Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemParent professional partnerships in IEP development : a case study of a MAPS process( 2007)The practices, language and behaviours which professionals adopt when they meet with parents prior to Individual Education Program (IEP) planning may have a significant effect on the attitudes and capabilities families bring to the educational setting. During this case study the adult family members of a child with additional needs were observed as they addressed the developmental and programming needs of their child by participating in the McGill Action Planning System (MAPS) and a subsequent Program Support Group (PSG) meeting. Themes indicating attitudes or perceptions that empowered the family towards continued participation in collaborative teams for IEP development emerged in the observational data and were defined through the methods of informant diaries and semi-structured interviews. Less dominant quantitative methods were used to verify that the participant's ongoing attitudes towards parent professional collaboration corroborated with the final themes of flexibility, unification, satisfaction and function.
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ItemJust reporting : does the school have a justifiable reporting process?( 2006)This thesis titled `Just Reporting' aimed to explore the question: Does the school have a justifiable reporting process that meets the needs of key stakeholders (parents, students and teachers)? Through a critical review of the research literature relevant to reporting, various ethical issues were noted that assisted in the construction of the questions guiding this study. These ethical issues provided the lens through which I explored the reporting practices at the research school. The title Just Reporting emphasises the justice issues surrounding reporting as a communicative action where the integrity of each individual is maintained and relationships strengthened. The research took the form of a case study involving the participation of thirty-three parents, eleven teachers and twenty-one students from the one school setting in a questionnaire that had both quantitative and qualitative questions that gathered their affective and cognitive responses to the school's written report. I also held one focus group interview with parents to clarify information from the questionnaire. An interactive inquiry with mixed methods approach was chosen as the best way to answer the research questions. The aim was to develop a theory about reporting rather than prove an existing theory. This study examines what reporting is, the audience and purpose of reporting, and the imperatives of justifiable reporting. It gathered the opinions and beliefs about reporting at the research school from key stakeholder groups and sought to discover whether the written report met their needs and fulfilled the requirements of justifiable reporting. Final analysis of the data provided understandings about the nature of reporting at the research school and revealed a number of issues that prevented the process from being fully justifiable.
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ItemThrough a glass, darkly : a case study( 2000)This study describes, explores and explains a case which occurred in an Australian State primary school, when permission was withdrawn for a research project which sought to survey parents' perceptions of the school. This occurred three weeks after all questionnaires had been distributed, by hand through the school, to every family in the school. The research project was the work of the Deputy Principal, the author of this thesis, who is also known as the researcher and the participant observer. The case is then rewritten, scenarios are constructed and leadership behaviours are described within the Structural, Human Resource, Political and Symbolic frames set forth by Bolman and Deal. A fifth frame, an Ethical frame, as proposed by Starratt, is also applied to the case. These frames comprise most leadership theory and each provides the base for a scenario in which the researcher may more clearly pose a question, a curious phenomenon or a problematic issue. Through the creation of scenarios the researcher was able to understand complex interactions, tacit processes and often hidden beliefs and values within organisations. Each frame generates a different set of strategies. In this way knowledge is gained and potential futures are posited, leading to a sharpened awareness of the forces acting on leaders. The thesis is underpinned by the belief that a conscious and reflective review of, and inquiry into, one's actions as a leader through the creation of scenarios will assist the development of an ethical and pragmatic personal theory of organisation. It is an aim of this thesis to demonstrate that where a case is recreated within the five ideal frames possible futures are evoked, creating an environment for wise decision making and enhanced leadership behaviour.
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ItemThe effectiveness of the Auditory Skills Program in developing auditory skills in severe to profoundly hearing impaired children( 1997)This study assessed the effectiveness of the Auditory Skills Program (Romanik, 1990) in developing the auditory skills of a group of severe to profound hearing impaired school aged children. It also measured speech perception and speech production skills during and following participation in the program. The Auditory Skills Program is a comprehensive graded program which aims to develop the hearing impaired child's speech and linguistic skills through audition. In this study 18 severe to profound hearing impaired children ranging in age from 6 to 12 years received twice weekly sessions based on the Auditory Skills Program for a period of three months. Auditory skill development was measured at monthly intervals using the assessment tool within the program, the Placement test. The PLOTT test ( Plant and Westcott, 1983) was used to measure speech perception skills. Speech production skills were measured using the 108 single word articulation test (Paatsch, 1992) and conversational speech samples using phonological process analysis. The subjects were tested at the commencement of during, and following the cessation of, participation in the Auditory Skills Program. They were also tested 5 months post participation in the program. The Auditory Skills Program was effective in developing auditory skills in this group of severe to profoundly hearing impaired subjects. There was a significant improvement in auditory skills in the group of subjects during participation in the program. A deterioration in these skills occurred following cessation of participation in the Auditory Skills Program. Speech perception skills also improved significantly during participation in the Auditory Skills Program. Speech production skills significantly improved when measured using the 108 single word articulation test. No change occurred in speech production skills as measured by spontaneous conversational speech samples during participation in the Auditory Skills Program. This study found the Auditory Skills Program to be an effective tool for developing auditory skills and enhancing the development of speech perception and speech production skills in this group of severe to profound hearing impaired children.
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ItemA study in archetypal theory : alcohol and adolescent rites of passage( 1997)The study is an archetypal approach to adolescent male alcohol use in contemporary Australia. The study deals with four families (case-studies) and their stories about the period of adolescent development, especially the often problematic process of negotiating alcohol use. The study will examine the developmental process in pre-modern rites of passage and compare it with contemporary adolescent development in the four case-studies to identify whether there are similar archetypal patterns between them. It will also examine intra-family dynamics from an archetypal perspective, especially in relation to communication and projection. Finally, the study will examine whether there are similarities between pre-modern rites of passage, in terms of transferring power and responsibility from father to son, and how this affects the son's alcohol use and maturation.
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ItemEvaluating a peer mediation program : the perspectives of key stakeholders( 2006)Peer mediation has developed as a popular means of responding to and managing conflict in schools. Advocates of peer mediation assert that it is an effective method of encouraging students to resolve conflict constructively and can encourage responsible citizenship. This study emerged as a result of the researcher's involvement in a peer mediation program in a large regional girls' secondary college. The study explored the perspectives of key stakeholders (students, teachers and parents) on the impact of the peer mediation program and sought to establish what benefits, if any, were derived from the existence of the program. Specifically, the research focused on whether the program was supported, accepted and used by the school community and whether the perceptions of the program were congruent amongst different stakeholder groups. The study also investigated what outcomes were experienced by the trained mediators themselves. Factors which might encourage or limit students' use of the program were also explored. Data was collected prior to the training of a specific cohort of mediators and in the following year from key groups: the trained students, other students within the school setting, staff and parents. The findings indicate that the presence of a peer mediation program was seen to have a considerable positive effect on school climate by teachers and parents and that, in many cases, it produced positive outcomes for students. The most meaningful outcomes of the specific study, however, appeared to be the benefits for the trained mediators themselves, in terms of the development and enhancement of self confidence and life skills. The implications of the findings for the peer mediation program in the case study school and for other schools implementing peer mediation programs are discussed in this report.
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ItemThe role of an early childhood educator in children's emerging literacy( 1996)During the two years of this semi longitudinal study, one early childhood educator reflected on and developed her practice. The particular focus of this study was the pre-school children's literacy development and how best this could be facilitated and supported. Action Research was chosen as the most suitable research methodology which enabled the investigation to develop in an iterative manner. In the first instance an analysis of the literature concerning children's early learning, their literacy development and the role of the adult during these early years was reviewed. The next stage involved a critical evaluation of both the provisions and resources for literacy in the pre-school classroom under investigation and also the most appropriate role for the teacher in relation to these children's emerging literacy. While the focus of this study has been the development of the teacher's knowledge base and practice, it was also possible to monitor the literacy development of the children from ages three to six years. In addition, highly favourable results were obtained by those children who took part in the study when they were compared with others who did not after the start of formal schooling. Consideration has also been given to the role of parents of these children in the pre-school environment and their role with respect to childrens emerging literacy.
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ItemDifficulties in maintenance of ethnic language and culture in a multicultural society: with particular reference to Italian families in Melbourne( 1981)The growing political awareness and acknowledgment of Australia's multicultural society produced in the seventies an increasing number of reports on the needs of the ethnic communities. The Government acknowledges that it is now essential to encourage the development of a multicultural attitude in Australian society to foster the maintenance of cultural heritage and promote intercultural understanding. The long-awaited signs of widespread implementation of stated policies and recommendations have been disappointingly slow in emerging. This is attributed to the slowness of a change in attitude throughout the community. Because the Australian school system is not in tune with the multicultural society of today, children of ethnic parents are not receiving equal education opportunities with their Australian peers. Through lack of recognition of their ethnic language and culture by schools, children of ethnic parents are rejecting their mother tongue. In a series of case studies of Italian families in Melbourne, the mother's attitude was seen as the most important factor in language maintenance at the present time. Attitudes were seen to differ, not according to social class, educational level or region of origin, but according to individual values and beliefs. The importance of maintenance of ethnic language and culture for the traditional cohesiveness of the Italian family ethos is stressed, but is seen as resting on a tenuous thread.
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ItemNew cars, new work, new learning: productive workplace learning at a lean manufacturing site( 2007)This study investigates the construction of knowledge through action, teamwork and problem-solving. Within the context of a competitive global industry, the vehicle manufacturing industry, production workers and font-line supervisors from a component manufacturing company, Toyota-Boshoku, were interviewed about their work. Workers in a production environment are active and participative and the fieldwork indicates that they learn most effectively from the practical performance of tasks. Clearly, the embodied actions of workers are epistemologically significant because it is the doing of the task that their learning, knowledge and understanding are expressed. Therefore, learning practices that emerge from the performative nature of the work are most likely to present workers with opportunities to display their skills, knowledge and understanding. The whole person is involved in such learning - the cognitive, social, psychomotor and affective domains - and helps to shape knowledge for workers as expressive bodies. Knowledge is constructed in the social and atmosphere of the workplace as workers learn from one another in their everyday work practices. The thesis concludes that there is significant epistemological value in the embodied actions of the workers and in this respect the thinking and the doing are intertwined and interdependent, rather than separate entities.
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ItemVision and the work life of nursing educational leaders( 1992)The purpose of this study was to examine the visions and work life of twelve nursing educational leaders. The notion of vision and leadership are closely associated. The concept that leaders are guided by a vision of a preferred future is widely accepted. The questions that this study addressed were: What does vision mean in the work life of nursing educators? Do all nursing leaders have a vision? If they do, how do their visions emerge? What impact, if any, does vision have on the careers of the nursing educational leaders? The qualitative method of research was used and data were gathered by interviewing twelve nursing educational leaders from the city of Melbourne and the towns of Geelong and Frankston. The group represented a variety of roles, types of school and gender. The data were analysed according to the above questions and connections were drawn between these twelve nursing educational leaders and their work lives. It was found that all nursing educational leaders had visions that were universal and organisational in nature. Although three of the leaders stated that they did not have a vision, it was obvious from their goals that they were committed to an image of a preferred future for nursing education. A vision that all these leaders aspired to was tertiary education for all nurses. With regards to the impact of vision on their careers, five of the twelve leaders believed that the position increased their ability to achieve their visions. Five believed it was other things, and two claimed that the position did not help them to achieve their visions. All of the nursing educational leaders had diverse career paths and were all committed to further education. The assumption of a formal role in education was important for seven of the twelve nursing educational leaders, whereas four of the participants were undecided and one disagreed. An interesting aspect of this study was that most saw the formal role as teaching within a classroom. Their visions did affect the working life of these twelve nursing educational leaders and although providing them with a sense of purpose, they also presented them with a struggle!