Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemInfluences at work on the shaping of a Catholic girls' secondary school( 1989)1988 is the twenty-fifth year of the existence of Ave Maria College, a girls' Catholic secondary school at West Essendon, established in 1963 by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. This thesis endeavours to trace the forces which shaped it - the sociological, religious, political and economic forces which influenced its growth. It examines the background and development of the College under the guidance of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, the handing over of the College to the the Catholic Education Office on the departure of the sisters in 1975, the subsequent administration by an Interim Board of Management and its eventual development as an autonomous College within the Catholic Education system, and the laitization of the College which is a feature of many Catholic secondary schools of the 1980's.
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ItemParent attitudes to an independent school( 1986)This thesis examines the attitude of a large, random sample of parents of a single independent school in Melbourne. The School, Carey Baptist Grammar, became co-educational in 1978, partly in response to changes in enrolment patterns. A review of the literature considers trends in parent attitudes and enrolments in government and non-government schools. The present trend in favour of non-government schools in Victoria has important implications for a school such as Carey. The survey reported in this thesis examines the background of Carey Parents, their reasons for choosing Carey, their attitudes to the School's objectives, assessment of the School's performance and whether they believe they are receiving "value for money". A range of specific conclusions and recommendations are reached. The limitations of using the data from this survey for comparison with other schools is discussed.
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ItemThe effect of the employment of an overwhelming majority of lay persons as staff members on the teaching mission of the Sisters of the Faithful Companions of Jesus at Genazzano F.C.J. College, Kew( 1988)This paper will show how the teaching mission of the Sisters of the Faithful Companions of Jesus (F.C.J.) has been influenced by the laicization of staff since the advent of Commonwealth funding following the establishment of the Schools Commission in 1972 and will document the ways in which structures have changed and the composition of staff has been altered.
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ItemThe public education enterprise of the Port Phillip conservation movement 1965-75( 1984)The Franklin River Battle of the early 1980s made conservation of wilderness into a substantial national issue. However, throughout Australia in the preceding decade and a half mini-conflicts of a similar nature had occurred. Before conservation of wilderness versus hydro-electricity development in South-West Tasmania took over the front pages of newspapers and a multitude of television programmes, a climate of opinion had already been formed. The hearts and minds of a significant number of citizens had been captured by the vision of a rejuvenating area of beauty which they could enjoy themselves and 'pass on' to their descendants. Politicians have recognized that the new conservation consciousness encompasses a significant number of young people, though it is by no means confined to them, and that it crosses traditional political divides. In the Port Phillip conservation movement such citizens have played a role in a variety of local battles, establishing a climate of opinion in which conservation matters became public issues, significant in policy-making and legislation. Port Phillip conservationists attempted to prevent developments perceived as harmful, to see that improved practices were substituted and new policies formed. Efforts were also made to dispel ignorance and provide information about the degradation of landscape, pollution and the need for conservation policies in the local area and also on a world scale. By 1970 several important conflicts had emerged. One of the significant conflicts was over plans to construct a marina below the Beaumaris cliffs at the north end of the City of Mordialloc, the other over a projected car-park in a valued section of bushland on the Black Rock foreshore. In both cases, conservationists were successful. The need to evaluate and express their affection for the environment of tea-tree, coast wattle, banksia and she-oak, to which they became committed, led to important developments, both within themselves and in the community. New local associations were formed and established ones enlarged their membership and re-defined their aims. The Port Phillip Conservation Council was formed and became a co-ordinating body and focus of policy-making and public relations. An examination of the history of that organization and of the local groups reveals conscious and significant efforts to change and re-form public opinion. At the same time, a study of the issues, personalities and developments within one area, the City of Sandringham, provides an insight to the methods used in the achievement of objectives and particularly in efforts made to educate or re-educate those in power and the general public. Port Phillip Bay has played a vital role in the growth, of the metropolis of Melbourne, initially, through providing a port and waterway. Its foreshores have been valued for their charm and interest and for recreation. In some parts they provide a delightful environment of regenerating semi-natural bushland which is a living link with old Australia and a pleasure for the present population. It is a "green belt' between the world of houses, shops, factories and roads and the sea-shore. The Port Phillip movement began in the context of an interest in the Australian environment which was taking shape in the colonies in the last half of the nineteenth century. To some extent it ran parallel to movements overseas: the national parks development in the United States is an important example. Furthermore, in the 1960s and 1970s, certain problems apparent in the life-support systems of the earth were publicised widely and dramatically. Survival became an issue for a substantial number of men and women, and for girls and boys at school. Two seminal books aroused consciousness of some of the issues. One was Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, the other, The Great Extermination, edited by the Australian, Jock Marshall. To this movement, and in particular to its modus operandi, this thesis addresses itself. It addresses the question of how the Port Phillip Conservation movement developed, and examines what conscious efforts were made to educate the public, particularly during the significant years of the early seventies.
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ItemAn analysis of how an innovation is disseminated by using the origins of the vertical curriculum concept in Victorian State Secondary Schools( 1985)The purpose of this investigation was twofold. One aim was to discover the origins of the vertical curriculum structure that has made a considerable impact on state secondary schools in the last decade. The other aim was to establish how the idea spread throughout the system and why schools made this major change away from the horizontal curriculum. Three research methods were used in this study. Firstly, Education Department Secondary School Handbooks were studied to identify the vertically structured schools in 1975 and 1982. Secondly, a telephone survey was undertaken in order to find more information about each of the forty-four vertical models discovered in the 1983 Handbook. This survey also enabled the original innovative schools to be identified, key individuals to be established and communication links between schools to be drawn up. Finally, the key carriers of the concept were interviewed to gain in depth information on the innovation. The outcome from the data collected should assist in the understanding of how a major curriculum change can disseminate throughout the schools in an education system. These implications should apply to educational systems outside of both Victoria and Australia.
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ItemMaking the transition : cultural reproduction in the market-place( 1985)This work relates to the cultural, economic and behavioural characteristics of two groups of young people who have recently left school and, either embarked upon a career pathway via tertiary education or on to long-term unemployment. Theories of cultural reproduction and anomie were examined in an attempt to account for the pathways that the two groups had taken. Two anomalies were discovered; students from migrant or working-class backgrounds who were succeeding in higher education and some working class unemployed young people who were beginning the slide into the under class. Cultural reproduction theory was found not to exactly or accurately account for outcomes and life chances whereas anomie theory was found to be a reasonable explication for the state of malaise of a number of those young people interviewed.
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ItemAn evaluation of computer science in the Victorian Higher Schools Certificate( 1984)This thesis evaluates certain aspects of the Victorian Higher Schools Certificate subject, Computer Science. Firstly, an overview is taken of the subject as it was intended to function in the first three years of its accreditation, 1981 - 83. In the light of this, the draft proposal for changes to the course in 1984 is reviewed. Secondly, a number of specific areas of the course are examined in more detail. A questionnaire to course designers and teachers is the basis of this investigation. The relationship between stated objectives of the course and items of course content is explored. An analysis is conducted on the extent to which the four option components are equitable in terms of time. The relative importance of the three components of assessment is explored, especially in the case of a 'barely passing' student. Actual raw mark components for the 1981 students have been used in connection with the latter investigation.
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ItemPeer tutoring in a tertiary institution( 1987)This thesis aims to explore and assess the potential of Peer Tutoring as a teaching strategy for student-teachers who need to improve their written language skills. Specifically it addresses students' attitudes to Peer Tutoring from an organisational perspective, and their attitude towards the effectiveness of the strategy to further develop written language skills. The study was conducted during 1986 with first-year English students enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary) Course at Melbourne College of Advanced Education. In this study three research tools were used = formal interviews, two questionnaires, and an analysis of students' written work. Interviews were conducted with six students on completion of their Peer Tutoring program. Questions focussed on their attitude to Peer Tutoring as a teaching strategy, the success of the approach for them, problems they encountered with the approach and suggestions for more effective management of the program. Following the interviews, students completed a questionnaire designed to confirm and give data additional to that already collected. All first-year English students completed a four-item questionnaire, related to Peer Tutoring at the completion of the subject. These questions were designed to assess all students' attitudes to the effectiveness of Peer Tutoring as a teaching strategy, whether they were involved in the program or not, and to provide feedback for more effective program management. Assignments were collected at the completion of the program, and were analysed in terms of the student's attitude towards Peer Tutoring as a teaching strategy and the gains made in written language skills. The data clearly indicates the value of Peer Tutoring as a strategy for students in their first year of teacher-training, and major recommendations have emerged from student comment as to more effective program management in the future.
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ItemThe year co-ordinator in selected Victorian metropolitan independent schools : profile, practice and prospects( 1987)This study was designed to examine the position and role of the Year Co-ordinator in selected Victorian Metropolitan Independent schools. The principal objectives of the study were: (i) to discover what sorts of persons undertake this role and establish whether they have personal, academic and career characteristics in common; (ii) to look at the year co-ordinator's perception of the role; and (iii) to examine the career interests of year co-ordinators and, in particular, to gauge their opinions on how well their present role is preparing them for future responsibilities, such as Deputy Principal or Principal. A questionnaire was distributed to forty AHISA affiliated Independent schools in Victoria. Twenty eight valid responses were received. Six Principals returned their questionnaires stating that the position of year co-ordinator did not exist in their schools. The schools who did not reply were telephoned and it was established that year co-ordinators did exist in those schools.
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ItemAccountability and professionalism in education reflected in community opinions on teacher assessment( 1985)This study takes place at a time when there is a widely-canvassed philosophy which states that the degree of accountability required by individuals in the community will come only through their more direct personal involvement in all stages of the education process. Accountability, (the visible attempts to demonstrate responsibility for a process), is said to be the concern of everybody connected with education, either as parents, taxpayers, employers or teachers and not, as in the past, restricted to the occasional external measures of performance carried out by Education Department hierarchy. We now need to know whether the education community expects a different type of accountability, if teacher assessment still forms a major part of that accountability requirement and whether teachers are still accorded the same professional status as they were. Until our knowledge in this area is improved, we will not understand whether the changes that are occurring in the Victorian education system are the result of a demand for change by the community, or political/economic expediency, or a belief that people should become involved in functions that were once considered government responsibilities. Thus this study arises from the need to understand whether changes in education are reflecting the expectations of education communities. As education communities will have a multitude of expectations, this study concentrates mainly on their expectations in respect of teacher assessment. Accountability is a demonstrable responsibility to the public through a variety of measures. Historically, assessment of teacher performance has been one of the main measures of the quality of a teacher's contribution to education, so concentration on this issue will provide much needed information on perception of accountability today. Teacher assessment is that process of gauging the quality of a teacher's performance. This process has three major functions: (a) to measure the comparative ability of teachers for promotion; (b) to maintain standards of teaching and (c) to provide a measure of accountability to the public as an indication of competency and money well spent. This case study examines the opinions of a small sample of members of state high school communities to the issue of teacher assessment and, through their opinions, provides an insight into their perceptions of professionalism and accountability in education. The sample is of five nominated persons of the education communities in each of six state high schools in the Western Metropolitan Region of the Victorian Education Department. Several happenings in Victorian education over the last five years indicate that this study is of vital importance. Firstly there has been a gradual decline in the proportion of students attending state post-primary schools. Secondly, there has been far greater involvement expected of local communities in the policy-formulation and organization of schooling with a resulting 'democratization' of processes in education. Thirdly,' there has been a gradual withdrawal of many forms of external control over secondary school teachers either through teacher assessment, student external examinations or centrally-imposed courses of study. As these happenings involve redefining the functions of state education and the teacher's role in these functions, it seems logical that a corresponding redefining of professionalism and accountability is also taking place within the community. If a shift in definition of these key concepts is not taking place within school communities, it would seem impossible for state education authorities to justify the profound changes they are demanding.