Avril Rowley | Liverpool John Moores University (original) (raw)

Papers by Avril Rowley

Pastoral Care in Education, Dec 4, 2023

To my. Director of Studies, Doctor Harkirtan Singh-Raud, without whose time and guidance I would ... more To my. Director of Studies, Doctor Harkirtan Singh-Raud, without whose time and guidance I would not have been able to complete this PhD. I have greatly valued his support, especially considering he came on board so late in the process of completing this work. He has been generous with his time and provided a great deal of insight into how to present my findings to the correct standard. His sense of humour throughout has been a great blessing. To my former Director of Studies, Professor Les Bell, for his invaluable guidance in the first three years of my research. He has been very supportive and I learned a great deal from him about the research process. I was sorry to lose his supervision and the wisdom of his experience. To my other supervisors, John Lathom, Russell Jones, Dominic Wyse and David Huddart, for patience and guidance over the course of my studies. To the headteachers who took part in this research and gave their valuable time to fill in questionnaires and participate in interviews, without whom this PhD would not have been possible. To the staff at John Moores University, especially Cherriil Edge, for their support and guidance. To my house group for their prayers and support, especially in the final few months. To Mike and Caro Bell, for their excellent proofreading skills. A special thanks to Caro for her help with computer glitches and printing the final copy. Finally, to my husband, Paul, who has supported me throughout my studies and encouraged me to persevere at all costs. I could not have done this without him.

Current Psychology

Maintaining wellbeing in university students is a government priority, but robust evidence has be... more Maintaining wellbeing in university students is a government priority, but robust evidence has been lacking. Higher wellbeing is associated with better mental and physical health, higher self-esteem, self-efficacy, and effective coping strategies. This study aimed to identify, through an online survey in 2018, key determinants of wellbeing amongst a sample of 574 (65.5% female) students across all levels of study at a university in the UK. Most respondents (526 (91.8%)) reported feeling unusually stressed or overwhelmed at university. Residential students reported higher loneliness and number of stressors than commuter students, and postgraduate students reported higher wellbeing, resilience, and sense of coherence, and lower perceived stress and loneliness. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that 71.8% of the variance in wellbeing was predicted by a model containing demographics (age/gender, level of study, number of stressors), psychosocial variables, and perceived stress, wi...

Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, Feb 19, 2023

The primary headteacher's role has always involved two inter-linked and interpenetrating aspe... more The primary headteacher's role has always involved two inter-linked and interpenetrating aspects: the chief executive (managerial/administration) and the leading professional functions first advocated by Hughes in 1976. Since ERA (DES 1988) and subsequent educational reforms in England and Wales, there has been increased activity in both these aspects of the headteacher's role. This study examined the impact of specific government legislation since 1997 on primary headship using a multimethod approach. The Hughes (1976) dual model of headship was applied to a sample of headteachers in Merseyside to ascertain its relevance to modem primary headship. Through the use of postal questionnaires, in depth interviews and the analysis of individual school's OfSTED reports, data were collected which enabled the development of a picture of the strategies used by headteachers in Merseyside to try to maintain a balance between the chief executive and leading professional aspects of t...

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2020

The adolescent attachment questionnaire (AAQ) is designed to measure adolescent attachment patter... more The adolescent attachment questionnaire (AAQ) is designed to measure adolescent attachment patterns through three components: availability, goal-corrected partnership, and angry-distress. To date there has not been a confirmatory factor analysis conducted to determine the fit of data to this theoretical model on a UK sample. This study aimed to assess the construct validity of the AAQ through cognitive interviews and a confirmatory factor analysis. Participants were adolescents aged between 12 and 16. Results from the cognitive interviews indicated that participants could correctly interpret the items. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of data to a three-factor model. Therefore, it can be concluded that the AAQ is a valid measure for attachment patterns in adolescents, provided that attachment is approached as a three-factor concept.

Education 3-13, 2018

Primary teaching ITT courses across the UK have been under pressure from central government, Ofst... more Primary teaching ITT courses across the UK have been under pressure from central government, Ofsted and the media to recruit more male students to their courses with the aim of increasing the proportion of males in the primary teaching workforce. This is because increasing the number of male role models in primary schools has been mooted as the solution to boys' underachievement, especially in reading and writing. There is, however, little evidence showing any correlation between boys' educational outcomes and the number of male primary teachers in schools. The purpose of the project reported in this paper was to ascertain the beliefs of the future primary school workforce about this focus on the need for male role models in schools. A mixed methods approach was employed; 120 male and female primary trainees were surveyed and a further 48 took part in group interviews, all of whom were based in an Initial Teacher Training department in a university in North West England. Results indicated that although aspiring teachers felt that males and females could make equally good role models for children their personal value systems perpetuated the myth that boys need male role models to achieve better educational outcomes.

Journal of Educational Administration, 2002

This article traces the impact of educational policy on the role of primary head teachers in Brit... more This article traces the impact of educational policy on the role of primary head teachers in Britain spanning the end of the New Right and the start of the New Left policy implementation processes. It is based on the reported perceptions of a sample of primary school head teachers who have been in post over the entire seven year period. It is argued that the conceptual framework derived from the early work on headship in the UK is still appropriate to an analysis of the role of the primary school head as both leading professional and chief executive but that the emphasis has shifted from one in which heads are selected from aspects of their role to one in which heads are now required to extend their involvement in school management across the main aspects of both parts of their role.