| Summary: | This thesis is a critical commentary on eleven works published between 1999 and 2008. The central concerns that infonn the body of work are the processes of human interaction in school and the effects and implications for teaching and learning. Two main strands are explored within these general overarching concerns: fIrst, the personal, social and emotional aspects of education and second, teachers learning through engaging with and in research. The publications discussed are qualitative research studies, usually conducted in partnership with practitioners, critiques of policy and the development of tools to assist thinking. The commentary begins with the author locating herself professionally. The publications are then considered chronologically and within the two strands referred to above. The fIelds of pastoral care and teacher research, within which these publications are located, are also discussed, as are theoretical frameworks infonning the writings. In the fmal section, the core themes that connect the two strands are extrapolated. The themes identifIed are: the affective aspects of education; relationships in education; the inclusion of vulnerable children in mainstream schooling; the conception of what it is to be a teacher; and teacher learning. The commentary considers the contribution made to the fIelds and the signillcance of the publications. The claims for the contribution are that the published works have contributed to the development of thinking in the fIelds of pastoral care and teacher learning through applied qualitative research; through the development of analytic tools and fmally, through critiques of current policy and practice.
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