Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 21
-
ItemStudent expectations of the future( 1992)Specific aims of the study To investigate how present-day students view the future and their place in the workforce of the future. To establish whether or not students regard their present educational experiences as an adequate preparation for their future work. To investigate acceptance of unconventional futures scenarios as possible futures.
-
ItemLearning organisations and their educational impact in a corporate environment( 1995)This thesis is a study of learning organisations and their educational impact in a corporate environment. It provides an overview of the theory of organisational learning, and of learning organisations and describes several models of learning organisations. The important principles of holism and explicitness are established. Examples of learning organisation practices in overseas enterprises are compared with two case studies of Australian organisations which are aspiring learning organisations. These practices are then critically reviewed leading to the development of a new model for learning organisations, based upon 'empowered leadership', which explains holism and explicitness in detail. It concludes by addressing the issue of what learning organisations provide educationally, using the emerging prominence of 'life-long learning' as a focus.
-
ItemEffective Catholic secondary schools : the findings of two case studies( 1996)This study utilises both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate school effectiveness in Catholic secondary schools. While some researchers, both in Australia and overseas, tend to rely on quantitative methods when they examine school effectiveness, the current study adopts a case study approach, involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. In adopting this approach, the researcher's aim is to investigate and portray the various factors or processes in schools, which are perceived to make them effective. This process approach differs from that of many researchers, who have adopted an "outcomes" approach in investigating school effectiveness in Western education over the past thirty years, and thus sheds additional light on the various factors within schools which contribute to their overall effectiveness. Also, as this study is focused specifically on Catholic secondary schools it illustrates some of the more specific factors operating within this context. The major finding of the study is that there are several pivotal factors which influence the effectiveness of a Catholic secondary school.
-
ItemThe characteristics of exchange structure patterns of an adult low-level ESL classroom using a genre-based approach to the teaching of writing : a study of classroom discourse( 1994)This study is concerned with the characteristics of exchange structure patterns of an adult low-level English as a second language (ESL) classroom using a genre-based approach to the teaching of writing in an Australian context. To provide an appropriate system of analysis, Ventola's (1987; 1988h) system for analysing conversational structure in service encounter texts has been expanded to suit the characteristics of the data in the current study. Applying the expanded version of Ventola's system, the whole data have been segmented into exchanges. Two major categories of exchange structure patterns have been identified: non-anomalous, which comprises simple and complex exchanges, and anomalous, which comprises elliptical, defective, and broken exchanges. Using this exchange categorisation as a basis, the characteristics of the interactional patterns, the shifts of roles of information supplier, and the variability of language use in a genre-based approach classroom have been identified and explicated. Exchange structure patterns dominant in certain sub-stages vary in accordance with the variation of other factors. In conjunction with the shifts of roles of the information supplier, for example, in Sub-stage 1, in which the students were cast to serve the function of information supplier, B-event exchanges were dominant, Only a small number of A-event exchanges occur in this sub-stage. In contrast, in Sub-stage 2 and Rehearsal where the teacher served the function of information supplier, A-event exchanges were dominant.
-
ItemHuman capital : a case study of the AMEP( 1995)This study is an investigation of the Human Capital Approach to education in Australia. It examines whether or not the Commonwealth Government is steering education towards the incorporation of policies that invest greater emphasis and resources into human beings as contributors to economic productivity than it invests in their cultural and aesthetic value. The study incorporates the philosophies of the Human Capitalists and how successive Commonwealth and State Governments apply these philosophies in education policy formulation - particularly the provision of English language to adult migrants through the Adult Migrant Education Program in Victoria. The methodology used is a questionnaire of closed and open-ended questions distributed to AMEP teachers. The researcher duly followed up the questionnaire with interviews of four AMEP teachers in an endeavour to shed more light on the reasons behind the responses given by teachers in the questionnaire. The researcher undertook an analysis of the responses in order to investigate whether or not the Commonwealth Government gives primacy to economic objectives of the migration program over its social, cultural and linguistic objectives. The findings are that the AMEP teachers surveyed believe that the Commonwealth Government does emphasize economic objectives over all other objectives of the migration program. A Human Capital approach to education, reflected in the application of Economic Rationalism, is apparent in Australia's education system according to AMEP teachers surveyed and that such has been the case since the late 1970s. The literary works of Schultz, Smith, Dawkins, Piore, Crittenden, Benovat, Green, Pusey, Kennedy, Marginson and Grubb are included in this study. These works form the literature review of the Human Capital approach. As well, the Reports chaired by Karmel, Williams, Kirby, Fitzgerald and Campbell, and a variety of Commonwealth Reports and Working Party Papers into various aspects of education in Australia are represented in an investigation of the application of the Human Capital approach to education in Australia's main education policies. The findings of this research are that the Human Capital approach to education is influencing the AMEP and that this has wider implications for the national education system in Australia. Almost all AMEP teachers surveyed believe the AMEP no longer follows its own National Plan, in which it spells out its aims and objectives, but pursues the Commonwealth Government's primary objective of pursuing the economic aims and benefits of the migration program.
-
ItemThe effectiveness of the Auditory Skills Program in developing auditory skills in severe to profoundly hearing impaired children( 1997)This study assessed the effectiveness of the Auditory Skills Program (Romanik, 1990) in developing the auditory skills of a group of severe to profound hearing impaired school aged children. It also measured speech perception and speech production skills during and following participation in the program. The Auditory Skills Program is a comprehensive graded program which aims to develop the hearing impaired child's speech and linguistic skills through audition. In this study 18 severe to profound hearing impaired children ranging in age from 6 to 12 years received twice weekly sessions based on the Auditory Skills Program for a period of three months. Auditory skill development was measured at monthly intervals using the assessment tool within the program, the Placement test. The PLOTT test ( Plant and Westcott, 1983) was used to measure speech perception skills. Speech production skills were measured using the 108 single word articulation test (Paatsch, 1992) and conversational speech samples using phonological process analysis. The subjects were tested at the commencement of during, and following the cessation of, participation in the Auditory Skills Program. They were also tested 5 months post participation in the program. The Auditory Skills Program was effective in developing auditory skills in this group of severe to profoundly hearing impaired subjects. There was a significant improvement in auditory skills in the group of subjects during participation in the program. A deterioration in these skills occurred following cessation of participation in the Auditory Skills Program. Speech perception skills also improved significantly during participation in the Auditory Skills Program. Speech production skills significantly improved when measured using the 108 single word articulation test. No change occurred in speech production skills as measured by spontaneous conversational speech samples during participation in the Auditory Skills Program. This study found the Auditory Skills Program to be an effective tool for developing auditory skills and enhancing the development of speech perception and speech production skills in this group of severe to profound hearing impaired children.
-
ItemCultural barriers for Chinese women studying in Australian universities( 1998)This is a qualitative study examining cultural barriers experienced by Chinese women students in Australian universities. It is found, by reviewing the literature, that no specific research has been done to explore the relationships between problems of Chinese women students in Australia and values embodied in their culture. Consequently, the present study is open to new findings, and does not proceed on a basis of a hypothesis. To collect data, four focus groups of Chinese women students were interviewed. The focus questions concentrated on Chinese women's roles, attitudes towards education, English language problems, initial adjustment, family relationships and friendships, and problems relating to ethnic and gender background. The responses from the focus groups were summarised, and cultural barriers for Chinese women students studying in Australia were identified. The discussion points raised in the above interviews led to the discovery of significant issues, such as the conflict between Chinese women's traditional and modem roles, their low English fluency and unaccustomed teaching and learning styles, the difficulty of friendships with local students, and inattention of Australian universities to the needs of Chinese females. It is concluded that Chinese women need to be made more aware of the cultural barriers facing them, and be prepared to alter their approach to learning in order to facilitate a more successful academic life in Australia. More importantly, Australian tertiary institutions need to accommodate the cultural differences in an educational context, and to be ready to provide more efficient support to minority student groups.
-
ItemA study in archetypal theory : alcohol and adolescent rites of passage( 1997)The study is an archetypal approach to adolescent male alcohol use in contemporary Australia. The study deals with four families (case-studies) and their stories about the period of adolescent development, especially the often problematic process of negotiating alcohol use. The study will examine the developmental process in pre-modern rites of passage and compare it with contemporary adolescent development in the four case-studies to identify whether there are similar archetypal patterns between them. It will also examine intra-family dynamics from an archetypal perspective, especially in relation to communication and projection. Finally, the study will examine whether there are similarities between pre-modern rites of passage, in terms of transferring power and responsibility from father to son, and how this affects the son's alcohol use and maturation.
-
ItemThe getting of professional nursing wisdom : the relevance of knowledge for undergraduate students : a phenomenological comparative study( 1993)The intention of this thesis is to identify any factors which may affect the implementation and practice of therapeutic humanistic care by undergraduate nurse students. Professional nursing practice must be acknowledged as function beyond licensure of safety. Wisdom, with reference to professional practice can only be acquired through relevant education and supported opportunities to practice. The classroom promotion and clinical transfer of empirical, holistic care is an educational mandate and as such must be addressed. The research study of this thesis as a qualitative investigation with a phenomenological approach, was designed as a small comparative study. The literature review of this thesis released certain significant questions for investigation. From these questions eventual research prompts were developed. The participants for this study were nurse student volunteers approaching course completion. The participants as distinct cohorts from a Hospital School of Nursing and a Faculty of Nursing were interviewed using the research prompts. Following data analysis, the study identified apparent differences between the valuing and practice of humanistic caring by the undergraduate nurse students from the two sites.
-
ItemA study of the relationship between university and government in Australia( 1992)The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between university and government in order to provide insights that may help to resolve the conflicts in the current relationship. The theory of social conflict will be used to examine the causes of conflicts and possible ways of resolution. Educational theory will look at the effect of conflicts on educational outcomes. It is hypothesized that the government's view is that universities have not been efficient and effective in training sufficient numbers of qualified graduates with the available funds, and that they have not responded to the demands of social expectations, and of economic developments. Thus, the nature of the university should be shifted from the emphasis on traditional teaching and research to the achievement of national economic objectives, including Australia's international economic competitiveness. As the nature of the university is shifted, greater government political control over universities becomes necessary. On the other hand, the view of the universities is that they have worked hard to carry out their role and function within the limits of available funding and that the quantity and quality of higher education suffer as a result of lack of funding. Also, they argue that the nature of the university is not changing and should not be changed. Too much government intervention results in the loss of essential institutional autonomy and academic freedom, and government intervention should be reduced. These hypotheses have been examined, using government policy statements, reports, and research papers and statistics from other sources. The data have been used to analyse the causes and consequences of the conflicts. The key causes of conflict include differing concepts of the values and beliefs of universities: the government's concept and the universities' concept. The government assumes that university education is directly productive, and accountable for the achievement of government-defined national economic objectives. The universities believe that universities are a special kind of organization. University education is productive only through the utilization of knowledge or skills. Universities are accountable not only to the government but to the range of the community. The consequences of this conflict include the loss of institutional autonomy and academic freedom in the following fields: (i) the nature of the higher education system. University education is being changed from diversity to centralisation, as a result of the shift from a binary system to a unitary system. (ii) funding control. University performance is being subjected to the dollar-push control by the government. (iii) teaching-research direction. Due to the loss of autonomy in the allocation of funds to institutions, there is neglect of the importance of teaching in universities, and a narrow emphasis on government-perceived research priorities. Proposals arising from the study include the need to develop: (i) mechanisms for the improvement of mutual understanding such as the constant exchange of views and ideas and of staff as visiting research fellows. (ii) awareness of the responsibility of each party in higher education. The government should guarantee the provision of funds for universities and interfere less in the internal performance of institutions. Universities should use the funds as efficiently as possible and adapt themselves to the rapid changing world. (iii) a clearer pattern of the distribution of authority between the government and the universities at least in the areas of development of higher education, governance, funding allocation and academic and intellectual affairs.