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The attachment theory created by John Bowlby has had a lasting impact on our understanding of child development and more recently on adult development. The primary aim of this dissertation is to show how attachment theory can be used as a tool to inform educators about teaching and learning. There is an abundance of literature on attachment from infancy to adulthood, incorporating all forms of relationships. However, there is little research carried out on attachment and the implications for adult teaching and learning. This thesis outlines the key tenets of Bowlby’s theory, while drawing on the recent research studies of leading theorists, to lay the foundations for the study. Concepts such as the attachment behavioural system, secure and insecure attachment styles, internal working models and the strange situation are discussed. The study also explores how adult learners and educators are influenced by their own attachment styles and internal working models and how this impacts on the teacher-student relationship. The paper also looks at the implications for both the learner and educator when handling new situations and new knowledge. In addition, the concept of educational biography and narrative is explored as a means of altering or transforming an individual’s internal working models and facilitating the creation of new knowledge. A qualitative approach was used in the study. Three participants work in the area of counselling and adult education. The fourth participant is a project co-ordinator and adult educator with a children’s charity advocacy organisation. The participants were invited to narrate their stories of their attachment experiences from childhood to v adulthood, which aimed to offer a potentially developmental and reflective space for each participant in revisiting their lived attachment histories. Stories were gathered through the interviews to gain insight into how these experiences play out in the educator-student relationship. The participants’ stories were presented in the form of four core narratives. The narratives and findings were then further analysed and significant themes emerged in the stories told. The findings from this study show that the attachment paradigm offers definite value and useful insights for educators and facilitators of adult teaching and learning.

“Paracinema, Orientalism and the “Fannish Enthusiasm” of the Academy” is an analysis of how J-Horror has been celebrated by North American audiences, and how it has been constructed and critically assessed in the West. This construction reflects an Orientalist appeal of the East in the West, not only to prospective viewers, but also by scholars. Using the concepts of Orientalism, Techno-Orientalism and Paracinema, I look at how the ongoing fascination with the perceived “extreme-ness” of Japanese cinema has continued to promote Japan’s foreignness. “Censorship, Classification and Economic Control: Systems of Regulating Film in Canada” is a historical analysis of how systems of regulation have been put into place in Canada in an attempt to control film content. My research encompasses not only systems of censorship and classification (ratings), but also how economic incentives put forth by the Canadian government to stimulate film production have the possibility of restricting artistic expression.