Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemImproved student learning and leadership in self-managed schools( 1998)This thesis examines improved student learning and leadership in schools under conditions of decentralisation, in a study designated the Learning Outcomes Project. In 1993, in the State of Victoria, Australia, a set of initiatives called Schools of the Future was introduced into government schools. The operation of the school system was changed from a relatively centralised system to one where much of the decision making about operations was decentralised to the school site. The impact on teachers, principals and schools has been considerable. Changes have occurred to teachers' working conditions and the accountability functions of schools through School Charters, Annual Reports and the introduction of Curriculum and Standards Frameworks (CSF) in eight Key Learning Areas (KLA). The Cooperative Research Project, a joint venture of the Victorian Secondary Principals' Association, the Victorian Primary Principals' Association, the Victorian Department of Education and The University of Melbourne, conducted a series of investigations into the processes and outcomes of Schools of the Future, including this study. The Learning Outcomes Project sought to investigate links from the reforms associated with decentralisation in school systems to improved student learning. This is a critical and vital area for research where little concrete evidence is available to support the benefits of decentralisation in relation to improved student learning. Previous studies have found the benefits of decentralisation to be mainly operational and managerial. A qualitative methodology was adopted to seek evidence of improved student learning in schools and explore leadership function under the conditions of decentralisation. Four schools that claimed improved student learning agreed to be part of the study. A conceptual framework was developed that allowed actions at school level be traced through the reforms to improved student learning. The leadership dimensions and strategies suited to schools under conditions of decentralisation were studied with the aid of a conceptual model, using a new model of educational leadership. Causal links from the reforms of decentralisation to improved student learning were mapped. This study reinforces the difficulties of making causal links. The findings indicate that improved student learning under conditions of decentralisation is evident in certain circumstances where clearly defined pathways are established from the reforms to improved student learning. It was shown that direct pathways to student learning were consistently and directly evident from Curriculum- CSF Implementation and Professional Development in all schools and were developing from Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting. The causal maps defined pathways which could be used by schools to monitor improved student learning in Schools of the Future. Leadership suited to decentralised systems was shown to require strong and balanced leadership across the six dimensional model used in this study. It was further shown that leadership dimensions that were not strong in the principal needed to be evident in other leaders for effective curriculum implementation to occur. Useful trends which may be relevant to other schools were found in this study. However, due to the favourable conditions in which this study was conducted across a small number of schools, further research is necessary to validate these findings and caution may be needed if using the findings in other settings.
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ItemInfluences on the academic progress of males in a TAFE business course : a case-study approach( 1998)This study is concerned with the academic achievement of young Post-VCE male students undertaking the TAFE Associate Diploma of Business (Marketing) at Swinburne University of Technology's Hawthorn Campus. All had failed to secure a university place. The research sheds light on the influences that contribute to an apparent lack of achievement among these young men while in TAFE. Specifically, it identifies, as significant, inflated expectations of their academic ability, threatened identities as successful learners, the socio-cultural construction of masculinity in their predominantly middle-class secondary schools, and their perceptions that TAFE is best suited to tradesmen. These many influences on academic outcomes can be drawn into two interrelated themes concerning socio-cultural constructions of hegemonic masculinity within their secondary schools, and how this generates a particular view of what it is to be a successful male learner. Thus conditions are established under which these young males have a tendency to over-estimate their academic ability, leading to unrealistic course choices at the end of VCE, which then positioned them for failure. Their inability to secure a university place was, for many, a point of rupture, presenting a threat to their identity, both as a successful learner and as a successful young man. In an effort to protect their 'threatened identities' they sought out a TAFE business course at a multi-sectoral institution to disguise their student status. However, once enrolled in this course they came to realise that their preconceptions of TAFE were unfounded, the classes were not peopled with tradesmen, and the standard was more professional and 'harder' than they had anticipated. This together with the realisation that many other students were similar to themselves, allowed them to maintain their identity as successful learners and ultimately provided them with the opportunity to articulate into a degree course or secure a valued 'white collar' position.
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ItemThe relationship between academic self-concept, cognitive engagement and achievement( 1999)Much research has documented the influence student self-perceptions of ability have on school achievement. Published literature has been investigating the mechanisms through which these self-perceptions affect performance. This research sought to determine the effect academic self-concept has on cognitive engagement, thereby identifying a possible mechanism through which self-perceptions of ability influence academic performance. After reading published literature in the areas of motivation, goals, academic self-concept, self-efficacy and cognitive engagement, an intervention was designed that aimed to alter student perceptions of their ability, improve their motivation levels and increase the effectiveness of their learning strategies. A self-description questionnaire was used to measure the academic self-concept and cognitive engagement of 221 secondary school science students. Repetitive administration of this questionnaire over a two month period allowed investigation of the relationship between changes in academic self-concept and changes in cognitive engagement and achievement levels of students. In addition repetitive administration of the questionnaire allowed the effectiveness of the intervention in altering academic self-concept and cognitive engagement levels of participants to be measured. Correlation analysis found academic self-concept to have a significant relationship with the cognitive engagement of the students and their test performance and was consistent with the following: 1) a negative correlation existed between academic self-concept and superficial engagement 2) a positive correlation existed between academic self-concept and active cognitive engagement, and academic self-concept and achievement 3) test mark had a positive correlation with active cognitive engagement and a negative correlation with superficial engagement, and 4) a positive correlation existed between measured changes in academic self-concept and changes measured in active cognitive engagement. One hundred and seventy-seven students participated in the intervention sessions. Students who participated in all of the required intervention sessions reported an increase in the use of active cognitive engagement strategies and a decrease in the use of superficial engagement strategies. The control group of students did not report these changes in cognitive engagement. ANOVA revealed the differences between the cognitive engagement of the experimental group and the control group to be statistically significant. The intervention did not significantly improve the academic self-concept of participating students.