Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemEnglish in the training of primary teachers( 1975)in 1968 a three year course of training for primary teachers was introduced in Victorian State teachers' colleges. The course was founded upon the report of an Advisory Committee on the Three Years' Course of Training for Primary Teachers published in March 1967 and commonly termed the 'Pryor Report'. One of the objectives of this course was to develop a well educated cultured person (with) the desire to read widely. with discrimination and appreciation of all that is best in literature . Means of achieving this objective included a compulsory two years' study of English, incorporating the best in traditional and contemporary writing', and children's literature. There is need for some evaluation of the degree to which this objective has been achieved. in this study, twenty-one young teachers who completed the three year course at one provincial teachers' college, and who were teaching in one-teacher rural schools, were visited and invited to discuss the subject of English, particularly English literature. in their college courses. Their current reading habits. and views and attitudes to literature were also discussed. The data collected from these discussions suggest that the objective of the three year course referred to above is not being achieved in the case of this small and possibly unrepresentative sample of graduates of the course. These teachers do not read widely. Their attitudes to literature are disappointing and the effects of these attitudes on the children they teach represent a matter of grave concern. It Is suggested that the compulsory study of 'adult' literature In a course of training for primary teachers is educationally doubtful. On the other hand compulsory study of the immensely rich field of children's literature appears justified on literary, sociological and educational grounds. The need for clear aims and procedures for studies In the language arts and methods of teaching English In the primary school Is also suggested by the lack of confidence shown in these areas by the young teachers. The presentation of the views and attitudes of a group of young, inexperienced teachers in a difficult and sometimes lonely school environment is an attempt to give life to problems in teacher training which statistical data may illuminate. No firm conclusions are possible from data obtained in this study but the study indicates a need for thorough evaluation of the efficacy of courses of training of teachers such as those founded on the 'Pryor Report.'
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ItemExamination of the professional education and competencies of Victorian foresters( 1994)Forestry appears to be in professional crisis, both from within and from outside the profession, over both the role and skills of foresters employed in public resource management. There are corresponding concerns about the curriculum offered by universities in the training of foresters. To address these concerns this research surveyed 201 members of the Institute of Foresters of Australia (FA) about their education, their beliefs about the essential skills of a forester and the nature of their employment, in terms of the frequency-of-use of proposed professional competencies. The survey revealed a similarity between the skills and knowledge considered important in training and the professional role. This picture, supportive of the technical expert role, differed from the image reported of the public role of the contemporary forester. There was, however, overall consistent agreement that communication and management skills were central to professional roles and incorporated the practical technical knowledge of the traditional science discipline in everyday professional practice. This study confirms a shift in the professional paradigm, reported in the literature and in responses of foresters in this study and elsewhere, from a restrictive mode of technical expertise to an extended mode of public policy development and appraisal in natural resource management. University-based professional education is expected by the respondents to somehow align professional education and professional practices. This implies a reappraisal of the dominance of the scientific-technical disciplines in order to develop competence in community resource management. As an interdisciplinary body of professional knowledge-in-use the new paradigm of forestry poses a substantial challenge to curriculum developers in Universities. Case orientated studies, which allow a merging of discipline-based and generic skill, are proposed as one promising approach.
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ItemReflective practice in the early childhood practicum( 1999)There is much evidence in the current literature to indicate a movement towards a restructuring of teacher education, which emphasises reflection (Campbell-Evans & Maloney, 1996). University courses in teacher education are moving away from the technical model of teacher evaluation towards a reflective approach to teaching and learning which focuses on assisting pre-service teachers to develop reflective practices (Fairbanks & Meritt, 1998). The early childhood practicum is increasingly seen as an opportunity for students to engage in critical reflection with journal writing, frequently used as a tool for reflection. This project studied the practicum journals of nine final year Melbourne University Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies students. Analysis and interpretation of the reflective journals focused on two aspects. The first aspect related to the issues, which the students reflected about. The second aspect related to the cognitive processes the students engaged in when reflecting. The investigation found that students reflected in complex ways on complex issues throughout the practicum. The process of reflection, however, did not empower students to reflect in their own way about their own concerns. The study found that for this group of early childhood students, it was the location of power in student - supervisor relations that functioned to empower students to reflect in their own way about their own concerns or to disempower students by silencing them.
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ItemA detailed case study of one reading recovery tutor training program( 1995)The purpose of this study was to closely monitor the implementation of the Reading Recovery Tutor Training Program at the University of Melbourne during 1994. This case study was designed to investigate the Reading Recovery Tutor and Teacher Training Program in the light of the apprenticeship model. The notions of change and reflective practice were clearly identified as being major components of the Reading Recovery training model and were therefore investigated as part of this study. This small case study produced a large quantity of research data, which included individual reflective journals and writing, transcripts of initial and final interviews, work samples and program data, the researcher's journals and observational notes. The key findings of the study revealed that this Reading Recovery Tutor Training Program has much to offer future training programs with its deliberate attention to the understandings of mentoring and reflective practice. The study highlighted a dichotomy between the apprenticeship model of training as reported in the literature reviewed, and this Reading Recovery Tutor Training Program. This Reading Recovery Training Program placed great importance on the understanding that competent professionals need to have a sound 'confidence of judgement'. The valuing of the notion of 'confidence of judgement' along with, conscious and deliberate reflection have wide implications for future Reading' Recovery Tutor and Teacher Training Programs.
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ItemMusic teaching in Victorian state primary schools in relation to teacher training( 1977)For many years now there has been considerable discussion on the inadvisability of expecting the primary school classroom teacher to shoulder the responsibility for the music education of the children in his charge. The early history of state education in Victoria shows that this task was originally considered to lie in the specialist's domain, and it was only an economic expedient of the 1890's that caused it to become the responsibility of the classroom teacher. The consequences of this move are revealed in the general lack of music education in our primary schools today. Research shows that the average teacher trainee does not possess the basic skills and abilities necessary for teacher-education courses to equip him to teach music in the classroom effectively. Courses of study in music also tend to be highly specialised and make the assumption that primary teachers have the competence to make them operable. Because most classroom teachers do not have this competence, and cannot reasonably be expected to acquire it, the courses are not taught, and what music experiences are provided are spasmodic and often of doubtful value. Nevertheless, classroom teachers do see that music has a value in primary education and show a desire to be involved in its instruction. They do not, however, want to have to shoulder the full responsibility, and see a need for guidance in the form of specialist assistance and a course of study which recognises their limited abilities. In searching for a solution, it seems that no good purpose will be served in pursuing the old generalist/specialist argument, for the problem appears not to be parochial in nature, but rather to extend over the whole gamut of primary education. As a consequence the commonly accepted notion of the classroom teacher as an intellectual factotum having to teach all subjects to all his pupils needs serious questioning. What is required is a resolution which decreases the number of subject areas for which the primary teacher is expected to assume responsibility, while at the same time permitting him to develop and make use of a high degree of expertise in one special field.