Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemReporting on school performance in Victoria, an international perspective and implications for school leadership( 1996)Social, economic, cultural and political trends can change in nature and importance over time and influence government schools systems. The degree of precision and the style with which the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a government school system monitors school performance varies over time and can be inconsistent with that which has been used by his predecessor. The government school systems of England and Victoria are examples of school systems that appear to have experienced similar stages of development and have shared similar social, economic, cultural and political trends. These changes have produced inconsistencies for schools in those systems over time. Employees within government school systems are required to respond quickly to changes in their roles and responsibilities. Field officers who work with schools on behalf of the CEO can become a liability to the school system as ambivalence towards their role develops in schools and as technology for reporting on financial matters as well as student achievement and other aspects of school performance improves. The feelings of those employed within a school system can be a major barrier to their coping with inconsistencies brought about by change. One view is that adaptation to this inconsistency can be assisted by having access to incentives to adjust to change or by having an understanding of one's own inconsistencies. Government school system organisation as well as leaders can influence the behaviour of teachers and students and therefore, arguably, influence school performance and how it is reported. Possible changes in the cognitive activity of principals and teachers that might be influenced by feelings and associated with ambivalence, can also be connected with the concepts of transactional and transformational leadership and school system organisation. It appears that, ultimately, the continued existence of government school systems might well depend upon the extent that schools within those systems accept the authority of the CEO.
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ItemHow leadership is manifested in Steiner schools( 2005)The purpose of this research was to determine how leadership is manifested in Steiner schools. These are schools with no principal or formal leadership structure. An intensive study was conducted of one independent, fee-paying Australian Steiner school catering for children aged 5 to 18. A descriptive case study methodology was used employing individual interviews with 10 staff members of the school, and document analysis. The administrative structure of the school was found to be much more complicated than that of a traditional school, although similar to Steiner schools in general. There were 21 mandated groups that existed in order to administer the school, the most notable being the College Of Teachers. The operation of the school was best described as a democracy. Benefits of the school structure included a feeling of inclusion in the leadership and management of the school, the opportunities for many staff to assume roles of responsibility in mandated groups and an adaptability of the organisation. Problems found included a lack of clarity of roles, resistance to leadership and the time to make decisions. Leadership was found to be highly democratic, with no official leader in the organisation. However, there was found to be an unofficial leadership structure based on merit and experience, with several prominent individuals identified, and one in particular. The research is significant in that it has explored an alternative school leadership structure - one that is problematic but also has significant benefits.
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ItemAn investigation into early childhood science within an emergent curriculum framework( 1997)A considerable interest in the concept of emergent curriculum has been generated by the early childhood centres of Reggio Emilia in Italy. This study traces the progress of a science project on spiders in an Australian early childhood centre which purports to have an emergent curriculum. In particular, this study sought to answer the question: What form does a science learning project take in an early childhood class that purports to have an emergent curriculum philosophy? What are the processes involved? What are the roles of the main players? Was this curriculum truly an emergent one? How did it fit with the different perspectives being taken to emergent curriculum in the literature? Did science learning take place? How did this learning fit with current views on science learning in the literature? Using a participant observation approach, this study looks at factors that characterise the processes and the players in this project and considers these in the context of current views on emergent curriculum and early childhood science. Results indicate that while the curriculum in this centre was clearly ‘emergent’, it differed in some minor aspects from both the Reggio Emilia model and the American model of emergent curriculum. The approach used was consistent with the social constructivist approach to science teaching and was clearly conductive to the children's science learning. The study shows that emergent curriculum is a very appropriate approach for science learning.
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ItemThe network nation : the relevance of this for possible educational and general public administrative structures and strategies in the 1980s and 90s( 1983)In this thesis consideration is given to the inter-relationships between a number of key concepts and reports in educational and general public administration which have been produced over the last decade. Networking is the inter-connecting concept. In the first half of the thesis the emphasis is on the current relationships between the key themes and educational and general public administrative structures and strategies. In the second half a variation on the “brainstorming” technique (involving purely the author rather than a group of individuals) has been used to produce a scenario of possible educational and general public administrative structures and strategies in the 1980s and 90s (with and emphasis on the possible inter-relationships between these structures and strategies, the key themes, and communication networks) A case study then follows which links the key themes and the scenario by including discussion of one senior educational administrator’s perceptions of probable futures for a particular education system. It is concluded that there is great potential for new technologies to assist with the restructuring of educational and general public administration. Recommendations on how this could be achieved are given.
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ItemThe work of the denominational and national boards of education in Victoria 1850-1862( 1965)Any historian has many difficult decisions to make concerning his choice of material, for the educational historian the problem is no less difficult. Should be concentrate on the complex issue of relations between church and state which influence both education and the life of the whole community, or should he allow his educational interests to anchor him in the classroom itself, and so develop a history of pedagogies which only rarely asks what is happening in the wider community? Should he take some issue, such as teacher training or inspection, and trace it through a period of time, or should he endeavour to see the way in which various activities are carried on in a more limited period? Both these vertical and horizontal views of history are necessary, for without the one history can appear static, and without the other the interaction of various forces can often be ignored.
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ItemThe roles actors perform: role-play and reality in a higher education context( 2006-07)This thesis undertakes a description and analysis of the way in which Australian higher education students perform roles through the use of online role-play systems at the University of Melbourne. It includes a description of two case studies: DRALE Online, developed in 1997, and The Campaign, developed in 2003. The research undertakes a detailed study of The Campaign, using empirical data derived from classroom observations, online communications, and semi-structured interviews. It undertakes a qualitative analysis of these data using an interpretive approach informed by models drawn from social theory and sociotechnical theory. Educational authors argue that online educational role-plays engage students in authentic learning, and represent an improvement over didactic teaching strategies. According to this literature, online role-play systems afford students the opportunity of acting and doing instead of only reading and listening. Literature in social theory and social studies of technology takes a different view of certain concepts such as performance, identity and reality. Models such as actor-network theory ask us to consider all actors in the sociotechnical network in order to understand how society and technology are related. This thesis examines these concepts by addressing a series of research questions, such as how students become engaged with identities, how identities are mediated, and the extent to which roles in these role-plays are shaped by the system, the scenario, and the agency of the actors themselves.
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ItemAn insight into student understanding of functions in a graphing calculator environment( 2003)The introduction of graphing calculators into senior secondary schools and mandating of their use in high stakes assessment makes student expertise in finding a complete graph of a function essential. This thesis investigated the cognitive, metacognitive, mathematical, and technological processes senior secondary students used in seeking a complete graph of a difficult cubic function. A pretest of function knowledge was administered to two mixed ability classes in their final two years of secondary school. Five pairs of experienced users of TI-83 or 82 graphing calculators from these classes were audio and videotaped solving a problem task. Protocols were constructed and subjected to intensive qualitative macroanalysis and microanalysis using tools developed by the researcher from Schoenfeld’s work. The findings were: (1)all students demonstrated understanding of the local and global nature of functions and the synthesis of these in determining a complete graph; (2) a range of mathematical and graphing calculator knowledge was applied in seeking a global view of the function with their combined application being more efficient and effective; (3) an understanding of automatic range scaling features facilitated efficient finding of a global view; (4) all pairs demonstrated having a clear mental image of the function sought and the possible positions of the calculator output relative to this; (5) students were able to resolve situations involving unexpected views of the graph to determine a global view; (6) students displayed understanding of local linearity of a function; (7) when working in the graphical representation, students used the algebraic but not the numerical representation to facilitate and support their solution; (8) scale marks were used to produce more elegant solutions and facilitate identification of key function features to produce a sketch but some students misunderstood the effect of altering these; (9) pairs differed in the proportion of cognitive and metacognitive behaviours demonstrated with question asking during evaluation supporting decision making; (10) correct selection of xxi an extensive range of graphing calculator features and use of dedicated features facilitated efficient and accurate identification of coordinates of key function features.
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ItemThe role of school principals in implementing data led professional learning teams in Department of Education and Early Childhood Development schools, Victoria.( 2013)This investigation uses a case study of a Prep-12 college and its attempt to set up professional learning teams. The school is a Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) school based in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The school in question had been part of a Regional initiative called the ‘Achievement Improvement Zones’ and also participated in the Assessment Learning Partnerships program between the University of Melbourne’s Assessment Research Centre and DEECD. The research was conducted by a participant observer employed by DEECD as a teaching and learning coach at the school. Twenty staff members were interviewed and their data was analysed thematically and compared with reports developed from school visits to professional learning teams in 2009. The role of the leadership team (mainly the principal) was the main focus in examining how the school developed professional learning teams. This was measured against the leadership domains developed by Thomas Sergiovanni (2004). The research concurred with his findings about the domains of leadership in suggesting that three domains (educational, technical and human) are the most important when setting up Professional Learning Teams. In the case of the school under study, the human leadership domain appeared to be the most important.
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Item"BRIGHT Kids" (Ballarat region's intellectually gifted and highly talented kids) : the background and establishment of a parent support group and teacher network for gifted and talented children in the Ballarat area( 1996)The study is an historical account of the formation of a parent and teacher network for gifted and talented children in the Ballarat area, named BRIGHT Kids [Ballarat Region’s Intellectually Gifted and Highly Talented Kids]. A case study approach was used with the researcher being the founder and therefore a participant observer in the development of the group. To obtain an evaluation of the setting up and development of the group, a questionnaire was sent to all who had attended BRIGHT Kids meetings. Conclusions were drawn from a consideration of the author’s perspective and the responses from the questionnaire.
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ItemA breath of fresh air: social marginalisation and wellbeing. Exploring an outdoor pedagogical approach to learning to promote self-esteem and engagement( 2013)This study investigates an alternative outdoor learning strategy used to address issues of engagement and performance in a disadvantaged regional school in Western Australia. Through exploring the impact of such strategies we may gain an insight into the value of such approaches in promoting wellbeing and, in turn, education outcomes. Increasing cases of stress and other mental health related illnesses are a cause for national concern (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010). Interestingly the AIHW (2010) identifies marginalised Australians as a group at risk, having shorter life span than groups of greater economic advantage. Kappos (2007) among others (Maynard, 2007) also offers evidence, which suggests that the reduced contact children have with nature can be linked with a decline in physical, mental and social development. Maller et al. (2005) maintain that contact with nature can act as a vehicle to reduce the burden of mental health and promote mental and emotional wellbeing along with physical wellbeing. A qualitative methodology frames the study design, which used a case study method bounded by a single case school with a timeframe of a 10-week term. Examining a specific outdoor learning approach known as forest schools, the case study’s aim was to explore the impact of this program on self-esteem and engagement and consequently identify emergent themes. The study suggests to me that there is potential for such a program to impact on areas of engagement and self-esteem through group connectedness, belonging and social interactions. This can be particularly important for disadvantaged youth. It was difficult, however, to establish a transfer of benefits in a classroom setting context. Related research in this field and to this study also suggests there is a need for more local research over longer periods of time in order to best examine different contexts of locations and understandings more conclusively.