Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAn evaluation of an orientation to higher education studies program( 1996)This study is an evaluation of the effectiveness of an Orientation to Higher Education Studies program presented at the Footscray campus of Victoria University of Technology (VUT) in February 1994, to new and continuing students who perceived themselves to be underprepared for university studies in general, and for meeting the standards required for written assignments in higher education in particular. The investigation was undertaken to gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the program's present curriculum, delivery techniques and organisational details, but, more importantly, it sought to better understand the potential short term and medium term effects for students of participation in the program. Deeper understandings of these issues will allow the presenters to make informed decisions regarding the development and delivery of future orientation programs for non-traditional students who enter higher education studies. It is also anticipated that this work will contribute to the current interest in the experiences of students in the first year of undergraduate degrees. A variety of methods was used to collect data for the study, including surveys, a questionnaire and interviews. The informants included the participants in the program, five case study students, lecturing staff and an independent assessor. Whilst data gathered through the questionnaire were useful in providing background information, it was investigation into the five case study students' experiences that gave deeper insight into the short and medium term effects on students' attitudes and actions with respect to the preparation of their first written assignment. The evaluation revealed that students from diverse non-traditional backgrounds can gain much from participating in such a program, particularly if it is complemented by the provision of on-going support . As well as identifying the benefits which occurred for the case study students, some limitations of the program were also revealed.
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ItemThe State College of Victoria( 1977)The Martin Report's proposal that the control of teacher education outside universities should be by statutory state Boards of Teacher Education funded partly by the Commonwealth, was initially rejected. However the states gradually relinquished some control as the demands for expanded teacher education facilities became more urgent. At the same time, the Commonwealth Government, anxious to assist smaller colleges of advanced education and their growth prospects, offered substantial funding for teacher education within smaller c.a.e.'s. In Victoria, pressure from the principals and staffs of the teachers' colleges through their respective associations led to negotiations for the independence of teachers' colleges. An advisory Teacher Education Authority was proposed by the Education Department as an initial step in the evolution of teachers' colleges to independence. Later, an Education Department Committee proposed the formation of a Victoria Institute of Teacher Education, as the umbrella authority supervising independent member colleges with their own Councils. These latter proposals would finally constitute the basis of the State College of Victoria Act. In 1970, the Minister of Education established the Victorian Fourth University Committee which considered the possibility of established teachers' colleges forming a multi-campus fourth university. However the question of the relationship between a fourth university and teachers' colleges was left unresolved by a substantially divided committee, so the Minister accepted the view of the V.F.U.C., supported by the V.A.P.T.C. and the C.T.C.S.A.(V.) that the colleges establish a separate co-ordinating authority. The Minister established a Committee of Advice to help implement the proposal. In the meantime, the Commonwealth Government announced significant policy alterations to the funding of teacher education. State teachers' colleges which were being developed as self-governing tertiary institutions under the supervision of an appropriate co-ordinating authority would be funded on the same basis as universities and colleges of advanced education. By the end of 1972 the State College of Victoria Act was passed by the Victorian Government. The teachers' colleges outside Education Department control, which included Melbourne Kindergarten Teachers' College, four Catholic teachers' colleges and Mercer House (Associated Teachers' Training Institution), had actively participated in the negotiations for an independent co-ordinating authority. With the support of the State Government and the funding of the Commonwealth Government, Melbourne Kindergarten Teachers' College had little difficulty negotiating entry as a foundation member of the S.C.V. Four Catholic teachers' colleges joined together to form the Institute of Catholic Education and applied for admission as a single entity to the S.C.V. Negotiations for its entry, which extended over eighteen months, were finally successful. Its success was considerably enhanced when the Commonwealth Government offered funding to approved 'private' teachers' colleges. In the meantime, Mercer House negotiated for entry to the S.C.V. as a separate entity without success, but finally agreed to amalgamate with the S.C.V. at Toorak in 1975.
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ItemA study of the relationship between university and government in Australia( 1992)The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between university and government in order to provide insights that may help to resolve the conflicts in the current relationship. The theory of social conflict will be used to examine the causes of conflicts and possible ways of resolution. Educational theory will look at the effect of conflicts on educational outcomes. It is hypothesized that the government's view is that universities have not been efficient and effective in training sufficient numbers of qualified graduates with the available funds, and that they have not responded to the demands of social expectations, and of economic developments. Thus, the nature of the university should be shifted from the emphasis on traditional teaching and research to the achievement of national economic objectives, including Australia's international economic competitiveness. As the nature of the university is shifted, greater government political control over universities becomes necessary. On the other hand, the view of the universities is that they have worked hard to carry out their role and function within the limits of available funding and that the quantity and quality of higher education suffer as a result of lack of funding. Also, they argue that the nature of the university is not changing and should not be changed. Too much government intervention results in the loss of essential institutional autonomy and academic freedom, and government intervention should be reduced. These hypotheses have been examined, using government policy statements, reports, and research papers and statistics from other sources. The data have been used to analyse the causes and consequences of the conflicts. The key causes of conflict include differing concepts of the values and beliefs of universities: the government's concept and the universities' concept. The government assumes that university education is directly productive, and accountable for the achievement of government-defined national economic objectives. The universities believe that universities are a special kind of organization. University education is productive only through the utilization of knowledge or skills. Universities are accountable not only to the government but to the range of the community. The consequences of this conflict include the loss of institutional autonomy and academic freedom in the following fields: (i) the nature of the higher education system. University education is being changed from diversity to centralisation, as a result of the shift from a binary system to a unitary system. (ii) funding control. University performance is being subjected to the dollar-push control by the government. (iii) teaching-research direction. Due to the loss of autonomy in the allocation of funds to institutions, there is neglect of the importance of teaching in universities, and a narrow emphasis on government-perceived research priorities. Proposals arising from the study include the need to develop: (i) mechanisms for the improvement of mutual understanding such as the constant exchange of views and ideas and of staff as visiting research fellows. (ii) awareness of the responsibility of each party in higher education. The government should guarantee the provision of funds for universities and interfere less in the internal performance of institutions. Universities should use the funds as efficiently as possible and adapt themselves to the rapid changing world. (iii) a clearer pattern of the distribution of authority between the government and the universities at least in the areas of development of higher education, governance, funding allocation and academic and intellectual affairs.
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ItemSelected correlates of academic performance( 1992)The 1990 intake of students in Business Studies in the Institute of Education at the University of Melbourne were investigated and their performance was noted at the conclusion of the year. A number of performance indicators were used including an average score of all subjects attempted and a measure of the proportion of course completed by the end of first year studies. A range of predictor variables were used and the SAAS model of tertiary performance was developed to take account of Scores on entry to University, Approaches to study, Attitudes to University and Student opinions about themselves and their course. Extensive use was made of questionnaires developed by Biggs (1987) on approaches to study and Genn (1972) on attitudes to university, with much of the data being collected by a computerised questionnaire. Correlations between cognitive predictor and criterion variables were sought and differences between various demographic groupings were investigated. Single entry scores (Anderson score) were found to have very low correlations with academic performance while responses to approaches to study were found to have significantly higher associations. Students who had completed Accounting or Mathematics in year 12 were found to perform significantly better in all aspects of their course than students who had not completed these subjects.
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ItemA study of media units of different size and organisation in Victorian tertiary education( 1986)This is a major thesis designed to look at how three media centres in Victorian tertiary education created in recent times by major investment are operating in comparison with three other units which have developed by demand over a period of about ten years or longer. The three units which came about by major investment are: Moorabbin College of T.A.F.E. Box Hill College of T.A.F.E. Collingwood College of T.A.F.E. The three units which have developed by demand are maintained at: The University of Melbourne, Chisholm Institute of Technology, Phillip Institute of Technology. With a number of disparate units in three educational systems (T.A.F.E, C.A.E. and University) it might be argued that they can't be compared. However direct comparison is not the issue. Overall performance and the ability of a particular unit to satisfy its clients and whether it is meeting their particular goals is. It is a comparison of original aims, current goals, the output market being served and the difficulties encountered in servicing that market. This has been done by:- (1) Where possible, looking at the original documents or statements of aims (and perhaps recollections of original staff) . (2) Looking at who was originally serviced and with what were they serviced. (3) Seeing how the management has changed and developed through the years and what have been the major influences? This includes costing staffing and equipment. (4) Examining the impact of educational/educational media theory. (5) Ascertaining how the units coped with the impact of changing technology. (6) Finding what were the original products in range and quality and what are the current products. (7) Finding if the above has changed the goals of the unit and whether these goals are being fulfilled. (8) Discovering if a teaching or other function has developed (and to what level) as well as the production function. (9) Considering what sort of staff have been employed and what was their background. (10) What type of relationships exist between unit staff and institutional clients. The results illustrate the differences between units, how they function, how that function has changed and what these changes suggest the future to be for institutionalised educational media units.
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ItemPostgraduate education and the challenges of the future( 1999)In 1957 a committee appointed by the Australian Government to investigate how the universities could serve the 'best interests of the nation' (the Murray Committee) criticised their poor research and postgraduate effort, decrying the weakness of honours and postgraduate research schools. (Committee on Australian Universities, 1957, p 42). In the four decades since the Murray report, postgraduate education in Australia has expanded both vertically - in size, and horizontally - in scope. In 1997, over 120,000 students were enrolled in postgraduate courses and they comprised over 20 per cent of all higher education students in Australia. These students have many options available to them when they set out to choose a postgraduate course, an institution and a mode of study. This dramatic change in postgraduate education has taken place within the context of ongoing debate about higher education that is occurring both within and outside its institutions. At the end of the twentieth century the terms of this debate are widening to incorporate the emergence of new external forces associated with economic and social globalisation and technological development. Accordingly, new questions are emerging about how higher education should respond in order to survive and prosper in the next century. Until now, little has been written about the ways in which postgraduate education contributes to the roles and functions of higher education in Australia. Nor have its roles and functions within either the higher education sector or the broader society been the subject of much discussion. Thus, there appears to be only a limited understanding of the ways in which it might contribute to the response of the higher education system to emerging challenges. The aim of this study is to enhance this understanding and ultimately contribute to the debate on higher education by identifying the roles and functions of postgraduate education, the strength and nature of the forces which shape them and by assessing the possible and likely directions of future change. The study brings together into a comprehensive document material which has never before been collated and analysed in this form. This material covers four dimensions of postgraduate education: its current scope and dimensions in Australia; evolutionary forces in its history and development; demand for and participation in postgraduate education in Australia; and the differences in postgraduate education in diverse national and international settings. Investigations incorporate a variety of approaches. Historical material is analysed; national and cross-national data are compared; previous research is re-examined and synthesised; and trends are identified and analysed.
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ItemSelection for admission to higher education in Vietnam: an investigation for development of the selection procedures at the University of Da Nang( 1998)In Vietnam, selection for admission to higher education is on the basis of entrance examinations, which have been the traditionally valued method of choosing elite students for nearly one thousand years. As university entrance is crucial in determining life chances, admission policies have been reviewed in both social and educational aspects. In recent years, competition for entry has increased and selection procedures at some universities have been reviewed and developed. This research was conducted in the context of the University of Da Nang where questions about the appropriateness of using the existing assessment process for selection have been raised. It attempts to provide the university with a data bank which contributes to making decisions on implementing possible changes in the selection procedures. The research used a combination of methods to collect primary and secondary data. Document analysis, interviews with key informants, workshops, observations of meetings, examination of minutes, reports and discussions relating to selection procedures were used in the field work period. Needs assessment methods were considered an appropriate approach for data management. A Goal Framework Model and a Force Field Analysis technique were used to collect data at workshops. Results of the data analysis indicated that community concerns were concentrated on the fairness of the assessment process used for selection. The main blocking forces to be overcome in the assessment process were the status of the current testing methods and teacher resistance to change. Possible solution strategies were suggested amongst which a long-term plan and vision concerning the use of more appropriate testing methods in selection gained broad agreement. The information provided from the findings could be used in a development plan for improving the selection procedures of the university.
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ItemSex bias in ASAT?( 1984)Since 1977 when the Australian Scholastic Aptitude Test was first used in the ACT as a moderating device, there have been differences in the average performance of males and females on the test. This difference in mean group performance has been referred to as a "sex bias". This report investigated the nature and the origins of those observed sex differences in ASAT mean Scores. The study focused on five key issues: 1 Retention 2 Attitudes 3 Preparation 4 Item Bias 5 Differential Coursework Retention rates were investigated to determine the effects of different retention patterns for male and female students on their ASAT scores. Students' attitudes were explored to examine the relationships between sex, attitudes and performance on ASAT. Students' preparation was investigated. The problem of bias in the ASAT items was investigated using both classical and latent trait theory and the effects of course type on ASAT performance was investigated. The findings indicated a significant relationship between English ability, time spent in the study of mathematics, confidence in success and ASAT. It was also found that differences in retention rate may explain a substantial part of the observed differences in male and female mean scores. Although a range of factors were found to be related to ASAT performance no significant sex effect was found after taking into account English ability, experience in mathematics and confidence in success.