Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemSocial studies in Victorian technical schools, 1938-1974( 1987)This thesis investigates the changes which have occurred in social studies in Victorian Technical Schools from 1938 to 1974. Social studies first appeared in Victoria when it was introduced into Preston Technical School during 1938. By the early 1940s social studies was starting to replace history and geography in most Victorian Technical Schools. Its status was low, and its course of study was usually reserved for those technical students who were labelled as under-achievers who would probably not progress beyond forms 3 or 4. The boys were relegated into the trades, while the girls headed for domestic courses. The teaching of social studies during the 1950s was undertaken by many teachers who had escaped from teaching subjects traditionally associated with an academic discipline, and by teachers who were unqualified. This situation remained virtually unchanged up until 1967. The whole "aura" of social studies and its curriculum went through something of a renaissance, which had its birth in 1967 at Burwood, Victoria, at the U.N.E.S.C.O. Seminar on the "Teaching of the Social Sciences at the Secondary Level". Immediately following the Burwood Seminar, the Victorian Advisory Committee on the Teaching of Social Science in Secondary Schools was established. In 1968 the Technical Schools Division set up a Standing Committee on Technical Schools Social Studies (SCOTSSS), and in the same year curricula autonomy was devolved, and the Director-General of Education in Victoria gave all schools in the state the right to determine their own curriculum. The Victorian Secondary Social Science Project (SSSP) was established in 1971 under the jurisdiction of the Victorian Advisory Committee, while the National Committee on Social Science Teaching (NCSST) held its first meeting in November 1971. In 1972 the Victorian Association of Social Studies Teachers (VASST) created a regular journal, Study of Society. Other key factors which have helped in the development of social studies have been the direct financial assistance from federal sources, overseas influence on social studies/ science teaching, a. rapid upsurge of student teachers completing social studies method courses, and a unique body of curriculum personnel working outside the Education Department. All of the above factors were instrumental in the re-birth of the subject of social studies in Victoria's Technical Schools since 1967.
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ItemAn Irish mission to the Antipodes: the Brigidine Order and its establishment in Beechworth( 1988)The Brigidine Order was founded by Dr. Daniel Delany in Ireland in 1807 under circumstances which helped it develop distinctive features in its attitude to social and educational mission. In 1886 four Sisters established a community in Beechworth. The thesis is concerned with the way in which the Order developed, the evolution of its particular brand of pedagogy and the circumstances under which it came to a provincial town in northern Victoria.
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ItemAspects of school library development in Victoria 1905-1944 with special reference to high schools( 1989)School libraries had been encouraged in State primary schools before the establishment of high schools, and the State Decoration and Equipment Society provided a subsidy for library books. However this Society collapsed in 1915 and no subsidies were available for library books until 1944, although voluntary effort was encouraged. School libraries in the early high schools were often no more than a book press or shelves in the office. In schools where there was a library room this room was used for other purposes as well. There was little promotion of the library for information or recreation. The period from 1920-1930 was marked by more official recognition of the need for better school libraries to support the humanities. This is evident from the pages of the 'Gazette' and from the reports of the Chief Inspectors of Secondary Schools but little action was taken. Modern teaching methods had some influence. During the period from 1930-1944 more use was made of modern teaching methods, which needed a good school library, and by the end of the period a subsidy on library books was introduced which was followed by other developments. By 1944 many school communities were pressing for library rooms. From the end of World War I school libraries had a place in an educational philosophy which believed that the schools should prepare the future citizens of a democratic society. The Department at times seemed to be looking to the public library movement as a solution to the problem of providing school libraries. Throughout the period and beyond school libraries lacked funds. Although the subsidy system was better than nothing it implied that access to good school libraries was not a pupil's essential right. The school library due to increasing enrolments had to compete with the provision of classrooms.
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ItemThe central school system in Victoria, 1915-1988( 1989)This Thesis traces the origin and development of Central Schools under the State Education Department in Victoria. With the Education Act of 1910, the State entered into the provision of Secondary Education, but with the outbreak of World War 1, the serious economic problems which ensued, and the loss of manpower as teachers signed up to go to War, Tate's vision of Secondary Education for all was severely curtailed. The Central Schools quickly gained popularity as parents wished their sons and daughters to receive some secondary education. The schools themselves developed courses of study of a high standard, and many of the schools conducted scholarship courses to enable their students to win scholarships to the Private schools or the University or Melbourne High Schools. It was not until the late 1960's that the Central School system became considerably depleted, and in 1988 a final blow was struck which knelled the end of the system.