student teacher learning were influenced not only by the local institutional factors but also wider social, cultural contextual factors. Further analysis of the data has led to the generation of a model of student teacher learning during the practicum. The major contribution of this study is to uncover the pivotal role of practicum context in affording opportunities for student teacher learning and to explicitly demonstrate the collective impact of the multidimensional factors on such learning. The findings of the study have direct implications for the design of English language teacher education practices, and also offer suggestions for further research into pre-service student teacher learning.

This thesis sets out to explore the complexity of curriculum reform by examining how different stakeholders, experiencing English language curriculum reform in different ‘layers’ of the education system in one province in Vietnam, make sense of change in relation to their professional roles, practices and behaviours. While there is a plethora of research on curriculum change in TESOL contexts, much of this is focused on the teacher and the practical constraints they might face in implementing a new curriculum. The multi-level interactions and relationships involved in sense-making, and the complexity that such interconnectedness suggests, seems to be a neglected research area. This qualitative case study begins to fill this research gap. Using a complexity perspective, the study investigated the perceptions, understandings and responses to primary English language curriculum change of seven primary English language teachers working in three districts in one province in Vietnam. The study also examined the sense-making of three district specialists and four university INSET trainers who are involved in supporting those teachers in implementing the new curriculum. Data were generated through multiple qualitative interviews, classroom observations and document analysis carried out over two research phases. The research identified a number of control parameters which appeared to be constraining the participants’ practices and behaviours towards a paradigm shuffle rather than a paradigm shift. The findings show how the interconnectedness of the educational culture, perceptions of risk, feelings of being supported and the flow of communication experienced by the different participants seemed to mediate teachers’ emergent classroom practices and behaviours. The research identifies several policy implications for policy makers, curriculum change planners and TESOL practitioners which have emerged from these control parameters, and which are likely to help promote the desired curriculum change outcomes.

Using the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei (2005), this mixed methods approach study aimed to investigate two key issues. First, to investigate the possible relationships between prior levels of ICC and self-reported motivation to learn English among newly arrived (during their first month of arrival) undergraduate (pre-foundation) Saudi students in the United Kingdom. Second, to explore whether the reported motivational profiles (high Ideal L2 Self and strong Ought to L2 Self) on arrival help to explain the behaviour of a sample of new arrivals (4 participants) during their first year of study in terms of recognising and responding to ICC opportunities and L2 learning. The study began with a quantitative phase, using an online survey distributed to 257 new Saudi pre-foundation students across the UK in October 2012 to investigate their prior ICC and reported motivation to learn English (n = 257: 36 females and 221 males). Correlation analysis of the data revealed a relationship between the new Saudi arrivals' ICC and aspects of their L2 motivation. Regression analysis revealed that one construct of the L2MSS in particular (the Ideal L2 Self) had the strongest association with ICC, which suggested that prior ICC might have promoted the participants’ Ideal L2 Self. Furthermore, regression analysis revealed that Language Learning Attitudes were better predictor of the reported L2 learning effort than Ideal L2 Self and Ought to L2 Self, which may have indicated that the positive attitudes of the participants towards the L2 learning environment was based on their realisation of the importance attached to English for their future. Finally, Ought to L2 Self was a stronger predictor of the reported L2 learning effort than Ideal L2 Self, which may have underscored the importance of the collective nature of Saudi society where family expectations serve as a powerful source of motivation. A qualitative phase followed the quantitative phase when four study participants (males) were selected based on their representation of distinct motivational profiles: strong Ideal L2 Self and strong Ought to L2 Self (two participants for each). These were to be interviewed three times (November 2012, February 2013, and May 2013). Their distinct motivational profiles did not help to explain the behaviour of the participants as they all showed similar ICC behaviour and similar L2 learning behaviour. Instead, the analysis of the qualitative data suggested that a number of social, cultural, and personal issues may have had a stronger impact on the behaviour of the new Saudi sojourners than their Ideal L2 Self or Ought to L2 Self. In conclusion, the study strongly suggests the significance of being involved in ICC (direct or indirect) to give Saudi L2 learners reasons to study English and create a vision of themselves as future L2 users, which is likely to help them to establish and maintain their L2 motivation. Given the collective nature of Saudi society, English teachers and parents play a crucial role in encouraging and supporting L2 learners in such a process. Finally, the study suggested a number of cultural, social and personal issues that stakeholders and policymakers in study abroad programmes and in international universities need to pay close attention to in order to understand and help visiting students to make the most of their stay abroad.

The focus of this study concerns the impact of an in-service teacher training (INSET) course on experienced secondary school English teachers under the wide environment of educational reform in China. Although there has been increased research on the influence of Chinese educational reform on English education, the impact of INSET course on teachers and their implementation of the new curriculum was a previously unexplored area. This qualitative multiple-case study investigated five secondary school EFL teachers throughout the INSET course and in a six-month follow-up period. Classroom observation data and interview data were collected at multiple points of time. This methodological approach introduced a longitudinal dimension to the study which enabled any possible change in teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and practice to be investigated. Theories in teacher learning and development were used to explore the extent to which the INSET course made sense to the teachers’ professional lives. The findings indicated a lack of significant change in the teachers’ knowledge and beliefs and therefore no fundamental change in their subsequent practice to support the new curriculum. The inconsistency between the teachers’ learning outcomes and practices was mainly because their theory-learning, the focus of the INSET course, did not work as major drive for the teachers’ behavioural change. Increase in theoretical knowledge did not necessarily mean any change in concrete classroom practices even though the teachers made some short-term theory-practice application. After the INSET course the teachers mostly returned to their habitual practices which were largely influenced by their deeply-rooted prior beliefs. The relevant factors, from the INSET course and the wider context, were also examined as working elements to contribute to the lack of significant change through a context-sensitive lens. Implications for in-service teacher education and INSET course design and implementation were also drawn based on the findings.

Sexual conflict is a powerful evolutionary force, arising due to the differing reproductive interest of the sexes. As males and females contrast in what they require to increase their own relative fitness, this creates sexual conflict. This thesis investigates sexual conflict and sexual selection in the Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella, a species known to be under strong intralocus sexual conflict for shared life-history traits and fitness. Through the use of experimental evolution, we altered the adult mating sex ratio to either male biased or female biased. This changes the selective forces between populations that may directly impact on intralocus sexual conflict. Male biased populations were found to have increased reproductive success for both sexes with corresponding changes in shared life-history traits compared to the female biased populations. Divergence between the two treatments is further supported by male biased populations showing increased protection from a natural viral pathogen. Post-copulatory sexual selection was examined in males through the sterile male method. Males evolving under a male biased sex ratio were subject to increased selection on traits involved in sperm competition from rival males’ ejaculates, yet sired the same total number of offspring as males evolving under a female biased sex ratio. Sexual selection is a non-mutually exclusive force acting in tandem with sexual conflict, potentially causing increased reproductive success and immunity protection in the male biased populations. Fecundity selection was examined in a stock population of P. interpunctella. Lifetime fecundity was increased without corresponding changes or trade-offs with body size or longevity, two life-history traits known to be important to increased reproductive success in females. Finally, the effects of dietary protein and carbohydrates were examined using the geometric framework. Sexually antagonistic selection over macronutrients was evident, with sexes showing preference for protein and carbohydrate in opposing regions of the nutrient landscape, indicating that intralocus conflict is unlikely to have been resolved in this moth species.

This thesis presents an exploration of the action research (AR) component of an in-service course as presented to a group of Chilean English language teachers. It aims to investigate how AR was conceptualised, the rationale for its inclusion and how it was ultimately operationalised. Additionally it aims to shed light on what effects AR may have on teachers’ professional development (PD) and how contextual factors may hinder its impact. For this purpose, data was collected from three course designers, nine teachers taking part in the course, and the teacher educator responsible for offering the AR component. This study followed a qualitative research design and a critical paradigmatic orientation. Data was collected over a ten month period using an initial questionnaire to collect factual data and semi-structured interviews and focus groups to obtain more in-depth data. Additionally, document analysis was carried out on the course syllabus and teachers’ written AR reports. The findings showed the conceptualisation of AR underpinning the course involved notions of emancipatory AR, whereas teachers viewed AR as problem-solving. Additionally, the training format exposed a transmission approach to teacher education and provided little support to teachers to carry out AR in the way envisioned by course designers. As a consequence, teachers’ skills in and knowledge of AR remained limited and it did not promote their professional development in any way. While findings support studies which claim the main difficulties associated with AR are time and research support, they also highlight other contextual constraints and the thesis argues the need for major socio-cultural adjustments if AR is to promote PD in Chile. The study demonstrates that the manner in which AR is conceptualised is inconsistent with contextual realities within the education system as a whole thus it cannot meaningfully contribute to or support teachers’ professional development.

While in the field of language education much has been written about the design and use of instructional materials, very few studies have actually studied teachers' practices in using materials and the rationales for these practices. In response to this gap, this work examines the findings of a study of English language teachers' use of instructional materials on a BA ELT programme in Mexico. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data, the study examines how more experienced (METs) and less experienced (LETs) language teachers use ELT materials in their lessons, and identifies what factors• cognitive and contextual• influence their decisions. Language teachers in the institution under study first completed a questionnaire about their use of instructional materials; six of these teachers were then studied through observations and interviews to provide a deeper understanding of classroom practices in using materials and the factors shaping their choices. Findings revealed that textbooks were the most relevant materials in the teachers' practices. In this vein the study unveiled contrasting beliefs between LETs and METs about the use of textbooks. The study also showed that contextual factors such as the length of courses and lessons, and the textbook-based assessment, were explicitly raised as the most influential over the teachers' use of materials. Another emerging factors that also shaped teachers' use of materials include: Procedures for selecting textbooks, institution's facilities, out of fashion materials at the resource centre, institutional mechanisms to supervise teachers' practices and types of teachers' work contracts. Contributions from this work are expected to be relevant for the institution under study, for similar other BA ELT programs and for the field of teacher cognition.

In D. melanogaster, resistance to DDT is conferred by the upregulation of a cytochrome P450 enzyme, CYP6G1. Resistant flies have tandemly duplicated Cyp6g1 alleles that possess the LTR (Long Terminal Repeat) of an Accord retrotransposon inserted in the cis-regulatory region, 291bp upstream of the transcription start site. This DDT resistance allele (DDT-R) has been shown to have pleiotropic fitness benefits for female flies in at least one genetic background and with evidence of sexually antagonistic selection at this locus. In this thesis, I first review the role of transposable elements in conferring insecticide resistance and the evidence to date regarding the pleiotropic effects of DDT-R in D. melanogaster. By conducting life history and behavioural tests on flies of two genetic backgrounds I examine the sex-specific effects of expressing DDT-R in the absence of DDT. Finally I develop a single locus population genetics model based on these sex-specific effects and test the model using replicate laboratory populations. The first main finding is that DDT-R incurred a male mating cost that depended on the genetic background in which DDT-R was found and that this cost coincided with strong epistasis between genetic background and DDT-R that influenced male size (Chapter 3). Following on from this result, it was confirmed that the effect of DDT-R on male size does contribute to lowered mating success but does not fully explain this fitness cost (Chapter4). Additionally, resistant males were found to have a lowered rate of courtship behaviour driven by aborted chasing of females and lower male-male aggression than susceptible males (Chapter 4). Fitness assays in wild caught strain females revealed that DDT-R confers a fecundity increase but unlike previous work, no offspring viability increases were detected (Chapter 5). Thus as with male costs, specific pleiotropic female fitness benefits to resistance depend on genetic background. Modelling of DDT-R using a simple single-locus approach (Chapter 6) provides, for the first time, a unifying explanation for past and present DDT-R frequencies in nature and in old laboratory populations. The model is consistent with an old origin for the original DDT-R mutation held at low equilibrium frequency through balancing selection of a sexually antagonistic nature. It is also consistent with continued near fixation of DDT-R long after discontinued use and matches empirical observations in laboratory populations of the Canton-S background.

Sexual conflict can occur when a trait is expressed in both sexes but has different optima in each (intralocus conflict) or when a beneficial trait expressed exclusively in one sex is detrimental to the other (interlocus conflict). The Drosophila melanogaster accessory gland protein (Acps) “sex peptide” (SP) has been implicated in interlocus conflict as it benefits males while being costly to females. Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) such as the endosymbiont Wolbachia and transposable elements (TEs) also influence fitness. DDT resistance is caused by a TE and is beneficial to females in the absence of DDT. Although the DDT resistance TE was present in populations before DDT use, it did not spread in populations, suggesting a hidden cost when expressed in males, making it potentially a sexually antagonistic allele. This thesis aims to investigate the natural variation of male SP expression levels and the fitness consequences for males of this variation. I examine if Wolbachia infection influenced the expression levels or fitness consequences of SP variation. Additionally, I attempt to measure the fitness consequences of DDT resistance in males to test if intralocus conflict may potentially explain why DDT resistance did not spread before the use of DDT. I found high levels of genetic variation in male SP expression levels, and this variation had fitness consequences for males via its effect on female refractory periods. I also found pre-copulatory costs to DDT resistance in males. However, these costs were not consistent when tested across different genetic backgrounds or when many individuals were present and incorporating larval competition, implying that additional costs and benefits to DDT resistance exist, which may explain why it did not spread before the use of DDT.

This study explored Taiwanese university English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' feelings of anxiety during a short-term study abroad (SA) programme. It aimed to discern what causes anxiety, how anxiety affects students' English language learning while abroad, and students' perceptions of the impact of the SA experience on their later English language learning and anxiety. The background to this research is the Taiwanese university context in which most students' English proficiency is limited. They are usually anxious about English language learning and especially about being involved in verbal communication. Due to this limited English proficiency and anxiety, sending students to study, English in an English-speaking country has been felt by some, to be a possible solution. This was a qualitative case study involving eight participants. Data was generated through semi-structured interviews, observations in classroom and outside, and students' diary entries. Four of the eight participants were selected for the illustrative individual case studies in which their English language learning anxiety before, during, and after the trip was analysed and discussed in relation to the views on situated learning theory and poststructuralist approaches to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research. The findings suggest that anxiety is a symptom of identity conflict, dependent on contextual factors and is always fluctuating. Such a view of anxiety is rarely present in existing literature. The findings also show that various social factors made the students experience identity conflict during the SA programme, which in turn caused anxiety and so impaired their access to social interactions in English, hindering their English language learning while abroad. Hence the SA trip has minimal impact on students' English language learning in general and on reducing their anxiety in particular. This contradicts the common belief that SA programmes provide an optimal language learning environment in which students have unlimited opportunities to practice the L2 with the native speakers. My study thus also raises questions in the field of SLA regarding the benefits of SA trips in enhancing language learning and / or how such trips may be improved to benefit students more. Such questions on the merits of SA programmes again have rarely been discussed in previous SLA research.

The overall aim of this study is to investigate the stated beliefs and the reported practices related to continuous professional development (CPD) of teachers of English in the context of a large-scale top-down education reform. Within this broad perspective, the study aimed to identify the CPD activities which teachers of English in Oman say they engage in and explore their stated beliefs about CPD. It also aimed to investigate policy makers' plans and views with regard to CPD and compare them with the perspectives held by teachers. The ultimate aim of these investigations is to develop a better understanding of the implications the findings may have for our general understandings of the relationship between educational innovation and teachers' practices in CPD. The study took place in two main stages. Stage 1 followed a quantitative approach in which a questionnaire was designed and implemented with the aim of investigating teachers' beliefs and practices related to CPD. A total number of 324 teachers responded to the questionnaire representing 70% of the target population. In stage 2, a qualitative approach was employed using semi-structured interviews mainly for the purpose of in-depth investigation of issues arising from stage 1. A total of 12 teachers and seven Ministry officials were involved in this stage. This study highlights the interaction between a range of inter-related factors which collectively shape teachers' beliefs about continuing professional development. It also provides evidence of the importance of considering teachers' beliefs in an era of reform. It highlights the impact of the deeply held beliefs of teachers on their interpretation of the reform principles and eventually on their practices. The study reveals a level of mismatch between the CPD system on the one hand and teachers' beliefs and practices on the other. The study also points out the potential consequences of such lack of congruence which may result in frustration and lack of confidence amongst teachers. The study illustrates the importance of the clarity of the system in the form of policy dissemination of CPD reform through outlining the relevant hoped-for and intended principles/guidelines to the concerned people at various levels.

This study is an analysis of pedagogical practice and support of English language student teachers during a practicum (teaching practice) in Kenya with a view to discerning what they learnt and the issues that influenced such learning. The study was conducted against a background of calls for research that could provide information for reform of teacher education in general and English language teacher education (ELTE) in particular. The practicum is recognised as an important aspect of all professional learning and is part of most teacher education programmes all over the world. Yet, my literature review revealed that very little research exists in this area, more so in ELTE. Of the previous studies on teaching practice (TP), very few are from developing countries and certainly none (that I know of) in Kenya. This was an interpretive qualitative case study involving seventeen participants - six student teachers, six teacher educators and five cooperating teachers. Data was generated through semi-structured interviews, observations and analysis of relevant documents. The findings generally show that the English language student teachers' practice was mainly focused on surviving the practicum and getting the desired grades to enable them graduate successfully. Consequently, though they learnt some procedural pedagogical knowledge, they were not supported to develop pedagogical reasoning, which is supposed to be the main goal of TP. Some of the issues that influenced teacher learning in this manner were: a weak link between coursework at university and practice in schools, the lack of a clear definition of the parameters of practice and inappropriate conceptualisation of support. My study contributes to the field of ELTE by qualitatively analysing the experiences of all the key participants during one TP session and exploring the question of what the student teachers actually learn during their placements, in a more holistic manner than has featured in most previous research on TP in the field. My study also supports some earlier studies that had similar findings on some aspects of TP; for example, that student teacher learning is only effective during the practicum if there is coordination between all the partners on ELTE. I believe the findings of my study are relevant to TP in other subjects in Kenya, and also other Anglophone African countries where the system of the practicum is generally quite similar.

Sexual selection is generally accepted as being responsible for the rapid and divergent evolution of male genitalia and other primary reproductive characteristics in internal fertilisers, such as testes size and sperm length. Selection can act via three main processes: sperm competition, cryptic female choice and sexual conflict, however very few studies have directly addressed the patterns of selection, the degree of phenotypic and genotypic variability expected in genital morphology or the degree to which intromittent genitalia are dependent on male condition. The seedbug, Lygaeus equestris has greatly elongated intromittent genitalia, being almost as long the body. Here I determine whether this is a sexually selected trait and further assess the degree of genetic and phenotypic variability in the greatly elongated male intromittent organ in relation to other morphological components. Further to this, patterns of inheritance and allometry of such exaggerated genitalia were investigated, and of the degree of condition dependence of genital and general morphology was experimentally assessed by varying food availability during ontogeny. Finally, using experimental evolution, I manipulated the level of sexual selection by biasing adult sex-ratio (male-biased, equal-sex, female biased) and investigated potential correlated evolution of female reproductive morphology and fertile (eupyrene) and non-fertile (apyrene) sperm length and numbers in the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella. The main findings indicated that genital length was sexually selected in L. equestris being negatively related to male fertilisation success and that there was great phenotypic variation in genitalia both across and within populations. Genital length was negatively allometric, in spite of being hugely elongated, and was significantly heritable with considerable evolvability. It was also evident that there was genetic variation in the condition dependence of genital length with a significant genotype-by-condition interaction and much reduced genetic variation in genital length in the poor food treatment. Male and female primary sexual traits of P. interpunctella were also shown to covary, but this pattern did not differ across treatments. Taken together, the results presented in this thesis do not support traditional hypotheses of genital evolution and instead suggests that male intromittent genital length of L. equestris is sexually selected in a similar way to secondary sexual characteristics. This is also true when examining primary sexual traits in P. interpunctella and further highlights the false dichotomy between primary and secondary sexual traits.

Over the last century, sexual selection has grown from a controversial theory into a vast field of theoretical and empirical research. Although Darwin outlined two major mechanisms within his theory, male-male competition and female mate choice, the latter has promoted a wealth of research by virtue of its complexity. Despite decades of research into how female preferences and sexually selected traits have evolved, there is still little consensus as to why females prefer the males they do. Preferences are thought to evolve from either direct selection on the preference, as females themselves benefit directly from mating with a preferred male, or through indirect selection on the preference via offspring fitness. In all cases however, female preferences should compensate for the costs of discriminating between potential mates, if they are to remain overall beneficial. The fitness benefits of mating with preferred males were investigated here using the fruitfly Drosophila simulans, employing a range of behavioural, phenotypic and quantitative genetic approaches. The findings presented here indicate that female Drosophila simulans do not gain directly from mating with a preferred male. Multiple mating can increase fecundity, although costs from male harassment can reduce the net benefit. They also indicate that females may benefit indirectly from mating with attractive males as attractiveness is heritable and sons of preferred males are themselves preferred. There is also evidence that attractive males are successful in both the pre- and post-copulatory sense, as preferred males are better sperm competitors than less-preferred males. However, although there appear to be benefits from preferred males via their sons, there appear to be no benefits from males via their daughters’ fitness. These findings collectively indicate that female preferences in Drosophila simulans are driven by indirectly selected benefits (via Fisherian sons), and that females benefit directly from mating multiply.

This thesis explores the experiences of four English language teachers in Turkey who moved from teaching in either high schools or language schools to teaching English to young learners. The study follows these teachers in their first year of teaching in primary school, describes the changes they went through in their approach to teaching English, and identifies the influences on these changes. The background to this research was an educational reform which introduced English into the primary curriculum. After this reform, there was a shortage of English teachers at the primary level. A common solution was to recruit English teachers from other levels of the educational system. Three of the participating teachers taught in high school before they moved to teach English in the primary school. One of the participating teachers taught English to adults in a language school before moving to the primary level. The data for the study was generated through systematic interviews with the teachers, as well as regular observations of their classes, over the course of the school year. The interpretation of the data was informed by the existing literature on teaching English to young learners and the literature on teacher change. At the end of the school year, all of the teachers said they would like to continue teaching English in the primary school. In adjusting to teaching children, the teachers mainly focused on developing class management strategies. The teachers did not, however, focus on maximising opportunities for learning the target language. The main influences on the teachers' change were in-service training, textbooks, as well as interaction with and support from colleagues. The research contributes to the debate of how to best facilitate the introduction of English into primary schools, and calls for further research into teacher development in the context of such curricular reforms.

The study provides a methodological framework to inform the design of Foundation Language Programmes (FYP) for students at Colleges of Technology in the Sultanate of Oman. It also provides a framework for embedding the Implementation Needs Analysis in the NA from the outset of the process. The methodology applied by this study is intended to be generalizable to further studies in similar TESOL/EAP contexts around the globe. The current study contributes to future research by reviewing and synthesizing as much of the literature and highlighting the main developments in NA, presenting the prospective reader with a comprehensive overview of the theory of NA. The study itself also contributes to research informed NA by adding to the knowledge base concerning effective, contextualized, implementable needs analysis and by making the data and findings of this study available for public scrutiny and for replication in other contexts. Six groups of participants were approached for the purpose of data collection. The needs were analysed by means of questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations and genre analysis. Data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The study finds that triangulation of resources and instruments is important in order to obtain a tangible picture of the different types of needs in question. The study findings make recommendations for the FYP at the levels of purpose, learners' needs, underpinning principles, objectives and content, discusses potential implementation issues in context and draws out implications for needs analyses of such programmes more generally.