Faculty of Education - Theses

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End date: 1998 × Start date: 1990 × Subject: Business education × Subject: Victoria ×

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    Influences on the academic progress of males in a TAFE business course : a case-study approach
    Pitt, Heather R ( 1998)
    This study is concerned with the academic achievement of young Post-VCE male students undertaking the TAFE Associate Diploma of Business (Marketing) at Swinburne University of Technology's Hawthorn Campus. All had failed to secure a university place. The research sheds light on the influences that contribute to an apparent lack of achievement among these young men while in TAFE. Specifically, it identifies, as significant, inflated expectations of their academic ability, threatened identities as successful learners, the socio-cultural construction of masculinity in their predominantly middle-class secondary schools, and their perceptions that TAFE is best suited to tradesmen. These many influences on academic outcomes can be drawn into two interrelated themes concerning socio-cultural constructions of hegemonic masculinity within their secondary schools, and how this generates a particular view of what it is to be a successful male learner. Thus conditions are established under which these young males have a tendency to over-estimate their academic ability, leading to unrealistic course choices at the end of VCE, which then positioned them for failure. Their inability to secure a university place was, for many, a point of rupture, presenting a threat to their identity, both as a successful learner and as a successful young man. In an effort to protect their 'threatened identities' they sought out a TAFE business course at a multi-sectoral institution to disguise their student status. However, once enrolled in this course they came to realise that their preconceptions of TAFE were unfounded, the classes were not peopled with tradesmen, and the standard was more professional and 'harder' than they had anticipated. This together with the realisation that many other students were similar to themselves, allowed them to maintain their identity as successful learners and ultimately provided them with the opportunity to articulate into a degree course or secure a valued 'white collar' position.
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    Selected correlates of academic performance
    Hart, Graeme J. ( 1992)
    The 1990 intake of students in Business Studies in the Institute of Education at the University of Melbourne were investigated and their performance was noted at the conclusion of the year. A number of performance indicators were used including an average score of all subjects attempted and a measure of the proportion of course completed by the end of first year studies. A range of predictor variables were used and the SAAS model of tertiary performance was developed to take account of Scores on entry to University, Approaches to study, Attitudes to University and Student opinions about themselves and their course. Extensive use was made of questionnaires developed by Biggs (1987) on approaches to study and Genn (1972) on attitudes to university, with much of the data being collected by a computerised questionnaire. Correlations between cognitive predictor and criterion variables were sought and differences between various demographic groupings were investigated. Single entry scores (Anderson score) were found to have very low correlations with academic performance while responses to approaches to study were found to have significantly higher associations. Students who had completed Accounting or Mathematics in year 12 were found to perform significantly better in all aspects of their course than students who had not completed these subjects.