Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemA comparative study of primary school social studies in three Australian states : Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia, 1952-1975( 1976)This study is concerned with the way in which Primary school Social Studies curricula have been revised, organized and developed from 1952 to 1975 in three Australian States - Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. As few commercially produced Social Studies courses, or indeed Social Studies units, have been forthcoming in these States, coverage in this thesis concentrates on those syllabus revisions which have been produced by Revision Committees organized by the respective Education Departments in these States. Underlying factors which have been instrumental in Social Studies revisions and their final outcome - a Social Studies Syllabus - have been analyzed by considering those constraints which form a part of the Curriculum Materials Analysis System (1967). The constituent six part cluster questions have been used in horizontal analysis to highlight features of Social Studies courses in the 1950's as compared to those of the 1960's, and the most significant changes which have occurred in the most current revisions. From courses which presented a high degree of uniformity in their emphasis on facts, social living and citizenship, have emerged State revisions which, though differing in format and degree of inclusiveness, reflect attributes commonly associated with 'new' Social Studies.
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ItemThree visions of Utopia : the educational and social theories of Plato, Bellamy and Morris( 1985)The evidence of early Western literature such as the written version of Homer's oral epic poems and Hesiod's Works and Days suggests that the impulse to speculate about a better time and place in human social experience than a given present is not a recent phenomenon. The early chapters of this thesis postulate a link between recent and ancient examples of the genre of Utopianism and speculate on sociological significance in relevant mythology from Ancient Greece. Reference is made to the conclusions of Carl Jung about the significance of dream and symbol in human psychology and Sir Thomas More's contribution to Ui-opianism. The main part of the thesis incorporates an eximinatiori of the khree selected works compatible with these observations, as a result of which the following contentions are posited and explored: 1 the genre has its genesis in dissatisfaction with a social and political environment, 2 the general concept of Utopia first becomes a specific genre In Western literature as a process involving the exposition of political social, moral, economic and educational philosophies in the hands of Plato in his Republic, 3 exponents of the concept and genre since Plato implicitly acknowledge a debt to him in subject matter, areas of concern, style and technique, 4 a clear educational philosophy is patently central to each social philosophy presented in the three examples under discussion. In each case, analysis of the text is preceded by a summary of relevant contemporary historical and philosophical data and a brief biographical background of the author. Some speculation has been offered about the intentions and aims of the authors and attention has been focused on particular influences which may have affected them. The Conclusion is a summary of the similarities which have corne to light as a result of comparison of the texts, and a comment on the value and importance of the genre. It will be apparent to the reader that this writer could not remain impervious to the literary impact of the texts themselves and, although spasmodic attempts have been made at objectivity, no apology is offered for any residual traces of self-indulgent delight in the study of the primary sources i hold it as a self-evident truth that the richness of the ideas explored is correlative to the quality of the medium in which they are expressed. Note on the spelling of Greek words in translation Since there is some disagreement over the spelling of Greek words in translation 1 have chosen the commonly-used "c" in preference to "k" where applicable and retained it for the sake of consistency except only in the case of references to Lattimore's translation of the Odyssey, where the spelling of some words is central to the argument.
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ItemAn exploratory study of teachers' planning in secondary social science( 1976)For approximately the last twenty-five years Tyler's classical model has formed the basis of much curriculum planning. Stated in bare outline the model involves the following logical operations: (a) state objectives (b) select experiences (c) organize experiences (d) evaluate. Over time, this approach has been refined although its fundamental principles are still recommended to teachers by many authorities for the rational planning of courses, units and lessons. In view of a body of literature suggesting that some teachers plan differently from the classical approach, initially a view intuitively supported by this investigator, this study sought to explore the planning models used by some secondary social science teachers. Four teachers for study were identified. Insight into their methods of planning were obtained by interview, by simulated unit development and by classroom observations. The study raises a number of issues deserving closer examination. While it appears that some teachers may consider objectives to be central to the planning process, notwithstanding a disagreement about how specifically they should be stated, others view objectives as being peripheral or of little consequence. This latter group concentrate more on planning around the experiences and content to be presented to the students which, nevertheless, reflect their general intentions. An analysis of these respective approaches, when translated into classroom practice, suggests the usefulness of examining to what extent stating specific instructional objectives results in closed and terminal learning patterns. Additionally, how far teachers are sufficiently clear about their intentions and how much learning is enhanced when specific objectives are avoided in the planning process merit closer study. Comparatively speaking, judgements about any merits or limitations of planning with or without specific objectives require , extensive analysis of learning outcomes. A research pattern for such an analysis is explored in this study.
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ItemSocial ideologies in two sets of multicultural curricular materials( 1980)The large increase in the non-British proportion of Australia's population since 1945 has created a demand for greater recognition in schools of cultural difference and a re-affirmation of the goal of equality of educational opportunity. Marxist theories of ideology, hegemony and the State are employed to examine whether 'multicultural' curricular materials which are ostensibly advocating a critical appraisal of the society and subscription to these pluralist goals, are not soliciting support for dominant ideologies. The thesis questions whether they are not acting to reproduce the social order to the detriment of the ethnic minorities they are purporting to serve. The first of the two sets of curricular materials examined, Ethnic Australia, develops a Eurocentric view of exploration and inter-ethnic relations favourable to the needs of .capitalist economic growth. Its criticism of prejudice is unrelenting, but it does not extend it to an adequate analysis of the social conditions which might have generated discrimination and conflict. In its presentation of Italian and Greek cultures, it highlights and reinforces those attitudes and behaviours which are most conducive to an acceptance of competitive individualism under capitalism. The materials entitled Australia : A Multicultural Society, show the benefit of widespread consultation with educators and ethnic groups. They offer a view of culture and a picture of the material circumstances of Greeks and other migrants in Australia which accords with the most recent and carefully conducted research. In delivering a sustained attack on the inadequate provision for migrants in this country, they expose children' to a variety of ideological perspectives gleaned from the media, ethnic communities and the peer culture. Reservations are expressed about the capacity of materials with a liberal reformist ideology to develop in school students a critical awareness of the more intractable social structural barriers to the achievement of social equality and acceptance of cultural difference. Finally, there is brief discussion of the problems of construction and dissemination of critical curricular materials in a publicly funded educational system.
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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.