Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 15
-
ItemThe attitudes and concerns of Catholic parish primary school principals and teachers toward the integration of students with disabilities into regular schools( 1997)This study was undertaken to identify' and compare the attitudes of Catholic Parish Primary School principals and teachers toward the integration of students with disabilities. The study also investigated variations in attitude toward integration for sub-groups of the principals and teachers. In addition, this study ascertained the concerns these educators have about the implementation of integration in their schools. A three part questionnaire was used to collect the data. It consisted of items relating to the background characteristics of the respondents and their schools, a modified version of the Attitude Toward Mainstreaming Scale (Berryman & Neal, 1980) and an open ended question eliciting educators' concerns about integration. Fifty five principals and 145 full time classroom teachers in the Northern Area of the Archdiocese of Melbourne responded to the questionnaire. T-tests were employed to compare the attitudes of the principals and teachers toward integration., Thematic analysis was used to examine the concerns of educators. Several major findings emerged from the study. Principals were found to hold more positive attitudes toward integration than classroom teachers. Principals were also significantly more positive than teachers toward the integration of students with severe disabilities. Younger principals held significantly more positive attitudes toward integration than older principals. No significant differences were identified for sub groups of the teacher sample. Similarity existed between the two groups of educators in terms of their expressed major concerns about integration. Lack of school based support personnel, funding and training, in that order, were recorded most frequently by both groups of educators.
-
ItemSecondary art teachers' perceptions of a regional art gallery( 2004)This study examines the view of five teachers in relation to their use of a regional gallery within their art program. Using qualitative inquiry, the study focuses on interviews with the gallery educator and five secondary teachers within the region. The key purpose of the study is to identify the value and reasons why teachers incorporate gallery visits into their teaching program.
-
ItemA contract with education : Alice Hoy, 1893-1976( 1988)This is a biographical approach to the personal and intellectual development of Alice Hoy, a development which in turn shaped her contribution to teacher education in Victoria. The period I have covered does not go beyond Hoy's retirement from the Education Department and is concerned with her professional life during that time. Her work as a committee woman on various educational boards and councils is not included. Hoy was a pupil at the private University High School in the first decade of this century; in her first degree, a BA at Melbourne University, her major study was History which she continued with her MA, and later study of Law confirmed a natural tendency towards logical argument and gave her an LLB. After taking her Dip.Ed., Hoy became a teacher with the Education Department at the old University Practising School, and from there was invited to do Method lecturing at the School of Education at the University of Melbourne. Her early contribution to teacher education was made through her lectures at the School of Education and at the Melbourne Teachers' College as well as through the practical work at UHS, while her textbook on civics was used widely in schools. Her appointment is the first Principal of the Secondary Teachers' Training Centre was the high 'point of her career. She began the Centre, which became the Secondary Teachers' College, in 1950, and remained Principal until her retirement at the beginning of 1958.
-
ItemWhat are the objectives of the State College of Victoria at Frankston courses as perceived by students, lecturing staff (education), and teachers in the field( 1975)The purpose of this study was to investigate the Objectives of the State College of Victoria at Frankston as perceived by students, lecturing staff (in Education) and teachers in the field. The number of cases used was 227, including 25 first year private students, 40 first year studentship holders, 25 third year studentship holders, as well as 23 College education staff and 114 supervising teachers, of which only 61 replies were of value. The subjects were required to complete an open ended questionnaire on what they believed 'are' the objectives of the S.C.V. and what 'should be' the objectives. An inspection of the responses was made by using Content Analysis. It appeared that the responses fell into three fairly clearly defined areas of Objectives, viz. Professional, Academic and Personal Development. Further examination of the data indicated that an item had a positive or negative valence, i.e., the respondent indicated approval or disapproval of the item as an Objective. The Objectives were raw scored, and the frequency of mention was converted to percentages of the whole group being scored. This was done for both +ve and -ve valence, thus indicating whether a respondent was critical of or favourable to the perceived College Objectives. Further data was obtained by asking College lecturers and teachers in the field to rate on a scale +5 to -5 whether the College was doing what it should be doing in achieving College Objectives. The findings indicate that there is general agreement about the current levels of professional objectives as perceived by the different groups. there is consistent demand for more professional studies, except from college lecturers in Education. Colleges are seen by all groups as having an academic content which should be decreased markedly at all levels. Colleges are recognised as having a low personal development level which all but critical teachers agree needs to be significantly increased.
-
ItemTeacher stress in day special schools for intellectually disabled students( 1987)The purpose of this study was three-fold to identify a) the sources of teacher stress b) the extent of teacher stress and c) the perceived health problems related to stress among 111 teachers in Victorian Day Special schools for intellectually disabled students. A confidential self report questionnaire based on the design context and measures of that used by Dr Rosemarie Otto was administered to teachers in six schools five of which were located in the Melbourne Metropolitan Area and one in a country town. Implicit to the design of the study was the assumption that teachers can provide reliable reports of their perceptions as to the sources of stress related to their work. The definition of stress used in this study was an alteration of physical and psychological homeostasis resulting from aspects of the teacher's job which are perceived as threats to the individual's well being and self esteem because they a) do not meet his/her needs or expectations or b) make demands which are beyond his/her resources to cope. There were four general findings. A significantly smaller percentage of teachers in Special schools perceive their job as 'highly stressful' (12/) when compared with the findings of Otto's studies of High Technical and Primary school teachers which consistently found more than 337. The major stressors for the Special Education teachers in this study were 1) disturbed and anti-social student behaviour 2) time and work-load pressures 3) problems related to the dual roles of work and home 4) negative community attitudes towards teachers and intellectually disabled students 5) a perceived alienation from the Ministry of Education and 6) aspects related to school administrative structures and staff tensions. The most commonly reported symptoms and medical conditions experienced (respiratory and throat) were closely aligned with those found by Otto. A small group (approximately 12/) of the Special educators perceived many aspects of teaching stressful and that these stresses occurred frequently The perceptions of this small group of teachers accounted for between a third and a half of all teacher reports of stress. Some aspects of being a Special Education teacher stress most teachers and should be alleviated Some teachers are stressed by most aspects of teaching and may well be advised to reconsider their vocation.
-
ItemA comparative study of three state colleges of Victoria - Burwood, Frankston, Toorak, 1973-1976( 1977)On the 25 October 1972, Lindsay Thompson, the minister for Education, introduced into the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian State Parliament a Bill that was to create the State College of Victoria. Under this legislation the State Teachers' Colleges ceased to be administered by the Education Department and became an autonomous body in tertiary education. The aim of this thesis is to study the background to the formation of this institution. To look at the struggle for independence fought by individuals and associations connected with the Teachers' colleges and the lengthy enquiries and official panels established by the government. Chapters two, three and four are studies of three constituent colleges of the S.C.V., Burwood, Frankston and Toorak, in regard to their courses, staffing, organization and finance. following the gathering of this material an attempt is made to juxtapose these elements of the three colleges during the first three years of their independence, to try to establish similarities and differences in the data gathered. Comparative analysis is then attempted to draw conclusions regarding the progress, objectives, growth or setbacks the colleges have experienced and to try and establish why such results are evident. Finally two major questions are discussed. What is the future of the State College of Victoria system and what is the future of the individual colleges under study. To try and fathom out these problems the opinions of several people closely connected with the S.C.V. system and the Victorian Education Department were sought. The answers to both questions at this stage remain suppositions for they are presently under formal review by two State Government committees.
-
ItemProfessional development of teachers and its contribution towards creating a learning community: a case study( 2002)This thesis examined the professional development programs available for teachers in service at a Victorian independent school and the contribution of these programs towards creating a learning community. A learning community was described for the purpose of this thesis as a successful shape of an organisation that is continually expanding its capacities. In order for schools to achieve that, transformation in teachers' perceptions of their own learning and professional growth must occur, and professional development of teachers should be embedded in their practice and anchored in their day-to-day life. Through a qualitative case study approach, the investigation explored teachers' attitudes and perceptions towards their learning, the professional development programs available to them and the contributions of these to the development of the school as a learning community. The research was concerned with identifying what is an effective professional development program from the perceptions of participants, and the characteristics of the school as a learning community. The study aimed at informing both the implementation of appropriate professional development programs and future policy formulation at the school under study, as well as challenging teachers' perceptions of their learning and role. Participants from the case study were interviewed using open-ended interview questions. The analysis of responses showed that participants perceived themselves as lifelong learners, understood their role as educators in a rapidly changing environment and preferred professional development programs that were embedded in their daily life to meet their needs and those of their students. Findings also showed that the school's leadership role had a significant impact on the learning that occurred at personal, interpersonal and organisational levels.
-
ItemTeacher stress in secondary technical education( 1990)A questionnaire survey was used to investigate the prevalence and sources of stress, and coping actions, among 107 teachers from five inner suburban secondary technical schools in Melbourne. The study examined relationships between perceived teacher stress levels, certain biographical characteristics (gender, age, full-time teaching experience, classification, teaching area, previous part-time teaching experience, academic qualifications, and teaching qualifications), the personality dimension of "external locus of control" (as measured using the Rotter (1966) Internal-External (I-E) locus of control scale), three 'indicators' or response correlates of teacher stress (job satisfaction, absenteeism, and intention to leave teaching), sources of stress, and perceived ways of coping with stress. In particular, the study investigated the role of teacher biographical characteristics and the role of the teacher's belief in external control in the experience of perceived occupational stress, and looked critically at their respective usefulness in explaining any differences in the various stress experiences. Self-reported teacher stress was found to be negatively associated with job satisfaction (r=-0.34; p<0.01) and positively associated with both absenteeism (r=0.19; p<0.05) and intention to leave teaching (r=0.29; p<0.01). A principal components analysis of the source of stress, followed by varimax rotation, yielded four factors, labelled: 'Student Resistance', 'Professional Constraints', 'Time and Work Constraints', and 'Work Pressures'. A similar factor analysis of the coping actions yielded a three-factor solution. The factors were labelled: 'Personal Direct Actions', 'Psycho-Somatic Actions', and 'Interpersonal Actions'. Factor scores were generated and analysed for both sources of stress and coping actions. Significant differences were found for some biographical characteristics: gender, teaching area, and academic qualifications with the stress factor "Time and Work Constraints"; age with the coping factor "Interpersonal Actions". No significant differences were found for external locus of control (belief in external control) with stress factor perceptions while weak but significant associations were found for the coping factor perceptions "Personal Direct Actions" and "Interpersonal Actions". Significant differences were found for some response correlates: 'intention to leave teaching' and 'job satisfaction' with the stress factor "Student Resistance"; 'job satisfaction' with coping factors "Psycho-Somatic Actions" and "Interpersonal Actions". For the sample studied, the results indicated that student issues were clearly the major sources of stress for most teachers and that about one-in-four teachers were "highly stressed". The selected biographical characteristics, although bearing little relationship to overall self-reported teacher stress, did partially explain stress factor perceptions and coping factor perceptions of teachers. On the other hand, 'external locus of control', as measured by Rotter's (1966) I-E locus of control scale, was found to be an inappropriate personality variable for use in most considerations of the stress perceptions of teachers. Stress factor perceptions reflected the multidimensionality of the stress concept and were found to be relatively independent measures of perceived teacher stress. Further research in these and other areas was suggested.
-
ItemAn ethnographic analysis and survey of specific attitudes of physical education teachers( 1984)Stage One utilizes an ethnographic approach by researching four teachers of physical education who graduated from Melbourne University in 1960, 1965, 1970 and 1975. Case studies were written on the four subjects. The teachers differed in their attitudes towards students with the more experienced teachers who were married and had children displaying a more caring and concerned disposition towards their pupils. It was evident that throughout his career a physical education teacher will display varying degrees of enthusiasm for his work, with the experienced teachers in this study being more enthusiastic. In addition they did not rely on strong disciplinary methods and had gradually moved away from a basic survival and control tendency which was a characteristic of the less experienced teacher. Generally, the more experienced teacher had greater job satisfaction than his less experienced counterpart. Ideas, principles, and hypotheses were generated from the ethnographic work in stage one and were used to formulate the traditional research attempted in stage two of this study. Thirty-six teachers of physical education from Education Department Secondary Schools within Victoria responded to the survey (85 percent response vote) which sought information concerning teacher attitudes, teacher enthusiasm and teacher reactions to particular issues central to their function as teachers of physical education. Data from the questionnaires was computed by the use of the Statistical Package for Social Science (Nie et al 1975). Analysis of the questionnaires involved the following statistics; mean, standard deviation, percentage, t-test and Pearson r correlation coefficients. The results revealed that the experienced physical education teacher who is married and has children will display a different set of attitudes towards the children whom he teaches than the less experienced, unmarried teacher of physical education. The enthusiasm level of teachers of physical education for their work varied greatly throughout their career. However, all teachers of physical education appear to follow the same pattern of changes in levels of enthusiasm, with subjects showing increased enthusiasm in early and late years of teaching and a drop in the level off enthusiasm in mid-career. This drop in the level of enthusiasm in mid-career seems due mainly to an increased emphasis by the teacher to his personal and family commitments.
-
ItemProfessional registration and advice in state education: a comparative study of the origins and roles of statutory bodies connected with registration and advice in the administration of education in New South Wales and Victoria( 1974)The provision of educational services is a major task of Australian state political systems. At various times, in efforts to moderate the bureaucratic tendencies of centralised administrations by bringing a wider range of opinion to bear on the administration of public education, bodies to advise the responsible minister, and Parliament in some cases, have been established. An examination of the work of the Council of Public Education in Victoria, established ostensibly for this purpose, reveals that there is a confusion over the role and influence of advise within a state political administrative structure. This inquiry postulates that there are two basic, but disparate, functions of advice: a political function where representatives of interest groups can put their views to the Minister, and an evaluative function where the policies and practices of the public sector are evaluated. The formation of the Council of Public Education was justified to the public in terms of the latter function, but other features of the Council, such as its representative membership, are more like those of a body with political functions. This disjunction between structure and function, together with a confusion over the extent and use of its powers, have rendered the Council ant: ineffectual evaluative advisory body. The attitudes of administrators and other interested parties towards. educational advisory bodies are illuminated' by an investigation of the origins of these bodies in Victoria and New South Wales. The comparison of developments in the two states indicates that the concept of an evaluative advisory body, operating free of administrative and political interference, is incompatible with the present system of centralised control of public education in these states.