Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAn administrative review of the Commonwealth English as a Second Language (ESL) Program within the Office of Schools Administration, Ministry of Education, Victoria( 1990)This thesis presents an administrative review of the Commonwealth English as a Second Language (ESL) Program within the Office of Schools Administration, Ministry of Education, Victoria. The approach and framework adopted are similar to those used by Campbell et al. in their review of the Commonwealth ESL Program for the Commonwealth Schools Commission in 1984. There are no prejudgements concerning major issues, but an interest in monitoring events from program establishment at a Commonwealth level to program organisation issues in schools. A number of "Levels of Administrative Reality" are identified through which the following educational agencies are examined - the Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET), the Office of Schools Adminstration, and schools. The "Levels of Administrative Reality" used are Intentions, Structure, Resource Allocations Mechanisms, and Program Organisation. These are considered broad enough to enable major issues to be raised. Data have been collected over a two year period from a variety of sources including policy documents, questionnaires, memoranda and minutes of meetings. Major issues raised include : (a) the development of a nationwide curriculum framework/syllabus for the teaching of ESL; (b) the location of ESL within the Office of Schools Administration; (c) the location of consultancy support to schools; (d) the level of resourcing; (e) the qualifications of ESL teachers.
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ItemThe selection and role of literary texts in the ESL classroom( 1995)This study investigated five secondary teachers selection of literary texts and perception of the role literature plays in the ESL language classroom. The teachers were chosen from four schools in the Melbourne metropolitan area and were interviewed individually except for one school where two teachers were interviewed for the research. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed and formed the main body of data As supplementary data interviews were also conducted with ten students (one 'good student and one weak student chosen by each teacher). The case studies revealed that criteria for text selection were related to considerations for students needs features of the text the teachers preferences in reading practical issues related to the availability of text and examination requirements. The research confirmed the perceptions of writers on this area who have maintained that literature is often used as a context for generating language activities and for imparting knowledge about the target culture The data also found that literature was used to affirm the students own cultural identities.
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ItemLearning literacy : a case study of the development of English literacy skills in two adult ESL students( 1997)This minor thesis reports on the findings of a study done of two adult international students of English as a Second Language. The study attempts to outline the issue of difficulties experienced by these students while learning to write in English in preparation for tertiary studies in Australia. The main aim of the study was to attempt to illustrate that international students need to be instructed by their teachers in how to write in the genre required for tertiary study. An attempt was made to measure the language level of the two students to determine how thoroughly prepared they were in the genre they were mainly required to write in their tertiary study. For these two students, this genre was business report writing. It was realised that although the two students had received practice in responding to General English writing tasks, they had not been taught how to write business reports. This conclusion was drawn through the study in which qualitative techniques of research and text analysis were used. Firstly, the students were given a series of reading and writing tasks to perform to determine their levels of English at the start of the study. At the end of the study there was a similar set of tasks for the students to perform. Secondly, the students and two of their teachers were interviewed. The students tried to reveal their perception of what their English Language intensive courses had taught them. The teachers who had taught these students attempted, through their responses to the interview questions, to outline the objectives of the courses they had delivered Thirdly, the students' attempt at writing report genres in their tertiary study was commented upon. At the end a short business report was selected as the target text and this was analysed. Systemic functional grammar was drawn upon to analyse the target text. The analysis of this model text was used to compare the analyses of the responses of the students to business report writing tasks. A summary of the findings is presented in this thesis and comparisons made in order to come to a conclusion that there does exist a need for overseas students intending to go on to further tertiary study to be taught explicitly through deconstruction of model texts by the teacher. The genre of the model text has to be directly related to the tertiary course of study that the students are going to follow. The students need to be provided with close guidance by their teachers, and constant practice of the genre is required.
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ItemAcademic success for speakers of Koorie English: the need for teacher intervention( 1995)This study examines teacher intervention as a means of promoting academic success for speakers of non-standard English, in particular, Koorie English. It comes as a response to an initiative of the Goulburn Valley Aboriginal Education Consultative Group in Victoria and was prompted by the fact that very few Koorie students reach senior secondary level in Victorian schools. The need for, and effectiveness of, teacher intervention if this situation is to change is illustrated in three case studies involving senior secondary Koorie students, their teachers, a local Koorie Educator and the author, a literacy consultant. The significance of the fact that Koorie English is the first language of the students is explored. Outcomes include a recommendation that students and teachers can benefit from increased metalinguistic awareness of the differences between Koorie English and Standard Australian English, in an environment where both are respected and used according to a particular audience. Unless speakers of non-standard English are given explicit teaching that shows linguistic differences between their language and Standard Australian English, they will fail to achieve academically. The study shows that with such teacher intervention, students can achieve. However, the study also shows that classroom tuition alone cannot bring about this achievement but needs to be coupled with other supporting mores. The VCE Text Response task is used to demonstrate that links can be created between the personal experiences and cultural background of Koorie students and mainstream or Standard Australian English textual content. Without these links being taught Koorie students are severely disadvantaged. Concept mapping is shown to be another useful teaching and learning strategy in bridging these cultural and linguistic gaps. The major findings and recommendations from this study are the need for schools to (i) listen to Koorie students when planning curriculum and policies; (ii) recognise Standard Australian English as a second language for Koorie students; (iii) intervene in language acquisition by explicit teaching of linguistic forms; and, (iv) develop school disciplinary policies that support rather than destroy the literacy efforts of both Koorie students and their teachers.
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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.
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ItemClash of cultures: mainstream teachers' working knowledge and English as a Second Language (ESL) pedagogy( 1995)Within the international and Australian ESL field there has been a growing emphasis placed on mainstream teachers catering more effectively for the ESL students in their classes. This thesis is an ethnographic case study of the development of two mainstream teachers' working knowledge in ESL. It explores the strategies and skills that the two mainstream teachers adapt into their teaching after attending a ten week professional development course titled 'ESL in the Mainstream'. This was done through classroom observations, interviews and critiques of the teachers' planning, implementation and reflection of lessons observed. The study revealed that the practice of tapping students' already existing knowledge and language bases is not commonly utilised with students traditionally perceived as deficient. This research further suggests that mainstream teachers of working-class and LOTE background students may view them as lacking the necessary cultural capital, and therefore impose content and behavioural standards with little consideration and respect for student input. ESL teachers responsible for professional development need to understand the encultured pedagogical beliefs of mainstream teachers in order to assist them to reconsider what are complex personal and professional issues in the foundation of their own teaching.
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ItemOpening the door of the 6th form chemistry laboratory: a study of professional collaboration between a science teacher and an English as a second language (ESL) teacher in senior chemistry( 1997)True professional teacher collaboration has been limited by the institutional roles which are constructed for us and through which we view ourselves. This thesis is a narrative case study of teacher collaboration for the purpose of addressing the language learning needs of English as a Second Language students in Year 12 Chemistry classes. It explores the issues involved in the professional working relationship through the voices of a Science teacher and an ESL teacher over a two year period. This was done through transcripts of classroom teaching, analysis of teaching and learning materials produced, interviews and reflective journal writing. The study looked at the groundwork which took place to establish a school climate conducive to the collaboration in terms of the Habermasian interests; technical, practical and emancipatory. The emancipatory nature of the collaboration is explained in terms of the repositioning of the teachers with regard to each other, the students, the scientific and linguistic subject matter. By exercising power in their respective fields the collaborating teachers achieved a professional parity which allowed them to reflect on their practice and move beyond the static and ritualised institutional roles of a Chemistry and an ESL teacher. Through the interaction they established language as legitimate content in the science classroom and together explored new practices afforded by the adoption of a social constructivist epistemology. This research points to the emergence of a new more empowering professional development role for ESL teachers in the future. At the heart of this collaboration is a commitment to conversations about issues of fundamental importance in classroom practice which reconcile boundaries of differing departmental cultures and discourses.
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ItemThe place of non-verbal tests in a battery used for school purposes in Years 6 and 7( 1997)This thesis examines the power of a battery of tests to predict student success in Mathematics and English at the Year 7 level. The battery comprises The Progressive Achievement Test of Mathematics, The Progressive Achievement Test of Reading Comprehension, a Creative Writing Test and a non-verbal test. The researcher seeks to establish the value of including a non-verbal test in such a battery, to determine whether the capacity of the battery is enhanced by the inclusion of a non-verbal test. Two non-verbal tests are considered: the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices and the Jenkins Non-Verbal Test. The outcome measures used in this study are the Semester 1 Mathematics and the Semester 1 English Assessments. The participants are 97 female students aged between 11.08 years - 12.92 years entering the secondary level of a K-12 private girls' school in the metropolitan area of Melbourne. Participants are tested in groups of approximately 25 students in controlled test conditions. Their scores are recorded and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences is used to derive summary statistics and correlation co-efficients, and to perform multiple regression analyses. The findings indicate that student success, as reflected by the Semester 1 assessments in Mathematics and English, can be effectively predicted by the PAT Mathematics and PAT Reading Comprehension Tests alone, and that the Creative Writing test also predicts reasonably well the Semester 1 English results. The achievement tests in the battery appear to be measuring "g", the factor of general intelligence. However, the non-verbal tests, whilst redundant, for predicting achievement in Mathematics and English, have an important part to play in the battery based on their inherent value as culture-fair tests. Not reliant on language ability or literacy proficiency, non-verbal tests do not discriminate against students from non-English speaking backgrounds or against those who are experiencing learning difficulties. These tests appear to have the capacity to pick up discrepancies between a student's potential to learn and her actual academic achievement. The results indicate that the Jenkins non-verbal test may be particularly good at highlighting students whose low general ability places them at risk for learning, whilst the Raven's SPM may be superior at highlighting those of very high general ability whose school achievement levels are not matching their potential for learning. Both non-verbal tests may have the ability to highlight learning potential in foreign students. Although it is suggested by the literature, and pointed to by the present study, the worth of including a non-verbal test in the battery, and the superiority of the Raven's SPM in relation to the identification of students of exceptional ability, require clarification by means of further research. The results of this study have implications for teaching practice and the programming of appropriate curricula for students. Efficient and effective identification of less able students, very highly able students, students who have English as a Second Language needs, and students with learning difficulties appears to be facilitated by the battery. Such identification demands a closer look at these students whose learning appears at risk. Further investigation, including a full intellectual assessment and the gathering of more information regarding the student's learning style and home background may then provide valuable information on which to base decisions regarding appropriate class placement, suitable curricula as well as the effective pace and style of teaching which should be adopted. It is clear therefore, that the test battery is working: results demonstrate that the battery is useful in predicting student success at the Year 7 level. In conjunction with other means of investigation the battery promises to yield information to school personnel which may facilitate the design of programmes whose aims include the maximising of every student's potential for learning.