Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe evolution of concepts of decimals in primary and secondary students( 1994)This thesis studies children's conceptions about ordering decimals. It builds upon previous work which established three commonly used systematic errors in children's understanding as they encounter decimal notation. Students were categorised according to erroneous rule usage. This work includes a small longitudinal study which showed little change over twelve months in rule usage by an Australian sample of 50 secondary students. The categorising tests were redeveloped to make them suitable for primary students and to have increased reliability. The main study traced the use of rules from Year Four to Year Ten in a sample of 379 students and showed how students with different rules performed on other decimal tasks. It was found that one of the rules, called the whole number rule (in comparing two decimals that with more decimal places is chosen as the larger) was important in earlier years but disappeared with time. The second rule, called the fraction rule (the decimal with fewer decimal places is chosen as the larger), persisted in worrying proportions well into the secondary years and it was shown that significant gaps in knowledge of decimal notation existed which had not corrected themselves with time. The third rule was shown to be not important. Further investigation of a longitudinal nature to examine how individuals actually make the transition to mastery of decimal notation is encouraged by this study.
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ItemAnother world like here : futures studies and early childhood education( 1995)This thesis examines the discipline of futures studies and its potential for application in early childhood education. The need for an increased futures-orientation in education is established by a survey of the overwhelmingly negative commentaries of youths on the topic of the future. These comments, it is argued, point to a vacuum of understanding about the future which educators should seek to counterbalance. This task should be particularly emphasised by early childhood educators since they share a commitment to the central objective of laying foundations for life-long learning. Futures studies offers a useful methodology for this task. The thesis examines the major tenets of futures studies and its translation into primary and secondary educational settings. The applicability of futures studies to early childhood education is established by demonstrating the many principles which futures studies and early childhood education share in common. A futures-focused curriculum need not involve the educator in any radically new philosophical and educational frameworks. It, rather, provides a means of extending and re-articulating existing developmental objectives from the vantage point of new perspectives. The thesis resolves the issue of whether or not futures concerns are beyond the reach of four and five year olds by examining how pre-school children conceive time and the future. Young children are seen to possess many of the qualities which futures studies seek to re-instill in adults and older children. The educator should seek to capitalize on this by combining the positive aspects of children's innate perceptions of future time with the more abstract 'adult' understanding of time. A research project on pre-school children's attitudes towards the future sheds further light on their understandings of the future while also enabling their own opinions on the topic to be heard. The thesis then defines the principal objectives of a futures-focused curriculum and translates them into practical learning experiences. It concludes by exploring the implications of the findings contained in the thesis for early childhood education and by discussing some of the ways in which the educators themselves might come to terms with the issues articulated in this study.
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ItemAn evaluation of a short, intensive mathematics program( 1999)This thesis evaluates a short intensive mathematics program for primary and secondary students that was conducted at the University of Melbourne in April 1997. The methodology of the evaluation can be described as action-research: a collaborative investigation where researchers, teachers and students cooperate in order to gain insights into a specific learning environment. This process is conducive to various improvement and modifications that the participants can apply to their respective practices. The primary aim of the thesis was to explore factors affecting the success of such programs and the learning which results. The findings suggest that while mathematical self-esteem is closely associated with mathematical achievement actual changes in mathematical self-esteem might not be easily detectable in programs of such short duration. The strength of the Program seemed to be the 'learning atmosphere' fostered by the instructors as well as in the choice of non-routine tasks. A possible weakness was the lack of clear focus regarding the pedagogical aims of the Program.
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ItemUsing action methods in health education / Anna Shadbolt( 1995)This study examines the usefulness of action methods for the teaching of health education to children. A model for the training of teachers in the use of these methods was developed, implemented and evaluated. The literature on the philosophy and methodology of psychodrama, a creation of J.L. Moreno, is reviewed highlighting some reported uses of the psychodramatic method with children. The application of action methods to the school environment is considered with a particular emphasis on its usefulness for the teaching of personal development and human relations. Limitations of its use in the classroom are also considered. A survey of local primary schools found that the health education taught is missing areas of the curriculum that tend to be sensitive and emotionally charged, mostly in the area of human relations. Lack of specialised training and resources are put forward as factors contributing to the omission of major portions of the health education curriculum in the schools. Appropriate professional training and support networks in these specialised areas of teaching are needed. Training in the use of action methods is one intervention that will help teachers in health education delivery. A two-part training program in action methods was delivered to teachers in the local area. It included a series of experiential workshops and individualised follow-up in the classrooms of workshop participants. The teachers and children found action methods to be useful classroom strategies for learning about health and human relations. The training structure was useful for assessing the individual training needs of teachers and children. The training program was found to be too short and hence lacked the necessary intensity for adequate skill acquisition. The follow-up component was highly effective. The indications of these findings for teacher training are discussed emphasising the importance of maintaining a balanced view of the place of action methods as only one teaching strategy, albeit a very effective and powerful one. Health education teaching is complex. Action methods were found to be useful for helping teachers with the many challenges that this curriculum area presents when delivered in the primary school classroom.
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ItemAspects of metalinguistic awareness and the use of algebraic notation( 1996)This study critically examined the paper "Metalinguistics and Algebra Learning" by M. MacGregor and K. Stacey (1994). It showed that the striking results obtained by MacGregor and Stacey could be accounted for by methodological flaws. An attempt was made to repeat the MacGregor and Stacey study in a way which eliminated the identified flaws. This attempt was not completely successful. The reasons for the lack of success were examined. A second test was developed to investigate whether the ability to detect synonymy and ambiguity, later developing aspects of metalinguistic awareness not explored by MacGregor and Stacey, is related to students' success in learning to use algebraic notation. It was shown that this aspect of metalinguistic awareness was not related to success in learning to use algebraic notation. This study has confirmed the existence of the relationship found by MacGregor and Stacey between certain aspects of the metalinguistic awareness of students and their success in learning to use algebraic notation, but has raised doubts about the nature of that relationship.
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ItemPerceptions of writing tasks and the quality of written pieces in a senior primary classroom( 1992)This integrated study explores teachers' and children's perceptions of classroom writing tasks and the quality of children's writing in a Grade Five/Six classroom. In particular, it focuses on the children's perceptions of the processes involved in writing specific genres: narratives; reports; poetry; descriptions; and arguments, and their judgements of their own and others' pieces. These perceptions are then considered in the context of the instructional strategies used by the researcher and the teacher. Instructional strategies include: the use of models as demonstrations of writer options; the use of direct audiences of peers; and the production and use of lists of criteria (or scales) of quality. Central to the study is the development and use of a shared language within the community of writers in order to define writing tasks more clearly and to provide guidance for the judgement of written products. The research adopts an interpretative case study approach and was designed to change as well as to study the particular situation. All Grade Five/Six children were included in the study although, in the analysis, reference is made to six case histories in order to illuminate particular patterns and relationships. The changes in children's perceptions of writing tasks and outcomes has implications for teachers, not only for what they teach, but also, how they teach.
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ItemA comparative study of the social competence of young children in junior primary within multiage and single grade classrooms( 1997)The purpose of this study was to compare the social competence of young children in their first years of school between two different classroom structures, multiage classrooms and single grade classrooms, during their first years of school. The study involved seventy-six students randomly selected from junior sections of four state schools from metropolitan Melbourne. Schools were identified as being multiaged or single grade using a set criteria standard and were selected following an initial telephone interview with the principal from each school. The four schools were matched on socioeconomic status and class size. Children's social competence was assessed using the Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS), (Gresham Elliot, 1990). Questionnaires were completed by both parents and teachers. The indicators of social competence were self-control, assertiveness, and cooperation. Behaviour problems and academic competence domains were also rated by teachers as part of the SSRS. Behaviour problems were also rated by parents. An additional questionnaire was completed by teachers in regard to their educational qualifications, teaching experience and classroom experiences. Background information regarding the children's experiences prior to commencing school was collected by an additional questionnaire to parents. Children's social competence, as assessed by teachers, was found to be significantly higher in the multiage classroom structure. In addition, teachers indicated that children had significantly fewer behaviour problems. within multiage classrooms. Within some of the social, behavioural and academic domains, a significant difference scored by teachers was also found in regard to gender and girls were assessed by teachers as possessing higher levels of social competence than boys in the total teacher scores in the domain of self-control and cooperative skills. These outcomes are discussed in terms of their significance for education policy makers, teachers, parents and school communities who are investigating classroom structures, learning and social competence for children.
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ItemCombining intervention strategies when working with hearing-impaired mainstream students( 1998)Seven children with mild to moderate hearing impairment were selected for a language support pilot which provided support from an Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf in their mainstream classroom and in a withdrawal situation with two or three other children with hearing impairment. The withdrawal situation provided the children with a quieter learning environment, more opportunities to interact in spoken English with an adult and peers, and a positive atmosphere for promoting the use of hearing aids. This study looked for change in receptive and expressive language and improved mainstream classroom involvement of these seven children as a result of this alternative provision of support. This study found that a combination of the pull-in and pull-out models of service to mainstreamed students with mild to moderate hearing impairment can achieve receptive language growth above the norms expected for hearing children within six months. Expressively, six of the seven children showed a higher percentage of analyzable statements per forty utterances after six months' intervention. Six of the children were perceived by their teachers to have improved classroom involvement. Parents of six of the children perceived a greater involvement in family interactions.
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ItemFrom I can't and I don't to I can and I want to : a study in teaching and learning( 1998)In recent years, the teaching and learning of science in primary schools has been a major concern within professional sectors and at all levels of education. This study reveals teachers' responses and personal growth within a long term professional development program. Through an analysis of workshop session transcripts the researcher identifies a range of meanings made by the participant primary teachers about the teaching and learning of science in their classrooms. The findings indicate that positive changes in the teachers' views of themselves as learners of science takes place when teachers and tertiary teacher educators work together in long term collaborative inquiry. A further outcome is that the teachers develop new confidence and abilities which inform their classroom practice.
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ItemMoral reasoning as part of a primary school curriculum( 1995)After the turbulent times of the 80s, research is presented as evidence of the resurgence in the community's desire for ethical practices to be an integral part of a decision making process. Moral reasoning must be the cornerstone of all decision making for individuals who accept a responsibility to themselves, to the society within which they function, and to the wider world to which all humanity contributes. Given that society is in a continual change, the individual must have the mechanism for evaluating and managing any changing standards. There is a responsibility to present children who will exist in the unknown environment of the future with the tools which will allow them to consider moral dilemmas and to then make rational, creative and moral decisions. A primary school environment is seen as the ideal place to help individuals begin to set their own standards of behaviour. At school, children can no longer rely solely on rules set by parents, but must look towards establishing their own principles of conduct. Educators have a responsibility to present children with curriculum which promotes the ability to think rationally, independently and morally. Existing theories of moral development are examined to determine how moral reasoning skills can best become part of the classroom programme, and, at the same time, assist the learning goals of other curriculum areas. In this work, I have investigated a teaching technique which uses philosophical dialogue to explore realistic, or probable, circumstances depicted in picture story books as a means of developing moral reasoning in primary school students. A set of lessons, using the above technique, was compared to a set of lessons which did not contain the element of philosophical dialogue to determine the effectiveness of this style.