Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe academic achievements of language centre students at a secondary college( 2001)What are the academic achievements of adolescent new-arrival English as a Second Language (ESL) students at secondary schools in Victoria, Australia? Research on Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) students in Australia has tended to neglect new arrival ESL students. To examine the academic achievements of this important subgroup of NESB students, the current study will highlight the academic achievements of a cohort of Victorian Language Centre students at a Secondary College over six years with interruption to schooling in their first language (L1) as the key variable linked to academic achievement in their second language (L2). Victorian Language Centres provide new-arrival ESL students with the English skills they need to start their secondary educations in L2. The current study examined the academic achievement of two groups of Language Centre students, those who completed their Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and those who left the Secondary College prior to completing VCE. Their academic results were summarised into spreadsheets for quantitative analysis. Subsequent to the quantitative analysis interviews were conducted with four ESL students from the Language Centre currently completing their VCE studies to provide further insight into the factors that enabled them to do their VCE. Results indicate that the academic achievements of this cohort of ESL Language Centre students are poor and that interruption to education in Ll had a major impact on the students' ability to achieve academically at the Secondary College. The study suggests that L1 education is the key variable influencing the student's ability to acquire the academic language skills necessary to meet the academic demands of secondary education, particularly the VCE. Other factors such as support for learning and strong motivation were found to help students overcome difficulties encountered in their secondary education. However, students who were unable to overcome these difficulties left the College prior to completing VCE. It was concluded that the majority of Language Centre students faced uncertain economic futures once they left the Secondary College. The results of the study suggest that Language Centre students need more support and assistance to enable them to complete VCE or to access educational alternatives to the VCE. This study also suggests that more research into the effect of L1 education on L2 education be conducted as this was found to be the key variable in the students' ability to acquire the academic language skills necessary to meet the academic demands of VCE.
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ItemChinese/Anglo-Celtic bicultural children's education experiences in Australia( 2001)This study explores, through three case studies, how home, school and community factors have influenced the education and development experiences of Chinese/Anglo-Celtic bicultural children attending Australian schools. The worldwide lack of previous research on the education of bicultural children and the high outmarriage rate of Chinese-Australian women make it important to understand whether Chinese/Anglo-Celtic children experience similar or different education problems to those experienced by monocultural minority and mainstream children The data was collected from parents and children through questionnaires and individual interviews conducted at each family home. All the participant families were referred to the researcher by colleagues and were previously unknown to the researcher. The findings indicate that the children's home environments have influenced the varying levels of their Chinese and Australian cultural values and language skills. However, they all generally appear psychologically stable and have successfully integrated into their respective schools and mainstream society.
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ItemA program theory of the Bushfire blitz program( 2001)Program theory has become increasingly prominent in evaluation in recent years. The thesis explores the notion of program theory by examining the writings of several evaluators and attempts to distill the key elements of a comprehensive model of program theory from a realist perspective. This model of program theory is used as a basis to develop a program theory of the Bushfire Blitz program, a community-based education and advice program intended to increase residents' preparedness to deal with the bushfire risk. The thesis reviews literature in the fields of risk perception, risk communication and the adoption of precautionary behaviours. Several evaluation studies of Bushfire Blitz are also considered. The findings from the literature review and the review of evaluation studies are synthesised to develop a program theory of Bushfire Blitz. The thesis examines how individuals and communities respond to risk, the nature of preparedness for the bushfire risk and decision making processes in response to risk. Examination of these aspects is essential in order to understand how the Bushfire Blitz program can bring about change in both individual and community response to the bushfire risk. The program theory developed in the thesis highlights the importance of several crucial aspects of realist approaches to evaluation such as the role of psychosocial mechanisms, the nature of program effects at both micro and macro levels, and the effects of contextual complexity on the program. The program theory provides guidance for program improvement and the basis for on-going evaluation of Bushfire Blitz and similar programs to address the risk from natural hazards.
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ItemGuiding, guiding : constructing leadership for young women( 2001)Guiding Guiding, Constructing Leadership for Young Women by Felicity Wightwick seeks to answer the research question: To what extent are young women's perceptions of leadership experiences shaped by formal training?' The reactions of several young women from Guides Australia to their leadership experiences, in particular the Guides Australia/BHP Young Leader (Leading Edge) seminar held in July 1999, are explored. Although the number of participants is small and therefore the findings limited, some interesting and worthwhile themes emerged from the research. This includes a leadership model that provides a possible structure upon which training that seeks to further the concept of community capacity building could be based.
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ItemHelping academics to help themselves : investigating appropriate professional support strategies for academics with no formal teaching qualifications( 2001)Currently, tertiary education is undergoing a major review of teaching and learning, to support the needs of a now culturally, socially and economically diverse student clientele. Consequently, the notion of professional development for academics has become a priority. Quite commonly, academics have been educated in their particular field of expertise with little emphasis on learning and teaching styles. Furthermore, little or inappropriate professional development focussing on teaching and learning practices, has been the style of support offered to date. It appears that these ad hoc off campus short courses have not adequately met the professional development needs of many academics with no formal teaching qualifications. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a work-embedded approach to professional development using a case study methodology.
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ItemEnhancing student learning through mentoring: an action research study( 2001)Mentoring has been used throughout history to develop each person through interaction with a 'wiser', usually older, other. In January 2000 I set up a mentoring program for students enrolled in the Diploma of Hospitality (Management) Conventions/Exhibitions course to enhance their learning and provide them with links to the Meetings Industry. Using an action research methodology, this research aimed to identify the processes necessary for establishing an effective mentoring program for students and explore the circumstances in which particular mentees come to `belong' to the industry. The mentoring program was established for three consecutive groups of mentors and mentees. The action research approach used planning, acting, observing, reflecting and re-planning in relation to each successive mentoring program. Data were collected through focus groups held with mentors and mentees and in journals kept by myself and mentees. Actions were planned to improve the mentoring program, based on interpretations of the data from each group, and these were explored in practice with each subsequent group. Based on the interpretation of data collected and analysed, the major insights gained in this study are that, for an effective mentoring program in this context, mentees need opportunities to choose their own mentors, negotiate their Mentoring Agreements and become involved in real workplace activities. I argue that, in order to help build mentees' identities of confidence, competence and belonging to the Meetings Industry, mentoring programs need to provide: ways of enabling mentees to network with and/or become informed about potential mentors with whom, and with whose workplace, they can easily identify - this then informs their choice of mentor; structured opportunities for mentees to plan and negotiate potential learning experiences with their mentors, giving them substantial ownership of the mentoring process; and real work experiences and other forms of participation for mentees, from which they can develop new skills, knowledge and attitudes appropriate to the industry.
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ItemVision and reality: what are the experiences and perceptions of overseas students enrolled in a year 13 Foundation Studies course in business offered in a city university?( 2001)Internationalization has become one of the 'buzzwords' in Australian education. For most Australian educational institutions, internationalization meant an unprecedented influx of overseas students enrolling in their courses. This thesis will consider the mismatch of expectations between students from the Asia-Pacific region in a tertiary education institution in Australia. What is the mismatch of expectations? What is its extent? How does it come to exist? How does it manifest itself? These questions have been explored in focus group discussions with students from the Asia-Pacific region currently attending a Year 13 Foundation Studies course in a city university. The research found a mismatch between student and staff expectations due to miscommunication and cultural values.
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ItemA cohesion analysis of texts written by adult Mandarin ESL students( 2001)This project aims to explore the written cohesive strategies employed by Mandarin English as a Second Language (ESL) learners, which knowledge will enable educators to better address their specific needs. The participants were members of an adult literacy class of both native and non-native speakers. Students completed several preliminary tasks in order to establish their familiarity with the specific grammatical resources utilised in English. Using a prompt, they wrote letters of complaint, which provided the research data. These were analysed from a functional systemic perspective, identifying patterns of usage of cohesive devices. Questionnaires and individual interviews provided qualitative insights into students' language practices. The study demonstrated that Mandarin students employed a higher percentage of cohesive ties than did the native speakers, which phenomenon may be explained by factors including level of first language literacy, years of formal English language study, and years of residency in Australia. The study suggests that Mandarin ESL learners might moderate their density of cohesive ties, to attain native-like written rhetorical structure. Secondly, register variables proved to have significant implications for cohesive paradigms, in conjunction with contrastive rhetoric cultural conventions. Lexical cohesive patterns point to the crucial role of vocabulary acquisition, an aspect of language acquisition which ought to be addressed in the teaching field. The study also explores the eclectic nature of the language practices acquired by students who have received considerable EFL teaching, and have often lived in English speaking communities for extended periods. Ultimately, this research highlights the need for further study in adult literacy contexts; drawing on larger samples from more diverse language backgrounds, with a specific focus on the role of politeness theory, register variables and contrastive rhetoric.
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ItemIs my preschool child gifted? A pilot study of parental perceptions of giftedness (advanced development) in their preschool aged children( 2001)This study was a pilot project exploring those characteristics in the behaviours of their infants or preschoolers that have led some parents to believe that their child may be gifted or otherwise showing significantly advanced development. A group of parents were asked to respond to a questionnaire about their children's development. The questions aimed to investigate their understanding of gifted and normal early childhood behaviours. Their responses were compared with the behaviours described in the literature as age typical or gifted to determine the extent of the match, if any. These parents reported an extensive list of behaviours and characteristics, which they noted as important in signifying their children's giftedness. While some of these aligned with reports in the specialist-gifted literature, other reported behaviours aligned with those described in the generalist early childhood literature as age typical behaviour. This study found that the majority of behaviours reported in this latter category were not age typical but were stage typical. The parents also responded to a request to compare their own child's development to that of a familiar peer whom they regarded as age typical that is, not gifted. The answers indicated that while they did compare some of their child's behaviours with those of his or her peer group this was not the dominant method by which they formed their opinion about their own child's giftedness. A number of influences and sources of information were described by the parents as contributing to their identification of their child as gifted.
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ItemInternational education: the role of homestay hosts( 2001)This is a qualitative study examining the role of homestay hosts in the international student education industry. It is found that the role and experiences of homestay hosts have been generally ignored in literature and there has been very little research conducted in the area of homestay accommodation. The purpose of this present study is to present an overview of cross-cultural issues homestay hosts face and to develop an understanding of their needs within the homestay context. Data was collected from homestay hosts and homestay providers of one educational institution in Melbourne via a qualitative, mixed method approach. Questionnaires, focus group interviews and a semi-structured interview were utilised. The questionnaire focused on developing a demographic profile of the hosts, and establishing possible issues to explore in the focus group interviews. Homestay providers (coordinators of the homestay program) were also interviewed regarding issues arising from the questionnaire and focus group data. Homestay hosts and providers were asked to suggest improvements for the homestay industry. Analysis of the data reveals that homestay hosts experience varying degrees of culture clash, and friction in the homestay can be caused by differing perceptions of the hosts' role by homestay students and hosts. It was also found that homestay is a legally unregulated industry and, as such, measures should be taken to reduce possibilities of litigation. It is concluded that homestay hosts and providers require training in cross-cultural communication, health and safety, and their legal rights and responsibilities, such as 'duty of care'. It is established that further research is required in order to create uniformity among homestay organisations and to address current ambiguities relating to homestay host and provider roles and responsibilities.