Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe confused Frenchman : some considerations of 'freedom' in Rousseau's writings and its educational implications( 1987)The focus in this thesis is the concept of 'freedom' and, more specifically, how this concept is used by Rousseau. An attempt will first be made to clarify the meaning of 'freedom' and then Rousseau's discussions about it will be examined. Particular emphasis will be placed on an analysis of educational freedom and what Rousseau writes about it, especially in Emile. It will also be argued that the ideal political freedom that Rousseau proposes in The Social Contract is an extension of the freedom he talks about in Emile. Some critics have levelled the charge that Rousseau is not consistent in his definitions of what constitutes freedom and Max Rafferty has even referred to him as 'the confused Frenchman'. In this thesis it will be argued that this confusion is only apparent and not real. In this respect, the critical literature about Rousseau's theories on freedom will be analysed in an attempt to show that there is indeed an internal consistency of definition in Rousseau's works and that his view is of positive, rather than negative, freedom.
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ItemThe role of tradition in the educational ideas of Michael Oakeshott( 1986)Michael Oakeshott's writings provide a comprehensive support for traditional education. As such, they are in stark contrast to the direction of many modern, educational writers. Oakeshott's vision of the ideal school has probably never been realized by any actual educational institutions. The purity of thought achieved by his ideal scholar may not have ever been matched by any real person. Nevertheless, the idealism and integrity of his writings demand the reader give a fair consideration to traditional techniques of education. The negative aspects of traditional school systems are more widely known than their- strengths. Oakeshott supplies a proud review of the strengths as he sees them. This thesis traces the important role tradition plays in the educational ideas of Michael Oakeshott. The central task has been to demonstrate Oakeshott's strong commitment to conservatism and the preservation of tradition, and to analyse to what extent his central position is enhanced and limited by his 'philosophy of life'.
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Item'Ten years after' : equality and the disadvantaged schools program( 1987)In 1973 the Interim Report of the Schols Commission was published providing a blue print for educational policy and planning for the 1970's and 1980's. In particular, the report focussed on the notion of equality in its educational context and the means for the achievement of its expressed ends through specific programs. One such program is the Disadvantaged Schools Program. A full decade of implementation has taken place. This thesis attempts to examine: the theoretical and political warrants of the notion of equality expressed in the Karmel Report, and the effectiveness of its translation into action through the Disadvantaged Schools Program. The focus of the thesis is that the Karmel Report was fundamentally inconsistent in its expression of the concept of educational equality. It examines the contradictions and ambiguities in the Report and the implementation of the Disadvantaged Schools Program against original goals and intentions. The Disadvantaged Schools Program, it is argued, has been undermined by these conceptual inconsistencies, by grants to non-government schools and by the way in which the Program itself came to be administered.
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ItemThe Ministerial Review of Postcompulsory Schooling : a case study of a temporary adaptive system( 1986)For complex organisations such as educational systems to be able to adapt effectively to changing circumstances they need to develop a repertoire of adaptive mechanisms. The temporary adaptive system appears to merit inclusion in such a repertoire. This study reports the conduct of one case of a temporary adaptive system: The Ministerial Review of Postcompulsory Schooling conducted in the State of Victoria between 1983 and 1985. The case is an example of the operation of a quite complex temporary adaptive system which incorporated its own temporary subsystems within its overall process. It was established to initiate changes at the system-wide level of a large educational system. The issues at stake were ones perceived to be significant by those within the educational as well as the wider community. Within one year after the publication of its Report most of its recommendations, with some modification, appear to have excellent chances of implementation. The case is shown to demonstrate quite strong adherence to the features of temporary adaptive systems discusssed in the literature, and to the procedures recommended for attaining a successful operation and outcome. These features and recommended procedures - and their interaction - are described and analysed in the study. From the findings of this one case suggestions are made for modifying and extending the theory relating to temporary adaptive systems.
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ItemPerceptions of education and the post-industrial society: a study of student attitudes( 1987)Much has been written in recent years about the emergence of the post-industrial society. The works of writers such as Alvin Toffler, Daniel Bell and Barry Jones have, over the past fifteen years, discussed the question of an emerging new economy and the implications that this will have for both individual citizens and nations. This thesis seeks to examine the attitudes of young people towards the future and to find out the extent to which they feel optimistic or pessimistic about such things as: careers, areas of study at school, the state of the world and contemporary media preoccupations such as nuclear disarmament. The thesis methodology is based on an anaylsis of 2 219 questionnaires completed by Year 10 students in four states, plus a small case study of students' own personal writing about the future. Chapter 3 presents a picture of the post-industrial state as it is popularly portrayed in the press. Chapter 4 examines the way in which education is presented by the media and looks at the criticisms that have been levelled against it by journals such as the Bulletin since 1976. Chapter 5 is an analysis of the survey findings and presents a detailed discussion of these findings. This chapter also tests the validity of hypotheses such as: * That students who intend to seek employment in agriculture and manufacturing will be more likely to feel pessimistic about the future than those who are planning to work in the information and service sector. * That students doing Maths and Science courses will be more optimistic than those doing Humanities and Creative Arts. * That girls will choose careers in more traditional occupations long associated with women, and will therefore feel more pessimistic about the world and the future than boys do.
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ItemParents in the classroom( 1987)The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the presence of parents in the classroom on children, parents, and teachers. The study took the form of a sequenced set of action research style interventions in an outer-suburban secondary school and an inner-city primary school. Attitudes of parents of students in year 7 to creativity, frustration, control, play, and teaching/learning were measured with Strom's Parent as a Teacher inventory, P A A T. Achievements of the children in word knowledge, comprehension, spelling, and maths were measured with tests of ACER. There were some significant correlations between attitudes of parents and achievements of their children. For example, attitudes of mothers to control and the achievement of their children in maths were very highly correlated (N=105, p=.001). After one year of secondary schooling, there was no significant difference between the entering and final achievements of the year 7 students in this study in comprehension and maths (N=123). End-of-year scores of students for word knowledge and spelling were below the scores that would have been expected of students one year younger (N=175, 174). The numbers in these comparisons differ because of absences from school. Classroom experiments were conducted with parents in classrooms in a junior secondary and a primary school. "Parents" means adults who may be parents, other relatives or friends of the students, or friends of the school. In year 7, three different treatments for six weeks were compared, namely, two parents for two classroom periods a week (T), two parents for four periods a week (F), and no parents (Z). There was a significant interaction between mathematical aptitude and treatment (p=.021) such that at the low level of aptitude, achievements in maths with treatments F and T were superior to treatment Z. Also, with the low and medium levels of aptitude combined, treatment T was superior to treatment F (p=.038). With respect to attitude to learning maths, treatment T was superior to treatment F at both the low and medium levels of mathematical aptitude. However the effect on post attitudes was not significant. The attitudes of students in one grade 2 and two composite grades 3/4 were measured to sixteen items that were related to their school and TV. Coincident with the presence of parents in the classrooms of grade 2 and two composite grades 3/4 , there was an increase in positive attitudes of students to eight items in which there was a high level of teacher/parent involvement (HTPI) compared with eight low TPI items (grade 2, N=26; grades 3/4, N=50). In grades 3/4, the presence of parents in the classroom over a period of eight weeks had useful cumulative effects on time on task, teacher stress, and inappropriate class behaviour. Parents, students, and teachers in this study recommended that experience with parents in the classroom should be expanded.
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ItemDevolution and effective school leadership: a case study involving ten Victorian state high school principals( 1987)An interview methodology was used in this study in an attempt to ascertain how high school principals view the current devolution proposals (as outlined in the document Taking Schools Into The 1990's) as affecting school leadership in terms of Sergiovanni's leadership model. When conducting the interviews it became quite apparent that Sergiovanni's leadership model was most representative of the leadership patterns of principals in the sample. All of the interviewees believed that a school would need to have a strong and functional culture in order to provide excellence in schooling. The majority of principals saw their role as cultural leader as being more important than their managerial role from the viewpoint of seeking excellence in schooling. Seventy per cent of respondents saw the role of principal as crucial in developing/ maintaining a strong school culture. Furthermore, most principals also believed that the new devolution proposals could enable schools to develop a stronger school culture, thus resulting in greater excellence in schooling. The local appointment of staff was a recommendation seen as being most beneficial in this regard. The recommendation that high schools obtain the services of a full-time administration manager was also seen as allowing the school principal to be a more effective leader in that he could delegate more of his managerial functions and thus concentrate more on his role of cultural leader. Although more detailed research is required, the results of this study are consistent with the claim made in the review of literature that because Sergiovanni comprehensively addresses the issue of school culture then his model would appear to be the most useful in the current educational climate. The results also give encouragement to those who believe that some of the recommendations contained in the latest devolution proposals may result in greater excellence in schooling.
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ItemThe formation of Soviet educational policy: the Twenty-sixth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and school reform( 1986)The thesis investigates the process by which educational plans, formulated by the Twenty-Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, were enunciated and developed. Initially, educational objectives were tied to economic and social plannings; economic to till specific needs of the work force; social to eliminate differences between working class, peasantry and intelligentsia. Conflicts arose between the allocative demands of the education system for the best use of human resources, and the egalitarian aims, seeking common school experience for all students. Many teachers formally agreed with these aims, but resisted measures which affected their professional conditions or the pedagogical needs of their students. Many parents and students put personal ambitions before collective interests. This resistance led to some modification of the original recommendations of the Congress. The thesis is divided into three main sections: Part One analyses the international, economic, social and political problems described by the Congress in 1981, and the effect of these problems on educational plans. Part Two compares political, public and professional reactions to these plans, which appeared in official publications, periodicals and newspapers. Part Three examines the major provisions of the 1984, Basic Guidelines for Reform of General and Vocational Schools, developed, in the light of problems which arose, in comparison to the original recommendations. The thesis concludes that the opinions of professionals had a conservative effect on educational policies ensuring that the differentiated system of education remained.
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ItemProblem solving in physics: an information processing approach to the solution of kinematics problems( 1987)Many high school students experience difficulty in solving problems in physics that require only elementary mathematical skills. This study describes the evaluation of a computer aided instruction (CAI) package developed to instruct students to solve numerical problems in introductory kinematics. This package (Blackburne, 1986) was based on an information processing strategy using five equations of motion which allow the use of one routine to solve any of these problems. The evaluation was carried out in the context of a Year 10 science course. Three methods were investigated. Two of these methods were based on the information processing strategy. One of these was the CAI method, and the other, a classroom adaption of the computer method. The third method was a traditional classroom approach as outlined in most common physics texts that use three equations of motion. Results showed that the method made the difference, not the medium of the computer. Both the information processing methods yielded significantly fewer errors than the traditional method. An analysis of the kinds of errors made revealed that the most significant difference occurred in the selection of the correct rule to solve the problem then, to a lesser extent, the correct interpretation of the question and extraction of the relevant data.
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ItemUtopia, community and education: Robert Owen and the co-operative movement, Britain 1800-1845( 1986)Mankind seems to entertain a perennial dissatisfaction with the present. The ideal of a better, even perfected, future is also perennial and equally likely to occur in the individual consciousness as the collective one. In times of turmoil and hardship, the more visionary individuals have articulated schemes for a better future, and these have become known as 'utopias'. This thesis represents an exploration of one episode of utopian thought. Robert Owen's vision for a better world was formed against the background of the industrialization of Britain early in the nineteenth century. In the following analysis of Owen's thinking, three contentions are posited: 1. Owen and the followers of his doctrines saw an inextricable link between education and the community. 2. Owenism can profitably be interpreted within the context of the tradition of utopian thought. 3. The concept of community provides a wholeness and unity in Owen's thinking. The first chapter examines the nature of utopian thought, something which appears necessary to understand Owen's concept of the community. Subsequent chapters deal with Owen's design for the ideal community, the mode of education he felt should attend this, and the links between the two. The conclusion summarizes and draws together the above contentions, considers the possibilities for further research, and argues for the relevance of Owen as a possible theoretical precursor to current educational thinking which emphasizes the role of the community.