ABSTRACT
It all began under the fireplace in the Merston teachers’ centre in October 1972, for this was my initial encounter with the headmaster of Bishop McGregor School 1 . As we sat beneath the fireplace at the back of a crowded meeting we briefly chatted about what we both did and I was invited to visit Bishop McGregor School. Little did I think that this casual conversation was an important research encounter which would result in research projects, a research career and a research relationship that would span fifteen years until the head retired from the school.
