Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 26
-
ItemThe effectiveness of roleplay in changing disadvantaged students' attitude to schooling and to themselves( 1994)This study sets out to examine the relationship between the development of language and social competence. It draws on the theories of language development proposed by Chomsky, Piaget's cognition development and the sociolinguistic notions of Bruner, Vygotsky and Labov. The educational context of the study is that imposed by the policies developed by the Victorian Ministry of Education which requires schools to provide an inclusive curriculum to meet the needs of all students. For many secondary schools, groups of students, especially those who are disadvantaged by social and emotional difficulties place a great demand upon the existing structures and their needs are unfulfilled. A review of relevant literature on social competence and roleplay was undertaken which indicated that a program of communication and roleplay activities may address the needs of these students. Therefore this study has sought to examine the impact of such activities on the level of social competence of a group of disadvantaged students who were aggressive, cynical, disruptive and not participating in school life. This study was undertaken in a mainstream school in the Western Region of metropolitan Melbourne. Students who participated were pretested to establish their attitudes towards the use of aggression and power, established authority and cynicism level. After participating in a program of communication activities and reflective roleplays the students were tested again to determine the level of attitudinal change. The key findings of this study demonstrated that significant attitudinal change occurred in the participants and that they considered themselves to be better able to understand why existing constraints were in place. The study also indicated that a program which utilises roleplay and implemented within the also found that there communication activities can existing school organisation. It also found that there is a need for change in teacher perception and school structure to accommodate students with social/emotional difficulties.
-
ItemParent attitudes to an independent school( 1986)This thesis examines the attitude of a large, random sample of parents of a single independent school in Melbourne. The School, Carey Baptist Grammar, became co-educational in 1978, partly in response to changes in enrolment patterns. A review of the literature considers trends in parent attitudes and enrolments in government and non-government schools. The present trend in favour of non-government schools in Victoria has important implications for a school such as Carey. The survey reported in this thesis examines the background of Carey Parents, their reasons for choosing Carey, their attitudes to the School's objectives, assessment of the School's performance and whether they believe they are receiving "value for money". A range of specific conclusions and recommendations are reached. The limitations of using the data from this survey for comparison with other schools is discussed.
-
ItemSchool in the middle years : four Melbourne independent boys middle schools( 1978)This study revolves around the proposition that there is sound reason for the formation of an identifiable new stage for the schooling of children in the middle-years. Firstly, on the grounds that the transfer from primary to secondary school creates unnecessarily dramatic changes. Such changes not only involve adjustments to different teaching styles, different objectives and different organization patterns, but also to new people and strange surroundings. They also involve a choice of secondary school which, in spite of comprehensive trends, still narrows vocational opportunities. The provision of middle schools would enable the delaying of such choices with two less significant transfers. Secondly, on the ground that the grouping of children in the 10-13 age range would promote a closer examination of their special development needs, it would, encourage, if not force teachers to think outside traditional structures about the combination of the best in primary and secondary approaches, about the characteristic needs and important teaching principles, and about subject priorities and organizational patterns most appropriate to this stage. The following questions therefore provide the basis for the compilation of the material that follows. 1. (a) How are primary and secondary schools different? (b) What primary and secondary ideals and methods may be combined to best cater for the middle-years group? 2. (a) What are the special characteristics of the middle-years group? (b) What may the principle objectives for middle-years schooling be? 3. (a) How may the middle school be conceptualized? (b) What curriculum structures and organizational patterns may be most appropriate? These three general themes have been developed in sequence in each of the four sections of the thesis so that some of the problems are introduced in the first section, and in conjunction with this an attempt is made to introduce the boys themselves. The literature review on the other hand, establishes a basis for clarifying main propositions and the three research reports reviewed in this section come from Victoria, Scotland and New Zealand. The Victorian study was part of a dissertation completed in 1976 by the author. The choice of this work with the Scottish and New Zealand studies was not made with a comparative analysis in mind. Rather, these studies are included because they represent, as far as we can ascertain, the only major studies in this field. Although it is not possible at this stage to formulate specific hypotheses, in the third section there is an attempt to bring to light priorities for the schooling of children in the middle-years. Then the comparison of the four independent boys' middle schools follows and as far as possible, the three themes are developed here also. The thesis is titled "School in the Middle Years: Four Melbourne Independent Boys Middle Schools". It is a new field and these preliminary wanderings, although too general at times, seek to bring some of the problems into focus. The comparison of the four middle schools (Camberwell Grammar, Caulfield Grammar - Malvern House, Xavier College - Kostka Hall and Melbourne Grammar - Grimwade House) becomes in one sense a preliminary survey on which decisions about the development of this as an experimental study may be considered. In the final chapter this is taken up briefly, and one would hope to have the opportunity to take the study further at a later stage. This dissertation originally grew out of an examination of the primary to secondary school transition and some quite general but important conclusions emerged. These are here summarized. Strong links need to be established between teachers and students involved with the primary and secondary school transition. These links need to be formed between teachers at the Grade 6 and Form 1 levels, particularly in Education Department schools. During the year prior to transition, students require careful counselling and guidance with regard to selection of schools and in matters relating to the day-to-day organization and geographic layout of the secondary school to which they will go. Matters specifically relating to secondary school: time table, specialist rooms, methods of teaching, general expectations and the secondary school life style, all need emphasis. The possibility of special new-student orientation days and the careful use of counsellors and guidance officers is here highlighted. The teaching atmosphere in the first year of the secondary school needs to be carefully considered. It is desirable that the one teacher/one class relationships common to primary schools be continued as far as possible in order to provide security for students in an otherwise strange secondary school atmosphere. The clear differences between the primary and secondary schools, their different approaches to teaching and general philosophy need to be understood by teachers involved with students at the pre- and post-transitional stages. An understanding of these similarities and differences is fundamental to an understanding of the problems students face. Children will develop best when education is a continuing and an uninterrupted experience. This ideal has the best chance of being achieved in the one-campus school where divisions within the school can be established to match the growth stages of students and provide new challenges at all levels. The departmentalized approach in the secondary school is vastly different to the self-contained classroom approach in the primary school. Wherever possible these differences need to be understood and minimized by making adjustments to teaching methods and organization at the senior-primary and the junior-secondary levels. There is evidence to suggest that some students regard transition as an exciting new adventure with inbuilt growth opportunities. Teachers and parents need to present the opportunities in the secondary school in these terms. There is a liking amongst many students for the challenge of the new and an eagerness to experience those things that are different. There need not be a shrinking from added pressures. It is important that parents should be kept in close touch with teachers and Headmasters as decisions are made about the most appropriate secondary school, and as information is disseminated about the beginning-of-year procedures for enrolling students. Personal discussions and school visits are strongly recommended. There is not one age considered to be most appropriate for the primary-to-secondary-school transition. There is, however, some evidence to indicate that students of poorer ability from working-class type homes are likely to be more successful at the age of 12 or 13. It is asserted that given one to two more years of development these praticular students will make a more successful transfer to their new school. More advanced students from homes that provide educationally stimulating support are most likely to make satisfactory progress as they transfer to their new secondary school. These are the students who are likely to approach the challenge and the responsibility of their new school with plenty of confidence and a certain amount of adventure. The concept of a middle school, providing for children between the ages of 9 and 13 is promoted as an educationally and psychologically sound solution to the problems of transition as they are known in the present two-school system. Two less disturbing changes, from primary to middle and middle to secondary school, should provide for more effective sequencing of learning experiences over the twelve or thirteen years of schooling. The following conclusions which more particularly relate to the nature of schooling for the middle-years group, provided a basis for examining and comparing the four selected middle schools. It is not suggested that the comparison of these schools necessarily validates the conclusions, but it should help to clarify them. It is felt that the middle school should be a place that provides for the integration of experience through the continuance of a home-room system and for the specialization of experience through the use of subject teachers. If the primary school's preoccupation with the present and the secondary school's increasing concern for the future can be borne in mind, then the middle-school may be able to achieve a useful blend: security with enrichment, a grounding in basics with diversity and adventure, a ready response to the immediate and present with a sensible view of life to be faced in the future, a main concern for the process with certain realism about the importance of the end product. It is considered that the middle-school should aim firstly at fostering the intellectural growth of its students, including the development of critical faculties, inventiveness and creativity. Then secondly, at psychological health, promoting self esteem in interested, optimistic, active and expressive individuals. And finally the middle-school should aim to produce in its students a social sense, concern for the good of others and a desire to serve for the betterment of community. It is also concluded that the middle school curriculum will best cater for youngsters at this intensely personal, vulnerable but expansive stage if the creative arts can be structured near to the centre of things. What is being considered here is a school where the main medium for fulfilling student needs and for their exercising within the basic skills, is the creative and expressive aspects of curriculum. Thus we provide the means whereby activities in English, maths or social studies may be explored and where these experiences may be enriched. Chapter VIII begins with a general description of the four schools; Camberwell Grammar Junior School, Melbourne Grammar - Grimwade House, Xavier College - Kostka Hall and Caulfield Grammar - Malvern House. This is followed with an account of survey procedures including the design of questionnaires and methods for compiling and presenting data. Material here is again presented within the three themes of the thesis and then there is a description of the "fifth school", an interpretation of the sum of staffs' opinions about the life and style of the four schools. This is not an ideal school and the three main propositions stated above cannot be validated in this way. However, the survey enables a reflective commentary providing support and raising questions where necessary. The final Chapter of the thesis deals with the question of how this study may be taken up experimentally. There is a sense in which it is only possible at this early stage to declare the issues and provoke the search for clearer definitions. The multiple regression model is presented as one possible means for analysing the success of middle-schools in terms of their unique objectives; it is presented as one method suitable for comparing the four middle-schools with each other or with alternative schools.
-
ItemA comparison of levels of job satisfaction among Victorian high school teachers in declared disadvantaged and undeclared schools( 1981)This study involved an investigation of job satisfaction among Victorian high school teachers in three declared disadvantaged and three undeclared schools in the Northern Metropolitan Region. The feasibility of the topic was determined by a pilot study undertaken at Upfield high school in 1978. The Region was selected because it had the most declared schools in the state. Pairs of declared and undeclared schools were selected primarily on the basis of their geographical proximity to one another. They were not statistically matched in any way. Questionnaires were distributed to all teaching staff in these six schools. A total of 164 usable questionnaires were returned. Questions were designed firstly, to describe the sample population and secondly, to gauge levels of teacher job satisfaction. The perceived relationship between job satisfaction and Supplementary Grants funding provided under the Disadvantaged Schools Program was investigated by non-parametric testing using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). No statistically significant difference was identified in levels of job satisfaction between teachers in declared and undeclared schools. It is likely that individual teachers will have varying levels of job satisfaction and this was confirmed by the research. The argument that teachers can be categorised into groups who are satisfied and dissatisfied tended to be refuted.
-
ItemGreek girls and the culure of femininity : a study of three Melbourne schools( 1988)This study examines how second generation Greek girls develop a sense of self within the context of two cultures--the home and the school. The particular solutions chosen by Greek girls to negotiate these two worlds are formed by the interaction of gender, class and ethnicity in Australian society. In the move to Australia, migrants have transported a culture in which traditional ideologies of the culture of femininity impose a definition of 'good womanhood'--emdodied in the concept of honour--which places strict demands on the behaviour of girls in all aspects of their lives. 'Being Greek' affects girls' educational experiences and constructs their social reality. The study contends that for Greek girls 'goodness' of character is understood as a matter of moving delicately between the precepts of traditionally expected behaviour of females and a school code of behaviour that can be at odds with those expectations. In some schools this cultural dichotomy is heightened by expectations of 'ethnically correct' behaviour based on racist assumptions in addition to a series of values, rules and standards inherent in the culture-of the school which are at variance with the interests and culture of Greek girls. This project studies three schools in Melbourne. It found that while Greek girls perceive education to be the legitimate vehicle to achieve better jobs than those of their parents, some girls participate in counter-school behaviour--in opposition to both the racist and sexist practices in the school and the ccurriculum which does not address their specific needs and interests. Other Greek girls in the same schools, however, conform to the demands placed on them. In one school--a girls' private school--the culture of the school itself does not challenge the Greek code of female honour but rather facilitates a total commitment and celebration of its dictates as a question of family and personal status. However, negotiating the two worlds is for all girls fraught with serious contradictions and ambiguities.
-
ItemA study of religious education in Catholic secondary schools : attitudes of students, content, methodology and gender issues( 1999)The subject of Religious Education (RE) is the one feature distinguishing Catholic Schools from Government Schools. It is a unique subject because its impact on students' lives is long-lasting and important. The factors influencing students' attitudes and perceptions of RE are examined in this study. Two of the main factors researched here include the content of Religious Education lessons and the methodology employed by teachers, as perceived by students. Marked differences in the gender responses of students were observed to be very significant and these are discussed and explored. Recommendations for possible ways of addressing these disparities are also included.
-
ItemVertical grouping of year 9 and 10 classes and the resultant classroom dynamics : a case study( 1996)The research questions on which this study are based are to do with issues about whether students at different ages can successfully study and learn together in the same class. The particular ages under examination in this study are those corresponding to Year 9 and 10 students. These students were studied to determine if they belonged to separate groups. The adolescent and social psychology literature explored suggested that the two year levels contained individuals of widely differing developmental levels and thus the research was designed to see how the vertical grouping (composite) of Year 9 and I0 classes effected the learning of the students. Via a Case Study design it was found that the internal interactions between individuals within single year level classes were different to those found in the composite class. (n the Year 9 class studied the students tended to only work with a select group of their friends whereas in the Year 10 class the students seemed to form an united and congenial group. The composite class was found to be composed of two distinct sub groups, a Year 9 group and a Year 10 group, each reflecting the characteristic interactions of their particular year level. Group work was used as a method of facilitating the communication between the two year levels in the composite class. This methodology did produce some positive results with increased communication between the two sub-groups at the completion of the research. During the research it was noted that group work has to be carefully structured and monitored if it is to have positive results. Webb (1982a) found that if students in groups ask questions and do not receive answers then this structure in fact can be detrimental, to their achievement. The effect of non-responsive communication within small group work could be further studied to ensure that this method of promoting cooperation in composite classes is effective.
-
ItemPlanning in the School of Mechanical Technology, TAFE sector, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology( 1985)The purpose of this study was to examine the mutual relationship between the realities of corporate planning in the School of Mechanical Technology, TAFE Sector, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and Austen's (1981) model for normative planning, and to then determine, within the context of normative planning, the actions which the School would need to take so as to enable it to anticipate and adapt to future conditions. Austen's (1981) model for normative planning and its application to corporate planning at the RMIT was reviewed. In recognizing that collaborative decision-making between the managerial and technical levels is the key to effective implementation of normative planning, the writer elaborated on the principles of collaborative management and, in turn, identified the kind of strategy and structure which would facilitate normative planning. According to Austen (1981), normative planning fosters the development of an organizational environment in which the desires of all members of the organization and its task environment are identified, individual ideals are transformed into organizational norms, and the technological function of the organization is subordinated to the learning function. Within this context, collaboration between the managerial and technical levels in the decision-making processes of the organization ensures that the creativity and ingenuity of individuals and their ability to input to planning are acknowledged, and that, as a consequence, the psycho-social benefits of planning are shared by all members. The deployment of a participative self-regenerative strategy was viewed as being an appropriate means by which normative planning could be implemented and the organization's capability for engaging in continuous problem-solving and self-regeneration could be enhanced. The structural form relevant to this strategy was identified as being one in which adaptive change can be nurtured by the establishment of a dual organizational process - namely, a planning system which is concerned with desired ends and means (i.e. strategic planning) and a resource-conversion system which is concerned with on-going ends and means (i.e. operational planning). A description of the dynamics of the School's evolving corporate-planning process was achieved by conducting a series of interviews with key people, who were involved with that process, and by accessing information from relevant documents in the School. A range of axioms for effective planning were identified. These provided the writer with a basis upon which to conduct a critical analysis of the School's corporate-planning process, to delineate the essential characteristics of that process, and to establish the relationship between those characteristics and the features of normative planning. In inter-relating the characteristics of Austen's (1981) model for normative planning with those of the School's evolving corporate-planning process, the writer concluded that the establishment of an operational-planning process in the School was distinguished with the significant features of Austen's (1981) model and that, as a consequence, the School was well positioned to proceed with the implemention of that other dimension of corporate planning - namely, strategic planning. More specifically, the writer found that the head-of-school had provided ample opportunity for senior staff to further their understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of learning how to plan and how to manage the complexities of planning; participative decision-making was accepted as being the organizational norm upon which could be developed an organic approach to planning; the planning process was understood generally as being a collaborative venture in which the head-of-school, senior staff, and the teaching and non-teaching staff would continue to share their expertise and to work together in formulating, implementing and monitoring their plans; and it was accepted that as the School moved into strategic planning then greater attention would need to be given to expanding the School's environmental surveillance activities.
-
ItemSchools of the Future and curriculum development and implementation : an investigation( 1995)Restructure of the Ministry of Education has ensured that schools are no longer centrally administered but are self-managing within the Schools of the Future program under the Directorate of School Education. As a result, changes have occurred in many areas including administration, financial management, staffing structure and teacher support in areas such as curriculum. This study investigates three schools that are members of the Schools of the Future Pilot Program and seeks to find the effect that the changes from the Program, have had on Curriculum Development and Implementation. The study reviews the literature available on the topic, in particular the notion of self-managing schools in Victoria. Therefore it reviews information on the Schools of the Future Program. It also seeks to understand the effect of changes in curriculum policy and the provision of professional development. The study also seeks to explore the effect of leadership style on the implementation of curriculum within a school. Qualitative research methods were employed when data was collected from the three participating schools. The schools were selected for the following reasons: (i) they are members of the Schools of the Future Pilot Program(or Intake 1); (ii) they are situated in a similar socio-economic area; (iii) the author had ready access to those schools. By applying grounded theory technique to the data a model was developed - The Curriculum Triangle. This model is a suggested representation of what is occurring in the selected schools and could be used further to analyse data from schools, and thus generate the possible areas requiring professional development and curriculum leadership.
-
ItemInvisible tracks : play and place in a primary school playground( 1994)Playgrounds in primary schools are a more extensively utilised facility than ever before. With few resources available to them, schools are facing the need to update their playgrounds. Apart from research into children's use of fixed equipment, little research has been carried out into children's playful use of the whole school environment. This ethnographic study documented the play text (activities) and context (institutional rules, equipment provision, physical environment) of three hundred children in a large outer suburban Melbourne primary school playground. The study took Schwartzman's view (1978) that text and context are equally essential components of play. Piaget's (1962) play stages were used as a critical reference point for the description of play text, and Moore's (1986) work on childhood landscapes informed the investigation of place use. Children's play habits were systematically documented over twelve days, followed by in-depth interviews and on-site tours with selected children. The most popular activities were sports related, traditional, sensorimotor and non-active play. Play interests varied significantly with age and gender. Girls retained their interest in dramatic and sensorimotor play longer than boys and boys played sports related games from an earlier age than girls. Place use investigation revealed gender and age differences with boys using open spaces more than girls. Traditional use of various play structures and children's common interpretation of the landscape demonstrated links between play texts and play sites which were passed down from one generation to the next. The co-operative nature of children's playground behaviour allowed an examination of factors that might contribute to such an outcome. Discipline, a focus on a non-contact sport ( Basketball), teacher involvement in playground development, and the number and diversity of play spaces were identified as key factors.