Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemCreativity in literacy : making meaning in the middle years( 2004)Literacy is often described as either a social phenomenon or a functional one - it is rarely viewed as an imaginative or creative phenomenon. Yet the processes involved in the development of literate identities are akin to roleplay; readers and writers try on different stances as they engage in various ways with diverse texts, and this requires a capacity for imaginative projection. A `creative age' has been proclaimed in Western societies. Creativity and high levels of literacy are prized for their perceived capacity to fit people for the anticipated rapidly changing circumstances of the future. However, while vast resources are devoted to developing literacy in education, aspects of schooling may discourage creativity, and, indeed, the kind of literacy (or 'literacies') required for this new era. This thesis argues that much might be gained by reconsidering imagination and creativity for educational purposes. It recounts psychological approaches to studying creativity, which, despite limitations, have led to a model that is useful for identifying the `locus of creativity' - a systems model of creativity (Feldman, Csikszentmihalyi & Gardner, 1994). This model is re-evaluated so as to theorise a systems model of student creativity. The term `literacy' has come to signify many different things in education, and the complexity of the phenomenon is discussed to show how imagination and creativity are integral to it. An acknowledgment of their role offers exciting possibilities for middle years curriculum in particular. This investigation into the place of imagination and creativity in literacy involved the analysis of `official' curriculum documents and of two case studies - one Year 9 and one Grade 5/6 teacher and their English/literacy classes. This permitted observations of the ways in which curriculum is enacted in classrooms. The fieldwork revealed data about common constructions of creativity, and where it inheres in literacy.
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ItemTrial of a standards referenced framework for the defining and measuring of the manutention competency( 2004)Manutention is the skills training component of an integrated approach to manual handling risk reduction. Based of the work of Paul Dotte, Manutention training courses are delivered in Australia through the auspice of the Australian Association of Manutention Practitioners (AAMP). The assessment and reporting of training outcomes is hampered by the lack of industry standards for manual handling trainers. In part this is due to the lack of recognition of manual handling as a skill, although there is ample evidence in the literature to suggest that, as a psychomotor skill, it can be taught, learnt and with practice, levels of expertise can be achieved. Standards referencing is considered a form of criterion referencing where levels of performance are defined along a continuum of increasing competence. Using this, framework the Manutention competency was defined and descriptive standards were articulated for each level. The aspects of performance and associated quality indicators that contribute to the competency were written as scoring rubrics. This study used item response theory to investigate whether the Manutention competency could be empirically validated using a standards referenced framework. It also investigated whether the scoring rubric could be applied to inform judgements of competence at varying levels. The finding supported the use of a standards referenced framework as a best practice assessment model for AAMP and lent weight to the argument that manual handling is a skill.
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ItemCaught in the middle : teachers' perceptions of the usefulness of the Record of oral language when used with ESL students( 2004)In the present educational context, large-scale literacy reform has been hotly debated in the media by various stakeholders while on the other hand the " voice that has been largely absent from these debates has been that of teachers". This study attempts to correct this imbalance by reporting on a study of teachers' perceptions of the usefulness of the ROL as a testing tool for students learning English as a second language. It was designed to offer the researcher, the participants and other stakeholders great insight into the current complexities that teachers face when assessing the oral competence of students learning English as a second language. Teachers were given the opportunity to critically examine their own assumptions, beliefs and practices about oral language learning and assessment and challenge the current use of the ROL in the Children's Literacy Success Strategy (CLaSS) program. A qualitative case study approach was selected to allow the voices of the participants and the researcher to be heard in a familiar setting. Thirty minute semi-structured interviews were conducted separately so that teachers could speak freely thus enabling the researcher to follow individual trains of thought and obtain in-depth responses. The study concluded that the usefulness of the Record of Oral Language as a testing tool for students from language backgrounds other than English was not the central issue. Research findings instead highlighted the difficulties faced by mainstream teachers expected to effectively assess the oral language skills of students for whom English is a second language without effective Professional Development support. The central issue that has emerged in this study is the place of teacher professional knowledge for these teachers of ESL students. Not only are ESL students disadvantaged in the current educational climate but so are the mainstream teachers. Teachers' responses to this study reaffirm the need for Professional Development in ESL pedagogy as a way to effectively support the Oral Language and Literacy Learning of ESL which was valued pre Literacy Advance.
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ItemFinding a place for intercultural communication in VCE Indonesian( 2004)This research project came about in response to two innovations introduced to the language-learning curriculum for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), the curriculum for the final two years of secondary schooling in Victoria. These innovations, which gave the teacher more control over oral assessment and introduced a vocationally oriented focus to the generalist curriculum, appeared to offer positive change to the curriculum. Yet a more detailed investigation into the structure of the curriculum led to a concern that it had the potential to set back rather than advance language learning. Central to this concern was the fact that the curriculum design seeks to foster language learning for interpersonal communication in an assessment model that is grounded in an outcomes- and competency-based framework, thus bringing together the ambiguity inherent in intercultural communication and the clarity demanded by a curriculum that focuses on behavioural outcomes. A need was identified for language-specific research to investigate the role of intercultural knowledge in communication and to propose a way for this knowledge to be incorporated into the curriculum framework. This research project took up this challenge with a focus on the Indonesian language. A topic was chosen from the curriculum as the basis for collecting authentic data in Indonesian settings. The topic was 'finding accommodation' and data collection focussed on finding accommodation in a kos, a type of room rental common for single people in Indonesia. Data were collected from research sites in two Indonesian towns over a period of six months in 2001. Four methods of data collection were used: ethnographic interviews, participant observation, comment banks and role-plays. Cultural themes in the data were identified through domain analysis and noticing, and themes identified in one source of data were verified in other sources. One source of data, the kos interview role-plays, was analysed using discourse analysis to help patterns emerge and thus develop a model for a generic text-type for teaching. This research project found that cultural knowledge and values are expressed in the course of communication in a kos interview that are different to what the learner might expect if approaching this text-type from a position grounded in Australian culture; that different norms to Australian norms can be identified and a workable pattern of these norms extracted from the data and incorporated into a framework for meeting the requirements of the VCE curriculum. The model for incorporating intercultural communication into the VCE curriculum proposed in this research project serves as a starting point for further research into the intercultural dimensions of Indonesian interaction in different settings with the aim of enhancing the resources available to teachers of Indonesian in Australia.
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ItemUsing individual learning plans: one school's approach( 2004)This project examined the implementation of Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) in an outer suburban, low socio-economic Primary School in Melbourne. The school first began implementing ILPs for all students in 2000, as a means to shift teacher thinking about curriculum implementation. Through this it was anticipated that planning, teaching and assessment pedagogy would improve to better cater for individual student needs. It was hoped that the ILPs would enhance parent support as a result of their involvement in their child's learning. This research aimed to investigate the impact of ILPs on teacher practice (including assessment and parent / teacher communication) and on student outcomes. The methodology used was predominantly qualitative. However, the researcher wanted to gain an overall understanding of parent values relating to ILPs by implementing a quantitative survey. Issues raised by parents were investigated through focus group interviews and the perspectives of teachers were gained through qualitative questionnaires. The impact of ILP implementation on curriculum and student outcomes was investigated through the analysis of student achievement data in Literacy and Numeracy and through student attendance data. Many unexpected and positive outcomes were uncovered from this research project. For example, while parents were supportive of ILPs, they raised suggestions not included in teacher data. Teachers were also positive towards the use of ILPs for all students, despite the work involved. Overall, the research has provided interesting results regarding the large-scale implementation of ILPs in a mainstream setting.
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ItemResearching teacher agency in primary school science: a discursive psychological approach( 2004)This ontological study is concerned with analyses of the problem of the scientific reform of the primary school curriculum. It was conducted at a time when a solution was sought through State mandated curriculum and standards specification and primary teacher accountability. The case study developed as an interactive ethnography (Woods 1996) written from the point of view of the facilitator of a whole school science curriculum project. The focus of the enquiry emerged as an exploration of social episodes in the life of two experienced Early Years teachers engaged in the yearlong project. Discursive psychology became the theoretical framework for the analysis of the primary teachers' professional identity formation in their professional work=place conversations with the author. Pronominal coding has been used to mark the teachers' psychological location in their storylines of the implementation of enquiry-based science education in their classes. In the teachers' accounts they simultaneously position themselves in their acts and actions and in the local moral order of duties and responsibilities. A significant disparity is shown to exist between the ontologies of the primary teachers' and research accounts, which present mental state analyses of teachers' lack of confidence or reluctance to teach science related to limited scientific understanding. The. study offers a schematic model of social action that theorizes human agency as, developing and functioning within the interactional nexus of local community settings. The community operates in the lives of these teachers not as a latent, abstract concept; instead it gives ideological differences and teachers' understandings of themselves significance in everyday educational practices.