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Policymakers who have invested in the use of ICT in education are often motivated by its promise to realise pedagogical innovations. However, the unrelenting gap between the promise and performance of ICT has continued to prompt further research into how the affordances of technology can be better harnessed in schools. This three-year qualitative case study hopes to shed light into this matter by looking at the: 1) ecological factors of how an ICT-enriched primary school in Singapore had been using technology to support the pedagogical reform for student-centred learning; 2) conditions that led to its sustained use of technology for this purpose. Complexity theory was employed as the analytical framework for the study. By examining the inter-connectedness of systemic influences governing the in-situ use of ICT in the exemplar school, educational leaders and policymakers can gain a holistic perspective of the factors that may promote or impede technology integration effort. Through the use of interviews, lesson and meeting observations as well as document analysis, the trajectory of the school’s ICT journey was mapped out. The development history surrounding the use of technology for teaching and learning provided a precursor to investigate how the school organisation as the unit of analysis had created favourable conditions leading to the sustainability of ICT-related innovations. Specifically, five themes had emerged: 1) continuous scanning of environment; 2) multi-pronged capacity building efforts; 3) mitigating systemic tensions amongst stakeholders; 4) shared accountability and 5) systematic pacing. Based on the findings to the study, a complexity-informed model for technology leadership, stakeholders’ dynamics and guidelines for policymaking were drawn up. The dissertation concludes with reflections on the use of complexity theory and recommendations for future research.

The thesis explores the career decisions of a case of graduates who have completed a Bioscience and Chemistry double major award. The study seeks to explore the careers these graduates have entered, and the factors influencing their choice. The study also looked into the extent of the link between the jobs and the disciplines studied. The career path taken was also explored. The findings of the study will enhance better preparation of future graduates for diversified careers. This study used mixed methods to collect and analyse data. The first part of this study used a questionnaire to quantify those factors that influenced the career decisions. The second part of the study employed a qualitative method. Specifically, interviews of eleven graduates selected from the initial quantitative study provided a data source for developing a deeper understanding about their career decisions. The integration of results from the quantitative and qualitative methods provided in-depth answers for the five research questions. The study shows that 30% of graduates surveyed were with discipline-related jobs, 50 % with jobs somewhat related to their curriculum and 20 % with discipline- unrelated jobs. Reasons for choosing non-discipline-related jobs were: being bored with routine laboratory jobs, having low salaries, being confined to the laboratory or lack of job opportunities. Cognitive values were considered to be more important than environmental and affective values in career choice. The factors considered to be most important were opportunity for growth, having interesting jobs, having a considerate boss, and having job responsibility. Financial rewards were ranked 14 out of 32 factors. Influences from family and lecturers were not as important. However employability skills played a role in career choice. The study concluded that career decision-making is a complicated process. The findings of this study may contribute to the literature of career choice of science graduates in Malaysia, and have implications for the practice and future research in the innovative careers of science graduates.

This study traces the internationalization of Singapore universities from a historical and developmental perspective. The main Research Question is: “Why and how have Singapore universities internationalized since the beginning of nationhood in the early 1960’s to the globalized economy of today?” It seeks an in-depth understanding of (a) the meanings of internationalization, (b) the rationales for it; and (c) the approaches to it - from the Singapore government’s and universities’ perspectives. The study is located within the interpretative paradigm with a qualitative research approach using documentary analysis as the sole data collection method. The focus is on the three publicly-funded universities, namely NUS, NTU and SMU in Singapore. Being publicly-funded, the rationales for internationalising and the strategies used are more likely to be influenced by governmental policies and direction. Relevant sources examined include published government and university documents available from university libraries, web-sites and government archival records. Among the key findings are - that the internationalization of Singapore universities is inevitable given 21st century globalization and knowledge-based economies; and the government’s tight instrumental interdependence between education and economic development. The term ‘internationalization’ of universities is interpreted as ‘going global’ by the government; and ‘to be a global university’ by the three case universities. Singapore‘s universities are used as key ‘instruments’ to foster and attract talent, both local and foreign – to overcome a scarcity of skilled labour. Hence, the ‘internationalization’ of Singapore universities aims to – produce ‘world ready’ graduates, enhance ‘global competitiveness’, and talent augmentation (attracting foreign talent). Some of the Internationalization strategies adopted by the government and universities are unique. Two analytical models of internationalization of universities are developed from the study as its theoretical contribution.

Singaporean Schools have been using Information Communication Technology (ICT) for more than two decades but little is known about the process of implementing ICT interventions especially in view of the range of ICT currently available and the pedagogical stress it places on teachers. By using a private school in Singapore as a case, this research study attempts to unpack the categories of ICT use from PowerPoint presentations to interactive learning activities so as to illustrate the interactional nature of pedagogy and technology in ICT-enabled lessons. The study recommends the use of two new terms ‘Technogogy’ and ‘Teachnology’ to better describe the ICT implementation process. The iTEaCH (ICT-Technogogy-and-Collegiality Holistic) Implementation Model comprising the dimensions of Technogogy, Teachnology and Collegiality and how they interact in the ICT implementation process is also proposed in the study.

Although the number of transnational institutions worldwide has increased dramatically over the past decade, little is known about the “independent academic expatriates” (IAEs) teaching in those institutions. This study investigates the influences that have shaped the decisions of 14 IAEs to seek and retain positions in a transnational institution in a developing country in Southeast Asia. Specifically, this study examines their reasons for leaving their previous job(s) and for joining and staying at the case institution. It also looks at potential and actual reasons for leaving the case institution. The major outcome of this study is a grounded theory of how the respondents made decisions about whether to change job locations. Using grounded theory approaches, categories of reasons and types of IAEs emerged, on the basis of which a foundational theory of decisional job location is proposed. The key concepts of this theory are that IAEs make decisions about a change of job location on the basis of personal, vocational, relational, institutional, and geographical reasons which exert “push”, “pull” and “static” forces, the interplay of which influences the outcome of their decision-making to stay at or stray from their present job location. Furthermore, the relative prominence of each category and their overall pattern varies across IAEs, generating a typology. This typology consists of four types: Opportunist, “Kin-nected”, Expatriate Partner, and Altruist. The substantive theory of decisional job location contributes to the fields of transnational education, academic career development and expatriation by providing insights into the myriad of influences that shape the individual’s decision to change job locations, thus enabling the case institution and similar transnational institutions to improve recruitment and retention. The study also gives a voice and identity to the growing number of IAEs working in transnational institutions around the world.

This study investigates a classroom learning activity where students collaborate using technology in a university in Japan. This dissertation adopts an interpretivist perspective using the notions of extended and distributed cognition to study the flow and organisation of information in a classroom. The main source of data comes from repeated classroom observations of 24 group activities, twelve group interviews with students and three individual interviews with teachers in a liberal arts college. The first major outcome of this study is the conceptual mapping of a cognitive system of the classroom, which identifies and illustrates the processes of memory, distribution and information processing. The second outcome is the discovery of how students and teachers use artefact, interaction and cultural tools to leverage their cognitive processes to enhance their cognitive activity, particularly in the processes of memory, distribution and information processing. Other outcomes include the nature of collaboration at five levels of class, group, individual, sub-group and sub sub-group that engender learning interactions and interaction with cognitive artefacts. Another outcome revealed how cognition is distributed via nine distributional media where technological artefacts are leveraged for information on demand and at the same time. At the same time, these outcomes have implications for the development of theory, practice, policy and future research.

The aim of this study is to generate a substantive theory concerning how Singaporean conscripts manage their national service (NS) experience in relation to their development, education, and careers. It addresses three main research questions: What are conscripts’ perspectives on NS in relation to their personal lives and careers and their education and development needs prior to enlistment? How do conscripts perceive and cope with the two-year conscription experience? In what ways, if at all, do conscripts believe the conscription experience will influence their subsequent personal lives and careers? A grounded theory methodology was adopted. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews with a group of 21 conscripts in the Army. Other data sources included participants’ reflection journals and performance records. The major outcome of the study was the generation of the Theory of Selective Commitment, which posits that commitment (with its associated features) to NS is the key factor that determines how conscripts manage, appraise, and assimilate their NS experiences. Among the major findings are that - how the conscripts internalised the significance of service in NS was dependent on how the conscripts coped during training, how they appraised their NS experience and how they assimilated their roles as citizen soldiers. This in turn determined their level of commitment in terms of time and energy devoted to serving NS. Accordingly, a typology comprised of five types of conscripts was identified: advocates, adventurers, careerists, play-safes and challengers. Major implications for policy formulation, practice, and future research are drawn from the study.

This thesis investigates how teachers who are non-native English speakers and who do not have the necessary qualifications for the Teaching of English as a Second Language manage with their work at a private language centre in Malaysia. The three research questions that helped guide the study are: (1) What strategies do such teachers adopt when planning their lessons? (2) How do institutional support mechanisms, both formal and informal, enable their work, and (3) How do they construct their professional identity? As the aim was to explore how the teachers learn to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) in the absence of a traditional teaching qualification, the study focused on an alternative pathway through a socio-cultural approach to enable teachers to gain pedagogical knowledge as they build their professional identity in the process. The aims of the study and the research questions meant that its design necessitated a qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, classroom observations and documentary analysis with seventeen teachers at the language centre. In this case study approach, the teachers were the individual cases. The data were analysed using inductive analysis to form themes. The findings concluded that the nurturing school environment and culture supported teachers’ learning and knowledge construction which stemmed from the leadership and management policies that were grounded in educational research and values. The study offers a set of facilitative conditions for the development of untrained teachers which emanated from the teachers’ perspectives about their experiences and their decision-making as they progressed from the novice stage to being competent teachers in adopting lesson planning strategies. The critical role of the institutional culture and continuing professional support system is highlighted in enabling them to develop their teaching skills and thus, the development of their sense of teacher identity.

This thesis investigates the individual and group behaviour of students in Hong Kong who are experiencing a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum for the first time. The research examines how they cope with problems arising from small group collaborative learning and factors influencing their group dynamics in a PBL setting. The central research question is, “How does a group of university students in a Hong Kong cope with the group dynamics, both inside and outside the classroom, when experiencing a PBL situation in their programme?” Following an interpretivist paradigm, this study aims to develop a substantive theory of the interaction among university students in a PBL tutorial environment and associated phenomena. This research has employed the qualitative approach of grounded theory research methods to collect and analyse data from twelve first year students studying in the Associate of Science in Architectural Studies programme at the City University of Hong Kong. Data collected from semi-structured interviews, non-participant video-taped observations, and documents were triangulated to enhance the rigour of the study. The Theory of Adaptive Formation that has emerged from this study explains the interactive processes that determine student behaviour and group dynamics in the PBL small group collaborative learning setting and describes the phenomenon of constant formation and re-formation adopted by the students and tutorial groups to adapt to different situations arising from the PBL process under the influence of four key factors: Group members, Problem brief, Tutor influence and Group collaboration. The theory also explains the relationship between the four student types –Drivers, Adventurers, Workers and Riders – and the key factors. Although the emergent theory remains predominantly substantive in nature, this study illuminates important implications for the stakeholders as well as highlights critical recommendations for practitioners and researchers of PBL.

As schools use more technology, they are increasingly likely to hire in-house IT support workers. Nothing is known, however, about relationships between teachers and IT workers. This study examines the perceptions of relationships between these occupational groups at an international private school in Singapore. As an international private school, the research venue is self-governed and self-funded. This autonomy allows the school to establish its own hiring practices and management structures devoid of the political interference and delayed responses that might characterise a larger-scale school system. A review of the literature reveals three themes: perceptions of professional status, perceptions of occupational prestige, and perceptions of occupational cultures – each subsequently investigated in terms of the relationships fostered between the two occupational groups. Twelve teachers and seven IT workers participated in detailed semi-structured interviews – which were then subjected to qualitative analysis using both open and axial coding. The research findings show that extant literature on each individual occupation is largely validated. Relationships between the two occupations were generally regarded as good, with each side reporting sources of minor irritation with the other. These irritants included exploitation by teachers and lack of prompt service from IT workers. Additional findings include: Two forms of inter-occupational ambassador exist: the tweeners, whose jobs place them at an intersection between the two groups; and bridgers, who voluntarily seek to strengthen interactions with their occupational counterparts. Teachers uniformly but sometimes hesitantly claim professional status. IT workers generally deny having professional status on the grounds that they lack complete mastery over their field of work. Other important elements of relationships include secretaries, communication, occupational cultures, and the geography of offices. The study concludes with suggestions for future research and recommendations for schools to improve relationships between teachers and IT workers.

This study generates a substantive theory of how Chinese Indonesian undergraduates adapt themselves in a Singapore private university. This thesis adopts an interpretivistic perspective and engages grounded theory research methodology. The principal source of information is a series of in-depth individual and focus group interviews with a group of 20 participants, supplemented by their diary accounts of their study activities over a week-long period. The first major outcome of this study is the generation of the theory of Selective Accommodation that describes how these international students apply various social-psychological strategies based on their perceptions of their sojourn in a foreign country and on their future intentions. Their accommodation distinctiveness, on the one hand, is a response to the perceived political persecution they face as minorities in their home country and to their acquired Indonesian culture. On the other hand, their accommodation strategies are also facilitated by Singapore’s vision of becoming a global educational hub. The result was the derivation of five accommodation categories of push factors, pull factors, pliability, study mechanisms and future direction. The second major outcome that arises from the grounded theory approach is the development of a typology of Chinese Indonesians based on how they react to the five categories during their three-year tertiary courses. This typology consists of four Ideal Types of accommodation, namely ambassadors, adherents, achievers and apathetics. In short, this study provides a fresh perspective on how foreign students adapt to life on foreign soil in their own unique ways. At the same time, it has implications for the development of theory, practice and educational research in cross border student migration.

The aim of the study is firstly, to investigate the effectiveness of low interactive Animated Pedagogical Agents (APAs) in aiding learning for a sample of 378 Singaporean pre-service teachers taking a full-time Post-Graduate Diploma in Education course in a case Institute; and secondly, to gauge how favourably the pre-service teachers perceive learning through such instruction. The sample is chosen because it represents the largest cohort of students from the case Institute. The study also explores whether the effectiveness and favourability in regard to APAs are affected by learners’ sensory preferences. Because APAs are lifelike characters that can be embodied in a computer display to interact with learners, many APA-based lessons are designed with high interactivity to simulate intelligence; this type of APA however, is costly to develop and difficult to customise, making it less attractive for instruction. This study, in contrast, proposed that APA-based instruction should be designed with low interactivity, which is supported by sound pedagogies to help alleviate the above problem. To test this hypothesis, the study employed a quasi-experimental approach with a 2 x 4 factorial design to conduct the inquiry. Two learning conditions, the experimental and control conditions, and four sensory preference levels, the Strong Visual, Mild Visual, Strong Auditory and Mild Auditory levels - made up the factorial design. The two learning conditions were respectively learning with low interactive APAs (aka LIAI) and learning with a conventional online method (aka CI). Perceptions of LIAI were measured by three aspects of opinion: (1) extent of learning, (2) presentation of the instruction, and (3) interest in the instruction. At an overall level, 50% of learners on average were very positive in all three aspects of opinion; about 10% were very negative and the remaining 40% were mildly opinionated. At an individual level, extent of learning received the greatest satisfaction, followed by interest in the instruction and lastly presentation of the instruction. For effectiveness, LIAI produced moderately better learning performance than CI. Strong auditory and visual learners were found to learn best in their preferred modality. Mild visual learners learned well in their opposite modality and mild auditory learners did not benefit from either modality. The study also discussed implications of these findings and provided some recommendations for future research.

This study aims to clarify the major influences shaping the careers of Mainland Chinese school principals. In so doing, it further seeks to explore the part played by the PRC’s societal culture in the process of career shaping, and to explore whether stages are recognisable by which their careers can be framed. The study is directed by two main research questions: First, what factors influence the careers of primary and secondary school principals in the PRC? Second, can their careers be conceptualised into stages? Methodologically, the study adopts an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative approach, using the social theory of symbolic interactionism to underpin its assumptions. Life-history data in relation to their careers were collected from eleven middle and four primary school PRC school principals through semi-structured interviews. Participant principals were selected on the basis of purposive sampling. Coding of the data was followed by categorisation of the generated codes into career-influencing themes. Four main career-influencing themes emerged from the data. The first is Family Background, especially aspects of family socio-economic standing, and familial environment and expectations with regard to education. The second is Political Dimension - with the sub-themes of politically-driven contexts, Party-membership, subservience towards Party dictates, and a strong presence of a politically charged environment. The third is Significant Strategies/Means/Competencies with the sub-themes of Guanxi, qualifications (academic and professional); Nengli (teaching-cum-managing competency), and harmonious working relationships with others. The fourth is Circumstances, with the aspect of institutional enrolment processes, and a combination of factors that include a proclivity for book learning, timely opportunities and limited options, as its subthemes. The role of the PRC’s societal culture as mediated by the above themes and their effects on the careers of the respondents were identified using the dimensions in Walker and Dimmock’s framework for gauging the impact of societal culture on school management. Finally, a model of the influences on the careers of PRC school principals, and three frameworks on their career-stages were generated from the data.

This thesis is concerned with the growing phenomenon of mainland Chinese students studying in Hong Kong universities and the lifestyle and academic adjustment process they undergo in terms of living and studying. Since 2005, Hong Kong Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been invited to participate in the national universities' admission system of China and recruit yearly the brightest students in increasing numbers from the mainland. The aim of this research project is to explain why mainland Chinese students opt to complete their higher education in Hong Kong and understand the issues mainland students face when going to live and study in Hong Kong Higher Education Institutions, including the difficulties they encounter and the adaptation strategies they develop as well as their future plans after graduation. The study draws insight from a qualitative research approach within an interpretivist paradigm. Data were collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with nineteen mainland students studying in the University in Hong Kong. The case study approach was used in order to study individual cases. The purpose of this study is not to test a theory; rather, its aim is to explore the mainland students' experiences regarding the phenomenon of cultural and personal adjustment they make when leaving their homeland in order to live and study in Hong Kong. To this end, the study conceptualises the adaptation process, and by so doing, contributes to a developing body of theory on internationalisation of higher education and students studying overseas. In terms of its contribution to the literature, this study found that mainland students chose Hong Kong for the completion of their higher education for societal, economic, educational, familial and personal reasons. As the difficulties they encountered in doing so were often based on their individual circumstances, each developed his/her own strategies to overcome them. Importantly, although encountering initial challenges regarding living and studying in Hong Kong, the mainland students eventually prefer to stay and work in Hong Kong after graduation. The study offers an Emergent Model to describe the experiences and adaptation strategies of mainland students during their sojourn in Hong Kong. This model is derived from students’ perspectives about their experiences and their decision-making in adopting adaptation strategies as means of coping. This project contributes to the emerging research tradition of comparative cross-cultural studies. At the same time, it has implications for the development of theory, practice and future research in the internationalisation of higher education.

The central research problem is the insufficient supply of teachers opting for promotion to middle-level leadership positions in Singapore secondary schools, where about 66% are filled. This shortage limits the effectiveness of school management and reduces the flow of leaders aspiring to vice-principalship/ principalship. The study generates a model by addressing two research questions: (1) What influences affect secondary school teachers’ decision-making as to whether to aspire to middle-level school leadership? (2) How do these influences affect the career aspirations of Singaporean secondary school teachers? Using the interpretivist paradigm, case study approach, and content analysis methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a stratified sample of 20 participants. The investigation sought teachers’ perceptions of middle-level school leadership (compared to teaching) and their career aspirations, and identified the associative influences on their career decision-making. Such influences can be grouped into the categories of personal, socialisation and environmental influences, with each linked to two qualitatively different categories: teaching and leadership influences. Teachers’ career decision making is affected by ‘personal’ influences, resulting from innate attributes and pre-service experiences. Interactions with friends, family and significant others also give rise to ‘socialisation’ influences. ‘Environmental’ influences result from home and school environments. Teachers at different career stages (beginning teachers (0-3 years), more mature teachers (3-5 years), more senior teachers (beyond 5 years)) are more susceptible to particular influences; for example beginning teachers prefer honing pedagogical skills than doing administrative tasks. Teachers progress through these career stages and experience the influences identified. These influences affect individuals differently, for example additional remuneration may be less attractive for more established senior teachers compared to beginning teachers. Teachers’ decision-making processes regarding leadership aspirations lie at the heart of the Model of Selective Appeal, so named because particular influences on whether to opt for leadership selectively appeal, or otherwise, to individual teachers.

This study generates a tentative theory of how management development trainers (MDTs) manage their own learning and apply that learning in practice in a multinational corporation in Hong Kong. The thesis adopts a symbolic interactionist approach and uses a grounded theory methodology in the investigative process. The main source of data originates from a series of successive in-depth face to face interviews with a key group of 10 MDTs working for the multinational corporation. The data was supplemented by further data taken from trainee evaluation forms and a journal kept by the researcher. The first major outcome of this study is the generation of the theory of Transferring Relevance in management learning and its application. This theory describes how MDTs learn and apply that learning through socio-psychological processes. The core category discovered was labeled as the process of Adapting, and was supported by four other categories termed Analysing, Acquiring, Delivering, and Evaluating. A second major outcome was the development of a typology of MDTs with regards to how they acquire and deliver learning experiences to their target trainees. The typology reflects the MDTs preferred approaches in the analysing, acquiring, adapting, delivering and evaluating processes in the theory of Transferring Relevance. Consequently, the MDTs can be broadly classified into three types of learner-deliverer: Academic-Educators, Conceptualiser-Facilitators, and Practitioner-Guides. As this is the first study of its kind in this organisation, and no similar study has been conducted previously in Hong Kong, this research adds to the extant knowledge in the substantive area of management development in Hong Kong. It provides a new perspective on the way in which MDTs manage their role and has further implications for business organisations, practising MDTs in other organisations, and teaching/training professionals in both business and academic institutions; thereby further developing theory, research, and practice.

This study provides an in-depth understanding of how academics perceive and experience a performance management system in a British university. Specifically, it examines - within the context of a university department - the meaning and purposes of performance management; the effectiveness of the processes; the management of the system and its effectiveness; the impact of the system on academics’ working lives; and the areas requiring improvement. The study particularly explores the tension between performance management as a means of accountability within a managerial context and the more traditional academic ethos of professional autonomy. The research adopts a qualitative case study approach by selecting a School of Education in an older researchled University. The case School was primarily chosen for its ease of access. However, it had also operated performance management for some time, and it had academics with both high and low research profiles, a phenomenon which was likely to present a range of experiences of the performance management system. Twelve academics with varied backgrounds in terms of years of service, seniority and gender were participants in the study. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and documentary sources between September 2006 and February 2007. A two-level analytical coding approach was used to derive themes from the collected data. Among the major findings were that the participants found the meanings and purposes of performance management ambiguous; and that the many different processes contained within the system were perceived as fragmenting and confusing in achieving the intended outcomes. Compounding the concern was the lack of dedicated and able academics to manage the process. With work intensification - a prominent feature of academic life, academics became frustrated with the lack of time available for their research work. To defend their research ethos, the study provides evidence that some academics look for a more structured system to address the unbalanced workload issue.

This study generates a substantive theory of how engineering students approach engineering mathematics learning in a polytechnic in Singapore. This thesis adopts a symbolic interactionist perspective and engages grounded theory methodology in its investigation. The main source of data comes from a series of in-depth face to face interviews with a group of 21 engineering students in the case Polytechnic. This is supplemented by data gathered from the students’ reflection journals and informal interviews with their teachers. The first major outcome of this study is the generation of the theory of Selective Intentionality in engineering mathematics learning that describes how engineering students approach mathematics learning through a series of socio-psychological processes. The core category in this study is the category of intending that is surrounded by the other four categories of gathering, analysing, actualising and regulating. Another major outcome that arises from this study is the development of a typology of students with regards to how they experience and manage mathematics learning in their engineering courses in the case Polytechnic. The typology is based on the predominant distinctions among the participants according to their responses in the analysing, intending, actualising and regulating processes in the theory of Selective Intentionality. Accordingly, the students may be broadly classified into five types of learners: idealistic learners, competitive learners, pragmatic learners, fatalistic learners and dissonant learners. In short, this study provides a fresh perspective on how engineering students approach mathematics learning that is very important in their courses. At the same time, it has implications for the development of theory, practice and future research.

This thesis investigates how principals in neighbourhood secondary schools in Singapore manage their lowest stream, the Normal Technical (NT) students, in their schools. The study was guided by three research questions: (1) What are principals’ perceptions of streaming as a way of organising students in secondary schools?; (2) What perceptions and expectations are held by principals in neighbourhood secondary schools regarding NT students?; and (3) Do the principals' perceptions and expectations of NT students influence their school management with regards to streaming and the provision of opportunities for curricular and co-curricular programmes? The aim of the study and the research questions made the use of the interpretivist paradigm and qualitative research methods most appropriate. The study also adopted a symbolic interactionist perspective, realising that people make sense of their lives and experiences through interaction with others around them. The study exemplifies the methods proposed by grounded theorists (Glaser, 1992; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Participants were principals of neighbourhood secondary schools. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and documents over a period of approximately 36 months. Through the series of interviews a picture emerged of principals’ management approaches of their NT students. The grounded theory that emerged – the theory of ‘selective engagement’ – comprises a threefold typology of principals and three categories. The three categories are respectively: (1) Paradigms; (2) Conceptions; and (3) Management. The theory proposes that principals can be classified as ‘realists/pragmatists’, ‘innovators/improvisers’ and ‘nurturers’ according to the extent they selectively engage their students in the eight management areas: (1)Streaming/Lateral Movement; (2) Monitoring; (3) Deployment of Resources; (4) Subject Offerings; (5) Enrichment Programmes; (6) Managing Discipline; (7) Leadership Opportunities; and (8) Treatment of Students. The study shows how participants manage their NT students selectively in answer to the third research question. This gives rise to three discernible patterns of responses forming the basis of the threefold typology.

This thesis investigates why Mainland Chinese university students choose to study in Singapore, and how they manage the experience. The study was guided by two research questions: (1) Why do university students from Mainland China choose to study in Singapore? (as opposed to elsewhere) and (2) How do Mainland Chinese university students manage the experience of studying in Singapore, a different cultural environment? The aim of the study and the research questions made an interpretivist paradigm with qualitative research methods most appropriate. The study also adopted a symbolic interactionist perspective, realising that people make sense of their lives and experiences through interaction with others around them. Grounded theory methods of data collection and analysis were used. Participants were 20 Mainland Chinese university students studying in the two main universities in Singapore, namely, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), including its affiliate, the National Institute of Education (NIE). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and documents (diary entries) lasting 16 months. The grounded theory that emerged, called the theory of ‘selective pragmatism’, comprises a threefold typology of students and four categories, with the second category presented in two parts. The typology of participants conceptualises and labels the three groups as “the intellectuals”, “the opportunists” and “the loyalists”. The four categories are respectively: (1) Push Factors; (2a) Pull Factors (Other countries outside Mainland China, but excluding Singapore); (2b) Pull Factors (Singapore only); (3) Individual Resilience and (4) Future Intentions. The study shows how participants exercise choices and decisions in a pragmatic but selectively different way in responding to the two research questions. Three distinctively different patterns of responses emerge to form the basis of the threefold typology.

This study aims to clarify the role played by internationalisation in the functioning of universities in different institutional, national and cultural contexts. It examines the meanings and concepts of internationalisation, why and how universities internationalise, whether there are barriers and associated disadvantages and risks, and what are the perceived outcomes of internationalisation. The study uses a case study approach, involving the selection of two contrasting universities, namely, the University of Leicester and Hong Kong Baptist University. The choice of these two case universities was based on maximising differences in culture, geographical location, institutional type, and function, as well as feasibility of access. Guided by a literature review and five specific research questions, in-depth interviews and documentary analysis were carried out in Hong Kong and Leicester between July 2005 and April 2006. Data were open coded in accordance with the first stage of the grounded theory method of data analysis and subsequently compared and grouped on a thematic basis. Four major findings and two models emerged. First, university internationalisation as a concept is complex, multifaceted and value-laden. Second, the contrasting characters of the two case universities explain the diverse responses that each makes to the call for internationalisation in terms of purposes, strategies, processes, and practices. Third, the origin of the present emphasis on internationalisation at the two case universities is anything but planned. Having begun the process, however, internationalisation has become an entrenched and integral part in the institutional life of both universities. Fourth, some positive evidence of intercultural learning is apparent in both universities indicating that the efforts to internationalise in an otherwise globalising world of higher education have born fruition. Finally, two tentative models of internationalisation, the “internationalist” and “translocalist,” are presented for further theoretical investigation.

This study generates a substantive theory of how factors in the life histories of a cohort of eleven senior female academics in Hong Kong contributed to their success in academe. The primary source of data is a series of face-to-face interviews with the respondents. The critical relationships, educational experiences, and life events that contributed to the career development of these women are identified, and these data are supplemented by information about the respondents collected from university websites and the media. Using the constant comparative method, categories are gradually developed to constitute the basis of the proposed substantive theory. The major outcome of the study is a grounded theory of how the respondents made sense of their attributes and used their dominant attributes to achieve success in their academic careers. A fundamental concept of this ‘theory of selective attribution in career trajectory’ is the existence of reciprocal relationships among: (i) individual attributes (personal, social and academic); (ii) socialisation processes; and (iii) career trajectories. At various stages of the respondents’ career trajectories, the interplay between their dominant attributes and their socialisation experiences affected their construction (and subsequent redefinition) of their personal orientations—thus producing variations among individuals in their career orientations, strategies and pathways. The study finds that the senior female academics in this cohort shared many desirable ‘success attributes’, which were largely formed and nurtured through various socialisation experiences, particularly in the early stages of their lives. In addition to these common features, certain distinguishing factors among individuals within the cohort are identified – forming divergent patterns of dominant attributes in terms of personal identities, values, career orientations, and career strategies. These divergent patterns are utilised to present a threefold typology of senior female academics: (i) ‘career academics’; (ii) ‘career educators’ and (iii) ‘career opportunists’. In accordance with the dominant attributes they exhibited, women of a given type are found to hold similar personal identities, values and career orientations, and to have employed similar career strategies. The substantive theory of ‘selective attribution in career trajectory’ provides a new perspective on how female academics make sense of their attributes, and how they use them to achieve success in their academic lives. The theory thus contributes to the literature on the career development of female academics, especially with respect to how such women perceive, respond to, manage and balance the multiple demands placed upon them in their academic and family lives. Although the theory is generalisable only to female academics in situations similar to the present cohort, it has implications for the development of theory, practice and future research.