Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemInvestigating the growth of teacher knowledge on teaching reading through a professional development program( 2007)This thesis is an investigation of the growth and development of teacher knowledge on teaching reading to students with reading difficulties. The effect of a professional development program was examined to achieve the aim of this study. Thirty preschool and elementary school teachers volunteered and attended a 10-day professional development seminar that focused on understanding the processes in learning to read, identifying and remediating reading difficulties. The teachers' subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge were tested using two separate tasks, before and after the professional development seminar. The data were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative data analyses procedures. The results indicate that a professional development seminar can significantly raise both teachers' subject matter and pedagogical knowledge on teaching concepts and procedures that research had earlier identified as essential for teaching reading. The results of investigating subject matter knowledge at pre-testing showed that there are clear gaps in what teachers know from what they should know. Particular concepts were identified to form part of what teachers know and concepts that are unknown to the teachers. The investigation of the growth of this knowledge showed that there are concepts that are more readily learned compared to others. The audit of teachers pedagogical knowledge at pre-testing revealed that teachers knew procedures that are consistent with the recommended teaching procedures for teaching literacy to students with literacy learning difficulties. The investigation of the growth of this teacher knowledge showed that there are teaching procedures that teachers have effectively learnt from the seminar. The investigation of the relationship between how teachers learn concepts for subject matter knowledge and procedures for pedagogical knowledge showed no relationship using statistical analyses. However, through qualitative analyses, the evidenced showed that the terms that teachers used on the instrument for investigating pedagogical knowledge revealed a strong relationship with subject matter knowledge growth. The teachers at post-testing showed a tendency to use concepts in literacy learning that they did not know at pre-testing. The evidence from this study lends support to notion that teachers learn new subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge in an integrated manner. From this study, recommendations for the development and implementation of professional development programs for teaching reading are drawn. The value of a solid knowledge base for such recommendations is underscored. Recommendations are also made with regards to improving efforts to investigating teacher knowledge as a means to improve educational practice.
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ItemClinical congruence : where graduate nurse clinical reality meets organisational clinical requirements( 2004)In the mid 1980s, education associated with the requirement for registration as a Nurse in the State of Victoria moved from a hospital-based system into the university setting. This move brought with it many and varied requirements for change within the health care setting. The students of nursing were now no longer a part of the workforce, they were transient visitors in the patient care setting with very specific clinical requirements to be met; and they were there for less time! This research project is not about whether this change in preparation should have occurred. It is well accepted amongst the profession that this was necessary to raise the status of the nursing professional. We now have registered nurses with a primary degree in nursing or health science. The question here however, is what clinical capacities do the newly graduates and registered nurses have when they enter the clinical workforce, and what clinical capacities are required by the health care institutions that are employing them. Have these institutions an accurate and realistic knowledge of the clinical capacities of the newly graduated registered nurses they employ? This research concentrated on the self-perceived and reported clinical capacities of newly graduated registered nurses as they entered the clinical environment and the clinical capacities required by the clinical areas that employed them. Clinical congruence was then measured between these two sources. The findings demonstrated that in a supported environment, where graduates can expect and receive clinical support and mentorship, clinical congruence:is likely to be achieved. However, in an environment where clinical skills are required to be undertaken at an unsupervised level, there were a significant number of distinct clinical skills for which the graduates report unpreparedness. Graduates and Nurse Managers alike agreed that increased clinical experience during the undergraduate preparation time is optimal, but the universities indicated that the fiscal and chronological constraints of a three-year degree program, in an environment where there is a cost incurred for the clinical experience, is difficult to achieve. This research demonstrates, in a tangible way, the need for a supported Graduate Transition Program to facilitate the consolidation and / or achievement of clinical competency for the graduates as they enter the workforce. This support will assist in ensuring the maintenance of a dynamic nursing workforce into the 21st century to meet the needs of the Victorian community at a time when it is most vulnerable during the period of ill health.
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ItemOf secrets, sorrows, and shame: undergraduate nurses' experiences of death and dying( 2007)This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of undergraduate nursing students who cared for the dying and deceased whilst on clinical placement. To this point, studies on this phenomenon have focused on the experienced, qualified nurse. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the impacts of caring for the dying and deceased, on the student-nurse, and the implications for nursing education. The ten study participants were undergraduates enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing program at a metropolitan-based university in Melbourne. The study of their experiences, from the perspectives of the student-nurses, was conducted using a semi-structured interview for data collection. Analysis of the data, using a Miles and Huberman (1994) style matrix, revealed four emergent themes: intensity of emotion; perceptions, growth and awareness; and opportunities. These themes were explored to yield results which established there were often profound, and sometimes disturbing, impacts of grief for both the student-nurse, the patient, and others. This study contributes to the This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of undergraduate nursing students who cared for the dying and deceased whilst on clinical placement. To this point, studies on this phenomenon have focused on the experienced, qualified nurse. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the impacts of caring for the dying and deceased, on the student-nurse, and the implications for nursing education.