Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe teaching of history in state-supported elementary schools in Victoria, 1852-1954( 1965)The major concern of this thesis, then, is to trace and account for the introduction of History as a subject in 1886, to show its development in an initial period of transition as the implications of the new subject were explored, to follow it through the years of the "New Education" to the time when it became an established and accepted subject, changing little, to examine a period of exciting rediscovery and revision in the early 1930's, and finally, after another twenty years of relative but deceptive calm,to describe the changes which led to the introduction of Social Studies at the expense of History, Geography and Civics in 1954.
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ItemThe teaching of French in New South Wales and Victoria 1850-1958( 1958)This thesis is a study of the development of the subject French at the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne and in the schools of New South Wales and Victoria. It seeks to show why French was taught in this land so far from France, by what methods it was taught, to whom and by whom it was taught. It was impossible to discover the answers to these questions without studying the growth of the two Universities and in particular the changes of curriculum in their Faculties of Arts, the relationship between the Universities and the schools and the influence of the University Departments of French on French in the schools, the growth of secondary education and the public examination system, and the reforms in the curriculum of the secondary schools in the twentieth century as a result of changes in educational theory and philosophy. Only against this background is it possible to understand the rise and fall of one particular subject.
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ItemThe origins and early history of the State secondary school teachers in Victoria, 1872-1926( 1968)In tracing the history of state secondary school teachers in Victoria from their origins in the primary teaching service until 1926, this study covers the areas relevant to teacher status - viz., teacher training, conditions and associations - and an attempt has been made to evaluate the progress made towards professional status. The Diploma of education course, initially a two-year University course aimed to train teachers of academic subjects, was instrumental in raising the academic and pedagogical qualifications of secondary teachers. It was, however, inadequate in that it did not train teachers in sufficient numbers, and it was always starved of finance and essential resources. The Diploma was supplemented by the post- Intermediate Trained Teacher's Certificate courses in manual and Domestic Arts and Commercial subjects. Because the education Department played a significant role in both systems of training and the teachers had no control of training standards, the progress that was made was achieved without reference to the teachers, and was offset by the increasing numbers of temporary teachers employed in the secondary schools. No significant progress was made by secondary teachers in determining their professional conditions. These were almost entirely decided by the centralized administration which widened and tightened its influence. Professional freedom in areas such as curricula was further limited by the uniformity imposed by the public examination system. State secondary teachers were willing conformists to these pressures restricting their professional activity, and directed most of their energy towards regularizing their position within the public service. Even in this sphere, they achieved little: their salaries were relatively poorer in 1926 than they had been in 1912, it took thirteen years to gain a Classification Board, and they rarely succeeded in gaining concessions even on minor matters. Hence state secondary teachers were enthusiastic supporters of the movement towards the uniting of all teachers within the one Union which culminated in 1926. By 1926, then, the greatest gain that state secondary teachers had made was in their training and qualifications. For the rest, their steps towards professional status were faltering and often retrograde.
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ItemA consideration of the notion of discipline as it is used in educational discourse, and an examination of some aims, beliefs, assumptions and justifications implicit or explicit in statements about practice of discipline in Victorian high schools( 1969)Chapter 1 ... Introduction. The thesis aims to clarify the use of the word discipline in educational discourse, and to examine critically some aims, beliefs, assumptions and justifications implicit or explicit in statements about practice of discipline in Victorian High Schools. The connecting thread is to be found in the relationship between what is thought and said about discipline and what is done in the name of discipline. Chapter 2 ... The definition of Discipline. The main contexts in which the word is used in education, (a) discipline in learning and (b) discipline in moral-social behaviour, are circumscribed, and defining characteristics, systematization, organization and deliberation, are established. Further lines in the rough sketch map of meaning are drawn in by reference to various frames of reference in which the notion is involved ... (a) for the first context, learning psychology, definitions of mental discipline and subject disciplines, and concepts of mind, (b) for the second context, psychology, sociology, ethics, philosophy and linguistics. In learning, Ryle's dispositional concept of mind and Dewey's definition of intelligence are linked to the notion of discipline; and in behaviour, internalization, either of coercion or of co-operation, is suggested to be central to the notion. Finally, the process-product ambiguity in 'discipline' and relationships between the two main contexts, are discussed.' Chapter 3 ... Discipline in Learning. Current curriculum revision in Victorian High Schools is considered, particularly the plan to 'break down' subject-discipline boundaries. The notion of structure in language and in knowledge is explored to defend subject-disciplines. Consistencies are traced between notions of flexible, open-ended concept-structures, theories of subsumptive learning, dispositional concepts of mind. If mind is defined as the individual acting purposefully and intelligently to 'control' environment by structuring generalizations about relationships, the individual is insofar self-disciplined. 'Structure' is considered central to notions of knowledge, mind, self-discipline and curriculum and hence is a basic concern of formal education.' Chapter 4 ... Discipline in Moral-Social Behaviour. Uncertainty about aims, confusion in methods, and lack of consistency in the use of discipline in its two contexts, are examined in statements about discipline of moral and social behaviour in High Schools found in reports, 'codes' of discipline, special courses of study, and suggestions on classroom management. The notion of self-discipline is examined as a moral-social aim and those conditions and methods which encourage or inhibit the realization of this aim are discussed. Self-discipline is finally defined as an outcome of a total school experience in which work-centred co-operation, mutual respect and rational indirect prescription of behaviour are prominent.
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ItemEducation and state control in Victoria, 1900-1925( 1963)This is an attempt to make sample assessments of State-controlled education in Victoria in the first quarter of this century, to define the nature of State control and to judge of its quality and effectiveness. The term 'State control' has been interpreted to include partial and indirect control as well as that which is complete and direct: hence Part III has been devoted to control exercised by the State over private and denominational schools, for this extension of the State's arm was characteristic of the period. Within the State's own Department system, the whole field proved too vast for one thesis: therefore, on the assumption that the system at the Primary level was fairly well established before the turn of the century and that other Melbourne researchers are covering the field of technical education, attention in Part II has been focussed on the establishment of State high-schools. Part I, on administration, naturally treats of the system as a whole. Another limitation imposed by space and time concerns sources of material. Any assessment must embrace causes as well as results, and in that even the sample field proved too large for detailed consideration of a wide range of causes, attention has been concentrated on internal evidence -- that is, evidence contained in Department documents and reports. Apart from practicability where evidence is embarrassingly plentiful, one justification of this approach is that in the period under survey Victorian State-controlled education was dominated by the strongest and most influential of its several Directors, Mr. Frank Tate. It has been the fashion to count this domination to the credit of Victoria's first Director and to the great advantage of the State. But one of the assumptions underlying the commentary in the pages that follow is that in a democratic society the professional administrator and his officers should not be obliged or even permitted to determine the social objectives underlying the processes of education. It is theirs as experts to determine the most appropriate means by which the goal shall be reached after it has been determined and defined by the community through its elected representatives. (From Introduction)