Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe attitudes and concerns of Catholic parish primary school principals and teachers toward the integration of students with disabilities into regular schools( 1997)This study was undertaken to identify' and compare the attitudes of Catholic Parish Primary School principals and teachers toward the integration of students with disabilities. The study also investigated variations in attitude toward integration for sub-groups of the principals and teachers. In addition, this study ascertained the concerns these educators have about the implementation of integration in their schools. A three part questionnaire was used to collect the data. It consisted of items relating to the background characteristics of the respondents and their schools, a modified version of the Attitude Toward Mainstreaming Scale (Berryman & Neal, 1980) and an open ended question eliciting educators' concerns about integration. Fifty five principals and 145 full time classroom teachers in the Northern Area of the Archdiocese of Melbourne responded to the questionnaire. T-tests were employed to compare the attitudes of the principals and teachers toward integration., Thematic analysis was used to examine the concerns of educators. Several major findings emerged from the study. Principals were found to hold more positive attitudes toward integration than classroom teachers. Principals were also significantly more positive than teachers toward the integration of students with severe disabilities. Younger principals held significantly more positive attitudes toward integration than older principals. No significant differences were identified for sub groups of the teacher sample. Similarity existed between the two groups of educators in terms of their expressed major concerns about integration. Lack of school based support personnel, funding and training, in that order, were recorded most frequently by both groups of educators.
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ItemSchool organization as an internal teaching context : case studies of two Hong Kong aided secondary schools( 1996)In this study, school organization is investigated as a teaching context from the teachers' perspective. The study investigates the theoretical position that characteristics of the school organization affect teachers' job-related attitudes which, in turn, affect educational outcomes. A review of the literature shows that various characteristics of school organization are related to teachers' attitudes and performance and educational outcomes of schools. In this study, the case study approach is adopted and both qualitative and quantitative research methods are used. The teachers' job-related attitudes of two aided secondary schools in Hong Kong are analyzed. The internal teaching contexts of the schools are then described in terms of structural, cultural and social relations perspectives. Factors of school organization which may affect teachers' attitudes are identified. The findings from this study provide support for previous research into the influence of teachers' working environments or the internal context of teaching on school effectiveness. Implications for efforts directed at improving workplace conditions in Hong Kong secondary schools and an agenda for further research are discussed.
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ItemTeacher stress in secondary technical education( 1990)A questionnaire survey was used to investigate the prevalence and sources of stress, and coping actions, among 107 teachers from five inner suburban secondary technical schools in Melbourne. The study examined relationships between perceived teacher stress levels, certain biographical characteristics (gender, age, full-time teaching experience, classification, teaching area, previous part-time teaching experience, academic qualifications, and teaching qualifications), the personality dimension of "external locus of control" (as measured using the Rotter (1966) Internal-External (I-E) locus of control scale), three 'indicators' or response correlates of teacher stress (job satisfaction, absenteeism, and intention to leave teaching), sources of stress, and perceived ways of coping with stress. In particular, the study investigated the role of teacher biographical characteristics and the role of the teacher's belief in external control in the experience of perceived occupational stress, and looked critically at their respective usefulness in explaining any differences in the various stress experiences. Self-reported teacher stress was found to be negatively associated with job satisfaction (r=-0.34; p<0.01) and positively associated with both absenteeism (r=0.19; p<0.05) and intention to leave teaching (r=0.29; p<0.01). A principal components analysis of the source of stress, followed by varimax rotation, yielded four factors, labelled: 'Student Resistance', 'Professional Constraints', 'Time and Work Constraints', and 'Work Pressures'. A similar factor analysis of the coping actions yielded a three-factor solution. The factors were labelled: 'Personal Direct Actions', 'Psycho-Somatic Actions', and 'Interpersonal Actions'. Factor scores were generated and analysed for both sources of stress and coping actions. Significant differences were found for some biographical characteristics: gender, teaching area, and academic qualifications with the stress factor "Time and Work Constraints"; age with the coping factor "Interpersonal Actions". No significant differences were found for external locus of control (belief in external control) with stress factor perceptions while weak but significant associations were found for the coping factor perceptions "Personal Direct Actions" and "Interpersonal Actions". Significant differences were found for some response correlates: 'intention to leave teaching' and 'job satisfaction' with the stress factor "Student Resistance"; 'job satisfaction' with coping factors "Psycho-Somatic Actions" and "Interpersonal Actions". For the sample studied, the results indicated that student issues were clearly the major sources of stress for most teachers and that about one-in-four teachers were "highly stressed". The selected biographical characteristics, although bearing little relationship to overall self-reported teacher stress, did partially explain stress factor perceptions and coping factor perceptions of teachers. On the other hand, 'external locus of control', as measured by Rotter's (1966) I-E locus of control scale, was found to be an inappropriate personality variable for use in most considerations of the stress perceptions of teachers. Stress factor perceptions reflected the multidimensionality of the stress concept and were found to be relatively independent measures of perceived teacher stress. Further research in these and other areas was suggested.
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ItemExamination of the introduction of professional feedback models: a case study of two rural schools( 1999)This thesis was designed to explore and analyse the comparative introduction and implementation of formal professional feedback to teaching staff at two different types of country school. It tracks and compares two different types of feedback systems. Texts, articles and in service materials have been examined to clarify definitions of terms, purposes, values and assumptions surrounding the concept of formal feedback. The development of formal feedback has been put into historic context. The principals of both schools and fifteen of the participating teachers have been interviewed before, during and after the process to gain an understanding of their thoughts, concerns, attitudes and understandings of the processes that they were involved in. The responses to both individual and group interviews underpins the analysis of the processes and their outcomes. In particular the paper looks at changes in any perceptions and the reasons for these changes. The participants were interviewed individually and in focus groups. Key questions of a similar nature were asked to all groups, with follow up and supporting questions phrased to follow individual concerns. Individuals also provided additional information during the process. In conclusion the paper explores the processes and the effects on individual teachers and the school as a whole, and examines issues raised in their introduction. Recommendations are made for others who are implementing or reviewing similar formal feedback processes and areas of further research are suggested.