Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemInitiative and control : in the Disadvantaged Schools Program in Victorian government schools, 1973-80( 1985)The Disadvantaged Schools Program seemed a fertile field for the study of the relationship between initiative and control. While the need for organisational controls, in the interests of conformity, cohesion, security, co-ordination and effectiveness can hardly be disputed, neither can the urge of individuals to be themselves, and to act as they think best. While any group, organisation or society needs some pattern of regulation, both for its own sake and for the sake of its members, harmony is a heavenly rather than an earthly state. The intrinsic nature of man, the gap between prescribed and actual organisational goals, the effect of continual change in people, structures and external conditions, all serve to ensure that the interaction between people and organisations can never be smooth for long. The key problem awaiting solutions is the finding of the parameters of the optimal relation between the individual member of an organisation and it overall structure, between individual aims and organisational goals, between necessary mechanisms of delegation and control and individual needs and expectations.
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ItemAdministrative policies concerning initial admission to Victorian Government primary schools( 1986)This study was conducted to determine whether or not the admission to- school policy in Victoria, which is based on age and availability of accommodation, has any perceived educational advantage for children. In Victoria in the 1970's there was dissatisfaction over the admission policy, and an attempt was made to develop a policy which took into account the educational needs of young children. Although certain recommendations for change were made by the committees set up to investigate entry-to-school, they were never acted upon by the Minister for Education. The study notes that other Education Departments in Australia did change their policies to include continuous admission to school and ensured that criteria other than age were to be considered. Amongst other things, the literature review highlights the fact that there is a lack of agreement between educators throughout the world, as to what is the most suitable age for a child to commence school, and whether or not entry-to-school should be on a continuous basis. There is strong support however, for beginning school programs to meet the specific educational needs of young children, and to take into account children's previous experiences. An analysis of the data which were gathered by means of questionnaires and interviews indicates that the present admission to- school policy in Victoria does not cater for the individual needs of children, and that there is little if any continuity between preschool programs and those of the school. It also indicates that there are many other problems associated with the admission-to-school policy. The conclusions drawn from the study support the acceptance of the problem statement and have significant implications for admission-to school in this State.
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ItemMovements towards the senior campus concept: two case studies providing description of early movements in the reorganization of secondary schooling in Victoria aimed at providing an educational environment suited for young adults( 1987)This thesis investigates early movements directed towards the emergence of a new form of secondary school organization in Victoria, namely the senior campus. Two elements are identified as having been instrumental in heralding this development, firstly the phenomenon of zero population growth (and a concomitant decline in school enrolments) and secondly, a number of key recommendations of the Ministerial Review of Postcompulsory Schooling, more commonly known as the Blackburn Report. A major causal factor in defining the characteristics of the senior campus, and in ensuring its evolution, has been the influence of powerful teachers' unions upon government policy formulation in this state. The review of literature examines the development, and characteristics, of parallel forms of schooling in other parts of Australia and overseas, endeavours to establish a framework against which the evolution of the senior campus can be compared, and seeks to provide the means of identifying reasons why forms of schooling which have been popular, and successful, in other places, have been deemed as unacceptable for implementation in Victoria. The methodology adopted has been to undertake two case studies, one in Essendon, and the other in Mitcham. Each concerned a group of schools involved in the process of rationalization and reorganization, and each provided for the establishment of a senior campus for students in Years Eleven and Twelve. A common structure was adopted in both cases - Part A provides an analysis of background documents, and Part B provides description of the change process from the vantage point of a participant observer. The Essendon study presents a conceptual model for the reorganization of schooling in the Essendon area, and the Mitcham study describes the evolution of Mullauna College, a multi-campus, P-12 college which will be established early in 1980.