The first part of the study was conducted on a selected group of people from the management team of the investigated organisation.  This served as a cognitive testing of the suitability of the research tool for the subject under study.  An adapted version of the Negative Arts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) developed by Einarsen and Hoel (2001) was utilised in this research to collect relevant data from the respondents.  The second part of the research gathered quantitative data from the whole organisation, using an accepted version of the questionnaire used in the first study.  A total of 452 employees’ completed the survey which was a 25% response rate.  Results reveal 37% of the respondents have been subjected to bullying in the organisation; while 30% report that the bullying experienced is ongoing. A factor analysis on the different types of negative behaviours reveals three types of bullying behaviours: personal bullying, administrative bullying and social exclusion. Another factor analysis conducted on the causes of bullying within Lifesaver identified the attributes of the recipient, the poor interpersonal and intrapersonal skills of the perpetrator, a lack of effective policies and procedures, and the employees’ resistance to change as the primary causes of bullying. The third part of this research is a qualitative research carried out on 10 employees. Results revealed a different pattern to the causes of bullying. These are organisational change, organisational division into groups, power relations, poor management, and other factors such witnessing bullying. The different types of bullying, are covert and overt bullying, and upward bullying. The fourth part is another qualitative research conducted on five key informants within Lifesaver. Results reveal bullying is going on in the organisation and can be attributed to the fact that bullying is part of the culture of the organisation. The evidence to support this claim has been presented to the management of the organisation.

The children that are the focus of this study attend separate mainstream schools and are between seven and eleven years of age. Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) were, respectively, the theoretical and methodological approaches employed to explore the perspectives of children. Individual children’s constructs about the emotions they named as important to them were elicited over a series of meetings. The findings from this project are drawn from the descriptions provided by the children themselves and indicate that social experiences of happiness are grounded in peer relationships from experiences during play; these are also based on certain beliefs and achievements within the educational context. Furthermore, themes of bullying are commonly cited in experiences of more negative emotions such as sadness and anger. Relationships with key adults in school, particularly teachers are important for bringing resolution to experiences of anger, and providing support when sadness is experienced. Relationships between each case need to be understood through the unique contexts of children’s lives, which is in addition to the label used to describe these children. Implications for future research are discussed.

Objective: Little is known about health-related behaviours and their co-occurrence among male adolescents in Saudi Arabia. The main purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of health related behaviours, and to investigate the associations between socio-demographic variables and health related behaviours and the clustering of health risk behaviours. Research Methods: A cross-sectional study using a self-completion anonymous questionnaire was undertaken between February and April, 2008. A stratified random sample of 1501 male adolescents was recruited from one private and public high school in each of the five districts in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence and associations between health, social and demographic factors and health-related behaviours, including dietary behaviours, oral health, physical activity, smoking, violence, injuries and safety, and mental health factors. Results: The results of this study showed that only 24.2% and 39.9% of the students consumed fruit and vegetables on a daily basis (at least once every day), and only 7% and 13.7% ate fruit and vegetables 3 times or more every day. Also, only 52.4% consumed dairy products at least once every day and only 18.3% of the students consumed dairy products 3 times or more every day. 48.1% reported to not consume any fish products on any day of the week. About 48.7%, 60.2% and 25.2% of the students consumed sweets, soft drinks, and energy drinks at least once every day. The results of this study also showed that only 36.7% of students eat breakfast regularly (? 5 days per week). Eating breakfast regularly was positively associated with lower age, liking school, good academic performance, not eating high fat food every day, drinking soft drinks ? 1 time/day, drinking milk every day, low BMI, brushing teeth every day, physical activity ? 3 days/week, and not engaging in physical fights. Around half (51.3%) participants reported good teeth health status, 22.6% brushed their teeth two times daily, 29.7% brushed their teeth once daily, whereas 47.7% of the subjects do not brush their teeth daily and 54.3% never visited the dentist during the past year. About 29.5% of participants suffered teeth pain sometimes or most of the time and 16.4% missed some school days for this reason. Brushing teeth every day was positively associated with higher standards of parental education, attending private school, living district, good academic performance, liking school, visiting dentist during the last year, good teeth status, and not suffering from teeth pain. Only 18.4% of the students were physically active and only 65.2% participated in physical activity classes in schools. Regular physical activity was positively associated with younger age, liking school, good health status, lower BMI, father’s, mother’s, siblings’ and peers’ physical activity, not smoking, not fighting, not wanting to use drugs or alcohol, and not feeling lonely. Over a third (36.3%) of the participants were overweight or obese. A fifth (20.8%) of the adolescents were current smokers. 20.8% of the students were current smokers. Smoking among students was positively associated with higher age, studying in private school, poor health status, poor school performance, not liking school, father smoking, mother smoking, sibling smoking, peers smoking, low physical activity, wanting to use drugs and alcohol, carrying weapons, fighting, performing car drifting, and being abused by teachers. ii Over half the sample (55.5%) reported an injury, 21.8% had been threatened or injured by weapons. Just under half (49%) of the adolescents reported they were involved in a physical fight. Moreover, fighting among students was positively associated with the interaction of low parental education, not liking school, poor academic performance, skipping breakfast, low physical activity, current smoking, being threatened or injured by weapons, carrying weapons, joining people performing car drifting, bullying others, being abused by teachers. Carrying weapons during the last 30 days was reported by 36.6% of the sample. Carrying weapons was positively associated with higher age, not liking school, poor academic performance, current smoking, fighting, being threatened or injured by weapons, performing car drifting, joining people performing car drifting, taking part in bullying others, and being abused by family. Some (26.1%) of participants reported having been bullied and 24.6% of the students reported bullying others. Many of the adolescents reported being abused by a family member (34.4%) or one of their school teachers (39.5%) during the past 12 months preceding the survey. During this time period, many of the students reported feeling lonely (22.8%), feeling very worried about something that they could not sleep at night sometimes or more (27.0%), and feeling very sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more (40%). About 14% of the participants in this study reported that they had wanted to use alcohol or drugs. A small but notable proportion (13.9%) of the participants reported that they had thought of attempting suicide and 6.9% had actually attempted suicide. Over a third (36.1%) of adolescents had performed car drifting 12 months preceding the survey. However, car drifting was positively associated with higher age, attending a private school, not liking school, poor academic performance, not brushing teeth every day, current smoking, wanting to use drugs and alcohol, carrying weapons, joining people who performing car drifting, bullying others, and attempting suicide. The majority (78.7%) of participants drove vehicles and 96% and 97.7% reported that they did not use a seat belt when doing so and did not use a seat belt when riding in a car as a passenger, respectively. Only 2.1% and 1.4% of participants wore a helmet when used motorized vehicle or nonmotorized. Conclusions and implications: The results of this study reveal that the adolescents engage in multiple health-risk behaviours, and these risk behaviours are relatively common among adolescents and cluster together. Health related behaviours are associated with several socio-demographic variables (age, father’s and mother’s education, school factors, health status and living districts), although not necessarily in the same order. However, the data emphasized the need for further quantitative and indepth qualitative research throughout Saudi Arabia, including other cities, rural communities, female adolescents, and other Middle Eastern countries. Cross-sectional research to gather evidence on youth health to collect population-based data on a range of health-related behaviours along with physical and social environments amongst school-age students and out-of-school youth facilities are important and highly needed to investigate health-related behaviours and associated risk factors and to measure change over time.

Workplace bullying has, in recent years, been studied with increasing interest, but it is an issue that is still not fully recognised as a problem in UK higher education institutions (HEIs).  Bullying at work is a complex and dynamic social phenomenon which has adverse effects on the psychological and physical well-being of those who have experienced or witnessed it.  Academia is not immune to bullying, as the findings of this study – a case study undertaken in a large UK HEI – show. This study explored staff perceptions of the definition, nature and causes of bullying and the perceived effects on health and well-being. Four hundred and thirty questionnaires were sent out, of which 206 were returned; a response rate of 48%. Twenty semi-structured interviews were then carried out to expand upon the questionnaires, and analysed using a constant comparative methodology. Foucault’s analysis of power with its emphasis on the social construction of phenomena was used to examine power – bullying relationships. More than half of all respondents perceived that they had experienced one or more forms of bullying, and when it occurred, it was most likely to be by a superior, although individuals were also found to be bullied by peers and subordinates. Most staff who had been bullied reported feeling stressed, anxious or depressed in varying degrees, though support from colleagues was found to help protect people from some of the worst effects of bullying.

UK concerns over teacher shortages, and national and international interest in student retention contextualise this study. Addressing a dearth of evidence for undergraduate withdrawal in Initial Teacher Education (ITE), the thesis questions why students withdraw from their courses of ITE and why some consider withdrawal but persist. Located within a mixed-methods institutional case-study, quantitative survey approaches provide information about the incidence of withdrawal, persistence and the student experience amongst a population of 81 postgraduate and 490 undergraduate ITE students. Qualitative semi-structured interviews provide an in-depth understanding of the withdrawal or persistence of 29 students. A case-by-case analysis of interview data portrays the individuality and complexity of the withdrawal/persistence process; whilst a crosssectional analysis considers factors affecting withdrawal and persistence across the 29 interviewees and 110 ‘persisting’ questionnaire respondents. The research, drawing upon a social constructionist epistemology, accords primacy to the student perspective. Withdrawal from ITE was found to be affected by a range of factors: intra- personal, inter-personal, academic. professional, institutional and external. Antecedents of particular interest include intra-personal factors such as responses to stress, lack of confidence, and perfectionism; interpersonal factors including bullying; and aspects of teacher identity, contrasting voluntary withdrawal with persistence suggests that goal commitment and determination are strong antecedents of persistence. Other factors which seem to promote short-term continuation include: support; course-related factors; and intrapersonal qualities such as coping strategies, self-efficacy and perseverance. Such factors provide a window for supportive intervention, with the hypothesis that those interventions affecting goal commitment are likely to be the most successful in promoting continuation. The study analysed evidence of an unwillingness to seek institutional support. Given that support was identified as a factor in continuation, avoidance of support is a key finding.

Adverse early life experiences have been found to be associated with a wide variety of negative consequences in adulthood, including psychological distress and psychopathology. The literature review examined the association between a specific adverse early life experience, being bullied by peers in childhood, and negative outcomes in adulthood. It concluded that there is a consistent association between being bullied in childhood and experiencing a range of adverse effects in adulthood, although more research is required to establish the full range of effects that childhood bullying can have in adulthood. The empirical paper investigated whether emotions and/or negative beliefs would mediate the relationship between childhood bullying and paranoid thinking, in a non-clinical sample of adults. Data was collected through self-report questionnaires measuring demographics, retrospective memories of three types of childhood bullying (‘indirect aggression’, ‘direct verbal aggression’, ‘direct physical aggression’), ‘anxiety’, ‘depression’, ‘interpersonal sensitivity’, ‘negative beliefs about self’ and ‘negative beliefs about others’ and two types of paranoid thinking (‘ideas of social reference’, ‘persecution’). Mediation analyses revealed that ‘negative beliefs about self’ and ‘depression’ significantly mediated the relationship between ‘indirect aggression’ and both types of paranoid thinking, whereas ‘negative beliefs about others’ mediated the relationship between ‘direct verbal aggression’ and both types of paranoid thinking. Results suggest negative beliefs are the primary mediators of the relationship between bullying and paranoid thinking indicating cognitive models as the most appropriate theory for understanding and treating paranoid thinking.

This research explores – in depth – critical drivers and outcomes of engagement as perceived by individual employees in Australia. This research also looks at employee engagement from a reverse perspective by exploring critical drivers and outcomes of disengagement. In addition, the impact of psychological contract violation on employees’ disengagement is explored. The theoretical framework subsequently includes employee engagement (from academic and practice perspectives) and psychological contract violation. The objective of this sociological study is to advance our understanding of the (dis) engagement phenomenon as a process including critical drivers and outcomes as generically perceived by individual employees. As part of the empirical inquiry investigating the (dis) engagement phenomenon within its real-life context, this study has involved researching 131 participants across three Australian case studies through face-to-face interviewing (82 participants) and focus groups interviewing (49 participants). Acknowledging this study’s sociological inquiry at the micro-level of organisation, it does consider the perceptions of participants to be potentially representative of the larger scale macro- levels of social organisation. The first main finding suggests that critically perceived drivers of engagement are recognition and flexible working. The second main finding suggests that psychological contract violation can be a critical driver of disengagement. The final main finding suggests that potential (toxic) outcomes of disengagement can be counterproductive behaviours at work exemplified through bullying, fraud, lying, breaches of confidentiality, and non-compliance of organisational rules and processes

Looked after young people, the focus of this thesis, are young people in state or public care. They frequently have complex family circumstances, socially excluded backgrounds and often intense need. Whilst it is possible to identify trends and patterns in their backgrounds, their needs and requirements are essentially heterogeneous (Bullock, Parker, Courtney, Sinclair and Thoburn, 2006, p. 1346). The research was undertaken within the national context of persistently poor educational, health and behavioural outcomes for looked after young people, evidence from Inquiry reports of historic abuse, and contemporary concerns that small groups of looked after young people may not be safe (Ofsted, 2008d, p. 5). In addition, a dissonance was found between contemporary social policy developments for looked after young people and effective implementation which impacts positively on their experiences and outcomes. Previous research on the topic from the perspective of young people themselves remains under developed. The study aimed to investigate the views of 25 looked after young people who had recently left a placement about their safety and wellbeing whilst in their previous placement. The researcher adopted a case study design, an interpretivist perspective and conducted in-depth interviews using structured and semi-structured methods. The study found most participants felt safe but some felt unsafe to varying degrees. Participants felt most safe from sexual harm and least safe from physical harm and bullying. Carers, other looked after young people and foster carers’ own children were identified as the main sources of harm. Families were identified as the people who were most effective in listening and looking out for participants’ safety and wellbeing. Formal complaints procedures were found to be inadequate for communicating young people’s concerns about their safety and wellbeing. Many participants valued their participation in education and wanted increased participation in all important decisions that would, or could, impact on their safety and wellbeing. A close interrelationship was found between participation, outcomes, power and engagement. The concepts of ‘voice’ and ‘exit’ were applied to the analysis of participation to denote inclusive, empowered levels of participation and, conversely, levels which contribute to disconnection and disengagement. Close trusting relationships with family, friends, carers and social workers were found to be important but often experienced as inadequate. Participants mostly wanted to discuss important, personal issues with people with whom they had a close, personal relationship. High levels of placement discontinuity and complex care arrangements often resulted in disrupted key relationships and contributed to making key information – including knowing the reasons for being looked after – difficult to understand and recall for some participants. Having a clear sense of self history was identified as contributing to self identity, and the building of resilience and wellbeing. The study identified an absence of person centeredness relating to looked after young people. The study compared aspects of UK and European welfare models and found the UK model to be antithetical to the importance of relationships, participation and the centrality of the young person. European social pedagogic models were generally found to achieve greater synergy with young people’s perspectives and priorities. The study concludes by emphasising the close inter-relationship between the key concepts of ‘safeguarding from harm’ and ‘promotion of wellbeing’. Four emergent categories identified from the analysis of findings are proposed as the key components of a new model of safeguarding and wellbeing for looked after young people. These four components are: feeling safe; inclusion and participation; continuity and quality of relationships; and sense of self and self history. In addition to these four components, the defining feature of the model is presented as the centrality of the voice of the looked after young person, with subsequent implications for policy and practice.

This thesis addresses an existing gap in the workplace bullying literature: how Human Resource Practitioners (HRPs) construct, interpret and respond to workplace bullying. Semistructured interviews were conducted with individual HRPs and a small focus group using two forms of data collection: HRPs’ unprompted interpretations of a vignette depicting a bullying situation and HRPs’ own experiential accounts of handling bullying claims. The HRPs were from private and public sector organisations, and all occupied roles that involved dealing with bullying claims. The interviews were analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis, and Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice provided the framework for interpreting the multilevel individual, organisational and social factors influencing HRPs’ bullying-related practice. The findings suggest that bullying is a complex and difficult issue for HRPs due to a combination of organisational pressure to protect managers, management-centric antibullying policies and the relative powerlessness of Human Resource Management and HRPs in organisations. HRPs applied a range of interpretive mechanisms that served to attribute blame to the target and legitimise the manager’s behaviour, even when the behaviour described met academic definitions of bullying. The way the HRPs constructed, interpreted and responded to bullying claims depended on whether the alleged bully was the target’s peer or manager. The HRPs consistently constructed peer-to-peer claims as interpersonal conflict and manager-to-employee claims as the target’s reaction to performance-management practices. The HRPs’ construct of ‘genuine bullying’ appeared to comprise four essential criteria: intentional and person-related behaviour between peers, which has significant negative impact on a trustworthy target. These findings have significant implications for research and practice. Firstly, HRPs’ construct of ‘genuine bullying’ is fundamentally different to academic and organisational definitions of bullying. Secondly, as a result of these constructs and interpretive mechanisms it appears very unlikely that any management behaviour in manager-to employee claims would be constructed as bullying by HRPs.

This study aims to explore pupils’ and teachers experiences and perceptions of homophobic bullying in rural secondary schools, and to use these views to support further development of policy and practice. The topic was chosen because of the limited range of current research available, detailing teachers’ and pupils’ experiences of homophobic bullying. The research was conducted using a case study design within an interpretative paradigm. The methods used to gather data were semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The data was gathered in two local secondary schools and one local youth group. In the secondary schools, five teachers were selected randomly for participation in semi-structured interviews. In the secondary schools and the youth group young people were randomly selected and invited to contribute within a focus group. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and main themes from the interviews and focus groups were identified and discussed. Results suggest homophobic bullying continues to be of significant concern to young people in schools, and that it continues to be happening on a frequent basis. Teachers also recognise the issues relating to homophobic bullying and highlight that this type of bullying can also be evident towards teachers and between teachers. Young people felt that teachers were ineffective in dealing with homophobic bullying, and teachers themselves lacked confidence and knowledge in addressing the issue.

This study investigates the views and experiences of ten disabled pupils who attended a resourced provision attached to a mainstream secondary school.  It used semi-structured interviews within a social constructivist paradigm carried out with disabled teenagers by a disabled researcher.  The transcriptions of the interviews were analysed thematically with the categories for the analysis developed by grounded theory. Detailed consideration was given to the ethical issues raised by research which focuses on the need to promote the engagement of the children and ensure their voice is heard and these issues were addressed in the context of the present study. Evidence from this study indicates that the pupils welcomed the opportunity to talk to a disabled researcher and were fully willing to explore their experience of being a disabled pupil in the school. They reported issues around transition to the secondary school with the resourced provision, feeling ‘forced away’ from their local community and from friendships established in their primary schools. They commented on bullying in the school and feelings of being perceived as ‘different’, as lesser human beings. Most of the children did not take on board the descriptor of ‘disabled’ for themselves, talking instead about their impairments, which they did not see as important to their sense of identity of self. Conclusions stressed the need for teachers and policy makers to listen and respond to pupils’ voice, taking into account individual needs, and engaging in joint problem solving with pupils at both an individual and systemic level.

The impressive growth of antidiscrimination law in liberal democracies in the past few decades belies the inadequacy of the normative bases on which it has been sought to be justified. Popular ideals such as rationality, equality and dignity have been unsuccessful in providing a coherent liberal framework for the fundamental aspects of the practice of antidiscrimination law. In this thesis, I have argued that a unified normative framework comprising autonomy and dignity-as-autonomy does a markedly better job of justifying the most fundamental aspects of these laws. The ideal of personal autonomy is understood here as a principle that seeks to guarantee an adequate range of valuable options to individuals. Dignity-as-autonomy is understood to be an expressive norm, which forbids certain persons from expressing contempt for the autonomy of another. These ideals have different forms: autonomy is a non-action-regarding principle, while dignity-as-autonomy is action-regarding. They are also distinct substantively: it is often possible to violate one of them without affecting the other. When these ideals make incompatible demands, I argue that those made by autonomy should prevail. Mandating positive action and reasonable accommodation on the one hand, and prohibiting indirect discrimination and harassment on the other, are essential features of a model of antidiscrimination law based on this framework. Further, under this framework, antidiscrimination law is not vulnerable to objections such as ‘levelling down’ and responds well to claims of discrimination on ‘intersectional grounds’. Furthermore, it is not essential to find an ‘appropriate comparator’ in order to prove discrimination. This model also explains when, and under what conditions, can some forms of discrimination be ‘justified’. Finally, on an autonomy-based model, antidiscrimination law is only one of several complementary tools that should be employed to protect and promote personal autonomy.

The Exploring Masculinities Programme (EM) was developed and piloted in 19 boy’s schools in Ireland during 1997-1999, with funding from the European Social Fund. The programme aimed, amongst other things to investigate different perceptions and experiences of masculinity and to promote equality among and between the sexes. Following the launch of the programme, EM was the subject of a considerable amount of media coverage, which was mainly critical of the programme. Amongst the most vocal critics of EM were certain parent groups and a number of journalists. In this context, the Minister for Education and Science commissioned the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to conduct an examination of, amongst other things, the media reaction to EM. The planned dissemination of the programme lost its momentum and in 2005, EM was only being used as a resource in a small number of schools. The current study aims to establish the views and attitudes of Irish parents and a sample of journalists towards the treatment of masculinity related issues with young men at senior cycle. There were four phases to the research. Phase one consisted of a survey of a national sample of parents. Phase two involved interviews with twenty-four of these parents. Phase three consisted of surveys with representatives of the five national parent associations in Ireland. The fourth phase of the research involved interviews with four journalists who had participated in the media debate on EM, together with the Project Coordinator of the programme. The study found that the majority of parents (both the national sample of parents and members of the various parent associations) viewed the primary purpose of education as the holistic development of the child rather than the attainment of Leaving Certificate points. The majority of parents were in favour of the inclusion of EM topics on the school curriculum due to the fact that EM issues were of relevance to young men, with parents suggesting that schools currently are not doing enough to deal with issues such as homophobic bullying. While support for the inclusion of EM issues was high, concerns were expressed by parents. These concerns related to, for example, whether lessons on EM issues would be based on Catholic values; whether teachers had received sufficient development on such issues and whether young men were mature enough to deal with these issues at senior cycle. While two of the journalists viewed the school as playing an important role in the exploration of masculinities with young men at senior cycle, the remainder questioned such involvement. Concerns were raised by the journalists in relation to the ideologies underpinning EM, particularly in relation to the concept of gender as a social construct and the perceived underlining feminist ideology. Based on this, the journalists viewed the programme as selective in nature and imbalanced in its treatment of certain issues. Additional concerns related to the lack of consultation with relevant agencies and individuals during the development of EM. The project coordinator of EM, Peadar King, supported the journalists’ views that the writing group were too narrow in their focus and did not engage sufficiently with other agencies or personnel. However, he questioned their perception of EM as anti-male and tendentiousness in nature. Both parents and journalists advanced some possible suggestions on how EM issues could be examined in the future. Possible suggestions included the adoption of a cross-curricular approach and the inclusion of a positive discourse on masculinity. It was proposed that such issues would be best addressed by an expert external to the school and through the use of active learning methodologies. The importance of related teacher development and adopting a consultative process when developing curriculum for social and personal programmes were also stressed. The findings from the study raise a number of questions in relation to Irish post-primary schooling. For example, how can the differing views of parents be accommodated in relation to whether school-based social and personal programmes are taught within a Catholic framework? What alterations can be made to the current process of curriculum development in Ireland so that new curriculum initiatives do not experience as much controversy as EM and how can the specific social and personal needs of young men be met within senior cycle education?

This thesis aims to advance understanding of how behaviour that constitutes sexual harassment, as the imposition of unwelcome attention based on sex or gender, is embedded within the everyday working lives of secretaries. This aim is achieved through the reporting of results from a number of research studies including a self-report questionnaire completed by secretaries, an examination of texts and advertisements concerning secretarial work, and two ethnographic studies of the secretarial workplace. The thesis reports research that demonstrates the limitations of commonly used investigative methods which abstract sexual harassment events from the immediate microsocial context in which they occur, and arguments are made for the centrality of an approach to sexual harassment research that acknowledges and prioritises the intrinsic socially situated nature of sexual harassment. Research is reported that demonstrates how sexually harassing behaviour carries out multiple social functions within everyday interaction. Research is reported that analyses how social rules for interaction, set within cultural structures defining identity and status, limit the possibilities for effective challenge of sexually harassing behaviour. Research is reported that considers the place of certain features of social identity as they are culturally constructed particularly around women, and secretaries, in influencing the conditions for sexual harassment to occur and to pass unchallenged. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the project to eliminate sexual harassment.

Research questions providing the impetus for this study relate to how a small group of women with AS describe their main life challenges and what they view as possible solutions. The main aim was to listen to and record the individual experiences of a group of women diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and to identify what they thought had helped or might have helped them. A review of selected peer reviewed literature relating to women with AS revealed a scarcity of systematic enquiry. An alternative source was identified in the writings of women themselves. Both types of literature were appraised using different methods as appropriate to the genre of literature identified. Critical appraisal tools were used to study the peer reviewed literature and the personal accounts were subjected to a modified thematic analysis. Following data collection and analysis different literature was reviewed in the light of what had emerged. An interpretive phenomenological analytical methodology was used following the criteria set out by Smith (2009). A sample of eight women was identified. Interviews were carried out using a semi structured interview format, recorded, transcribed and analysed to ascertain key themes. Direct quotes were selected to illustrate these and to reflect the women’s voices. Findings from the synthesised themes included: the importance of early diagnosis; feeling different; the search for rules; the challenge of change; perfectionism; difficulties with other people and places including bullying; difficulties at school and in employment; relationships in various forms. Suggestions for possible support mechanisms included early diagnosis; the provision of information to families, health providers and school and the availability of mentors and social groups for women. The key findings have been incorporated into a set of recommendations which has potential value for future research, policy and practice.

This small scale study was informed by Symbolic Interactionism and Interpretivist Analysis and was carried out in a county within the south of England, referred to as ‘Southshire’. File searches and questionnaires were employed to gather contextual data. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather participant views and thematic analysis was used to analyse these interviews. This was a two part study consisting of two papers. The participants in Paper one of the study were young people with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) and their parents or carers. Paper one focussed on the participants’ views and experiences of mainstream and special education after they had experienced both. The views of the special school keyworker were also sought in order to improve understanding of the support and barriers that exist for young people and families. Views were elicited through individual semi-structured interviews which were analysed qualitatively using a thematic analysis approach (Braun and Clarke 2006). To gain contextual information within the county and to help in the process of selecting participants, the files of fifty young people identified as experiencing BESD were searched and analysed and relevant information was recorded. Paper two focussed on practitioners’ experiences of supporting young people with BESD. An electronic questionnaire was sent to practitioners from a wide range of agencies and collected qualitative and quantitative data which informed the researcher of the local context and gave insights into practitioner views. Five practitioners were invited to take part in individual semi-structured interviews to explore their views on supporting young people with BESD. Interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Findings from papers one and two were assimilated and the implications for Educational Psychology practice were considered. The following research aims were addressed: 1. To improve our understanding of the support and barriers experienced by children and young people with BESD in a Local Authority 2. To develop a better understanding of how Educational Psychologists can support children and young people experiencing BESD, their parents, carers and other practitioners. Summary of findings The key finding within Paper 1 was that both the young people and parents/carers reported experiences that were contrary to the intentions of current inclusion policy. Broadly, negative experiences were reported at mainstream school and positive experiences were reported while at special school for BESD. Participants felt that they had been treated negatively by mainstream practitioners in particular and that young people had been denied access to the curriculum and activities within mainstream school. Additionally the young people had experienced bullying at mainstream school and the bullying had been ignored or the young people themselves had been perceived as the bully despite being the victim. Perceptions of and attitudes towards the ‘unseen’ disability of BESD were also referred to and parents and carers reported feeling isolated while their child was attending mainstream education. The key finding within Paper 2 was that practitioners also reported experiences that were contrary to the intentions of the current inclusion policy. They reported many challenges that are faced by practitioners when trying to include young people with BESD in mainstream schools, and when supporting them within the Local Authority. Participants felt that negative attitudes towards BESD exist within mainstream schools, that working with other agencies to support young people with BESD is difficult, that parental involvement is key, but not always possible and that elements within the government and Local Authority context conflict with the inclusion agenda and with meeting children’s needs. Significance and Contribution Through a design informed by Symbolic Interactionism and Interpretivist Analysis the participants authentic voices have been heard in order to deepen our understanding of their experiences. Previous research has explored the views and experiences of young people, families and practitioners; however this is the first time that they have been considered together sufficiently in order to identify shared views. Additionally, young people, families and keyworkers views were sought at a specific point within the young person’s journey – after they had attended both mainstream school and special school. Furthermore experiences of the transition from mainstream school to special school were considered. The findings within this study suggest that the application of a simple solution (i.e. including young people with BESD in mainstream schools) to a complex problem (the social inclusion of young people with BESD), has had a negative impact. In fact the findings seem to imply that the inclusion of young people with BESD within mainstream schools has actually created the social exclusion that inclusion was designed to alleviate. The evidence for this is present within the findings within this study. In relation to BESD, the medical model has been criticised for individualising the ‘problem’, however if an educational model view of BESD is taken we are led to consider that the education system itself is imperfect. Therefore taking the educational model approach and applying the simple solution of ‘inclusion’ to the very complex problem of social inclusion highlights many areas of difficulty. These areas of difficulty have been outlined in the findings of this study and of previous studies. The identified issues are entrenched within the education system and can only be tackled through an examination of the system itself. The reported experiences of inclusion are more nuanced than the powerful message my data suggests, therefore it is essential to note that this study is not simply suggesting that inclusion is ‘negative’ or ‘bad’ and that special school is ‘positive’ or ‘good’ – a much more complex picture has been presented. The complexities that have been highlighted within this study have also been considered alongside the role of the Educational Psychologist and how they can facilitate inclusion and essentially social inclusion through their work with young people, families and practitioners. As a result of the findings, it has been suggested that further research should focus on examining the education system and in particular the dichotomy between the inclusion agenda and results centred teaching and the specialist provision for BESD that exists since the implementation of the inclusion agenda and whether it is meeting the needs of young people. Further research may also focus on whether the case presented for young people with BESD in this study is similar for young people with other types of SEN. This further research on how inclusion policy translates into practice will be particularly pertinent as new government policies and agendas unfold.

This thesis reports on research conducted with young children (aged six to seven years) on the issue of bullying in Irish schools. The aim was to explore the perceptions and understanding of bullying from children’s perspectives and experience. The research also included the views of the children’s parents and teachers on bullying. This research adopted an interpretative stance. A grounded theory approach was used to collect and analyse qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews which were conducted with eight children (aged six to seven years), eight parents and two teachers. Two primary schools in Ireland participated in the research. The data from the interviews generated a number of categories and subcategories addressing the following broad areas; bullying and exclusion, friendship, school life and home life. Findings revealed insights into the participants’ understanding of bullying and friendship which highlighted the complexity of young children’s interactions in school and the difficulty the adults around them have in accurately defining and addressing bullying behaviour. The study concludes with emerging theory from the data which suggests that children operate in their own miniature social world in which they follow rules, where failure to do so results in children being excluded. The thesis concludes with specific recommendations for adults working with young children who are bullied, such as the need for adults to listen to children’s accounts of bullying and to provide consistent advice on how to address bullying. The results indicate that future research needs to be focused on identifying strategies to improve our understanding of bullying and how to address it.