Medical Education

This thesis examines the creation of public voice workshops for young deaf people by a group of hearing impaired young adults experienced in actor vocal training. The researcher takes on the roles of actor vocal trainer and researcher and engages the hearing impaired adults as participant researchers on a project called Let It Out. At the heart of the thesis, lies the complex relationship between the skill development of the actor vocal training techniques and the group’s ability to authorise, embody and transfer these techniques as deaf vocal trainers. The methodology of participatory action research through performative enquiry is used to analyse the pedagogy and the impact of the actor vocal training techniques. The study documents an approach to applying actor vocal training techniques, which enables a group of hearing impaired young adults to co-construct knowledge about the voice. The research demonstrates that through the embodied and performative pedagogy of actor vocal training, ensemble practice and kinaesthetic learning, a group of hearing impaired young adults becomes a self-empowering community of practice with a shared sense of vocal identity. The thesis proposes that this kind of embodied and performative pedagogy reconfigures the concept of what is legitimate knowledge of the non-hearing voice when it is enacted through the lived body of a hearing impaired person.

This thesis explores the role of principals in developing, leading and sustaining innovative and successful schools. From multiple perspective case studies in five Victorian government primary and secondary schools, a model of leadership was developed which provides a conceptual framework for those aspiring to lead similar schools.

The purpose of this research was to support improvements in the quality of evaluations of capacity development initiatives in the international development sector. These improvements should enable greater contribution of evaluation findings to improved capacity development initiatives. To achieve this, the research is designed to determine whether the application of one of the available frameworks assists the evaluation of capacity development initiatives. Adoption of an effective capacity development approach is seen as critical to reducing poverty through international development assistance activities (World Bank, 2005). As a result, global annual investment in capacity development now exceeds USD30 billion (World Bank Institute, 2012). However, capacity development results have been questionable, and evaluation findings have contributed little to addressing this due to their poor quality. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the quality of evaluations of capacity development. To assist improve the quality of capacity development evaluations, this research tested a framework (the Capacity Development Evaluation (CDE) Framework) for evaluation of capacity development to determine whether it: (i) provided the information and (ii) demonstrated the characteristics stakeholders required, and (iii) addressed the weaknesses with evaluations of capacity development identified in the literature. To complete this, two distinct research phases were adopted. The first phase identified the information users of evaluation findings required from an evaluation and the characteristics they wanted a framework to demonstrate. The second phase then sought to identify whether application of the CDE Framework assists the evaluation of capacity development initiatives. In Phase 2, the rationale for selecting the CDE Framework from the available frameworks and the rationale for adopting a case study approach are explained and three case studies presented. These case studies capture initiatives of different sizes and aid modalities, which support different sectors in different countries. These initiatives were also characterised by different management structures, levels of resources for M&E and the stage in the project life cycle at which the CDE Framework was introduced. As each stakeholder may perceive the value of a framework differently, this research has adopted an interpretivist approach using qualitative methods to obtain the rich data required for both Phase 1 and 2. Care has been taken to identify and include in both Phases representatives from all intended user groups, thus avoiding the narrow perspective inherent in the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Criteria consequent on their development being undertaken solely by donors. Reflecting the role of the intended user in determining the value of the framework, the criteria used to assess the quality of this research were those identified by intended users: the robustness of the research and transferability of the research findings. A range of methods have been adopted to enable these quality criteria to be met. Data was collected from those involved in implementing or using evaluations through semi-structured interviews. In addition, for each case study, data was collected from documents prepared for either the partner, donor or implementing team. Draft findings for each case study and each research stage were provided to all involved and others who had expressed interest. Findings were also presented at a series of stakeholder workshops. In addition, findings were progressively presented at relevant conferences and published in a peer reviewed journal. This formed part of an extensive member checking and peer review process. The research found that the CDE Framework provided most of the information and demonstrated the characteristics required by stakeholders. Users of the CDE Framework believed that it had significantly improved both the evaluation and the quality of the initiative. Application of the CDE Framework had addressed the weaknesses with previous evaluations identified in the literature. Significantly, the Framework had enabled early identification of what was not working on each initiative. As a result of these factors, many who had used the CDE Framework on the case studies had already applied the Framework elsewhere. This research clearly demonstrated that application of the CDE Framework assists the evaluation of capacity development initiatives. This was through the simplicity of the Framework which facilitates clarity and shared understanding, and provision of both performance and process information. In addition, the research has addressed a number of areas in the literature where there has been an absence of information. The research also identified that the DAC Criteria do not meet the information needs of users.

Medical Education - Theses

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