http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32861 2026-06-21T18:11:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33399 Title: Mastery, mobility, and mathematics: A case study on service children and the NCETM’s five big ideas Authors: Khokar, Mariam Abstract: This case-based research study examines the implementation of Teaching for Mastery (TfM) in mathematics using the NCETM's Five Big Ideas – Coherence, Representation and Structure, Variation, Mathematical Thinking, and Fluency. The study considers the opportunities and challenges associated with applying TfM pedagogy when teaching mathematics to a diverse pupil group, particularly Service (Army) children. The study uses the concept of policy enactment to explore how teachers interpret and apply these principles within their classrooms. Drawing on classroom observations, teacher interviews, field notes, and work samples, the research investigates the successes and challenges of applying TfM, with particular attention to the needs of Service children who often experience educational disruptions due to family mobility. Teachers working with Service children face additional challenges in maintaining coherence and continuity in learning despite frequent school transitions. This research examines how the structured, deep-learning approach of TfM, underpinned by the Five Big Ideas, can address these challenges while fostering a cohesive and inclusive learning environment. Findings indicate that while the Five Big Ideas promote mathematical understanding and engagement, their enactment is shaped by teachers’ professional beliefs. Teachers are more likely to embed the aspects of TfM that they perceive to have, or are likely to have, a positive impact. Importantly, the analysis also identified two further principles – Community and Context – as essential to effective mastery teaching in this setting. Together with the NCETM’s Five Big Ideas, these form a proposed framework of Seven Big Ideas that reflect both established principles and the lived realities of diverse classrooms. The study highlights the central role of professional development – particularly in strengthening subject knowledge – in enabling teachers to adapt mastery pedagogy effectively for diverse pupil populations. Implications for policy include the need to design TfM support with sensitivity to contextual factors, such as the unique needs of transient military communities. The study concludes with recommendations for further research, including longitudinal studies on the sustained impact of the Seven Big Ideas – especially Community, Context, and Coherence – for Service children, and continued investigation into targeted professional development for mastery teaching. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33377 Title: Two stories and a metaphor: A Qualitative Study of Mid-Life Women’s Re-Entry into STEM Education Authors: Salehjee, S; Watts, M Abstract: This paper explores and showcases the return of two middle-aged women to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning, education, training and professions. We use the lenses of transformative learning theory and intersectionality to explore STEM identity development among our participant women in midlife, despite being ‘leaked out’ of the so-called STEM pipeline. We employ a qualitative phenomenological research design, conducting narrative interviews and employing thematic analysis to identify key themes for discussion. The implications derived from this small-scale study (n = 2) suggest the need for further research that may potentially be of particular interest to scholars, STEM industries and policy-makers (i) to recognise and act upon stereotypical, inequitable and one-sided views of the ‘STEM pipeline’, primarily those associated with gender and age, (ii) to acknowledge, appreciate and showcase midlife women’s entrance into STEM, thereby benefiting their own personal and professional STEM identity development, and their contributions to the STEM community, indeed to society more widely, (iii) to fund and create informal and community-driven STEM opportunities for middle-aged women to re-engage them with STEM and (iv) to re-think on the limitations proposed by the STEM pipeline metaphor and to focus their attention to a motorway junction metaphor, in which women enter and leave the STEM carriageway at many different points along the way. Description: Data Availability Statement: All data presented in the manuscript were obtained with participants’ consent to publication. No further data and materials (e.g., audio recordings) will be available. 2026-06-02T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33369 Title: From Awareness to Agency: A Freirean Analysis of Critical Consciousness and Social Justice Among International Medical Students in the UK Authors: Anas, S; Jounis, J; Tsouroufli, M Abstract: Social justice is increasingly emphasised in medical education, yet students often struggle to translate awareness of inequity into meaningful action. Drawing on Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy, this study explores how international medical students conceptualise social justice, encounter inequity within clinical and educational environments, and perceive their capacity to act as agents of change. Given the growing internationalisation of UK medical schools, understanding how international learners develop critical consciousness and experience inequity is essential. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using three online focus group studies with 11 Year 2 international medical students at a UK medical school. Data was audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed using a Freirean framework. Analysis focused on students’ expression of critical consciousness, experiences of structural inequity, engagement with the hidden curriculum, sense of belonging and perception of agency and praxis. Results: Four interconnected themes were identified. (1) Emerging critical consciousness: students demonstrated early awareness of social injustice, recognising how poverty, racism, disability, immigration status and biased curricular representations shaped health outcomes. (2) Witnessing inequities in clinical practice: clinical placements in General Practice (GP) settings exposed students to structural constraints such as language barriers, limited resources, inaccessible services and challenges faced by asylum seekers, reinforcing their understanding of health inequity as systemic rather than individual. (3) The hidden curriculum, inequity and belonging: while students identified financial and representational inequities within medical education, they also described a strong sense of belonging fostered through stable Team-Based Learning (TBL) groups, supportive peers and approachable staff. For international students this relational inclusion provided psychological safety and enabled engagement with justice-focused reflection. (4) Awareness without agency: despite growing critical consciousness, students reported limited power to enact change, citing hierarchical norms, lack of authority and resource-constrained systems, reflecting a predominantly banking model of education. Conclusion: International medical students demonstrated emerging critical consciousness and strong relational and institutional belonging, yet faced systemic barriers that constrained their ability to translate awareness into action. Medical education must move beyond awareness-raising to intentionally create opportunities for praxis, address the hidden curriculum, and support faculty to foster action-oriented, socially just learning environments. Integrating belonging with structured opportunities for participation and change is essential to developing critically conscious, socially responsive future practitioners. Description: Data availability statement: The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author. 2026-06-10T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33205 Title: ‘Trust the process’: New teacher experiences of instructional coaching as an element of their teacher training in England Authors: Forbes, Kate Tod Abstract: This study aimed to better understand new teacher experiences of instructional coaching as an element of their teacher training in England. The research questions examined teacher experience on three levels: in relation to their developing professional identity and agency; in relation to their relationship with their coach; and in relation to their understanding of the educational policy and context in which the coaching took place. This thesis argues that instructional coaching has proliferated in a performative culture, through complex policy technologies. I argue that without better understanding of the teacher experience, the teacher’s role in the process will be based on assumptions, which may serve the needs of those in power above the needs of the teacher. A qualitative methodology was used. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 new teachers who had been prescribed to receive similar versions of instructional coaching as part of their teacher training in England. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings highlighted that the teacher experience of instructional coaching is complex and diverse. Their experiences were affected by gender, subject specialisms and whether they had changed careers to join teaching. Teachers feeling a ‘vibe’ with their coaches was important to their experience and suggests a need for more thoughtful pairing of teachers and coaches. The teachers who experienced coaching as part of whole school coaching practice were more likely to positively engage with the coaching as prescribed. Despite holding views about wider educational policy surrounding instructional coaching, teachers’ experiences were most heavily influenced by their relationship with their coach and their immediate context. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Education and was awarded by Brunel University London 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z