Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAcademic staff and international engagement in Australian higher education( 2016)Australian higher education appears to be in the vanguard of internationalisation worldwide. In line with global changes to higher education, Australian universities have adopted comprehensive international strategies across their teaching, research and outreach agendas. By many measures, this strategic approach to internationalisation has been successful. Given the central role of academic staff within the life of the university, and with international strategies now touching on all aspects of a university’s activity, academic staff are important to the further internationalisation of Australian higher education. Yet little is known about the factors which influence the international engagement of Australian academics (that is, their involvement with the international dimensions of all aspects of their work) and the extent to which they consider international activities an important aspect of their academic work. This study has investigated the engagement of academic staff with the international dimensions of their work. It sought to identify the extent to which different aspects of international engagement have been integrated into contemporary understandings of academic work in Australia, as well as to examine the factors which influence academic staff choices in relation to their international engagement. Based on an Adaptive Theory approach (Layder, 1998), the research took case studies of two universities – a younger progressive university and an older research intensive university – which, between them, are broadly representative of one third of the Australian university sector. Qualitative data were collected through document analysis and in-depth interviews with thirty-seven academic staff drawn from Science and Business disciplines. The study found that the international dimensions of academic work are predominantly centred on research, despite the literature on internationalisation pointing to a more comprehensive focus and despite institutional strategies advocating for a more balanced approach to international engagement. In terms of contributions, the study has conceptualised a typology of international engagement to address the gap identified in the literature in relation to a holistic understanding of the international dimensions of academic work. Further findings are presented in relation to the influence of institutional and disciplinary context, as well as personal and individual factors. Particular to the Australian context is a finding in relation to geographic isolation, which is commonly described as both a driver and barrier to the international engagement of Australian academic staff. This study argues that institutions need to recognise the complex and interweaving nature of the factors which influence academic staff in relation to the international dimensions of their work. This recognition is important if institutions seek to foster greater international involvement amongst their academic community. In addition, institutions could review the role of leadership at the local level in fostering greater international engagement beyond research, as well as reconsider the availability of funding and technology to mitigate the barrier to international engagement of Australia’s distance from other countries.
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ItemFederalism and schooling reforms in Australia( 2016)This thesis reveals how federalism has shaped schooling reforms and policy making processes in Australia, a portfolio characterized by extensive and contested overlap of state and Commonwealth government roles. This is done through qualitative case studies of two landmark reforms from the 1990s - Victoria’s Schools of the Future reforms and the Commonwealth’s Choice and Equity reforms – based upon semi-structured interviews with policy actors and documentary analysis of material from personal and institutional archives, parliament, media, government and other sources. The thesis traces each of these reforms from their origins through to their implementation with the decisions, motivations and obstacles faced by policy makers examined at each ‘stage’ of the policy making process. Next, the lens is widened to encompass the broader and dynamic intergovernmental context in which each reform was pursued, to consider the direct and indirect ways each reform and the policy making process were shaped by Australian federalism. This is the first close-range, comparative, multi-level qualitative study of schooling reforms from an intergovernmental perspective in Australia. The thesis contributes new knowledge and a deeper understanding of these landmark reforms, of the operation of Australia’s federal system, and of the dominant models of federalism and policy making. This thesis finds that while each reform was pursued unilaterally, each reform was also significantly and indirectly shaped by features of Australia’s federal system. Contrary to widely held views on the restrictive nature of tied grants and perverse effects of overlapping roles, the study found the Victorian government possessed policy autonomy and the capacity to innovate in their response to what they considered state issues. Tied grants from the Commonwealth helped rather than hindered reform. The Victorian reforms were also enhanced by the spread of policy ideas, movement of policy actors and the availability of comparative data on school spending and outcomes in other states. These findings indicate the existence of a policy ‘laboratory’ and the protective ‘insurance’ effects of overlap, two claimed advantages of federal systems. The Commonwealth likewise pursued its reform package unilaterally in line with its own analysis of the policy problem and its own policy agenda. Yet the Commonwealth’s new school funding model was derived from models already in operation at state level, and constitutional provisions meant that the Commonwealth relied on state cooperation to implement its reforms. Vertical fiscal imbalance in its favour enabled the Commonwealth to provide funding to private schools beyond their estimated need. This constitutional, fiscal and political settlement contributed to what was ultimately a sub-optimal policy decision, poor resource allocation and slow, partial implementation. Simultaneous to the Choice and Equity reforms, the Commonwealth unilaterally reengineered tied grants for schooling to the states to make them more prescriptive and punitive, and attempted to extract other school funding from the states. The Commonwealth had very limited success in both instances of coercion. Conversely, evidence of highly productive collaboration was found in the case of the Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling for the Twenty-first Century. These findings demonstrate that the coordinate and cooperative models of federalism, as well as the collaborative and competitive models of intergovernmental relations, are simplistic and unrealistic reflections of the fluidity and complexity of intergovernmental relations and governance in each of the case studies. The use of these models risks imposing unproductive and artificial boundaries on policy thinking and practices. The thesis supports a reconceptualisation of Australian federalism as concurrent federalism, which recognizes that policy actors act unilaterally and pragmatically in pursuit of their own policy goals within a shared policy sphere, but are still shaped by the contours and institutions of Australia’s federal system. This term also allows for the fact that intergovernmental relations took a variety of forms simultaneously – combative relations on one issue did not prevent constructive work on other issues. This was much more dynamic than previously conceived. This flexibility of Australia’s federal system is likely to be of value in the face of the increasing complexity of public policy problems. Furthermore, the thesis finds that models of policy making, such as the Australian Policy Cycle (Bridgman and Davis 1998) and the ‘streams, entrepreneurs and windows of opportunity’ model (Kingdon 1984), are useful analytical tools in a federal system, even where their descriptive value differed in relation to the two case studies. Findings from this study indicate that state governments are more effective at developing and implementing schooling reforms. Concurrency, tied grants, intergovernmental comparisons and movement of policy actors and ideas can enhance policy making processes and the policy laboratory effect to maximize policy responsiveness and effectiveness. But these benefits are undermined when tied grants become prescriptive and punitive, especially if the conditions are determined unilaterally by the Commonwealth.
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ItemTransitioning from a Chinese education to an Australia education: a study of foundation studies program students from China( 2015)This study was motivated by the growth of the Australian international education sector, increasing numbers of mainland Chinese students studying in Australian universities, and a lack of research relating to the Foundation Studies Programs (FSP) in which some Chinese students enrolled. In seeking to contribute to this gap in the FSP literature, this study investigated how a cohort of ex-FSP students from mainland China reflected on their transition through various stages of their education. Specifically, the main research question guiding this study asked, 'To what extent do Chinese students' higher education experiences align with their expectations as they transition from secondary schooling in China through to university in Australia?'. To address this question a mixed-methods design was utilised. This consisted of surveys being administered to Chinese and non-Chinese nationals within one FSP at entry and exit from the course, and subsequent semi-structured interviews with a cohort of these Chinese students who were now studying at university. Interview data comprised the bulk of this study's analysis, and revealed that Chinese students' expectations and experiences of education did not remain fixed as they transitioned between schooling contexts in China and Australia. The most salient feature of their transition experiences was the increased importance they placed on the social dimension seen to enhance their educational experiences. That is, where once these students viewed their entry into the FSP and gaining Australian higher education qualifications instrumentally, they later adjusted this view to include also the importance of developing and maintaining social relationships within educational contexts. This study's findings highlight the importance of social relationships across various schooling contexts, and challenge the assumption that FSPs ease international students' social transition into university.
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ItemInstitutional influences on approaches to teaching within a flexible university : a cultural historical investigation( 2010)This study investigated the teaching approaches of two business academics located within an Australian university developing its flexible teaching and learning practices over the past twenty years. The interview subjects are highly regarded educators with formative backgrounds in on-campus or off-campus distance teaching. Each has had a long professional relationship with the researcher in her centrally situated position's as an educational developer within the institution. A review of the student learning literature pertaining to teaching and learning approaches in the higher education sector over the last thirty years, shows that "teaching approaches" can influence "student learning approaches"(Ramsden, Paul 2003) and outcomes, (Biggs, J. 2003; Lizzio, Alf, Wilson, Keithia & Simons, Roland 2002) however "institutional influences" upon teaching approaches seems to be substantially overlooked. (Kernber & Kwan 2000) The academics were invited to participate in this study agreeing to retrospectively review and discuss their teaching in three progressive phases of their working history. They were invited to consider their teaching approach using the Approach to Teaching Inventory (Trigwell, Prosser et. al. 2005) in order to reflect upon their personal positioning (Harre September 2004), institutional practice and societal rhetoric in relation to an academic life in various periods of their teaching history. Discursive analysis has been undertaken of the resulting conversations guided by Cultural Historical Analysis Theory, (Vygotsky 1978, Engestrom 1987). This investigation reveals profound institutional influences on the approaches of teachers to their work. Influences on academic life have usually been studied independent of the Higher education teaching and learning literature. This study points to an urgent need to integrate these research interests to inform understanding of material transformative activity for policy makers in higher education.
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ItemMeasuring university internationalisation: an indicator framework( 2015)This study investigated university internationalisation in different national contexts and developed a set of indicators to measure and compare university internationalisation performance across national boundaries. Internationalisation has been recognised by university policymakers as the key to perform successfully within the new global context. As internationalising a university requires a substantial and long-term investment of an institution’s financial and human resources, assessment and quality control are critical to ensure that it contributes to the relevance and quality of higher education and produces desirable outcomes. The importance of, motives for, and process of university internationalisation have been discussed and documented well in existing research, however, a limited number of studies have focused on measuring university internationalisation. It is not even clear what should and what can be measured with regard to university internationalisation. Through a combination of a critical literature review and qualitative interviews with policymakers from universities in Australia, Singapore, and China, this study established a conceptual framework of university internationalisation. Based on the framework, with the help of university practitioners, a set of internationally applicable indicators was developed to assist universities to systematically monitor and measure their internationalisation performance, and make comparisons with like institutions. The availability of data for the indicator set in different universities was also tested through an institutional survey. This study found that internationalisation is seen as a multi-dimensional phenomenon. The major incentive for institutional internationalisation is the pursuit for academic excellence. Seven key comparable dimensions were identified in university internationalisation strategies: research, student, faculty, curriculum, engagement, governance, and culture. Universities tend to place different priorities on these dimensions. National and institutional characteristics powerfully shape the understanding and practice of internationalisation. The indicator set established in this study provides a possible way for universities to measure their internationalisation performance and benchmark with others. Although the indicators are perceived as feasible, the data are not yet ready to report in most universities. This study contributes to a better understanding of university internationalisation and sheds light on the measurement of the phenomenon. The study suggests that universities may embrace internationalisation in various approaches; however, a holistic approach is highly likely to evolve at a mature stage. The theoretical framework and the indicator set developed in this study are expected to stimulate a more regular data collection mechanism. Policymakers are able to make evidence-based decisions with data generated by the indicator set. In measuring university internationalisation, this study suggests that available measurement instruments are more capable of assessing inputs and outputs rather outcomes.
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ItemThe development of professionalism in surgeons( 2013)Professionalism underpins the commitment made between a profession and society. This social contract balances the benefits to a profession of a monopoly over the use of its knowledge base, its right to considerable autonomy of practice and the privilege of self-regulation, with responsibilities and accountabilities to the community. However, it is the challenge in further defining professionalism, particularly in day-to-day activities, that has propelled analysis beyond values and beliefs to include behaviours and attributes and the understanding of them within work-based culture and educational programs. This is particularly so in healthcare where unprofessional behaviour ranging from disrespect or rudeness to florid abuse is now being associated with poorer outcomes for the individual client, in this case, the patient. The overall approach to and understanding of professionalism remains variable, patchy and inconsistent in spite of its importance as an area of educational endeavour. This thesis contributes further to this analysis, particularly with regard to surgeons and trainees practising in Australia and New Zealand. This study is an intensive review of the understanding, perceived importance, capacity for improvement and possible educational activities that can support professionalism within the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the surgical community of Australia and New Zealand. It combines an extensive literature review, with a questionnaire that was distributed to 3000 Fellows and Trainees. With a commendable 60 per cent return rate, analysis has been undertaken across the categories of Fellows / Trainees, Specialties, Regions, Gender and Age Groups. Following this, semi-structured interviews involved 15 Fellows and Trainees in discussing case studies around issues of reflection and planning, pausing in action, providing feedback, dealing with rudeness and seeking feedback. Key issues that emerged include the importance of the ‘codification’ of professionalism that has seen the development of curricula around a topic that was unclear and even previously regarded as ‘non-cognitive’; the proliferation of assessment tools; and an increasing understanding of the cultural and socialisation issues that are necessarily intertwined with the more normative aspects. Surgeons do regard professionalism as important but vary in the priority they give to the various attributes. This puts ‘at risk’ the attributes that are not rated as highly, but which are nonetheless desirable. Surgeons are immersed in a world where unprofessional behaviour is prevalent and they also contribute to this. The fieldwork showed that the role of educator, mentor and role model is vital, not only in demonstrating professionalism, but also in correcting areas of unprofessional behaviour. To more fully undertake these tasks, relationality, resilience and reflection have been highlighted as important concepts that need deeper understanding by Educators and Trainees. The role of the College needs to be more prominent in this regard. It is not viewed as well engaged, nor as providing effective leadership. This can be addressed in the healthcare sector by more clearly identifying areas where ‘signature pedagogies’ can provide effective experiences and education. Examples of signature pedagogies include morbidity and mortality meetings, ward rounds and operating theatre sessions. The main implication of this study is that the College needs to provide education and professional development to increase capacity across a number of areas. At the individual level, this includes the skills that build resilience; the ability to more effectively ask the pragmatic questions that will assist reflection; and the understanding of the importance of relationality, which acts as a bond between a professional and their more senior and experienced colleague. Within the community of practice, through which much of the learning of professionalism occurs, capacity around these issues also needs to be improved. It is again at this level that the importance of providing leadership to nurture professionalism and address unprofessional behaviour within organisations such as hospitals and the broader environment of healthcare will be profiled. Activities to promote this capacity development can particularly occur within the areas where signature pedagogies flourish. There are important policy issues to be considered, as well as the development of educational programs. The policies will influence and then reflect the importance that the College of Surgeons places on professionalism and addressing unprofessional behaviour. Its commitment to both training and assessment of professionalism needs to be incorporated into a model of lifelong learning that particularly influences the workplace and the multiple communities of surgical practice.
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ItemIdentity, integration, adult migrant English as a Second Language (ESL) programmes and Melbourne Institute Language Centre( 2012)This case study used a qualitative dominant mixed methods research (MMR) design to examine the integration of adult migrants in Australia. In adopting a socio-cultural theory (SCT) framework, it examines wider policies, such as immigration and citizenship, but it particularly focuses on government-funded English as a second language (ESL) policy and programmes. In so doing, it seeks to describe the context in which this ESL delivery occurred – a multi-campus language centre in a large and entrepreneurial Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institute in the State of Victoria – and the ways in which migrant students and language centre personnel perceived and experienced ESL programmes delivered at this centre. It also seeks to locate this study within its historical and socio-political context and, as a result, discourses regarding issues related to integration, such as national identity, social cohesion, ‘Australian values’ and multiculturalism, are considered. In recognising that integration is a process that takes time, this study is longitudinal in design, and a core group of migrants (N=14) was researched over a two-and-a-half-year period. The views of some of the language centre’s staff members were also examined over time. The findings from this study suggest that English was perceived by stakeholders – and experienced by migrants – as a significant facilitator of integration, and the language centre’s ESL programmes were seen to provide both psycho-social and economic integrative benefits for migrants and Australian society. Suggestions and recommendations are made regarding possible avenues for future research into integration and adult host language programming, as well as broader, related policy.
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ItemJob seekers, traps, and Mickey-Mouse training( 2012)Students have become commodities in a new market-driven Australian training system and according to the literature, increasingly subject to poor quality training. Some courses have not been adequate or appropriate for the learning needs of the students, nor industry requirements, and therefore flout the policy goal of a skilled workforce. This thesis aims to explore pathways to employment for African migrant women who undertook a Certificate III course in aged care, but remained unemployed in an area of apparent ‘skills shortage’. Utilising an ethnographic methodology, a small sample of migrant women graduates of aged care Certificate III courses participated in the study – some had been successful and others unsuccessful in obtaining employment in the field. A small sample of aged care team leaders were also interviewed. Sub-standard training qualifications were identified by participants as the biggest barrier to employment. Research findings suggest that fast-tracked, private for-profit training provision is likely to be of poor quality in comparison to public not-for-profit training provision. Findings also indicate that agents of various guises, often with conflicts of interest, have been recruiting students with apparent insufficient and even misleading information about courses. For the long-term benefit of society and the economy, a recognition of the role of well-resourced and funded public training institutions is recommended. If government continues to enable competition for funding between private and public training providers, adequate measures need to be in place to ensure more responsible disbursement of government funds in the training sector. Training providers need to be adequately checked before funds are allocated to them; including for their capabilities such as student support services, partnerships and track record of employment outcomes, but not overly audited and monitored so that professional accountability innovation and quality are stifled. Consumers need to be informed, protected and have bargaining power to be able to compete with the demands of large corporations and international markets. A Labour Market Entry Model (LMEM) is proposed that is a three pronged approach, managed and informed by an ethical local governance structure, of i) policies for quality training ii) career pathway information and iii) work creation for target labour, such as the migrant women, to overcome some of the barriers that they may face and to strategically reduce poverty and related issues in localities where there are concentrations of disadvantage. Until policies and resources are better directed towards a LMEM, partnerships of local agencies should enable residents and employer brokers to clarify career interests and aptitudes along with labour market entry requirements of local employers. They should also raise awareness on how to select a quality training course and determine which training providers and courses should be accepted into community spaces.
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ItemEngagement and autonomy: their relationship and impact on reading comprehension for junior-secondary English literature students( 2012)A qualitative, inductive design explored the effects of two differing approaches to teaching comprehension of narrative texts on students’ task engagement and text enjoyment, and comprehension. Using one junior-secondary, mixed ability English class in a suburb of Melbourne (Victoria) the study compared and contrasted an approach allowing considerable student autonomy with one that is teacher-directed. It considered for which students, and under what circumstances, one might be more constructive. A grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2006) was used to derive analytic theories from the particular situational and social context. The results demonstrate a complex relationship between engagement and comprehension. They highlight that academically weaker students can be more engaged by increased autonomy, and academically more able students can be disengaged by greater autonomy and prefer the more ‘predictable-to-them’, authoritative approach to instruction. Furthermore, the students’ views of knowledge and their corresponding efficacy beliefs can contribute to the extent of their engagement and ensuing achievement. It is proposed that teachers consider, more explicitly, students’ attitudes toward instruction. Additionally, by diversifying and allowing choice of both the activities to assist comprehension and the ways comprehension is assessed, teachers may be better able to facilitate students’ potential.
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ItemMulticultural and diversity education in the globalised classroom in Australia( 2012)Australia is no longer an “isolated backwater” island floating around the Asia-Pacific region. It has become a country of great importance as a multicultural hub that continues to flourish in a time of social, cultural, and population growth. With this changing environment the needs of its people, in particular its children, have also changed. As multicultural awareness begins to expand and borders cease to define the cultural differences of those around us, the needs of the learners in school are also in a state of flux. This paper tracks the evolution of multicultural and diversity education policies in Australia through seven key documents: these are The National Policy on Languages (Lo Bianco, 1987), the Asian Studies Council Report – Asian Studies Council (1988), National Agenda for Multicultural Australia (Commonwealth of Australia, 1989), Adelaide Declaration (1999), Melbourne Declaration (2008), Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development (2008) and Education for Global and Multicultural Citizenship: A Strategy for Victorian Government Schools 2009-2013 (DEECD, 2009). It concludes with implications and impacts of this history and these documents and addresses the need for continued teacher preparation and instruction through recommendation new initiatives.