Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemChinese/Anglo-Celtic bicultural children's education experiences in Australia( 2001)This study explores, through three case studies, how home, school and community factors have influenced the education and development experiences of Chinese/Anglo-Celtic bicultural children attending Australian schools. The worldwide lack of previous research on the education of bicultural children and the high outmarriage rate of Chinese-Australian women make it important to understand whether Chinese/Anglo-Celtic children experience similar or different education problems to those experienced by monocultural minority and mainstream children The data was collected from parents and children through questionnaires and individual interviews conducted at each family home. All the participant families were referred to the researcher by colleagues and were previously unknown to the researcher. The findings indicate that the children's home environments have influenced the varying levels of their Chinese and Australian cultural values and language skills. However, they all generally appear psychologically stable and have successfully integrated into their respective schools and mainstream society.
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ItemFace-to-face : cross-cultural communication with Somali-speaking parents( 2008)This research thesis reports on an investigation of cross-cultural communication at one Victorian primary school, at which the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the staff and a sizeable proportion of the parents differ markedly. This qualitative, case study investigated the perspectives of one group of parents, all from a Somali speaking background, and school staff about the current levels of cross-cultural communication and how these key stakeholders believed home/school links could be improved. Data for this investigation were gathered from parent participants through group and individual interviews, some of which were conducted in Somali with the assistance of a bilingual research assistant. Consideration of these participants' vulnerable social status (Liamputtong, 2007), was an important aspect of this research process thus ensuring these parents, seldom heard within the school environment, had the opportunity to express their opinions and relate their experiences of cross-cultural communication with school staff. The data collection process, therefore, provides a model for excellent cross-cultural communication between an institution, such as a school, and a marginalised parent community. Written questionnaires, comprising open-ended and some ranked questions were used to investigate staff perspectives of cross-cultural communication. This was followed by a group interview with some staff members in which issues were discussed with greater depth. This research project revealed that the low-levels of cross-cultural communication noted at this school are not an indication of the level of goodwill held by Somali-speaking parents and school staff. On the contrary, all participants expressed a strong desire to learn more about the other and for communication levels to improve, recognising the importance of strong home/school links in improving educational outcomes for students. Through the suggestions, opinions and experiences of participants, a series of recommendations are made in this report, so that the momentum of improved communication, initiated by the research project, might be continued at the school, or within similar educational contexts.
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ItemA Case study of retention policy strategies and their impact on Weixi Lisu ethnic minority students, Yunnan Province, the PRC( 2003)The overall aim of this research is to explore the current national and provincial ethnic minority education policies related to retention rates and their implementation strategies, together with their impact on the ethnic minority groups in Yunnan Province in the 1990s. As Yunnan Province has strong representation of 25 ethnic minority groups in the People's Republic of China within its population, the problems associated with ethnic minority education is particularly relevant and complex. One of the most serious issues to emerge in the education of ethnic minority groups is the high dropout rate resulting in low school retention rates. This thesis, in particular, focuses on the Weixi Lisu schooling retention rates in Weixi Lisu Autonomous County of Yunnan Province, the People's Republic of China in order to explore the specific factors that affected retention rates, and the ways in which the implementation strategies impacted on Weixi Lisu. As a result, policies and strategies to improve the Weixi Lisu schooling retention rates are recommended to assist the provincial government to design policies to increase the retention rates of ethnic minority students in Yunnan Province. A contextual analysis includes a discussion of Yunnan's geographical location, its socio-economic development and the factors associated with ethnic minority groups' education. The literature, then, provides an insight into ethnic students' education and retention issues. It focuses on the low retention rates in Weixi Lisu Autonomous County. From the literature review questions emerging included: What are the factors that affect retention rates? What policy strategies have been effective in increasing the retention rates? How do low school retention rates impact on the Weixi Lisu community? Within the qualitative paradigm, the research questions, methodology and interview schedule are discussed. Five themes emerged from the analysis of the data. It was found that a basic cause of low retention rates is the lack of economic development, which expresses itself in a high level of poverty. The main fording is explored and examined within the context of the literature research. It is a key recommendation that overcoming poverty and developing self-management of schools at the local level would improve the enrolment rate and retention rate. This research provides valuable information for those involved in education planning, education policymaking within the Yunnan Education Commission and Ethnic Minority Affairs of Yunnan Province, and for other governments interested in these policy issues. Researchers in the areas of education and culture who would ford this valuable resource.