Thesis
“It’s your bread and butter” : an exploration of teacher perceptions of nurture principles in the whole class setting
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2025
- Thesis identifier
- T17331
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201665514
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- The Six Principles of Nurture (Holmes & Boyd, 1999) have been used in schools for over two decades to support children and young people’s wellbeing. They are expected to form whole class and whole school wellbeing approaches in Scotland (Scottish Government, 2017). The aim of this study was to explore teacher perceptions of the principles and their relevance to everyday practice in the mainstream classroom. Included in the study was an appraisal of the term nurturing pedagogy, as first developed in early years education in Ireland (Hayes, 2008), and the extent to which Scottish teachers were aware of the concept as it aligned with current nurturing practice. This research used a case study design with four embedded units of analysis: 3 primary schools and 1 secondary school in a ‘cluster’ of schools in one Scottish local authority. Visually-mediated focus groups and semi-structured interviews were carried out to investigate the views of 27 participants. Three overarching themes were identified. Professional stance revealed that participants perceived nurture practice as a natural approach for teachers, which included concepts of care and empathy as tantamount to nurturing approaches in the classroom. Professional behaviours for equitable practice detailed participants' understanding of nurture principles as similar to the everyday actions of teachers to provide equitable education in their classrooms. This included adult understanding of children and young people’s family backgrounds and experiences. Finally, the challenges of using nurture principles in the mainstream classroom were explored in tensions and dilemmas in nurture practice. Findings included concerns over resources, time, staff development, and perceived imbalance between nurture principles and behaviour management strategies. The study conclusions contribute a Framework for Nurturing Pedagogy to improve teacher understanding and use of nurture principles in their classrooms. The framework adds to the academic field and enhances the relevance of The Six Principles of Nurture (Holmes & Boyd, 1999) in classrooms today through a deeper exploration of additional concepts such as care, empathy, consistency, flexibility, equity, and understanding behaviour. Implications for educational policy are identified alongside the next steps for research in nurture practice.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Wall, Kate
- Resource Type
- DOI
- Date Created
- 2024
Relations
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PDF of thesis T17331 | 2025-09-03 | Public | Download |