Faculty of Education - Theses
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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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ItemStudents' attitudes concerning mathematics: a study of the opinions and views concerning mathematics and mathematics teaching held by students in the upper primary and lower secondary schools of New South Wales and Victoria( 1966)From an examination of the relevant courses of study in mathematics and the associated published writings hypotheses were proposed to examine the influence of an emphasis on an inquiry and discovery approach to the teaching of mathematics on the attitudes concerning mathematics of students in the upper primary and lower secondary schools of New South Wales and Victoria (each N = 1000). Emphasis on the use of inquiry methods at the lower secondary school level was found to be associated with students' views that mathematics teaching involved more inquiry and discovery, with students' opinions that mathematics was an open and creative process and with the students' greater interest in mathematics. At the upper primary school level a strong influence of curricular factors was not detected, however, the evidence suggested that the classroom teacher played an important part in the development of attitudes concerning mathematics. The data collected was examined for the influence of several non-curricular factors including the sex of the pupil, and the occupation and the place of residence of the students' father. The sex of the student and differences in the scientific nature and the socio-economic status of the father's occupation were found to be linked with some differences in the opinions expressed by the students concerning mathematics.
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ItemProfessional registration and advice in state education: a comparative study of the origins and roles of statutory bodies connected with registration and advice in the administration of education in New South Wales and Victoria( 1974)The provision of educational services is a major task of Australian state political systems. At various times, in efforts to moderate the bureaucratic tendencies of centralised administrations by bringing a wider range of opinion to bear on the administration of public education, bodies to advise the responsible minister, and Parliament in some cases, have been established. An examination of the work of the Council of Public Education in Victoria, established ostensibly for this purpose, reveals that there is a confusion over the role and influence of advise within a state political administrative structure. This inquiry postulates that there are two basic, but disparate, functions of advice: a political function where representatives of interest groups can put their views to the Minister, and an evaluative function where the policies and practices of the public sector are evaluated. The formation of the Council of Public Education was justified to the public in terms of the latter function, but other features of the Council, such as its representative membership, are more like those of a body with political functions. This disjunction between structure and function, together with a confusion over the extent and use of its powers, have rendered the Council ant: ineffectual evaluative advisory body. The attitudes of administrators and other interested parties towards. educational advisory bodies are illuminated' by an investigation of the origins of these bodies in Victoria and New South Wales. The comparison of developments in the two states indicates that the concept of an evaluative advisory body, operating free of administrative and political interference, is incompatible with the present system of centralised control of public education in these states.