Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemEnglish in the training of primary teachers( 1975)in 1968 a three year course of training for primary teachers was introduced in Victorian State teachers' colleges. The course was founded upon the report of an Advisory Committee on the Three Years' Course of Training for Primary Teachers published in March 1967 and commonly termed the 'Pryor Report'. One of the objectives of this course was to develop a well educated cultured person (with) the desire to read widely. with discrimination and appreciation of all that is best in literature . Means of achieving this objective included a compulsory two years' study of English, incorporating the best in traditional and contemporary writing', and children's literature. There is need for some evaluation of the degree to which this objective has been achieved. in this study, twenty-one young teachers who completed the three year course at one provincial teachers' college, and who were teaching in one-teacher rural schools, were visited and invited to discuss the subject of English, particularly English literature. in their college courses. Their current reading habits. and views and attitudes to literature were also discussed. The data collected from these discussions suggest that the objective of the three year course referred to above is not being achieved in the case of this small and possibly unrepresentative sample of graduates of the course. These teachers do not read widely. Their attitudes to literature are disappointing and the effects of these attitudes on the children they teach represent a matter of grave concern. It Is suggested that the compulsory study of 'adult' literature In a course of training for primary teachers is educationally doubtful. On the other hand compulsory study of the immensely rich field of children's literature appears justified on literary, sociological and educational grounds. The need for clear aims and procedures for studies In the language arts and methods of teaching English In the primary school Is also suggested by the lack of confidence shown in these areas by the young teachers. The presentation of the views and attitudes of a group of young, inexperienced teachers in a difficult and sometimes lonely school environment is an attempt to give life to problems in teacher training which statistical data may illuminate. No firm conclusions are possible from data obtained in this study but the study indicates a need for thorough evaluation of the efficacy of courses of training of teachers such as those founded on the 'Pryor Report.'
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ItemThe provision of English as a second language programs in Victorian Catholic primary schools, 1970-1988( 1989)This thesis examines the programs in English as a second language provided by the Catholic Education Office of Victoria to its primary schools between 1970 to 1988. The CEOV response to Government policies and funding for English as a second language programs for immigrant children is described and analysed. Data concerning these programs is analysed for ten selected Catholic primary schools, who submitted proposals in 1985, and for twenty selected Catholic primary schools who submitted proposals in 1988. The results show that despite good intentions and committed efforts, the teaching of English as a second language in Victorian Catholic primary schools remains a poor relation.
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ItemImplementing the CSF-English in a whole language classroom( 1998)A new curriculum structure called the Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF) was introduced to Victorian primary and secondary schools in 1995. The CSF-English comprises four strands, two of which (Contextual understanding and Linguistic structures and features), represent what could be seen as new information to Whole Language trained teachers. This thesis addresses the CSF-English in two ways. First, it deconstructs the CSF-English. Second, it will attempt to trace its implementation in a case study. In order to lay the basis for a historically located, theoretically informed deconstruction of the CSF-English, the researcher conducted a close reading of the document, informed by a reading of the literature on the history of English curriculum. The conclusion is that the CSF-English, while being theoretically inclusive, is unsynthesised, eclectic and confusing. This thesis examines how two grade 5/6 self described Whole Language primary school teachers went about implementing the CSF-English, a document to which they had limited theoretical access. This thesis focuses on the types of texts and the types of knowledge about texts which were presented in the classroom. Using ethnographic methodology both qualitative and quantitative data were collected to create a rich and detailed portrait of all occurrences of the teaching of reading and writing. The data showed that a narrow and unbalanced range of text types was presented. While fictional and personal texts occurred with high frequency, factual texts occurred very infrequently. The data also showed that literal and personalised knowledge about texts was frequently taught, whereas the overall structures of texts and the situational and socio-cultural context was rarely taught. The central conclusions reached were first that the teachers implemented only those aspects of CSF-English which concurred with their Whole Language philosophy. The Whole Language model of English did not provide a means for these teachers to implement the CSF-English as a whole. Second, those aspects of the CSF-English which drew most heavily on Critical Social Literacy were taught infrequently. Third, it was concluded that the students of these Whole Language teachers were not being fully prepared for the demands of secondary school literacy. In particular, they were not being familiarised with the types of texts that matter in the secondary school, nor were they being inducted into critical and analytical thinking about texts.
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ItemThe implementation of the English language framework P-10: a case study( 1994)The following case study examined and evaluated a teacher's perception of the influence of the implementation of an externally mandated innovation, the English Language Framework P-10, in a Victorian outer metropolitan primary school in order to determine the factors that fostered/hindered implementation within that particular context. To assist in this analysis and to verify its results, a comparison was made between this innovation's implementation and the successful implementation of Integrated Curriculum. The purposes of the study were to 1. evaluate the implementation of the Framework by the teacher in the study; 2. analyse the factors which affected this implementation; and 3. determine the subsequent implications for the implementation of future innovations in the same context. Because the findings of the study were context dependent, large generalisations about aspects of the change process were not expected to emerge from the study's conclusions. Rather, the study sought to provide an understanding of change within this particular context. For such reasons, a case study approach based on the axioms of the 'naturalistic paradigm' were employed. This mode required that the design 'emerge' as the study progressed. Each subsequent phase of data collection was therefore based on the salient elements which emerged through interviews, observations and/or document analysis. The study's conclusions find that the largest hindrances to the implementation of the Framework arose from its failure to address the teacher's specific needs; its lack of clarity due to diffuse goals and vague means of implementation; and a lack of external support in the form of materials, consultants and professional development courses. The implications of the study question the feasibility of externally mandated innovations which fail to address a particular school's situation and suggest that a combination of individual and institutional development which supports change initiated and enacted at the local level would be the most beneficial for this study's site and others like it.