Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 7 of 7
-
ItemAdvancement for women in organizations: a training perspective( 1980)This thesis will attempt to add a practical case history to the growing body of literature on special 'In-house' training programs for women. A special training program for women was designed and implemented in the South Australian Public Service as part of that organizations' overall Affirmative Action Plan to effect Equal Opportunity. The literature review (Chapter I) determines and explores the nature of the barriers women experience at work today and considers the alternatives in overcoming them from an 'In-house' training perspective. A complex interplay of internal barriers within the woman herself and external barriers created by the organization is offered as an explanation of the real problem women are facing at work today. 'In-house' training, amidst other 'Equal Opportunity' strategies which are designed to take account of the whole organization system, is offered as a partial solution to the problem under consideration. An exploration of the nature of the 'In-house' training which should be offered by the organization is then undertaken. In this regard the case 'for' and 'against' special training programs for women is presented; the former position being advocated by this writer. As this 'Women in Organizations Workshop' program was one of the first of its kind developed in Australia an attempt has been made to detail the history of the development of the program and consider the question 'why' it was developed and implemented in the South Australian Public Service in 1977. A modern Administrative Theory, known as 'Systems Theory' has been used as the conceptual framework for this historical analysis which is contained in Chapter II. Chapter III also uses the conceptual framework of 'Systems Theory' to detail the actual 'Women in Organizations Workshop' program content, design and its management by the two women lecturers of the Training and Development Branch of the Department of Further Education in South Australia. The 'Women in Organizations Workshop' program, being a pilot program, was evaluated by various groups throughout 1977 and 1978 (Chapter IV). The Occupational Psychology Branch of the Public Service Board of the South Australian Public Service undertook a rigorous, formal evaluation of the program. This Branch represented the major client of the workshop program. They interviewed a substantial proportion of the workshop participants, two months after the completion of the program. A 'significant incident' method was employed which required interviewers to state whether they had employed skills, knowledge and attitudes gained in the workshop, at their workplace by recalling a specific situation. The two women lecturers' evaluations of the program are then detailed, these being both formal and informal. A final evaluation is given, that-of the Review Committee established in 1978 to evaluate the overall Training and Development activities of the Training and Development Branch of the Department of Further Education. All evaluations conducted of: the program considered it as a great success. Finally, a conclusion (Chapter V) is given which offers recommendations as to the value of this experiment conducted in the South Australian Public Service. Congruent with the research it is argued that currently, special 'In-house' training programs for women are viable and necessary given their current status in the workforce. However these programs are of an essentially short-run duration (approximately 5 to 10 years). An 'Androgynous Management Style' is offered as the future management model to be utilized in all management training programs. The total organization is then considered from a 'Systems Theory' perspective; strategies to implement Equal Opportunity, apart from (or in addition to) 'In-house training' are mentioned.
-
ItemA comparative study of ten Victorian Protestant girls' school histories 1875 to 1920( 1985)In recent years a number of histories of independent girls' schools have been published and it now seems an appropriate time to draw together some aspects of this history. This thesis will trace some of the common features of these histories with a view to explaining the changes in the development of female education in Victoria during the period 1875 to 1920.(From Introduction)
-
ItemSchooling the adolescent girl: an exploration of some advantages of girls' secondary schools( 1982)This thesis commences with an outline of the reasons for my decision to research the debate about single-sex and co-educational secondary schools. The study first of all examines data on physiological sex differences and then moves on to an exploration of adolescence with particular reference to the psychological outcomes of these differences. Having made a case that the sexes have different needs the Eriksonian theory of identity development, which emphasizes the importance of gender identity in this process, is then considered. This theory is the basis of my contention that girls' secondary schools may play a valuable role in the development of girls during the adolescent years which are crucial for identity development. It is then pointed out that an orientation to a world-view is also a vital element of identity development. A suggestion is presented for a possible world-view for a Christian school which would facilitate the development of an educated woman.
-
ItemWomen and social change: a study of two groups of mothers and how they socialize their children in relation to women's role in society( 1976)This study attempts an examination of women and social change. It is an exploratory study of how mothers socialize their children in relation to women's role in society. The theoretical and research literature in the area is discussed, specifically Juliet Mitchell's four structures relating to the position of women in society. The research study involved interviewing 11 mothers with a traditional ideology of women, 11 mothers with a contemporary ideology of women and 37 of their children who were aged between 14 and 17. The propositions were:- 1. That traditional ideology mothers will have children who are socialized to look forward with a greater degree of certainty towards marriage and family as a means of fulfilment than children of contemporary ideology mothers. 2. That contemporary ideology mothers will have children who are socialized to have wider educational, occupational and life aspirations than children of traditional ideology mothers. 3. That children of traditional ideology mothers have different ideas and perceptions of past and future changes in family life, especially in relation to the four structures of production, reproduction, sexuality and the socialization of children which seem essential to women's role in society. The data indicates that children are influenced by their mothers' sex role ideology but the evidence is slight and ambiguous. There were some children from both groups of mothers who had similar attitudes towards women's role in society. A major finding was that women pass on their sex role ideology in general and diffuse ways. It was apparent that by the age of 14 to 17 years the children of women with different sex role ideologies had been socialized by their mothers to some extent but their socialization had been balanced or overwhelmed by other socialization agencies, such as, the school, peer group and the mass media.
-
ItemHenry Sidgwick and reform at Cambridge, 1859 to 1900( 1990)Henry Sidgwick was the epitome of a 'Victorian Don'. He first went up to Cambridge in 1857, was elected to a trinity Fellowship in 1859, and lived and worked at the University until his death in 1900. On the rare occasions that he receives acknowledgement for his academic and reforming achievements there is a tendency for authors to depict him as a rather unfulfilled intellectual, hidden in the 'ivory tower' atmosphere of Cambridge University, writing dull uninteresting treatises on moral philosophy. This picture is untrue and is more a reflection of twentieth century perception of the Victorian Era than of reality. Henry Sidgwick was an attractive vital man who translated this vitality into joining the reform movement at Cambridge. He lived out his life at Cambridge, from the age of seventeen years until his death, as an active reformer of university education, and man fully aware of the worldly scene. Sidgwick mixed with and was related to some of the most influential men in England. His sister's husband, Edward Benson, became Archbishop of Canterbury, and his wife's brother, Arthur Balfour, the Earl of Balfour, was an active politician who became Prime Minister of Great Britain after Henry's death. Henry Sidgwick took a vigorous interest in many aspects of life, the role of the Church, politics, theology, psychic phenomena, as well as academic reform; he was never trapped in an ivory tower. He was a gregarious individual whose presence enhanced any social gathering, a sturdy don who, when instructed by his doctor to get more exercise, ran through the streets of Cambridge daily, his gown billowing in the wind: A man singularly lacking in vanity, he neither sought or expected recognition and although considered by some as the author of the most important contribution by an Englishman to moral philosophy, he is not well-known. He has not received due recognition for his efforts, mainly successful, to reform education at Cambridge. The aim of this thesis is to shed some further light on the personality and reforming achievements of this enlightened and just man, without whom Cambridge and higher education would have been the poorer.
-
ItemEpitome and translation with commentary of Kad?n Sorunu (The status of women) by Necla Arat( 1991)The status, achievements and problems of women have been examined comprehensively in recent years by numerous research projects, conferences and seminars globally. As it was indicated in the introduction of the book entitled "Kadin Sorunu" (The Status of Women) which is the subject of this thesis, the author Dr. Necla Arat who was then a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, Department of Philosophy of Istanbul University has done minor research and expanded it as a printed text with the abovementioned title. Though the book was written in 1975, due to various reasons and difficulties, it was published in 1980, revised and, enlarged edition was printed in 1986 (Say Yayinlari, Istanbul). The first edition had aroused a great deal of interest, it was criticised in positive and negative ways, such as a "complete political booklet", "a study of democratic leftists and progressives that reflect the contradictions of the Republican era woman". The author expresses her satisfaction with the outcome of her work, her book has not faded away in silence. She insists in her book that it is the responsibility of women themselves to defend vigorously their rights. Dr. N. Arat has published a number of books and translated some texts. Presently, she is the head of the Department for Women's issues of Istanbul University. A. Language B. Women and social change in Turkey C. Islam The text has three parts. Part I is an account of Western feminism and the struggle for women's emancipation. The author contributes valuable data on the historical background of the emancipation of Western women and the status of women before Islam. However, the other parts of the text which examine women under the influence of Islam and in the Republican era require comment.
-
ItemNon-English speaking background females as students and as teachers( 1991)In contrast to literature on female teachers generally, of which there is an abundance, there is little research on the specific category of female Non English Speaking Background (NESB) teachers in schools. Equally, there is no literature available which outlines the progressive experience of NESB girls, initially as students and later as professional teachers. This study aims to do a little of both by tracing the experiences of NESB girls as students and as teachers in the educational environment. This study has relied on the qualitative methodological approach. Interviews were preferred over rigid questionnaires as this method allowed for an experience based comparative study where issues raised could be pursued, expanded upon and further developed as the need arose. The results of this study show that NESB women (as students and teachers), are not only disadvantaged in regards to their gender, but also in relation to ethnicity. It became evident that although NESB teachers had reached the other end of the educational spectrum, they were still being subjected to the biases and discrimination which they had. experienced earlier as students in the education system.