Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe new English : an analysis of ideology in the professional literature of English-teaching, 1963-1978( 1982)This thesis focusses upon the professional literature of English teachers in Victoria in the period 1963-1978. Its concern is, firstly, to identify and delineate the distinctive features of the successive ideologies of English teaching which emerged in the literature during those years, focussing in particular upon 'the New English'. Secondly, it seeks to suggest reasons for their emergence, by examining contemporary socio-economic, political and institutional developments, to which the theory of English teaching has been responsive. Although writers in the professional literature presented themselves as spokesmen for classroom English teachers, their rationales and pre-occupations were not widely shared or successfully communicated. Therefore, the theories of English teaching which are identifiable in the literature do not represent the changing practices of teachers, but rather a succession of 'attempts by theorists to direct and control those practices. They also reflect the changing composition and configuration of a particular segment of the intellectual field over a period of time. Some aspects of the changing ideology of English teaching are thus the product of quasi-autonomous internal processes of self-reflection and debate within the profession. However, the major purpose of this analysis is to demonstrate how more widespread historical developments called forth a specific range of responses amongst theorists, whose role was one of intellectual management of those developments. It is claimed that the New English merits attention both because of its congruence with broader structural changes and because of the challenge it offered to existing forms of control over both teaching practice and the production of theory itself.
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ItemAn evaluation of computer science in the Victorian Higher Schools Certificate( 1984)This thesis evaluates certain aspects of the Victorian Higher Schools Certificate subject, Computer Science. Firstly, an overview is taken of the subject as it was intended to function in the first three years of its accreditation, 1981 - 83. In the light of this, the draft proposal for changes to the course in 1984 is reviewed. Secondly, a number of specific areas of the course are examined in more detail. A questionnaire to course designers and teachers is the basis of this investigation. The relationship between stated objectives of the course and items of course content is explored. An analysis is conducted on the extent to which the four option components are equitable in terms of time. The relative importance of the three components of assessment is explored, especially in the case of a 'barely passing' student. Actual raw mark components for the 1981 students have been used in connection with the latter investigation.
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ItemGerman in Victorian secondary schools : differences in provision( 1990)The following thesis focuses on the provision of German language teaching in the secondary school curriculum. As a supportive comparison considerable attention has also been paid to French language teaching. Both of these subjects have undergone great changes, and a general decline in popularity and importance, during the post war period. It would also appear that both German and French, often recognized as traditional modern language subjects, have been neglected in general pronouncements about L.O.T.E. in favour of Asian and community languages. The study reveals that very little consolidated information exists on the availability of language teaching in Victoria. The thesis, therefore, attempts to pool available published and unpublished data on availability, popularity and geographical location of German as a subject in the Victorian secondary school curriculum.
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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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ItemStudents' early understanding in calculus( 1991)Students' Early Understanding of Calculus The study undertaken here looked at difficulties associated with the first principles approach to the derivative of a function and concentrated in particular on the first five lessons in calculus as experienced by a typical group of nineteen year 10 students who were preparing to take calculus at year 11. A traditional teaching approach was contrasted with an alternative computer teaching approach and both approaches were analysed for success in terms of conceptual understanding, skill acquisition and student perceptions of whether the work was easy to understand. As calculus has served as a critical filter for further study in mathematics, teaching methodology and student attitudes to the topic were a focus of the study. It was found that the students in the study had a limited concept image for gradient ('measure rise/run') and that a greater development of the global ideas associated with the gradient of a straight line needed to be a focus of learning before the idea of gradient of a curve should be introduced in beginning calculus. It was found that the use of a tangent to a curve at a point to measure gradient of the curve was not a spontaneous intuition and it is recommended that more time be given to this notion in the first principles approach to differentiation. The traditional first principles approach was found to be too cognitively demanding for the students who demonstrated a 'rush to the rule' for meaning. Students undergoing the computer treatment also demonstrated this 'rush to rule' and therefore very gradual development is recommended for students in their first encounters with calculus.
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ItemA comparison of the difficulties of algebra, fractions and decimals for Year 9 students( 1989)Skills tests in arithmetic and algebra were administered to 222 Year 9 students in two schools in Melbourne. Students, who were given one of four test papers, attempted twelve core questions, and three pairs of questions, the second of which was a j ump in difficulty from the first. These jumps in difficulty were expressions of the difference between working with fractions or decimals as opposed to whole numbers, and algebra as opposed to arithmetic. The results for the paired questions were firstly analysed using McNemar's test for changes. It was found that there is a jump in difficulty when moving from settings not involving fractions and decimals to settings where operating with fractions and decimals is necessary. Although the situation involving the addition of algebra is not as clear, it appears as well that the movement of a question from are arithmetic to an algebraic setting poses difficulties for students. Rasch analysis was used to give a measure of difficulty for all items, and the differences in difficulty for each of the paired questions calculated. The Newman-Kuels procedure was used to test if there was a difference in the difficulty jumps for the three areas. It was found that the jump in encountering fractions or decimals as opposed to whole numbers is significantly greater than the jump in coping with algebra as opposed to arithmetic. It is suggested that emphasis on acquiring a thorough conceptual, knowledge of rarional number needs to continue through the junior years of secondary school.
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ItemEducation and the imagination: the theory and practice of children's imaginative reading in the middle post-primary years( 1988)This study examines the teaching of imaginative literature in Australian post-primary schools. Commencing in a review of the historical background and contemporary justifications for novel study in the classroom, it then seeks to describe the orthodox prescriptions for practical work. Those principles which attract widespread agreement are noted, as well as those which are either ambiguous or in dispute. With this review of the theory as a foundation, the actual practice of reading in schools is then investigated. The field research consists of a random sample of two hundred and twenty-two Year 9 students and twelve teachers from six Ballarat schools, tested by questionnaire and selective follow up interviews. The results of both are used to provide a picture of the extent to which the theoretical principles correlate to the day to day reality of classroom work. The conclusion acknowledges the largely positive impressions emerging from this limited sample, but notes the dearth of research in this area, and the pressing need for further study on a large scale.
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ItemPreparing a bank of mathematical problems for Year 11 students( 1990)The production of a problem bank for Year 11 mathematics students forms the content of this thesis. From an original collection of approximately 100 problems, 30 were chosen representing the areas of algebra, geometry and arithmetic. The RASCH method was used for calibrating the problems using partial credit scoring. There were 452 students in 37 Year 11 classes from 8 Victorian secondary schools that participated. Details of the selection, administration and use of the problems are discussed. Some of the difficulties such as finding problems at the appropriate level of difficulty, establishing a suitable classification for them, defining a marking scheme for their solution and the interpretation of the analysis of the scores are also given. The problem bank in its final form contains 23 problems, and could be used by Year 11 mathematics teachers for assessing students' progress in mathematical problem solving. For ease of use the problems are categorised by area of study and level of difficulty. The methodology involved in developing the problem bank, the processes of selecting and categorising problems and the analysis of student attempts to solve them would also be helpful for these teachers as they incorporate problem solving into their V.C.E. courses.
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ItemThe public examination of English in Victoria : a study of one external influence on the secondary school English curriculum( 1980)The secondary school English curriculum was determined by groups outside schools during the period 1944-1974. External domination of teaching content and methodology was ensured by a system of Public and Matriculation Examinations which empowered agents of the universities to prescribe courses and to assess students' performance in those courses. The University of Melbourne exercised these functions through its Professorial Board and the Schools Board before relinquishing its powers to the Victorian Universities and Schools Examination Board in 1965. Statute and tradition allowed these bodies to establish themselves as a centre apart from schools, and to legitimise their authority through the institutionalised processes of prescription, examination and review of performance. The effect of these processes was to subordinate schools, teachers and pupils. There was immense inertia in the Victorian system of external prescription and examination. Courses and examination papers remained essentially unmodified for long periods. Significant development in the conception and content of English courses occurred, effectively, only at Year 12 in response to social and educational pressures which had previously led to the withdrawal of Public Intermediate and Leaving Examinations. Broadening the goals of H.S.C. English did not, however, signal diminished control over curriculum from the centre. The fact of competitive examinations at the end of secondary schooling continued to shape content and methodology in the earlier years. Competitive examinations engendered in schools, teachers and pupils a narrow conformity, the results of which can most clearly be seen in the failure of the Class A system to produce school-based curriculum initiatives of any substance. The effect of external prescription and examination of English courses was profound. Relationships between teachers and pupils were strongly mediated by the system, reducing the autonomy of both by subjugating their intentions to the instrumental demands of evaluation. So much of a student's 'life chance' depended upon examination success that teachers and taught were continually constrained to focus their attention on the tasks expected in examinations. Fragmentation, in line with the different sections of examination papers, rather than integration became, therefore, the organising principle for teaching aimed at developing those techniques believed to be essential for success in the examination game. External examinations dictated that the English classroom was a place where pupils met to prepare for their encounters with examinations rather than to explore the nature and richness of experience through literature and their own use of language for real ends. The system of Public and Matriculation Examinations established in 1944 was a potent influence on the secondary school English curriculum. The system rested upon a powerful, conservative centre whose legitimacy was so thoroughly entrenched that it was able to admit reform only on its own terms. Thus, it was possible after twenty-five years of relative stasis to negotiate evolution in the details of the school English curriculum without alteration to the essential power relationships. After thirty years, English teachers were still without autonomy. Year 12 English courses continued to exert the pressures and to exact the dependence which had constrained mother tongue studies throughout secondary schools since 1944.
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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.