Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe effectiveness of the Auditory Skills Program in developing auditory skills in severe to profoundly hearing impaired children( 1997)This study assessed the effectiveness of the Auditory Skills Program (Romanik, 1990) in developing the auditory skills of a group of severe to profound hearing impaired school aged children. It also measured speech perception and speech production skills during and following participation in the program. The Auditory Skills Program is a comprehensive graded program which aims to develop the hearing impaired child's speech and linguistic skills through audition. In this study 18 severe to profound hearing impaired children ranging in age from 6 to 12 years received twice weekly sessions based on the Auditory Skills Program for a period of three months. Auditory skill development was measured at monthly intervals using the assessment tool within the program, the Placement test. The PLOTT test ( Plant and Westcott, 1983) was used to measure speech perception skills. Speech production skills were measured using the 108 single word articulation test (Paatsch, 1992) and conversational speech samples using phonological process analysis. The subjects were tested at the commencement of during, and following the cessation of, participation in the Auditory Skills Program. They were also tested 5 months post participation in the program. The Auditory Skills Program was effective in developing auditory skills in this group of severe to profoundly hearing impaired subjects. There was a significant improvement in auditory skills in the group of subjects during participation in the program. A deterioration in these skills occurred following cessation of participation in the Auditory Skills Program. Speech perception skills also improved significantly during participation in the Auditory Skills Program. Speech production skills significantly improved when measured using the 108 single word articulation test. No change occurred in speech production skills as measured by spontaneous conversational speech samples during participation in the Auditory Skills Program. This study found the Auditory Skills Program to be an effective tool for developing auditory skills and enhancing the development of speech perception and speech production skills in this group of severe to profound hearing impaired children.
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ItemA study in archetypal theory : alcohol and adolescent rites of passage( 1997)The study is an archetypal approach to adolescent male alcohol use in contemporary Australia. The study deals with four families (case-studies) and their stories about the period of adolescent development, especially the often problematic process of negotiating alcohol use. The study will examine the developmental process in pre-modern rites of passage and compare it with contemporary adolescent development in the four case-studies to identify whether there are similar archetypal patterns between them. It will also examine intra-family dynamics from an archetypal perspective, especially in relation to communication and projection. Finally, the study will examine whether there are similarities between pre-modern rites of passage, in terms of transferring power and responsibility from father to son, and how this affects the son's alcohol use and maturation.
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ItemDifficulties in maintenance of ethnic language and culture in a multicultural society: with particular reference to Italian families in Melbourne( 1981)The growing political awareness and acknowledgment of Australia's multicultural society produced in the seventies an increasing number of reports on the needs of the ethnic communities. The Government acknowledges that it is now essential to encourage the development of a multicultural attitude in Australian society to foster the maintenance of cultural heritage and promote intercultural understanding. The long-awaited signs of widespread implementation of stated policies and recommendations have been disappointingly slow in emerging. This is attributed to the slowness of a change in attitude throughout the community. Because the Australian school system is not in tune with the multicultural society of today, children of ethnic parents are not receiving equal education opportunities with their Australian peers. Through lack of recognition of their ethnic language and culture by schools, children of ethnic parents are rejecting their mother tongue. In a series of case studies of Italian families in Melbourne, the mother's attitude was seen as the most important factor in language maintenance at the present time. Attitudes were seen to differ, not according to social class, educational level or region of origin, but according to individual values and beliefs. The importance of maintenance of ethnic language and culture for the traditional cohesiveness of the Italian family ethos is stressed, but is seen as resting on a tenuous thread.
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ItemVision and the work life of nursing educational leaders( 1992)The purpose of this study was to examine the visions and work life of twelve nursing educational leaders. The notion of vision and leadership are closely associated. The concept that leaders are guided by a vision of a preferred future is widely accepted. The questions that this study addressed were: What does vision mean in the work life of nursing educators? Do all nursing leaders have a vision? If they do, how do their visions emerge? What impact, if any, does vision have on the careers of the nursing educational leaders? The qualitative method of research was used and data were gathered by interviewing twelve nursing educational leaders from the city of Melbourne and the towns of Geelong and Frankston. The group represented a variety of roles, types of school and gender. The data were analysed according to the above questions and connections were drawn between these twelve nursing educational leaders and their work lives. It was found that all nursing educational leaders had visions that were universal and organisational in nature. Although three of the leaders stated that they did not have a vision, it was obvious from their goals that they were committed to an image of a preferred future for nursing education. A vision that all these leaders aspired to was tertiary education for all nurses. With regards to the impact of vision on their careers, five of the twelve leaders believed that the position increased their ability to achieve their visions. Five believed it was other things, and two claimed that the position did not help them to achieve their visions. All of the nursing educational leaders had diverse career paths and were all committed to further education. The assumption of a formal role in education was important for seven of the twelve nursing educational leaders, whereas four of the participants were undecided and one disagreed. An interesting aspect of this study was that most saw the formal role as teaching within a classroom. Their visions did affect the working life of these twelve nursing educational leaders and although providing them with a sense of purpose, they also presented them with a struggle!
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ItemAustralian Vocational Certificate Training System in secondary schools: a qualitative analysis of the implementation of a vocational education program in a secondary college( 1994)This study focuses on the implementation experience of a Victorian secondary college during the first year of participation in the Australia Vocational Certificate Training in Secondary Schools Pilot Project - an initiative arising from recent reports, at both a State and Federal level, recommending a convergence between general and vocational education. The Pilot Project was established to test the feasibility of the provision of vocational education and training in secondary colleges. The literature review presents a synopsis of the Australian Vocational Certificate Training System, national vocational education and training initiatives and the literature relating to the evaluation of educational change. Using qualitative methods, the study provides a systematic description of the first year of implementation, evaluates the processes used for the implementation of educational change and examines the policies which impact on the implementation process. The analysis highlights the importance of the internal perceptions of the need for the change and the 'state of readiness' as key considerations in the implementation of change in schools. The relationship between the processes adopted for initiation, including bureaucratic influences, and implementation within the school context is also discussed. The study concludes with cautionary notes. Firstly, the difficulties experienced by schools in implementing policy initiatives within a federal political structure. Secondly, the uncertainty which results when the motivations for change are linked to key bureaucratic personalities. Thirdly, key policies which inhibit the fusion of general and vocational education by forcing schools to differentiate between these roles are discussed. The author also questions the proposition that the fidelity and evolutionary perspectives of the implementation of educational change are extremes of the same continuum. The study provides specific advice for the administration of vocational courses within schools and stresses that further development is limited by the lagging development of policies to provide full recognition of training programs within the senior secondary curriculum.