Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemSecondary art teachers' perceptions of a regional art gallery( 2004)This study examines the view of five teachers in relation to their use of a regional gallery within their art program. Using qualitative inquiry, the study focuses on interviews with the gallery educator and five secondary teachers within the region. The key purpose of the study is to identify the value and reasons why teachers incorporate gallery visits into their teaching program.
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ItemDelineating usable interface characteristics of an online teaching and learning platform( 2004)Teachers are under enormous pressure to integrate learning technologies into the curriculum. Consequently, schools are turning to commercial providers as `off-the-shelf products require very little or no customisation and can be swiftly implemented. One such product, myclasses, offers an online delivery platform that can potentially meet schools' move towards incorporating technology across the entire curriculum. This study focuses on an Australian school that purchased the myclasses course management software and looks at the way the potential users (teachers) of the program interact with the software's interface. Specifically, the key question of this study is: Which elements or characteristics of an education-based software's interface are usable by educators? Several teachers participated in this study as `test users' to elicit rich data on human interaction with the program, which was subsequently analysed to determine which characteristics were usable by teachers. This was triangulated with a usability inspection method known as heuristic evaluation, which is widely used by human computer interaction (HCI) and usability experts. The findings indicate that most of the interface's characteristics were not usable by teachers; however, the relatively few usable characteristics that were delineated are important for practitioners and developers of education-based software, and specifically course management programs such as myclasses Further implications that emerged as a result of this study concern the ongoing challenge faced by educational institutions that have implemented course management systems under the misguided assumption that supplying staff and students with online content management software will automatically boost the innovation of educational programs
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ItemA critique of policy documents and their communication from the Catholic Education Office, Melbourne( 2004)Within the context of educational planning and administration, policy development and evaluation play an important public relations role due to the way in which these activities are able to communicate key messages about the organisation in which they take place. Furthermore, the presentation and dissemination of these policies also have an impact on their relevance and usefulness. This thesis, therefore, considers various characteristics of communication in relation to a collection of policies that have been developed by the central office for Catholic primary and secondary schools in Melbourne, Australia. An audit and analysis of a collection of policy documents was undertaken in order to determine firstly, their effectiveness as written documents and secondly, the extent to which they communicated organisational mission and strategic objectives. This was undertaken to see whether there was a need to improve communication between the office and schools. Findings of the analysis indicated that with respect to overall readability, the effectiveness of the documentation could be enhanced by making some basic improvements to the way in which the documents are presented and with regard to certain aspects of the language used. More importantly however, were findings regarding a lack of systematic policy review and regular involvement of stakeholders in the policy development process. These factors have led to a situation where a number of policies not only lack relevance for their users but also are also not aligned with broader organisational goals and strategies. These conclusions are supplemented by consideration of the policy-making role of a central office such as this in relation to both schools and broader organisational units.
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ItemUsing drama to teach English speaking skills in early childhood education in Korea( 2004)This study was especially designed for Korean young learners as a trial of a teaching approach using drama to teach English speaking skills. It aimed to discover whether this approach improved learners' speaking skills, their interest in and positive attitudes towards learning English. 12 Korean pre-school learners, aged from four-and-a-half to five participated in this pilot project. This pilot programme was held in a Child Care Centre in Seoul, South Korea. The researcher chose a well-known story familiar to Korean young learners, 'The Three Little Pigs'. The researcher remade the story and storybook to be suitable for the Korean context and the purpose of the lesson plans, and analysed the story to select topics. On the basis of this analysis, the project firstly presented the drama techniques, which were required to produce the story, from lesson 1 to 8, and then made a creative story using these drama techniques and the children's imaginations, in lessons 9 and 10. The drama performance was prepared to see how the young learners would apply their learnt English competency through drama techniques, not for the purpose of performing "Theatre". The lessons lasted for 30 minutes per session for three or four days a week (total 10 times over three weeks). The findings indicate that the trial approach of 'using drama to teach English speaking skills to Korean pre-school learners' was a very effective and enjoyable teaching method for young learners; not only did the children learn English with lots of fun but also they participated in the English class by "learning and doing". The main benefit of this study was that the learner's English competency in terms of speaking skills meaningfully improved using a "chunk" style of speaking skills in appropriate situations through drama sessions. However, the short period of this study showed some continuing difficulties in pronunciation and accent. It is recommended that further study be undertaken in this area, but over a longer period of time.
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ItemLanguage teaching reform in Japan: implications for communicative teaching implementation and practice from foreign teacher perspectives( 2004)Debate continues over to what extent Japanese language education reform has made substantive progress in its attempt at moving away from traditional grammar-translation methodology, towards a more communicative approach. Using grounded theory, this thesis aims to explore communicative language teaching (CLT) implementation and practice in Japan from the perspectives of seven resident native speaker teachers of English. The study reveals that despite renewed commitments from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Monbukagakushou) towards integrating communicative practice into Japanese language education, foreign teachers generally remain skeptical that impediments between Monbukagakushou's stated aims and the reality of classroom practice, can be easily overcome. This study will investigate some of these impediments which includes: a) teachers', both native speakers and Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs), uncertainty about the actual nature of CLT, what it encompasses and how it can be adapted to Japanese learning proclivities, b) the failure of the curriculum to direct Japanese teachers' and students' attention away from preparing for discrete point examinations, towards a more integrated assessment model and c) the difficulty with which Japan's central and local bureaucratic institutions can maintain administrative consistency in developing stated educational aims into classroom reality.
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ItemEffective learning teams within the primary school setting( 2004)Schools are constantly evolving and changing to incorporate new learning styles, curriculum reforms and improved structures. These changes are occurring in the interest of enhancing the learning conditions for the students and creating a higher achievement rate among them. The area of change that this study focuses on is the staffing structure within one particular primary school. Team approaches are becoming increasingly common in many workplaces, including the school environment. Learning teams are a relatively new structure within the primary school setting. They involve a team of staff who are involved in the decision making process of one particular Key Learning Area (KLA). This approach moves away from the previously independent roles of leadership within the school. Within this study the school involved had already implemented the learning team structure which focussed on the strategies involved in creating an effective learning team within a primary school setting. The discussion, suggestions and conclusions that were reached drew upon the responses from the participants and combined them with concepts derived from current literature based on this topic. Feedback was then given to the school regarding what makes an effective learning team and how their current practice may be enhanced. The aim of this study was to determine the opinions and thoughts of the staff on what makes an effective learning team. It aimed to find out what components create an effective and therefore productive learning team within a primary school environment. It focussed on the trends that have been noted from research completed in this area. The participants involved were all staff that are currently in KLA leadership positions within the school where I am currently employed. Their involvement in the study was voluntary. It was a case study of one particular school where a sixteen-item questionnaire and two group interviews with the staff were the main source of data collection (qualitative). Current literature was reviewed and the research method of surveying at the beginning of the study was used to gauge emerging trends, patterns, concepts and ideas that were referred to in the questions that were used later in the group interviews. Observations were also made during the study. Themes and findings were recorded and used as a guide for suggested improvement for the school where the study was conducted. The study also provided the staff with an opportunity to contribute recommendations based on their own experiences that consequently shaped the overall outcomes of the research. The results indicated that introducing the current learning teams at the case study school had been a valuable change to the school's previous leadership structure. The overall response from the participants was positive. However there were areas that were found to need attention if the effectiveness of the current learning teams were to be improved. These issues were then addressed within the study and used to create suggestions for the school in regards their current learning teams. Literature was also drawn upon to add further proposals. Learning teams have great potential, however they need to be carefully structured, properly implemented and require consistent monitoring and ongoing maintenance to ensure that they are as effective as they can be and reach their full potential as an educational tool.
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ItemAn investigation into one experienced mainstream classroom teacher's implementation of the early years literacy program( 2004)Within the last decade in Australia, there has been an increased commitment to improving literacy standards with subsequent focus towards enhancing literacy education in the early years of schooling. This has led to the development of classroom-based literacy programs designed to meet the needs of all learners, including ESL learners. The Early Years Literacy Program (EYLP), a Victorian literacy initiative, was developed and is currently used by early years educators in all Victorian Government Primary Schools as a resource to plan for a strategic and comprehensive approach to early literacy achievement in the first five years of schooling (DET 2002). The study reported in this thesis investigates how one experienced mainstream classroom teacher, who does not have ESL training or receive ESL support, caters for the needs of a group of ESL learners within the Early Years writing program. An aim of this study is to build on the existing limited body of scholarship and identify areas of future research concerning the ways in which the writing component of the EYLP can be implemented to cater for the learning needs of primary ESL learners. As such, this research investigation is significant as it specifically examines the implementation of the writing component of the EYLP and explores the needs of Year One and Two primary ESL learners who entered school with limited English. This is in contrast to recent research that has focussed attention primarily on the reading component of the EYLP and young ESL learners in the early years of schooling. This investigation adopts a case study approach that allows for an in-depth exploration of one mainstream classroom teacher's implementation of the writing component of the EYLP and the detailed investigation of the needs of a group of ESL learners. As part of this study, the mainstream classroom teacher's teaching practice was observed during ten one-hour writing sessions. Other sources of data included a semi- structured interview, stimulated recall notes and samples of ESL students' written texts produced over a ten week data collection period. The findings of the study suggest that while the teacher was able to identify her ESL students areas of weakness in relation to writing, and whilst she recognised some of her students' needs, she often struggled to cater fully and effectively for her ESL students' learning requirements within the daily one hour writing program of the EYLP.
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ItemFacing the"triple challenge": Chinese international students in the VCE( 2004)This qualitative case study examines the factors influencing the academic success of Chinese international students studying the VCE in a Victorian independent school. In 2002, China was the largest source country for international students studying in the schools sector. Due to visa restrictions, international students from China generally arrive in Australia in the later years of school at years 10 and 11. As these students are still developing their conceptual understanding of content subjects, this thesis sought to investigate whether background knowledge of content subjects had an impact of the academic success of Chinese international students. In order to carry out this investigation a model was developed as a framework for the data analysis. The model suggested that background knowledge, academic language proficiency and individual factors all play a role in the academic success of Chinese international students. The study found that background knowledge does have an impact on Chinese international students success in the VCE, but that the factors influencing academic success are intertwined.
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ItemModelling performance management linked to professional development in secondary schools( 2004)The growing push for educational reform across the world has seen a renewed focus on teacher performance and performance management systems. Many teachers in Australian schools have tended to resist the notion of professional and other appraisal of their work. But now we see an inevitability and reasonableness of becoming more accountable and of improving both the teaching practice and the career structure for teaching professionals. This thesis was designed, to explore different systems of performance management used in selected independent secondary schools in Victoria. The aim was to model a system of performance management from the research that will suit the needs of accountability and also the professional needs of the teaching fraternity. A mixed method of research was chosen for this work. A questionnaire was designed and used to probe teacher's knowledge and feelings towards performance management and its possible implementation. One on one interviews with staff from selected independent schools in the Melbourne area, were conducted. The major findings of this research are that teachers welcome feedback and appraisal, in particular feedback that is delivered in a constructive and developmental way. The interview component of the study along with the research of Mongan (1999), Down (2001) and Ingvarson (2001) revealed that a system of performance management linked to professional development is an excellent way for schools to gain accountability but to also develop their teachers both professionally and as people. In conclusion the paper is designed to be a working document that can be used in secondary schools as a tool to appraise the performance of staff. It asserts that all forms of assessment of staff should be linked to improvement and professional development. Recommendations are made for others who are considering implementing or reviewing similar systems and areas of further research are also suggested.
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ItemInclusion competencies of primary public school teachers in Iloilo city, Philippines: training needs( 2004)This study was undertaken to investigate the competencies necessary for primary public school teachers in Iloilo City, Philippines to work effectively in inclusive classrooms. The aim of the study was to find out the current competencies of the teachers, their perception of the importance of the competencies, their likely training needs and the relationship of the measures of their background variables with their training needs. To determine the training needs of the teachers, a needs assessment approach adapted from Witkin and Altschuld (1995) and Kauffman, Rojas, and Mayer (1993) was employed. A four-part self-assessment questionnaire - Scale of knowledge and Skills for instruction and Management of Students with Disabilities - Philippines Context (SKSIMSD-PC) was used to collect the data from 606 general classroom teachers. T-tests and analysis of variance were utilized to determine the significance of differences between the means. Correlation coefficient were also used to explore inter-relationship between variables. The major findings of this study were: 1. Almost all knowledge and skill competencies were rated by the teachers as significantly of high importance for them to be able to work effectively with children with disabilities in the regular classroom. 2. Teacher participants perceived themselves as moderately competent to teach in an inclusive classroom despite their extremely limited training and low level of exposure to children with disabilities. 3. Generally, a low to low-moderate level of training need was indicated by teachers on the competencies in which they perceived themselves as least competent. In . particular, their priority training needs are in the following competencies. (i) ways in which technology (assistive technology) can assist with planning and managing the teaching and learning environment; (ii) techniques for modifying instructional methods specific to the needs of the child (e.g., providing specific and appropriate accommodations); and (iii) administering, interpreting and using assessment data (from medical, psychological, and diagnostic reports) for instructional planning and, using verbal and nonverbal communication techniques (e.g. communication picture, sign language). 4. The teachers' pre-service and in-service training variables were found to be significantly negatively correlated with the six categories of training needs. There were no statistically significant correlations between training needs and the rest of the teachers' background variables. Most .of these correlations tended to be negative rather than positive. From these results it was argued that training in inclusion practices was a high priority for teachers in Iloilo City, Philippines.