Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemTeachers' storytelling techniques and comprehension of narratives in Singaporean preschool children( 2004)There is growing body of evidence supporting the many connections between competent comprehension of narratives and the effective use of storytelling strategies. This study d?fines the cluster of concepts related to storytelling and narrative comprehension in young children and synthesizes the research on the role of storytelling in children's language development, in this case, the development of narrative comprehension. A critical review on storytelling beliefs and practices of preschool teachers in Singapore revealed that the espoused theories of the benefits of effective storytelling have not been distinguished from their own practices in the classrooms. This is due to a set of mitigating circumstances. The study notes the teachers' changing attitudes towards the use of more engaging storytelling techniques as emerging evidence suggest that a more engaging storytelling approach facilitates children's perspective taking and later abstract thought. This research also notes that there is a need for an inclusion of a more comprehensive storytelling course in the present Early Childhood training programme, thus identifying implications for understanding preschool teachers' development as storytellers. This study provides direction for further research in children's responses to storytelling.
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ItemMultidimensional thinking( 2008)Thinking permeates our lives. Yet it remains mostly invisible and difficult to describe what we mean by it. This thesis clarifies the main schools of thought on thinking in education and proposes a framework which accurately describes the experience of thinking. As educators, our understanding of thinking influences not only the way we teach it but also how we assess and evaluate it. A disparate definition of thinking means disparate outcomes both in the context of education and the wider society. This thesis provides a clearer way forward by describing thinking as Multidimensional, consisting of three dimensions (critical, creative and positive affective) and one meta-dimension (metacognitive thinking). Extracts from idea centred dialogues will be analysed to illustrate Multidimensional thinking. The Community of Inquiry will be proposed as the ideal environment for the development of Multidimensional thinking because it makes thinking visible. Understanding thinking as Multidimensional is just as complex as conceiving of thinking in a critical thinking framework but it is far more accurate in describing the experience of thinking. The Multidimensional thinking framework encourages changes in teacher pedagogy and the thinking oriented curriculum.
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ItemThe parent-child mother goose program : a case study of a family-centred early intervention literacy initiative( 2006)Research related to early childhood education and development indicates the importance of the quality of social services provided to children in the early years. The Parent-Child Mother Goose study looks at the effectiveness of an early childhood program as a preventative intervention for children with additional needs through action research. The study was conducted over two cycles during 2005. It uncovers the characteristics of the Mother Goose Program; the role of the professional; and the effects of the intervention on parents and children. The study also introduces some of the most important concepts in early childhood education which include: Parent-Focused Programs, Family-Centred Practice, Inclusive Practice, and Retention in Early Intervention. Last the research examines the gaps in the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program and discusses issues such as: Concept Clarity, Cultural Competence, Access and Participation, Follow ups and Feedback, Fathers in the Early Years and Evaluation in Early Childhood Programs. The research addresses each issue separately and provides future recommendations for early childhood professionals in the context of a small scale study. The research concludes that the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program is an affective preventative intervention for parents and children who are committed to consistent participation.
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ItemPractice MRI: analysis of an educational play therapy intervention in the practice MRI unit at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne( 2008)Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a common investigation performed on young children who are required to keep still for up to 60 minutes for the study to be performed successfully. Paediatric patients often find the confined space, noise, need to lie still and potential for intravenous contrast, anxiety provoking and which may be so distressing that they are unable to cope. General anaesthesia (GA) is then required to ensure diagnostic images are achieved. It was believed by staff in the Departments of Educational Play Therapy and Medical Imaging at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, that an intervention which supported children to develop understandings of the MRI process and appropriate coping strategies would allow more children to undergo MRI without the need for a GA. With this in mind, a practice MRI intervention, conducted by Educational Play Therapists was developed. The intervention was carried out in a practice MRI unit, a shell of an MRI, devoid of magnets. This study was to review if gender, age, time between practice and clinical MRI, time of day the clinical MRI occurs or the child's position in the MRI unit, would impact a child's ability to cope with the rigors of a practice MRI and go onto achieve diagnostic scans in a clinical MRI scan. Data was analysed by quantitative methodologies. Participants totalled 291(N), mean age 7.9 years. 240 (82.5%) were considered a pass at practice and 226 (90.8% of those who went on to a clinical intervention) were able to obtain diagnostic images at clinical MRI. None of the hypotheses was confirmed, but this is in itself interesting. The discussion suggests possible reasons for the non-confirmation of the hypotheses and proposes further areas for quantitative and qualitative research.
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ItemAn exploration of gender-neutral picture book characters with young children( 2007)This study explored the use of gender-neutral characters in children's picture books with young children. The use of gender-neutral characters (characters that appear to be of indeterminate gender and display no `markers' that identify them as being either male or female) has increased in children's books with little research on the use of these characters with young children. Of the research that has been conducted, the majority has been conducted within developmental discourses. This study framed an exploration of these characters using concepts from both developmental discourses and feminist poststructuralist discourses to explore young children's reception of these characters and the possibilities and limitations using these concepts to explore gender-neutral characters created. A small-scale qualitative approach was employed with observations and interviews conducted with a group of nine preschool aged children. The conclusions both supported past research specifically around the use of gender stereotypes influencing the assignment of gender to gender-neutral characters and also challenged past research around the role of the concept of egocentric thinking in assignment of gender to gender-neutral characters by young children. It has also been highlighted how the use of concepts drawn from feminist poststructuralist discourses could add to and expand explorations around this topic.