Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemGlobalisation and cultural management : leading from the margins( 2004)This thesis commenced with the purpose of examining a case study of cultural management within an institution of higher education and questioning whether the manner in which we negotiate our identity, reflect a sense of belonging and create a responsibility within a labyrinth of impersonal spaces with this local/global dilemma will be the premises upon which new answers to old questions, as well as a whole set of new questions about cultural management within higher educational institutions, will be asked. The development of the Intercultural Projects and Resources Unit (IPRU) was examined as a reflective case study analysis, whilst drawing on the researcher's biography as a key component of this thesis, operating at several different but interconnected levels, negotiating simultaneously the space between mainstream Western academic concerns, the researcher's intellectual and geographical/spatial dislocation and working with a diverse range of students, university staff, community groups and places in the world. This thesis contends that when there are 'spaces' that enable all voices to be heard and considered, then the outcome is always far better than anticipated. Such 'spaces' or 'structures' will always start with, and privilege, the perspectives (and participation) of those with the least power and those who are most disadvantaged (margins). Any decision needs to involve a deep consideration of effects in a range of domains, grounded in an appreciation of the layered cultural contexts in which choices are made and implemented. This thesis has proposed that it is in the linking of current debates about difference, identity and marginality with the management of 'culture', ,and in facilitating a space within which these issues can be negotiated, that meaningful work and outcomes as educational administrators within a global knowledge economy becomes possible..
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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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ItemA study of the relationship between university and government in Australia( 1992)The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between university and government in order to provide insights that may help to resolve the conflicts in the current relationship. The theory of social conflict will be used to examine the causes of conflicts and possible ways of resolution. Educational theory will look at the effect of conflicts on educational outcomes. It is hypothesized that the government's view is that universities have not been efficient and effective in training sufficient numbers of qualified graduates with the available funds, and that they have not responded to the demands of social expectations, and of economic developments. Thus, the nature of the university should be shifted from the emphasis on traditional teaching and research to the achievement of national economic objectives, including Australia's international economic competitiveness. As the nature of the university is shifted, greater government political control over universities becomes necessary. On the other hand, the view of the universities is that they have worked hard to carry out their role and function within the limits of available funding and that the quantity and quality of higher education suffer as a result of lack of funding. Also, they argue that the nature of the university is not changing and should not be changed. Too much government intervention results in the loss of essential institutional autonomy and academic freedom, and government intervention should be reduced. These hypotheses have been examined, using government policy statements, reports, and research papers and statistics from other sources. The data have been used to analyse the causes and consequences of the conflicts. The key causes of conflict include differing concepts of the values and beliefs of universities: the government's concept and the universities' concept. The government assumes that university education is directly productive, and accountable for the achievement of government-defined national economic objectives. The universities believe that universities are a special kind of organization. University education is productive only through the utilization of knowledge or skills. Universities are accountable not only to the government but to the range of the community. The consequences of this conflict include the loss of institutional autonomy and academic freedom in the following fields: (i) the nature of the higher education system. University education is being changed from diversity to centralisation, as a result of the shift from a binary system to a unitary system. (ii) funding control. University performance is being subjected to the dollar-push control by the government. (iii) teaching-research direction. Due to the loss of autonomy in the allocation of funds to institutions, there is neglect of the importance of teaching in universities, and a narrow emphasis on government-perceived research priorities. Proposals arising from the study include the need to develop: (i) mechanisms for the improvement of mutual understanding such as the constant exchange of views and ideas and of staff as visiting research fellows. (ii) awareness of the responsibility of each party in higher education. The government should guarantee the provision of funds for universities and interfere less in the internal performance of institutions. Universities should use the funds as efficiently as possible and adapt themselves to the rapid changing world. (iii) a clearer pattern of the distribution of authority between the government and the universities at least in the areas of development of higher education, governance, funding allocation and academic and intellectual affairs.
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ItemFactors influencing the oral participation levels of Vietnamese postgraduate students studying in Australia( 2004)This study examines the experiences of Vietnamese students studying at postgraduate level in Australia, and attempts to understand their learning behaviour from their own perspectives and that of Vietnamese culture. The broad focus of the study is the attitudes of the Vietnamese students to the teaching and learning styles they experience in the Australian tertiary environment. The specific focus of the study is oral participation - the study identifies factors that influence the level and nature of participation of Vietnamese students. Also considered is the role of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses in shaping student behaviour and attitudes. Data was generated by means of a survey and indepth interviews. The study establishes that a range of factors influence Vietnamese students in terms of their oral participation behaviour, and that these fall into three broad categories: language proficiency, cultural and affective factors and content knowledge and awareness. The study considers ways in which courses designed to prepare international students for study can take account of these factors, thereby better preparing students for study in Australian universities.
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ItemVision and reality: what are the experiences and perceptions of overseas students enrolled in a year 13 Foundation Studies course in business offered in a city university?( 2001)Internationalization has become one of the 'buzzwords' in Australian education. For most Australian educational institutions, internationalization meant an unprecedented influx of overseas students enrolling in their courses. This thesis will consider the mismatch of expectations between students from the Asia-Pacific region in a tertiary education institution in Australia. What is the mismatch of expectations? What is its extent? How does it come to exist? How does it manifest itself? These questions have been explored in focus group discussions with students from the Asia-Pacific region currently attending a Year 13 Foundation Studies course in a city university. The research found a mismatch between student and staff expectations due to miscommunication and cultural values.
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ItemNetworked learning/learning networks: a case study of constructivist pedagogies in an online post-graduate higher education setting( 2004)The study investigates teaching and learning practices in an online postgraduate higher education setting. It is concerned with how networked teaching and learning practices are organised in space and time. The first part of the study sets the scene and explores the diverse � literatures of online education, which include functionalist, socially critical and post modern accounts. The ontological variety of these accounts is discussed with the writer concluding that actor-network theory has something to contribute to understanding the complexity of socio-technical practices. This section closes with consideration of the methodological approach and ethical concerns of the study. The second part of the study is concerned with discussion of the data stories. These stories tell tales of the shaping and reshaping of learning technologies. They talk of teachers and programmers as network builders, seeking to attract, recruit, enrol and mobilise entities. The stories relate some of the compromises made when the network shudders with dissent or the unexpected and the patchwork done to hold the network together. This section also speaks of networked spaces as uncertain, intersected spaces. It closes with a discussion of how ICTs un/settle learning networks and of the ways in which entities manage their multiple memberships through numerous renegotiations. The third and final section concludes the study. It analyses the data stories and finds that actor-networks are porous and vulnerable. Suggesting that when entities maintain membership in multiple networks identities are constantly contested and redrawn. In lifting contested practices up to view, the study proposes that dis/order might be a positive feature of learning in networked environments. This final section includes some discussion of the implications for the University. And, most importantly perhaps, it makes a call for a new vocabulary, a new way to describe the flows of net(work).
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ItemSex bias in ASAT?( 1984)Since 1977 when the Australian Scholastic Aptitude Test was first used in the ACT as a moderating device, there have been differences in the average performance of males and females on the test. This difference in mean group performance has been referred to as a "sex bias". This report investigated the nature and the origins of those observed sex differences in ASAT mean Scores. The study focused on five key issues: 1 Retention 2 Attitudes 3 Preparation 4 Item Bias 5 Differential Coursework Retention rates were investigated to determine the effects of different retention patterns for male and female students on their ASAT scores. Students' attitudes were explored to examine the relationships between sex, attitudes and performance on ASAT. Students' preparation was investigated. The problem of bias in the ASAT items was investigated using both classical and latent trait theory and the effects of course type on ASAT performance was investigated. The findings indicated a significant relationship between English ability, time spent in the study of mathematics, confidence in success and ASAT. It was also found that differences in retention rate may explain a substantial part of the observed differences in male and female mean scores. Although a range of factors were found to be related to ASAT performance no significant sex effect was found after taking into account English ability, experience in mathematics and confidence in success.
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ItemLeadership in institutions of higher education, 1988-1991: on the experience of coping with crises( 1995-01)Following the White Paper of 1988, institutions of higher education in Australia embarked on a period of intensive amalgamation activity which occupied much of the ensuing two-to-three years. During this period, many Colleges of Advanced Education were under intense pressure to merge with other institutions, placing the Directors in the position of leadership at a time of such change and stress that it could readily be seen as crisis. (For complete abstract open document)