Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe role of the Curriculum Co-ordinator in selected independent girls' schools( 1994)The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the Curriculum Co-ordinator in selected independent girls’ schools in relation to Schwab’s (1983) model and to elaborate his theory in practice. Three Curriculum Co-ordinators were asked to participate in the study, the methodology of which involved diary keeping and interviews based on the programme used by Wood (1992) in the professional development of senior staff. The general findings of the study supported the usefulness of Schwab’s model and proposed a typology of leadership styles of curriculum deliberation showing its relationship to management and policy determination in the school. (For complete abstract open document)
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ItemCulturally different and successful?: case studies of gifted Vietnamese secondary students( 1993-01)There is concern in the literature that gifted children from ‘culturally different’ populations, such as Hispanics and Blacks, are underrepresented in special programs due, in part, to the often insensitive traditional methods of identification used that do not detect particular abilities that are valued and promoted within that particular culture. Contrary to these findings, studies indicate that gifted Asians are in profusion. They present themselves as excellent, motivated students and it is almost expected that they will achieve highly in the areas of mathematics and science. The focus of this paper is a study of seven highly capable secondary school boys of Vietnamese background. In several of these cases the children have had huge hurdles to overcome including the death of a mother, escape by boat, life in a refugee camp, parents whose skills are not being utilised as well as being ‘different’. Despite this they have been successful. A case study approach was adopted to look at the nature of these students, the role of the parents and the attitudes towards giftedness. The aim is to present a holistic view of the child rather than obscure their unique characteristics in a muddle of statistics of a large scale study. This paper takes the position that it is dangerous to make such generalisations and that although gifted from the same cultural group will have certain similar traits, the assumption that common values will automatically apply to them should be curtailed as the particular circumstances of the individual child leads to different manifestations in each.
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ItemYou can learn things: television in the lives of Vietnamese teenage girls in Melbourne( 1994)This study addresses the ways in which women and ethnic minorities are represented in the Australian mainstream media, in particular television, and what teenage Vietnamese migrant girls do with the representations they encounter. The literature reviewed includes research and theories about psychological acculturation or cross-cultural adaptation; content analyses of television, exposing the ethnocentric and patriarchal nature of the programs and advertisements screened in Australia; feminist and post-structuralist approaches to the study of television; and ethnographic television audience studies. An ethnographic case study approach was employed to explore the television viewing habits of twelve sixteen to eighteen year old Vietnamese girls living in Melbourne. It was found that the girls were watching television regularly, both for pleasure and with a keen desire to learn. The implications of what they are learning from a media which promotes dominant ethnocentric and patriarchal views is discussed, and whether this has a negative impact on the girls' sense of self and development of identity is questioned. While it is difficult to draw direct conclusions on such issues, it can be said that the girls do not feel part of mainstream Australia and possibly will not until they are recognised by the media. Some of the implications for education and schools are also discussed.
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ItemBeing good: values discourse in educational policy and management( 1996)This study is concerned with the way prevailing realities of government policy are reflected in educational policy and styles of management, by being reproduced and sustained through values discourse. The largest education system in the world is to be found in the People's Republic of China. China's current values discourse is constructed from traditional values and, more recently, from socialist theory. Concepts of Utopia, and the influences of Marx, Lenin and Mao are explored. The views of Foucault and Fairclough reveal the way language powerfully constructs reality and defines social order. A literature review considers the contributions of previous research to issues explored in this thesis. This study analyses how official values education material in China reflects prevailing government policy. The data was collected in Nanjing and Shanghai from October 1993 to January 1994. It consists of Leaders Handbooks for the Young Pioneers, Large and Small Young Pioneers Posters, classroom values education texts, and interview material. The methodology of Textually Oriented Discourse Analysis as proposed by Fairclough (1992(b)) provides a helpful framework for the analysis of sample discourses which represent current values. Further chapters will explore contemporary directions in values discourse and consider the trend towards conscientisation and empowerment. The limitations of the values discourse are discussed. Within a worldwide framework, current scholars, such as Freire, use concepts such as conscientisation, liberation and empowerment to define the future for values discourse. What is the role of educational institutions regarding values discourse? Are there opportunities for dissenting voices to be heard? Previous theories of management have focussed on the values of efficiency, corporate culture and models of excellence. Do these values simply ensure further control over individuals and organisations by constructing a prevailing reality too narrowly defined? Participating in the 'struggle' for the prevailing discourse through being involved in micropolitics and realising the importance of critical language awareness can enable us all to construct a reality which empowers rather than limits those involved in education.
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ItemBrother Ronald Fogarty's Catholic education in Australia, 1806-1950, volumes I and II: a re-appraisal( 1990)This thesis is an attempt to re-appraise the history of Brother Ronald Fogarty in his work Catholic Education in Australia 1806-1950 in the light of the specific themes which he determines as basic to the development of Catholic education. It has been generally acknowledged that these themes are not only relevant to the Catholic or educational sphere of Australian history, but also provide insight into the development of Australian society as a whole. Fogarty's history celebrates the triumph of a minority group as part of a reaction to the developments instituted by the majority. Overall, Fogarty's interpretation of why and how a separate Catholic education system developed makes a significant contribution to Australian historiography in general.
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ItemFact and fiction in Joan Lindsay's "Picnic at Hanging Rock"( 1990)Joan Lindsay's novel Picnic at Hanging Rock, has been examined on a variety of levels. Scholars have viewed the novel as a study of the conflict of humanity versus nature, in symbolic terms as the embodiment of an archetypal religious myth, as a philosophical treatise on the passing of time and merely as an ambiguous and sinister disappearance. The purpose of this thesis has been to discriminate between fact and fiction in Picnic at Hanging Rock, with particular reference to the education of women. The novel has been explored in historical terms in an attempt to ascertain how much it is a reflection of Joan Lindsay's educational experiences at the Clyde Girls' Grammar School and her social experiences as a daughter of a prominent Melbourne family. Lindsay's experiences as a student at Clyde Girls' Grammar from 1911-1914 and the lifestyle of her family provide a historical picture of an upper middle-class family and their pattern of behavior at the turn of the century. This thesis examines Joan Lindsay's family, married life and literary works, paying particular attention to her childhood. The upper middle-class lifestyle, social mores and customs of the Weigall family provide much of the raw material for Lindsay the novelist's portrayal of turn-of-the century life at Appleyard College and the village of Macedon. This thesis also studies the staff, educational objectives and teaching methods employed at the fictional Appleyard College and compares these with a historical study of the staff and teaching practices of the Clyde Girls' Grammar of Joan Lindsay's experience. It concludes that although Lindsay has portrayed Appleyard College as institution with a shallow, haphazard approach to education, embodying all of the negative facets associated with education of females in the Victorian period, the education offered at Clyde appeared to be of sound intellectual standard and of the best quality available to the females of her generation. Through the characters in her novel Lindsay highlights different approaches towards education in the late Victorian era. Through Appleyard's imposing headmistress, Mrs Appleyard, Lindsay satirizes the attitude that social status in the most important value no matter what the cost. Mrs Appleyard is obsessed with her students' social background and displays little concern for their intellectual development. The character of Dianne de Poitiers plays out the role of the accomplished woman, a teacher who is hired for her ladylike appearance and demeanor and fluent French rather than any outstanding intellectual qualities. And in contrast to de Poitiers, Lindsay casts Greta McCraw as a mathematic mistress whose little appreciated mathematical brilliance and outlandish physical appearance designate her as a bluestocking. The different approaches of these two teachers personify the acceptable and unacceptable gender characteristics for women in the late Victorian era. Lindsay would have been well aware that the superficial education offered at Appleyard College defended class boundaries and the lifestyle of the upper middle classes which she so humorously describes later in the novel. Her examination of the manners, prejudices and social practices of this privileged sector of society is humorous in its intention and often scathing in its perceptions. And although her depiction of Appleyard College is not a reflection of her years at Clyde, Lindsay's position as a daughter of a privileged Melbourne family has provided her with an intuitive understanding of the upper-middle-class lifestyle of the late Victorian era.
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ItemAdolescent gambling: a justification for gambling education programs targeting Victorian minors( 1996)Gambling is a well established, integral aspect of Victorian communities and this is unlikely to change in the near future. The gambling industry has grown in recent times to become a billion dollar industry. Studies conducted by the Victorian Casino and Gaming Authority (DBM Consultants 1995) found that 90% of Victorian adults have placed a bet at some time in their lives with 77% having done so in the period 1994-1995. In total, Victorians spent $88.6 million per week on gambling. There is insufficient data available to fully comprehend the social impact of the gambling industry on Victorian communities. Clearly, today's adolescents are living in an environment that supports and promotes gambling. However, no research has been conducted that investigates the gambling behaviours and attitudes of Victorian minors prior to this study. Recent studies in the USA, the UK and Canada reveal that a high proportion of adolescents are regular gamblers with many experiencing problems related to their gambling behaviours. This thesis provides data on the gambling behaviours and attitudes of Victorian adolescents. The majority of the 200 adolescents involved in the study are gambling, with many doing so at a level that constitutes 'at risk' behaviour. This study provides justification for the introduction of gambling education in Victorian schools. It postulates that the appropriate curriculum framework for the inclusion of gambling education is primarily in the Health and Physical Education Key Learning Area alongside other risk taking behaviours. Given that informed and responsible gambling in moderation does little harm to the gambler or the community, the author recommends that the harm minimisation approach is the most suitable Health Education model for implementing gambling education programs in Victorian schools.