Faculty of Education - Theses
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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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ItemLiterature and English teaching : a study of literature in the teaching of English at Scotch College, Melbourne( 1991)The first chapter of this thesis provides a personal memoir of my teaching career, and places it in the wider historical context of developments within English teaching in England and Australia. It establishes my own position at the key points of these developments in 1966, 1975, 1980 and 1985 and introduces the main area of interest - the place of literature in the teaching of English. The second chapter concerns the vast amount of writing on the nature and teaching of literature in English. It provides an historical review of the main body of this writing and derives some of its focus from the seminal work of John Dixon in 1966, as well as the Bullock Report of 1975. The vigorous yet sometimes slightly artificial debate on the issue of literature teaching is also examined in the review of the important journal, The Use of English. Chapter Three develops the ideas propounded in some of the writings examined in the previous chapter and provides an analysis of my own experience at Melbourne Grammar School. Chapter Four shows the similarities and differences existing between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School and details a more critical view of the state of English teaching from 1980 - 1990 at Scotch College. It reviews some of the specific examples of literature teaching and shows the slow progress which has been experienced over a decade within the College. The final chapter brings together the case of Scotch College and reviews possible future progress in the light of perceived difficulties inherent in the structure of the College. The general outlook for English at the College is seen in positive terms and suggestions are provided for further research into both the reading habits of students and the processes involved in the teaching of literature within the current restraints.
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ItemHigh schools with technical components: the first decade, 1969-1978( 1978)Historically, state post-primary education in Victoria has been shared between the Technical Schools Divsion and the Secondary Schools Division, with each establishing separate schools in proximity to the other. However, by the late 1960's, country centres without technical schools were seen to have potential student populations too small to justify a technical school in addition to the existing high school. Yet in certain of these small centres a vocal demand existed for technical education, this demand originating from a variety of sources. The response was to place technical studies in existing high schools. The schools developed integrated courses over all levels, and significant educational advantages were claimed from this. However, the location of technical components was determined not so much by educational ideas, as by a reaction to community stimulus. This was illustrated in the development of policy concerning technical components, for it was aggregative in nature, adapting to changing pressures and circumstances. The technical component innovation did not occur in isolation. Curriculum developments which occurred in both Divisions, facilitated it, and the associated reduction in external control of schools was but one of a number of other factors which provided encouragement. Both the development and some current features of high schools with technical components are examined, as is their future. It appears that their numbers will not expand significantly, particularly as alternative responses to demands for technical education have been implemented. The future of high schools with existing technical components is also unclear, in part due to the possibility of restructuring in the Education Department.
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ItemUndergraduate course preferences of students with some previous tertiary education( 1982)The thesis is an examination of the factors which affect the course choice of applicants to tertiary institutions. The sample is taken from the 1977 applicant cohort registered with the Victorian Universities Admissions Committee. The applicants in the sample are those who had already been enrolled in tertiary educational institutions for at least one year, prior to their application in 1977. The aims of the study are to examine the effect of previous tertiary experience, employment experience, age and sex on the course choice of the applicants. The data used in the study were taken from:. application files held by the Victorian Universities Admissions Committee. The results of the analysis are compared with the results of studies carried out in Australia and overseas which described the vocational and educational choices of students entering tertiary institutions for the first time, and subsequently transferring to other institutions in some cases. The main difference between this study and those which preceded it is that the applicant sample in this study contains persons aged from seventeen years to more than sixty-five years, whilst previous analyses had been confined in the main to the young applicants. A comparison is made between the course choices of the young applicants, aged 22 years or less, and the older applicants, aged 23 years or more. The results of this study are similar to those already published. Nevertheless some new information about the effect of the Victorian tertiary education system - the number and nature of the institutions - on the choices of applicants is presented. In addition the study makes available a comparison of age groups which has not yet been attempted elsewhere. The study shows that applicants of all ages have two objectives: the first, to obtain a qualification which will enable them to find satisfying employment; the second, the study a course which provides them with interesting activity which enables them to find personal satisfaction. In the main students wish to undertake the second objective at a University, whilst vocational training is sought at. a variety of institutions. The prestige and academic standing of the institutions is an important factor in the determination of the applicants' choices, and as a result many are not satisfied in their application.
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ItemSome determinants of students' course selection in mathematics( 1984)In this study some determinants of students' course selection in mathematics. were investigated, with particular attention being given to those factors which may result in differential participation rates between boys and girls. The aim of the study was to assess the relative importance for student decisions of various psychological variables related to achievement attitudes. Such knowledge could then be used in the design of appropriate programs and techniques to increase the likelihood of students continuing to take maths. Questionnaires were administered to the 115 students in Year 9 and to the 107 students in Year 7 at a Melbourne inner-suburban .high school. Specific findings apply to those students in that particular school; without investigation of the effect of such variables as socioeconomic status, ethnic background., administrative structure, course-availability and class size they could not be extrapolated to other students in other schools. Students' estimates of their maths abilities and their expectations for maths performance, decreased with age, as did their perception of their parents' and teachers' beliefs about their ability and expectations for their success. Students' beliefs about the importance of success in maths and their declared interest in and liking'for the subject also decreased with age, while their estimates of the difficulty of maths increased with age. Year 9 boys had higher opinions of their maths ability and were more confident of success in future maths courses, than were Year 9 girls. These girls saw the subject as being more difficult and the cost of the effort required to do well to be higher than did their male classmates. At the Year 7 level, however, the only sex differences were in the stereotyping of the utility of maths for females and in the stereotyping of maths as a male domain. Plans to continue with maths were facilitated by high expectations, by firm beliefs in the value of maths and in one's own ability and by low estimates of the difficulty of maths. Sex differences favouring boys were found on these variables. On the basis of these findings, certain areas for intervention were identified. These areas included the encouragement of positive attitudes towards maths, the provision of career awareness programs, and the attempt to modify parents' and teachers' attitudes as to the maths, ability of girls and the importance of maths for them.
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ItemSenior school chemistry in Victoria: syllabus prescription and pressure for change( 1984)A few key ideas have dominated the senior school chemistry syllabuses in Victoria. Despite pressures for change, and disclaimers to the contrary at various times, the Victorian course developers have shown a constant commitment to chemistry as an academic discipline, to the exclusion of most if not all of the societal, cultural, historical and economic aspects of the subject. In this thesis, an understanding of present courses in terms of past practice has been sought through a study of the ideas which have influenced syllabus design at various times. Some purchase on the exercise of change in school syllabuses, on the possibilities and limits to change, was obtained, although no prediction of future directions could be attempted. At the outset a decision was taken to concentrate the investigation on materials published principally for the direction of teachers whose task it was to prepare their classes for an externally set and assessed examination in chemistry. Thus, in this thesis, attention has focussed on the expressed intentions of the course developers in Victoria, as outlined in syllabuses, Course of Study and Scope of Course statements, and commentary in Circulars to Schools. Data extracted from these documents was supplemented with material from the recommended textbooks and Reports of Examiners. The former provided an extended coverage of material prescribed in the syllabuses, offering more insight into teaching sequence and depth than could, at this remove, be fairly inferred from syllabus documents alone. Commentary in the Reports of Examiners revealed more of the expectations of examiners and course developers than was apparent from the syllabuses alone. The correctives suggested by the examiners for a range of perceived shortcomings gave an indication of what was seen at various times as appropriate in schools courses. The examination papers themselves were not analyzed except for a few specific items. Although examinations have without doubt served to direct and limit teaching practice, this has not been their primary function. Selection of content, and methods of teaching specific items of content, and trends in course changes, were compared with contemporary practice in England and the United States. Chemistry method textbooks proved useful here as those available were spread approximately evenly across the whole of the period of the survey. Journal articles, except for those few which reported historical material, tended to be concentrated in the latter quarter of the century, 1955 to 1980, thus affording a much better coverage of ideas extant during that period than was the case for the earlier years. The syllabus in action, in terms of classroom practice, facilities and management, was not considered as part of this study. These factors assumed significance only in so far as they imposed limitations on the course developers. Those decisions taken revealed, in the syllabus but more so in commentary documents, the rationalization of an idealized conception of the discipline of chemistry into a form fit for school use. The view taken in this thesis was neither strictly historical nor chronological. No attempt was made to fully document the development of chemistry as a school level subject in this state. Past practice, and current overseas practice, were used rather to construct a context in which the most recent course changes in Victoria could be explained. In commenting on syllabus change, it has proved easier to identify past shortcomings than to point to a direction for the future. Trends, even though well established, can be and have been reversed. An aim shared by course developers in different countries is susceptible to quite disparate interpretations, resulting in courses with little in common. Further, as this research has been limited to publicly expressed intentions in official documents, it allowed only indirect reflection on purposes and reasons for decisions. A study complementary to this thesis in which particular periods were dealt with in greater detail, could examine the hopes and frustrations of those individuals who assumed the responsibility for the development of school level chemistry courses in Victoria. From both sorts of consideration of the studies a society chooses to impose on its children, some insight into the nature of that society and its culture could be gained.
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ItemAn analytical survey of percussion education at the immediate pre-tertiary level( 1989)The standard of music education for players of percussion instruments appears to be deficient when compared to that of players of other musical instruments. Research has been conducted amongst students of percussion with the purpose of identifying characteristics which may suggest the need to adopt particular teaching strategies to address problems related to educational background. A profile of percussion students at the Box Hill College of TAFE Music Department refers to such matters as age, educational background, musical training and experience, learning skills and achievement. This profile is presented along with an analysis of some learning difficulties and problems encountered by students and the strategies adopted to address those problems. The role of published materials used in percussion teaching at Box Hill College of TAFE and the rationale for the writing of further tuition material is discussed. The content and context of the instrumental lesson and curriculum models which pertain to instrumental tuition form a large part of the study. The role of the teacher in the instrumental lesson is seen to include functions which go beyond the immediate processes of skill and knowledge development into the realm of personal growth and development. An essential aspect of skill development for musicians is the daily practice programme. The aims of practice, the motivation to practice and the materials and organisation of practice are all examined together with related problems experienced by students and the strategies used to address such problems. Percussion tuition, traditionally having been conducted outside the mainstream of music teaching institutions, is now seen to be most effective when conducted within the context of a comprehensive music education programme. Students of percussion clearly benefit from a course of study which includes not only percussion tuition but also aural and theoretical training, the study of music history, composition and practical experience in performance ensembles.