Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 10
-
ItemNo Preview AvailableThe discipline of comparative education : some reflections on the nature of the discipline with particular respect to its status as a science(University of Melbourne, 1973)The discipline of Comparative Education is not well defined either in the area of its study, or in its methodology. In recent years those who have found a clearer approach to methodology in the methods of social science have brought these into Comparative Education. However, these are not new to Comparative Education. The foundations of social science lie in the positivist philosophy of post-Revolutionary France, and this philosophy had its effect on educational theory of the time, notably in the work of Jullien of Paris. Two broad traditions in educational, and related social, thought can be traced; that which begins with Jullien and is characterized by belief in science; and that which begins with Matthew Arnold, and which stresses cultural analysis. For all their differences, both have originated and been used in an effort to understand or achieve social order. The means of attaining social order have varied. The 'scientific' and 'cultural' approaches to Comparative Education need to be studied in their contexts to be understood, although both approaches have intellectual appeal and use outside this context. The historical development helps us understand the present state of the discipline. An analysis of the comparative method, as a part of the process of cognition, shows some of its possibilities and allows some criticism of the method as used in Comparative Education. Comparison is necessary in cognition, and its study increases our understanding of the manner in which comparison is used to divide perceived experience into categories. Since the categories made are dependent upon the culture of those who make them, comparative study of other cultures may make more conscious the manner in which this is done; comparative study may also show that apparently similar categories are, in different cultures or sub-cultures, not as they appear. Science is often regarded as a reliable means of obtaining objective knowledge. Closer examination shows that science cannot be seen as a method, for any of its methodologies are linked to concepts, meaning and assumptions. Further, science does not produce objective knowledge, but does produce agreed knowledge. It is necessary therefore to study the manner in which this agreement is reached, which means the study of science as a particular cultural formation. Often this is not understood by those who call upon the name of science to give legitimacy to their particular approach; one of the major uses of science is as ideology. Following the historical study of Comparative Education, the examination of some possible and actual uses of the method of comparison, and a study of the meaning of science, some attempt at, a methodology of Comparative Education is made. The work of a number of writers is examined, as are also a number of categorizations of methodology. A widely held position is that a search for functional relationships between tightly specified variables is the important characteristic of a scientific comparative method. The argument which arises from the study of comparison and of science however is that the important problems are those of the formation of categories, the means by which these categories are filled out or varied, and the nature of the relationship between the category maker, those whose education he studies, and those who read and act upon his work. Finally an analysis is made of the chief writings of the comparativists Edmund King and Harold Noah. These are taken as main representatives of the traditional cultural and scientific approaches to Comparative Education. Both writers are criticized, but King's work comes closer to the methodological position developed in this thesis.
-
ItemNo Preview Available
-
ItemA study of the relationship between satisfaction with tutorials and actual and preferred participation in those tutorials( 1973)The study seeks to determine the relationships between a student's satisfaction with a tutorial and the actual level of participation exhibited by the student, the tutor, and the group of students in the tutorial, together with the student's preferred level of participation for each of self, tutor, and student group. Concomitant with this aspect of the study, an investigation is also undertaken of the differences exhibited and expressed by both Australian and overseas students. 64 resident students, 39 Australian and 25 Overseas, were observed once over 15 tutorials with 15 different tutors. Actual participation for each member was rated using Bales Interaction Process Analysis to categorise students along each of the dimensions of task performance and social emotional behaviour. At the conclusion of a tutorial, each student rated his satisfaction with that tutorial along an 11 point scale, and then dichotomised into HIGH or LOW satisfaction groups. Two months after the observation period, students were given a questionnaire based on Bales 12 I.P.A. categories to determine their preference on each of the behaviour dimensions for the classification of self, tutor, and student group. While no relationships were found between similarity of actual and preferred behaviour and high satisfaction, high actual participation was related to high satisfaction in 7 out of 12 analyses. Significant differences were found between Australian and Overseas students in a number of areas of the study, principally in that Overseas students were more satisfied with work oriented tutorials than were Australians. All students were more satisfied with tutorials where both students and tutors interacted in a friendly social atmosphere.
-
ItemA comparative study of three New South Wales directorates( 1972)Eleven regional directorates have been established in New South Wales over the past 25 years for the purpose of 'decentralizing' to some extent the formerly highly centralized administration of the N.S.W. Education Department. The introduction of the area system was expected to bring about a number of benefits relating to the , maintenance and staffing of schools, the professional morale of teachers, and the level of community interest in and support for local schools. A comparative study of three N.S.W. directorates was carried out (during 1971-2) by this researcher. My conclusion is that the area system has not in fact led to educational decentralization, and that claims for its success as an administrative innovation have been characterized by optimism rather than by accuracy. With respect to buildings maintenance, certain benefits have followed the area systems introduction, particularly in rural areas where superior provisions are currently being made for school maintenance than in the metropolitan areas surveyed. With greater autonomy and less dependence upon the Public Works Department, directorates would experience even greater benefits in this field. However; the impact of the system upon the average classroom, teacher has not been that personalized administration which is often referred to as being one of the significant gains resulting from the establishment of area directorates in N.S.W. The average teacher seldom comes into contact with the area director or his staff, and Area Office is still generally regarded as a clearing house for correspondence to Head Office, where most important decisions are made. This tendency appeared to be more pronounced in the metropolitan directorates studied; it was also more common amongst secondary teachers than primary staff. Possibly some reduction in the present size of all directorates would assist area directors and their officers to become better known to local teaching personnel.
-
ItemThe relationship between the knowledge teachers have of their pupils and the self-initiated science activities of the pupils( 1967)The investigation was concerned with an examination of the affective responses associated with an increase in teacher knowledge about pupils. Previous research supported the general theory that affective action follows from a teacher's knowledge about pupils, and, by affecting teacher-pupil rapport, stimulates pupil activity. The hypothesis tested in this investigation was that: 'Science classes taught by teachers who have increased knowledge about their pupils, will show a relatively greater frequency of performance of self-initiated science activities.' A sample of 46 beginning male science teachers from Melbourne University and the Secondary Teachers' College, who were teaching forms III or IV science in 1965, were stratified into two groups on school location (metropolitan and nonmetropolitan), matched on MTAI scores, and members of each matched pair randomly assigned to either experimental or control groups. The experimental groups were supplied with biographical information about their pupils, obtained from pupil questionnaires and school records, while the control groups were not. After a six month interval a test showed that the experimental manipulation of 'teacher knowledge about pupil' had produced significant, though small, differences in teacher knowledge about pupils in favour of the experimental groups of teachers. However measures of the pupils' self-initiated science activities obtained by a Science Activity Inventory did not reveal any significant differences between the classes of the experimental and control groups of teachers, i.e. the hypothesis of the investigation was not supported.
-
ItemThe measurement of readability: theory and research in the measurement of the difficulty level of reading materials( 1973)The present submission consists of three papers. The first paper is a review of theory and research in the field of readability. The emphasis is upon approaches to the measurement of readability, and the theoretical bases of such approaches. Two broad types of approach are considered: analytic or formula approaches, and synthetic approaches. The second paper is concerned with the reliability and validity of the Readability Reference Scale (developed by Anderson). This paper reports research which focusses upon the Readability Reference Scale in comparison with formula approaches. The third paper, also a research report, describes research which seeks to assess the applicability of the Rasch model (a probabilistic model for item analysis) to the measurement of readability.
-
ItemThe educational ideas of Walter Lippmann( 1973)Walter Lippmann was primarily not an educationalist but a political commentator and a writer of books on questions of political philosophy raised by the processes of American and international politics. His thought on education emerged from his deliberations and must be seen in their context. His writing career of over fifty years may be seen in terms of an evolving response to what he called "the acids of modernity". By this he meant the dissolution of the old traditional order, the rejection of the ideas of social and political hierarchy, the sacred authority of institutions, and out of this the development of more democratic, secular and human institutions and relationships. Prior to World War I he enthusiastically endorsed this process, but the experience of the War deeply affected his assumptions about the nature of man and ease with which society could be reshaped for the better. At first he attributed the malaise he saw to the inability of the people to gain access to the facts necessary for effective government. He moved on from this, in A Preface to Morals, to examine the basis for a morality which would enable the orderly functioning of a democratic society. During the 1930s he was mainly concerned with the economic issues of the New Deal, but in The Good Society he articulated what he saw to be the foundation stone of a democratic order - the rule of law based upon an appreciation of the essential dignity and inviolability of man. It seems clear from his writings that the fundamental issues which he raised were ontological in nature. However, because Lippmann was primarily concerned with sustaining the conditions of civility and freedom without returning to the belief systems which inspired them, he did not face the issue squarely. He developed a "civic theology" in The Public Philosophy having the show of truth necessary to sustain a political order rather than answers to the questions of the nature of truth and reality. The same evolution from optimistic progressivism to apprehensive conservatism is evident in Lippmann' s educational thought. Initially he argued that there were no fixed bodies of knowledge which should be passed on. Instead the curriculum should be shaped by the child's own needs and interests. But as he became pessimistic concerning the essential goodness of man and saw that the traditions of freedom and civility were being threatened, he trenchantly criticised the progressive movement for its failure to pass on the essential western culture through the assumptions, ideas, values and methods of the academic disciplines. Lippmann' s chief contribution was that he raised the central issues, but the value of his answers was weakened by his failure to face squarely the questions of the nature of reality and truth and how a free society could be based on that truth.
-
ItemThe institutional provision for the education of intending teachers: a comparative study of changes in Canada and Australia( 1972)The thesis which has been explored has been that one major determinant of change in the institutional provision for the education of intending teachers has been the school system itself. This has acted partly through the numerical demands for teachers and also through qualitative changes in schools. Such things as the type of primary and secondary education, the curriculum, and the numbers of children at school in each age level all seem related to changes in the way that teacher education is provided. A theoretical basis for such a hypothesis has been developed and the hypothesis then tested through a consideration of the pattern of changes in Australia and Canada. In both countries teacher education systems can be considered to have evolved from a fundamentally dichotomous model. The education of secondary teachers had taken place in the universities while that of intending primary teachers took place in specialist institutions controlled by the employing authority. As the distinction between elementary and secondary education became less marked so there occurred changes in the pattern of teacher education. In Australia the changes in the provision of teacher education in the late sixties and early seventies have followed a period when there was an expansion of secondary school enrolments and a series of curriculum changes at both the primary and secondary level. In Canada a more detailed comparison of changes in each province was made and a similar relation emerged. Those provinces which first made changes in the provision of teacher education were those which experienced first an expansion of secondary school enrolments and an intensive period of curriculum revision. As a result of these comparisons it is suggested that these changes in schools are best described as initiating factors in this change. A comparison of the different form of the changes which occurred in Australia and Canada suggests that to some extent the nature of the general provision of tertiary education in a given country can be regarded as a formative factor in the changes discussed. The solutions to the problem of a need to change the control of teacher education which have been adopted in each of these countries have been coloured by the form of tertiary education which prevailed. It is suggested that while these factors are contributing rather than controlling factors, and that while they do not provide a closed set of determinants, at least this is a useful framework for discussing these changes. They may also provide a useful starting point for a further analysis of the provision of teacher education in other countries.
-
ItemEvaluation of alternative procedures in teaching economic geography, part 1, in the University of Melbourne( 1973)The two procedures that were used for teaching Economic Geography were large group lectures and independent study in carrels. From a sample of 280 full-time, first year, Economics and Commerce students, approximately two-thirds volunteered to study in carrels. Volunteers were randomly divided into two groups (Carrel 1 and 2) while the non-volunteers formed the Lecture group. Carrel 1 attended two carrel sessions each week for the first half year, while the Carrel 2 and Lecture groups attended two lectures. After a mid-year examination, consisting of both essay and multiple choice questions, Carrel 2 group studied in the carrels for the second half of the year. The final examination also consisted of essays and multiple choice items. All groups attended one tutorial per week and all had the usual essay assignments. The volunteers were found to be representative of the sample. On the final examination the Carrel 2 group was found to perform significantly better than the Carrel 1 group on the items pertaining to knowledge. No significant differences were obtained in any of the five content areas that were analysed. The development and characteristics of carrel learning is described and the extent of the predesign and educational programming is illustrated. Carrel learning is shown to qualify as an educational method in terms of Gage's criteria. A derailed analysis of the objectives and methods of large group teaching used in Economic Geography in 1967 is presented. The problems of introducing carrel learning to Economic Geography are considered. The physical facilities and the student's learning environment in the carrel are analysed in terms of the factors necessary for effective learning. Staff and student attitudes towards these methods are reported from interviews and extensive questionnaires. All the Economic Geography staff and 79% of students prefer the carrel experience to the large group lecture. The study concludes with some likely future developments.
-
ItemThe educational ideas and influence on Victorian education of Dr. John Smyth: principal of the Melbourne Teachers' College, 1902-1927 and the first professor of education in the University of Melbourne, 1918-1927( 1967)Second in authority and influence only to Frank Tate, Dr. John Smyth was uniquely qualified to interpret the ideas of the "New Education" movement for Victorian schools at the turn of the century. Instead of using a biographical approach, this thesis outlines the diverse intellectual backgrounds which together formed the basis of Smyth's ideas. His New Zealand teaching experience coincided with the beginnings of reform there and his understanding of the "New Education" was deepened through study in Germany and Scotland from 1895 to 1901. German demands for realism in education; kindergartens and the theories of Froebel and Pestalozzi; the new techniques of Herbart and Rein; the establishment of teacher-training as a legitimate function of the university; and the beginnings of experimental psychology at Leipsic, were experienced by Smyth at first hand. The philosophy of Neo-Idealism which he espoused explains his ability to synthesize conflicting elements of the complex "New Education" movement. These major influences can be seen as the thesis examines Smyth's impact on Victorian education as Principal of the Melbourne Teachers' College (1902-27) and as the first Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne (1918-27). Separate chapters develop Smyth's attitudes to teacher-training and the College's growth under his control; his direct responsibility for the creation of the Free Kindergarten Union of Victoria and the improvement of Infant Schools; his idealistic philosophy translated into practice in the rural schools; and the significant contributions he made to the development of a School of Education at the University of Melbourne. A final assessment of Smyth the man reveals him as an intensely religious, dedicated educationist who had a lasting impact on the pattern of Victorian education. His relationship with Frank Tate emerges as that of an idealistic reformer unable to accept happily the limitations of compromise forced on Tate, the shrewd administrator, by a political and economic climate hostile to any but utilitarian educational reforms. Whilst Smyth’s educational ideas were not always fully implemented, the part he played in a period of educational history hitherto dominated by the name of Tate cannot be ignored. His intellectual stature and his actual accomplishments mark him as a key figure in our understanding of the development of Victorian education.