Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThrough a glass, darkly : a case study( 2000)This study describes, explores and explains a case which occurred in an Australian State primary school, when permission was withdrawn for a research project which sought to survey parents' perceptions of the school. This occurred three weeks after all questionnaires had been distributed, by hand through the school, to every family in the school. The research project was the work of the Deputy Principal, the author of this thesis, who is also known as the researcher and the participant observer. The case is then rewritten, scenarios are constructed and leadership behaviours are described within the Structural, Human Resource, Political and Symbolic frames set forth by Bolman and Deal. A fifth frame, an Ethical frame, as proposed by Starratt, is also applied to the case. These frames comprise most leadership theory and each provides the base for a scenario in which the researcher may more clearly pose a question, a curious phenomenon or a problematic issue. Through the creation of scenarios the researcher was able to understand complex interactions, tacit processes and often hidden beliefs and values within organisations. Each frame generates a different set of strategies. In this way knowledge is gained and potential futures are posited, leading to a sharpened awareness of the forces acting on leaders. The thesis is underpinned by the belief that a conscious and reflective review of, and inquiry into, one's actions as a leader through the creation of scenarios will assist the development of an ethical and pragmatic personal theory of organisation. It is an aim of this thesis to demonstrate that where a case is recreated within the five ideal frames possible futures are evoked, creating an environment for wise decision making and enhanced leadership behaviour.
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ItemA long distance call on hold : managers' perceptions of organisational learning in a telecommunications organisation( 2002)This qualitative study aims to understanding better, managers' perceptions of organisational learning in a field-based department, within a telecommunications organisation. The research provides adult educators with insights into managers' perceptions of how learning is diffused throughout an organisation and the impact on the learning process. Seven team managers within a telecommunications organisation participated in semi-structured interviews exploring to what extent they perceived organisational learning as a significant workplace experience for them. The theoretical basis for the interviews included areas of individual and collective learning, factors affecting organisational learning, the role of organisational memory, and roles in the process of collective learning. Conclusions from the study may assist educators and others in designing more effective organisational learning programs.
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ItemMarket orientation case study( 2001)The importance of this research is reflected in the changing face of education. There is increasing pressure for accountability of schools in the private and public sector, for their programs, their financial viability and ultimately their capacity to survive in the marketplace. While the education industry is rapidly becoming a competitiveness business, the legitimacy of marketing as a means of recruitment, the marketing concept and embracing market orientation sits uneasily with many educational administrators. School X provides an illustrative case study of a well-established school in the international education sector. It has a strong business focus and is part of a global educational network. The management structure is similar to that in private sector industry. As a successful enterprise operational practices and marketing strategies are worthy of study. Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies will be applied. The researcher will discover how School X has embraced the concept of market orientation and whether the organisations growth is related to its approach to the marketing concept.
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ItemTeachers' perceptions of the teacher evaluation system in China : a case study( 2004)Reforms in China have been attempting to shift its education from examination centred to quality oriented Teacher evaluation system is supposed to reflect the changes. This study explored teachers perceptions of the current teacher evaluation system in a public primary school in China. The participants were 43 of the school's 75 teachers. The researcher analysed teachers written responses to both pre coded and open ended questions to determine their perceptions. Findings of this study suggest that teachers general impressions of the teacher evaluation system were slightly positive and the teacher evaluation criteria as a whole were acceptable to some extent to the teachers. Teachers however held quite divided opinions toward different aspects of the teacher evaluation and the criteria of different teacher evaluation procedures. The teachers believed that teacher evaluation had a big impact on their growth and was used as evidence for rewards and punishment. The impact on teachers morale and student outcomes were comparatively smaller. Many teachers also believed that teacher evaluation had no impact on them Teachers were not happy with the climate for evaluation especially the perceived unfairness in evaluation and not being respected. Teachers opinions were divided to a great extent regarding preferred evaluation procedures and some criteria for teacher evaluation. The researcher suggests that teachers negative attitudes toward the teacher evaluation system should be seriously considered and that the system be improved. The researcher also suggests that the relationship between current teacher evaluation and student outcomes should be further explored and strengthened.
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ItemMaking connections from the classroom to professional context : using problem-based learning to enhance engineering education( 2000)Problem-based learning (PBL) is presented as an educational reform that is particularly relevant for professional education programs. This study investigated the use of PBL to enhance the quality of students' learning in Professional Skills, a first year engineering subject at Swinburne University of Technology. The major aims for Professional Skills are to develop students' communication skills and to provide them with an introduction to the engineering profession. PBL was selected because of the use of a professional context to demonstrate the relevance of learning and the approach to developing students' abilities for self-directed and life-long learning. PBL requires different understandings and approaches to teaching and learning than are typical of existing practices in engineering education. An action research method was used to guide the development of curriculum and teaching practices because of the role of action research in providing support for teachers to improve their educational understandings and practices. The study examines two action research cycles of curriculum development, teaching and learning during 1995. Qualitative research methods were used to investigate teachers' and students' experiences of teaching and learning to inform the progressive curriculum improvement and evaluation. The findings from the study provide insight into both the characteristics of PBL that enhance the quality of students' learning and strategies that contribute to an on-going process of supporting change and improvement in curriculum and teaching practices. Students identified four thematic issues that were central to their motivation and engagement in learning. These issues were: being able to see the relevance of their learning to their future careers, collaborative learning in class and their project teams, their opportunities for active involvement and input into learning decisions, and a supportive learning environment in which they received guidance and feedback on their progress. Teaching and learning in the PBL curriculum was a new and challenging experience for both engineering teachers and students. The collaborative action research process assisted teachers to develop the skills and confidence to utilise new approaches to teaching and learning. The relevance of these findings to achieving the cultural change advocated by the 1996 Review of Engineering Education (lEAust 1996) is examined.
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ItemHearing their stories : students' experiences of harassment prior to and after the implementation of a revised anti-harassment policy at their school( 2003)In 2000 the researcher in this current study facilitated a working group that revised and redeveloped the existing anti-harassment policy at her school. Surveys conducted across the school community at the time indicated that bullying was prevalent at the school, fixing it firmly on the school's educational agenda. Two years later, the researcher was interested in exploring if and how this redeveloped policy had impacted on students who had previously experienced bullying in the school. The study focuses on six students' stories about their experiences of harassment prior to and after the implementation of the revised anti-harassment policy. A qualitative research methodology was chosen for this study given that the researcher was interested in exploring personal experience. In order to uncover the in-depth reflections sought, semi-structured interviews were chosen as the primary source of data collection. Each student was interviewed twice over a period of three months. A theme that emerged from the study was that although most of the participants are still experiencing harassment, their experiences of harassment have changed in terms of the frequency of the harassment, the intensity of the harassment and the number of students perpetrating the harassment. In describing their current experiences of harassment, the participants spoke more positively about school and their ability to take action. Questions were raised in this study about the wisdom of commonly used strategies for dealing with harassment such as ignoring the harassment and asking a perpetrator to stop, strategies which the participants found to be unsuccessful. Can students be taught specific skills to implement these strategies successfully? Do these strategies actually stop harassment? Is the promotion of such strategies inconsistent with a view that combating bullying is the school community's responsibility not the individual's? An area perceived as important by the participants was the role of teachers in supporting students and resolving bullying incidents. The participants' stories indicate great variation in how staff perceive their role in dealing with harassment, and how staff interpret and enact the policy. The participants reported that counsellors and other staff members in positions of responsibility are proactive but that some other staff displayed poor attitudes, did not take verbal harassment seriously and treated it as a joke. The study also highlighted that the anti-harassment policy cannot necessarily change the culture of the school on its own and that the school needs to approach harassment on a variety of levels including the professional development of all staff, the skilling of victims with a focus on improving self-esteem and empowering them to tell someone about harassment, and the inclusion of curriculum-based resources which all students can access. Constantly promoting the policy, making it more accessible and displaying it in more prominent places was also thought to be important. As well as indicating issues that require further attention, these insights shape the direction for the future refinement and development of the school's approach to bullying.
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ItemSuccessful school leadership in Victoria: a case study of the principal of a government secondary school( 2005)This thesis reports the findings from a case study of a successful principal in a Victorian government secondary school. The subject of this case study is VF, the Principal of BW Secondary College a school that has demonstrated success on many fronts, with most attributed to the principal's leadership and vision. She was described as making a significant difference to the learning outcomes of students in her school and also increasing the student numbers at the school. The Principal was seen to have provided a vision of `BW's Personal Best'. There were high expectations of academic rigour being part of the culture. The principal's leadership was viewed as a central part of the school, important for school survival and curriculum development. Parents acknowledged the principal's strong, energetic, collaborative leadership style and her decision making process. This assisted the principal to implement and share her vision as she had gained the community's trust. Overall, there was consensus that the school was successful for the following reasons: the high VCE (Year 12) results; the fact that staff and students felt it was a safe school; that it was well run, with an `infrastructure like a well oiled machine'; that students had a strong work ethic; that there was strong leadership from the top; that the Principal had a clear vision which was consistently reinforced; that there were high expectations of both staff and students and that all staff understood what needed to be done; and finally, that there was an agreed philosophy of where the school was going.
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ItemCritical thinking, culture and context: an investigation of teaching and learning in introductory macroeconomics( 2001)This study is an investigation of a critical thinking task, Critical and Analytical Learning in Macroeconomics (CALM), in its educational setting. CALM is an assessment task in a first year subject in an Australian university. The study takes into account the context of student learning, situated as it is within the discourses of Western tertiary education and the academic discipline of economics. Into the teaching environment, students bring with them their own previous learning experiences and cultural understandings. The study explores the relationship between the teaching context and the students' own background and the effect that this relationship has on learning. In particular, this study explores critical thinking as described by the students of Introductory Macroeconomics, the designers of the CALM project and the tutors. Two groups of students are considered in this study, local English speaking students and international Chinese speaking students. These two groups are significant in the student population in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce in which this study took place. Interviews were used to collect data from the designers of the CALM project and the students. A focus group and an interview were used to collect data from the tutors. From the data a three level model of critical thinking emerged. This model was informed by the three conceptualisations of critical thinking found the literature. The CALM designers' understandings of critical thinking had a profound influence on the ways in which critical thinking was perceived by the students, both local and international. Students' notions of critical thinking were shaped by the guidelines on critical thinking given to them by their lecturer. Although international students reported that they found the critical thinking task unfamiliar and that this difficulty was compounded by learning in a second language, they still described critical thinking in similar ways to their local counterparts. This similarity can be explained largely by the effort that the international students put into adapting to their new learning environment. Although the tutors had some divergent notions of critical thinking, their ideas had little influence on the students' understandings of critical thinking owing to the constraints of the subject and its assessment practices. This study signals the need for clear conceptualisation of complex notions such as critical thinking and for explicit teaching, modelling and scaffolding of what critical thinking involves. It also points to the need for an unpacking of the assumptions surrounding academic tasks, in this case critical thinking. In addition the study points to the limitations of critical thinking presented to students.
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ItemWhat are the perceptions of changes in teacher and student use of information and communication technologies during the implementation of the Learning Technology Strategy Plan at a Victorian Catholic secondary college?( 2001)This research used an interactive evaluation methodology, to evaluate the impact of the Learning Technology Strategy Plan at a Victorian Catholic Secondary College on the classroom use of learning technologies by teachers and the extent to which learning technologies are used within all key learning areas. It gathers the perceptions of changes in teacher and student use of information and communication technologies through a teacher survey and a series of group and individual interviews of teachers, students and school leaders. The research found that the Learning Technology Strategy Plan had a significant impact on the use of learning technologies within the College. Students were openly accepting of the use of learning technologies in all key learning areas and wanted to use technology when it was available. There was a range of perceptions presented by staff members about the implementation of learning technologies in the classroom, with the majority extremely willing and capable to some staff reluctant and unsure. The research found that access to reliable and appropriate learning technologies needs to be improved. That teachers and students believe that they use learning technologies well when it is provided appropriately and is in working order. Schools are in the cusp of significant change and need to embrace learning technologies as part of the future schools agenda.
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ItemPeer mediation training in the middle years of schooling( 2003)This project investigates the role played by peer mediation training in assisting students in Year 8 to manage their own conflicts and relationships a year later. The study focused on two students who underwent the training as mediators rather than the disputants. The study is based on the recognition that students in Years 7 to 9 should understand that conflict is a natural part of life and they need to be able to manage their conflicts constructively to improve their interpersonal relationships as well as their self-esteem. My experiences of students dealing with conflict had been that students often avoided the conflict, referred the problem on to someone else (usually the teacher) or engaged in destructive behaviours such as fighting or self-blame. Too often an adult resolves the conflicts, and the consequences are often punitive. Peer Mediation is a working model that is designed to assist students to resolve conflicts through discussion and integrative negotiation procedures. The School Counsellor and I implemented the program to address our concerns about how students dealt with conflict and the amount of time that teachers were spending in dealing with minor disputes. A case study methodology was chosen as the main research technique focussing on the students' descriptions of their experiences of the peer mediation training they underwent a year ago, and how they manage their own conflicts and relationships now. It was found that the types of conflicts experienced in the Middle School Years involved mainly verbal harassment, gossip and rumor spreading and relationships. Belonging to group and finding one's place was of high importance in Year 7 and usually established by Year 9. The study found that peer mediation training is a valuable tool for enabling a school to meet its duty to assist students with conflict resolution skills in situations beyond the classroom such as school camps and attending alternative campuses. The students at this School attended an overseas campus for five weeks and they felt they were experiencing similar conflicts they had in Year 7. The study showed that students remembered little about the training steps but realized the importance of problem-solving skills and effective communication to brainstorm solutions to create win- win situations. There was some transference of these skills to situations involving their siblings and friends outside of school. In order to ensure students manage conflicts in constructive ways this study recommends that school environments should provide a cooperative rather than a competitive/individualistic context. Within cooperative situations, communication tends to be open and honest, trust is built and maintained, and disputants are orientated toward joint outcomes. Furthermore, conflict resolution programmes such as peer mediation need to be integrated within the school's Middle School Years structure such as a Personal Development programme and extended into its academic subjects. The school's Student Support Services could coordinate it.