Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemInfluences in curriculum change, a case study : the introduction of P.S.S.C. physics in Victoria(University of Melbourne, 1988)
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ItemThe impact of technology on the secretary and its implication for educators(University of Melbourne, 1988)The aim of this thesis is to examine the effects of the current technological revolution on women holding secretarial positions in the workforce, and the consequent implications for educators in the Secretarial Studies area. Major considerations during the discussion are the sexual segregation in the working environment and the tenuous positions that women have come to hold as a result of short sightedness, capitalist exploitation, and technological change. Other areas discussed are the health and safety hazards linked to the use of computer equipment, opportunities for up-grading for the more highly educated secretary, evidence of de-skilling for those possessing keyboarding skills only, and the necessity for management to overcome outdated attitudes towards the secretarial role. It is concluded that the secretary has generally been adversely affected by the new technology but only as a direct result of societal attitudes and values which relegate women to low status, gender specific employment. Education is viewed as the only realistic avenue open to alleviate the problem inherent in a society clinging to outmoded views during a time of rapid technological change.
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ItemStarting age at primary school and subsequent retention rates, behavioural and learning difficulties, and academic achievement in the middle and upper primary school( 1989)A study of 1380 grade 3, 4, 5, and 6 primary school children at four metropolitan schools was undertaken to examine the relationship between school starting age and retention rates, referral rates (for behavioural, learning, behavioural and learning difficulties, individually or aggregated), and performance on a range of achievement tests. Six different entry age group categories were identified according to entrance age in the child's preparatory grade year. These were underage starters (younger than 4 years 6 months), younger-entering starters (4 years 6 months to 4 years 9 months), normal-entering starters (4 years 10 months to 5 years 1 month), older-entering starters (5 years 2 months to 5 years 5 months), and overage starters (older than 5 years 5 months) . The last category was split into two separate groups comprising those who had repeated kindergarten, and those who had been held back at home and had not attended kindergarten. These groups were used in computation, though some of these groups were amalgamated subsequently in some chi square analyses because of low expected cell numbers. The youngest entrants (underage and younger-entering children) were found to be significantly more likely to have been retained for a year at primary school than their normally older classmates. Risks of retention dropped with increasing age on commencement, except in the case of overage entrants who had not attended a kindergarten. Preparatory grade, grade 2 and grade 3 were the most common grades chosen for retention. The academic achievement of children retained in Preparatory grade to grade 6 was significantly lower than that of the nonretained children at grades 4, 5, and 6. There was no significant difference at grade 3 level. Retained younger-entering, underage children and girls were found to be significantly more likely to be referred for learning difficulties, and retained younger-entering and underage children had significantly higher rates of referral for aggregated (multiple) causes than other entry age groups. Significant differences between older-entering and younger-entering children were not found with respect to academic achievement as measured on a range of achievement tests. However, significant differences favouring overage starters who had repeated kindergarten and other entry age group children were observed at all grade levels and in a variety of achievement tests, though not in a uniform manner. Younger-entering children were significantly more likely (across the whole sample) to be referred for learning difficulties and aggregated referral rates than other entry age groups. This applied to both girls and boys. Significant differences were also observed for aggregated referral rates with the underage and younger-entering students, and overage starters were also more likely than other entry age groups to have been referred for behavioural or learning difficulties, or both. Boys were significantly more likely to be referred for behavioural difficulties, behavioural and learning difficulties, and aggregated referral rates than girls. When children who had been retained were removed from the calculations, it was found that children who had repeated kindergarten had significantly better achievement in the range of tests utilized in the study, than all other entry age groups. This held across the four grades though not in every test with every entry age group. There were no significant differences between nonreferred children and those referred but who had not repeated a year, in any of the referral categories. Suggestions are made for future research.
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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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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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ItemToward a competent society : a critical analysis of H.G. Well's conceptions of social change and the education programme he designed to effect that change( 1989)This thesis developed out of initial research on Raymond Williams's conceptions of culture, society and education. Williams had argued that 'a long revolution' was evident in human affairs, from which a common culture must finally emerge. It was a matter of survival for it to do so. Williams saw culture as 'our common life' and argued that it was the proper field in which criticism and selection of what was of value to the common life should take place. It must eventually be organized on a global basis and deliberately constructed by means of participatory democracy. To achieve these ends, Williams demanded an education that would promote a competent society governed by human needs and not by inherited models. (See particularly, Raymond Williams, The Long Revolution (London, 1961; Penguin edition, 1965), esp. p.174, and Raymond Williams, Towards 2000 (Penguin Books, 1986). It seemed that in the social and political writings of H.G.Wells, there were many antecedents to Williams's ideas. Wells was engaged in promoting a deliberate revolution in human affairs akin to Williams's idea of a 'long revolution'. It was meant to effect profound social change, culminating in the formation of a global society and thereby rescuing the human species from impending disaster, even extinction. It seemed worthwhile to explore some of these antecedent ideas in Wells's writings and to examine the claims he made for them. This thesis accordingly examines the ideas of H.G.Wells on social change with particular reference to his models for world order and the means by which this change was to be achieved - revolution and education. It is argued that Wells posited a competent society as the ultimate goal of human endeavour and effective social change, a society distinguished by full control over its destiny and the ability to extend a life of complete satisfaction to all of its members, yet there are a number of contradictions that would operate to frustrate that realisation.
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ItemGreek girls and the culure of femininity : a study of three Melbourne schools( 1988)This study examines how second generation Greek girls develop a sense of self within the context of two cultures--the home and the school. The particular solutions chosen by Greek girls to negotiate these two worlds are formed by the interaction of gender, class and ethnicity in Australian society. In the move to Australia, migrants have transported a culture in which traditional ideologies of the culture of femininity impose a definition of 'good womanhood'--emdodied in the concept of honour--which places strict demands on the behaviour of girls in all aspects of their lives. 'Being Greek' affects girls' educational experiences and constructs their social reality. The study contends that for Greek girls 'goodness' of character is understood as a matter of moving delicately between the precepts of traditionally expected behaviour of females and a school code of behaviour that can be at odds with those expectations. In some schools this cultural dichotomy is heightened by expectations of 'ethnically correct' behaviour based on racist assumptions in addition to a series of values, rules and standards inherent in the culture-of the school which are at variance with the interests and culture of Greek girls. This project studies three schools in Melbourne. It found that while Greek girls perceive education to be the legitimate vehicle to achieve better jobs than those of their parents, some girls participate in counter-school behaviour--in opposition to both the racist and sexist practices in the school and the ccurriculum which does not address their specific needs and interests. Other Greek girls in the same schools, however, conform to the demands placed on them. In one school--a girls' private school--the culture of the school itself does not challenge the Greek code of female honour but rather facilitates a total commitment and celebration of its dictates as a question of family and personal status. However, negotiating the two worlds is for all girls fraught with serious contradictions and ambiguities.
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ItemClinical teaching styles : an evaluation by clinicians and students( 1987)This study examined an important aspect of clinical education - clinical teaching styles - from the viewpoint of both students and clinical educators. In February 1986 physiotherapy students in their third year of the Bachelor of Applied Science course at Lincoln Institute and physiotherapy clinical educators from Lincoln Institute and metropolitan and country hospitals viewed videotapes of three teaching styles and completed a questionnaire which required the respondent to rate these styles. It was hypothesized that clinicians and students would observe and react to the presentation of styles from different perspectives and therefore their ratings of the styles would differ. The results show that this hypothesis is confirmed in that while both groups preferred the "prompting" style to the "explanatory" and "non-intervention" styles, there was also a statistically significant difference between students and clinicians in rating the "explanatory" style - students higher than clinicians. Neither group rated the "non-intervention" style as helpful to learning. Students also differentiated between the effectiveness of styles for different aspects of their treatment of patients; clinicians rated the "prompting" style as appropriate for all clinical tasks. Clinical educators should take account of these differences in perception of teaching styles which may influence the effectiveness of the clinical learning experience of students.
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ItemComputer based learning in tertiary education and industry : the Australian experience( 1988)This study describes the influence of information technology on the changing nature of tertiary education and industrial training. It describes an historical precedent for the present changes, and suggests that computer-based teaching and learning has a role in helping society cope with these changes. The study examines the pedagogical background for using computers in teaching and learning, and describes how this use has evolved around the world and in Australia. It also considers the economic implications of using computers in teaching and learning, both in macro-economic terms and as an influence on the administration of organisations implementing computer-based teaching and learning. From an Australia-wide survey of practitioners in computer-based teaching and learning, the study examines the state of development in Australia in 1988. It demonstrates a considerable experience base in academia and in industry, but it also identifies some weaknesses in the experience. In particular it show the difficulty some users have justifying computer-based teaching and learning against other forms of training; ambivalence about the importance of self-paced learning; ambivalence about the importance of learner response, evaluation and certification; little support from organisations in which users work; and little access to business and marketing skills for marketing the product of research and development in computer-based teaching and learning. The study identifies four necessary and sufficient conditions for the successful development of computer-based teaching and learning. It suggests that it is the lack of people with skill and experience, not lack of physical resources which is holding development back. Development can, it suggests, be speeded by enlightened administrations supporting innovative development; by motivating individuals to contribute to development; and by establishing a centre of excellence in which such development is encouraged. Finally, it suggests that we are leaving behind a cottage industry model of computer-based teaching and learning development, and entering an era of large scale production of useful resources.
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ItemIntegrating community expectations into the school curriculum, Kew Primary School( 1988)This study attempted to assess the expectations of the Kew Primary School community with respect to the school's curriculum. It further attempted to establish the decision making processes and organizational patterns whereby such expectations could be integrated into the curriculum of the school. The theoretical framework for the study involved the adoption and modification of Yehezkel Dror's 'Optimal Policymaking Model', with specific reference to the Metapolicy and Policymaking Stages of that Model. The researcher was responsible for the first. three phases of the Metapolicy Stage, which involved an assessment of both the community's expectations and the current curriculum practices of the school; with the presentation of 'findings' where there were inconsistencies between the two. At this point, a total of seven such 'findings' were presented. The remaining phases of the Metapolicy Stage and the Policymaking Stage were carried out by the school's Education Committee. The researcher became a member of that Committee in the capacity of a 'critical friend'. Policymaking related to the 'findings' was reviewed at the end of the Policymaking Stage and this review forms a significant part of the results and conclusions of the study, for after the two years taken with the study, policy changes had occurred with respect to only one of the seven findings to a point where it could be argued to adequately reflect the community's expectations. A number of issues are raised as to why the school failed to react to stated expectations of the community as found. These included an apparent lack of commitment of both staff and parents to their implementation, the leadership role performed by the Principal, the conflicting roles played by the researcher within the study and the applicability of the Optimal Model to such a study. Despite some doubts as to the applicability of the Optimal Model to such a study, it is concluded that it is essential to concentrate primarily upon the processes of policymaking with specific use of,a metapolicy stage as a means of establishing such a process. Further, it is suggested there is a real need for changing perceptions from both parents and teachers as to their roles and responsibilities within curriculum development; and that the current implementation of locally selected Principals is seen as a significant incentive for changes in such attitudes.