Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemWorking through tension : a response to the concerns of lesbian, gay and bisexual secondary school students(University of Melbourne, 2001)
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ItemDialogical and collaborative learning in Vietnamese culture: an approach to teaching introductory physics courses( 2001)One of the priorities of the current wide ranging reform in higher education in Vietnam is to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in all subjects. This study describes and investigates the experience afforded by a social interactionist learning model in the author's teaching of a theoretical introductory physics course at a university in Vietnam. This model emphasises the cultural significance of dialogue and collaboration amongst students through group work. The model seeks to reconcile individual and social learning for developing students' physics cognitive and social skills. Students of four introductory physics classes of The University of Fisheries, Vietnam participated in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to collect and analyse the data on the cognitive and situated learning of the students. Aspects of Western and Vietnamese culture were attended to in the interpretation of the students' written responses and the researcher's observations. Findings from the study generally supported the greater attention given to the dialogical and collaborative learning environment in class, through the use of peer-based seminars and demonstrations in physics teaching in Vietnam. Physics seminars and demonstrations were employed in the student-based and highly interactive forms and they were positively accepted by students of the introductory physics classes. Student support and interest in the teaching approaches was attributed to the cultural and social resonance of "collaborative learning" and the relational identity of Vietnamese students. The dialogical and collaborative teaching approach developed in this study and the findings contribute to the teaching of introductory physics courses in Vietnamese universities and a better understanding of Vietnamese learners.
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ItemHow prospective students choose universities: a buyer behaviour perspective( 2001)This thesis examines the decision making and information search process of students choosing university courses in Victoria Australia. The position adopted for this study is that of a buyer or consumer behaviour perspective. This is the first study of its kind undertaken in Australia. Much related research been done in the United States and elsewhere. However, the Australian higher education system has unique characteristics. Consequently, while existing student-choice models drawn from elsewhere provide a useful foundation, they are not sufficient to answer the key question: How do students choose universities in Australia? Implicit in this overarching question are several issues examined by this study: how a student makes a choice is related to what choices there are to be made, and why the student makes a choice about a particular institution. (For complete abstract open document)
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ItemAn exploration of algebraic insight and effective use of computer algebra systems( 2001-10)At a time of transition, when the increasing availability and affordability of Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) presents mathematics educators with new challenges, this thesis explores two facets of students’ abilities and understanding that impact on the use of CAS in teaching and learning mathematics. In this thesis, these are called ‘Algebraic Insight’ and ‘Effective Use of CAS’. A framework is presented and described for each construct and then the frameworks are explored within the context of a course in introductory calculus, taught by the researcher to a class of 21 undergraduate tertiary students. Algebraic Insight is the subset of Symbol Sense required when using CAS for the mathematical solution phase of problem solving. The framework breaks Algebraic Insight into two aspects: ability to Link Representations (symbolic, numeric, graphical); and Algebraic Expectation, the cognitive skill required to monitor symbolic work (comparable to arithmetic estimation for monitoring numeric work). The framework of Effective Use of CAS is also divided into two aspects: Technical, using syntax and program features; and Personal, the willingness to use CAS in a judicious manner.
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ItemTeaching and learning introductory differential calculus with a computer algebra system( 2001-09)Computer Algebra Systems (CAS), a powerful mathematical software currently available on hand held calculators, is becoming increasingly available to assist secondary students learn school mathematics. This study investigates how two teachers taught introductory differential calculus to their Year 11 classes using multiple representations in a CAS-supported curriculum. This thesis aims to explore the impact of the teaching on students’ understanding of the concept of derivative. Understanding of the concept of derivative was gauged using an innovative Differentiation Competency Framework that was developed to describe understanding of the concept of derivative. It consists of eighteen competencies for formulation and interpretation of derivatives with, and without, translation between different representations. It clarified the objectives of the curriculum, purpose for using particular CAS activities, and also guided the construction of individual test items on the Differentiation Competency Test that enabled individual and class learning about the concept of derivative to be identified. The Framework also helped identify each teacher’s privileging characteristics and facilitated analysis of the learning in relation to the teaching. This study found that using multiple representations was important in developing understanding of the concept of derivative but that the graphical and the symbolic representations were the most useful and important to emphasize and link. Analysis of the teaching actions showed that the teachers used CAS in ways that were consistent with their teaching approach and preferred use of representations and that a conceptual teaching method and student-centred style supported understanding of the concept of derivative. Teaching is directly linked to learning and each class developed a different understanding of the concept of derivative that related to the combined effect of their teacher’s privileging characteristics: calculus content, teaching approach, and use of CAS. This study also shows that if a CAS-supported curriculum is to be successfully implemented, it needs to acquire institutional status including a corresponding change in assessment to legitimize new teaching practices.
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ItemWorking in Web mode: the transformation of a university environmental subject through its development for online teaching and learning( 2001-04)The university-level environmental studies subject Living in the Environment moved online progressively over two years. A Web-based version of the pre-existing subject was designed, implemented and evaluated over five semesters during 1997 and 1998. By the end of 1998, an online version of the subject was functioning effectively in a manner that enabled a teacher and students to work as a class group transacting teaching and learning activities entirely via the Web. The question of what the subject would be like as a result of going online, in the experience of the subject educators who worked with it, was the starting point for the research reported in this thesis. (For complete abstract open document)
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ItemWorking through tension: a response to the concerns of lesbian, gay and bisexual secondary school students( 2001-04)The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB)(T) secondary school students are often problematic. The literature documents that LGB(T) students often experience harassment in secondary school settings. The participants in this study identify that issues around subject content, the need to address bullying and strategies around support are three key issues that might be targeted if LGB(T) school experiences are to improve. This thesis responds to participant perspectives by outlining a broad approach that is anchored by their concerns.
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ItemJust a phase in life? School students and part-time work( 2001-01)This is an empirical investigation of Australian secondary school students who have part-time jobs. It is based on analyses of national longitudinal data covering a period of almost twenty years, from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. Data from four separate age-based cohorts of young people are analysed, with a focus on the youngest cohort, that born in 1975, as well as additional data from a more recent sample of students who were in Year 9 in 1995. The extent of student involvement in part-time work is described, with reference to rates of employment and to average hours worked per week. Although there is some variation by age and year level, by the early 1990s one third of senior school students spent an average of nine hours per week in a part-time job. The background characteristics of student-workers are examined. Students who were lower school achievers were less likely to be employed, as were those from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds. These patterns, matching observations from other countries in which there are comparable or higher rates of student employment, indicate that some students may be disadvantaged in this part-time job market. Students had generally positive perceptions of their jobs. A large proportion enjoyed their work, and the money and the independence that it gave them, and they believed it would improve their future employment prospects. Apart from these subjective views of students, the longitudinal nature of these data enabled the outcomes of in-school employment to be investigated. (For complete abstract open document)
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ItemThe attitudes and concerns of school principals and teachers regarding the integration of students with disabilities into regular schools in Delhi, India( 2001)This study was undertaken to explore the attitudes and concerns of primary school principals and teachers regarding the integration of students with disabilities into regular school programs in Delhi, India and, to determine whether there were significant differences between them regarding such attitudes and concerns. Additionally, the study sought to determine whether the attitudes and concerns held by principals and teachers were significantly related to their background variables. A three-part questionnaire, consisting of: Part I -Background Information, Part II -Attitudes toward Inclusive Education Scale- Modified (ATIES-M), and Part III -Concerns about Integrated Education (CIE), was used to collect the data from 310 principals and 484 teachers. An analysis of the data was undertaken using one-way analysis of variance, multiple regression and Pearson product-moment correlation techniques. The major findings of this study were: 1. There were no significant differences between the overall attitudes of the principals and the teachers. Significant differences were observed, however, for one of the four attitude factors which dealt with the integration of students who required curricular changes. 2. ‘Perceived parental support for integrated education’, ‘length of teaching experience’ and ‘contact with a student with a disability’ were found to be the significant predictors of teachers' attitudes toward integrated education. In the case of principals, however, the only significant predictor of attitudes was ‘perceived parental support for integrated education’. 3. ‘School size’, ‘school location’ and ‘perceived knowledge of The Persons with Disabilities Act’ (PDA) had some influence on at least one of the four factors of the ATIES-Modified scale for principals. In the case of teachers, ‘age’, ‘school location’, ‘training in special education’ and ‘perceived knowledge of The Persons with Disabilities Act’ were significantly related to at least one of the four factors of the ATIES-Modified scale. 4. Both principals and teachers were concerned about the lack of resources (such as para-professional staff and special education teachers), the non-availability of instructional materials, their lack of training to implement integration and the lack of funding. 5. ‘Gender’, ‘having a relative with a disability’ and ‘perceived parental support for integrated education’ were significant predictors of both principals' and teachers' concerns about integrated education. 6. In the case of principals, there were two further predictors of their concerns about. integrated education viz. ‘age’ and ‘having a family member with a disability’. In the case of teachers, ‘years of teaching experience’ and ‘perceived level of confidence in teaching students with disabilities’ emerged as additional predictors of their concerns. 7. There were significant negative correlations between the mean attitude scores and the mean concern scores of both principals and teachers. 8. Five strategies were suggested by the focus group participants to alleviate the concerns they expressed about integrating students with disabilities. These were: provision of in-service training, collaboration with non-government organisations, availability of aids and appliances, availability of resource teachers, and provision of resource rooms.
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ItemPersonal meanings and artistic processes: a study of multi-modal improvisation( 2001)This study illuminates the experience of improvisation across modes of artistic forming. It examines the perceptions of a number of artists, including the researcher, who participated over an extended period in a series of multi-modal improvisations and related artistic constructions. Experiential phenomenology, heuristics, and hermeneutics inform the research methodology. The study explores ways of describing the inner experience of artistic making in the context of individual and collaborative processes involving movement, sound, forms of writing, speech and the medium of film. The study uses a phenomenological method to describe the experience of four multimodal improvisers (using movement, vocal and instrumental sounds, and speech) through a series of improvisations. Individual and group core themes of experience are also described from which a depiction of improvisation experience is constructed. In a second and emergent phase of the study an auto-reflective approach is employed to explore meanings arising from the researcher's immersion in the initial experiential data of the improvisations and his subsequent imaginative speculation on artistic possibilities. Finally, a third phase of the inquiry employs a personal narrative method to tell the story of four artistic processes that occurred parallel and subsequent to the series of multi -modal improvisations. In this phase, the constructed, written and performed materials of the collaborating artists and co-researchers are an integral part of the presentation of the findings. The study's emergent methodology and the juxtaposition of phenomenological, hermenuetical and 'narratives of the self' approaches, reflects postmodern, feminist, and constructivist influences on qualitative research and artistic practice. Intersubjectivity is a feature within both the experience of artistic making and the methodology of the researcher's investigation. The parallels to therapeutic practice are acknowledged and the findings have relevance to dance, music and multi-arts therapy. The artists and co-researchers involved in the study were all based in Melbourne, Australia. The data were sourced through interview, written reports, journals, and other modal (non-verbal) forms of expression such as visual representations, diagrams/schemata, movement, and vocal responses. Original copies of manuscripts, artwork, voice and video recordings constitute the research documentation. The study allowed the following major findings to be revealed: - The participants of multi-modal improvisation had unique kinaesthetic and somatic experiences. There were however invariant constituents to the experience of multi-modal improvisation including moments of 'doing or acting' without conscious premeditation, feelings of uncertainty or insecurity, intention, the forming of concepts and shared aesthetic frameworks. - The processes of artistic forming involved intersubjective responses in which personal meanings emerged and were communicated. The artistic form(s) reflected awareness of corporeal experience, the particularities of spatial environments and time/moment, and memory/remembered experience. - There was continuity to themes of participant experiencing across various forms of artistic expression or modes of artistic forming. There was also continuity of subjects of artistic representation.