Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemPaulo Freire : conscientization. the road to freedom( 1978)Freire's chief concern with regard to the oppressed in Brazil involved a view of education as a tool for social and political change. Conscientization is the - method by which he aimed to achieve change. His programme however, should be seen, not as an isolated effort to liberate the oppressed; it should be viewed in the context of other programmes that emerged in Brazil at the time. These were mainly inspired by radical Catholic action groups and characterised by the need to achieve the process of self-realisation along populist lines, that is without interference and indoctrination. Freire's programme came after exploring the traditional methods of adult literacy and rejecting them as bankrupt. His method involved a problematisation of the themes of the life of the oppressed and a representation of that problematic to them for their identification and critical analysis. This was achieved by means of dialogue and in the course of group meetings where co-ordinators and students held equal. status. Concurrently with dialogue, ABC literacy took place; words arising out of discussions of themes formed the basic material for the ABC course. Much depends on the co-ordinator for the success of the method. Generally Freire's critics focus their attention on him as a potentially manipulative agent and as such, no better than the cruel masters from whom he is attempting to rescue the oppressed. Freire's principles governing his theory and method however, are so clearly enunciated, so tightly knit together, that an internal unity emerges from the programme as a. whole, which in itself, acts as a deterrent to abuse and distortion. Finally, two questions arise from the study of Freire's conscientization: one is whether revolutionary action would naturally follow from it; the other is whether Freire's adherence to absolute authenticity is emphasised to the detriment of an essential aspect of the task, which is the mobilisation of the oppressed into an effective task force to bring about revolutionary change, Both questions are closely linked together. It may be more realistic to view Freirets programme, not as a task achieving revolutionary action itself, but as an effective preparation for it and as such an honest and therefore necessary part of it,
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ItemRethinking teachers' professional learning teams : a case study( 2003)This study afforded an opportunity to rethink teacher professional learning and change processes in schools. To examine these issues, this investigation focused on two school reform initiatives which expected teachers to work in structured teams in order to initiate, plan, and implement school change projects. The first initiative, or Project 2000 as it was known, was developed by teachers in the case study school as a means of introducing curriculum reform in Years 9 and 10 and as a vehicle for promoting teacher learning. The second initiative, the ICT Project, focussed on using information and communication technologies in English classrooms, and was built on the process findings of the first project. This research aimed, firstly, to investigate how a teacher team structure, referred to as a project-based professional learning team, may be used as a vehicle for work-embedded and ongoing teacher professional learning. Secondly, it aimed to explore teachers' perceptions of the factors that facilitate or impede a school change process that utilises project-based professional learning teams as a school improvement strategy. The findings from this study indicate that teachers perceived that, at the micro-level; the very existence of project-based professional learning teams can provide a structural support for teachers that promotes and sustains a new concept of professional learning that is ongoing, inquiry-based, work-embedded and meaningful to teachers. At the macro-level, the study points to the potential use of project-based professional learning teams as vehicles to initiate the process of reculturing schools as learning communities. This study has shown that, despite the constraint of time, teachers perceived that project-based professional learning teams can challenge cultures of teacher isolation and conservatism by promoting collaborative problem-solving and action learning, and by integrating teachers' work with their professional learning. The study also demonstrated that teachers perceived project-based professional learning teams can improve teacher knowledge, attitude and practices by challenging them in collective learning units to inquire and rethink current practice, to try new ways of doing things and by instilling new skills. Finally, this study has demonstrated that teachers perceived that project-based professional learning teams can act as a vehicle for school change to produce worthwhile outcomes for teacher learning, student learning and the school as a learning community. In re-thinking how teachers change, project-based professional learning teams offer a way forward.
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ItemFace-to-face : cross-cultural communication with Somali-speaking parents( 2008)This research thesis reports on an investigation of cross-cultural communication at one Victorian primary school, at which the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the staff and a sizeable proportion of the parents differ markedly. This qualitative, case study investigated the perspectives of one group of parents, all from a Somali speaking background, and school staff about the current levels of cross-cultural communication and how these key stakeholders believed home/school links could be improved. Data for this investigation were gathered from parent participants through group and individual interviews, some of which were conducted in Somali with the assistance of a bilingual research assistant. Consideration of these participants' vulnerable social status (Liamputtong, 2007), was an important aspect of this research process thus ensuring these parents, seldom heard within the school environment, had the opportunity to express their opinions and relate their experiences of cross-cultural communication with school staff. The data collection process, therefore, provides a model for excellent cross-cultural communication between an institution, such as a school, and a marginalised parent community. Written questionnaires, comprising open-ended and some ranked questions were used to investigate staff perspectives of cross-cultural communication. This was followed by a group interview with some staff members in which issues were discussed with greater depth. This research project revealed that the low-levels of cross-cultural communication noted at this school are not an indication of the level of goodwill held by Somali-speaking parents and school staff. On the contrary, all participants expressed a strong desire to learn more about the other and for communication levels to improve, recognising the importance of strong home/school links in improving educational outcomes for students. Through the suggestions, opinions and experiences of participants, a series of recommendations are made in this report, so that the momentum of improved communication, initiated by the research project, might be continued at the school, or within similar educational contexts.
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ItemCritical pedagogy and its application to curriculum policy( 1991)Curriculum theory can be seen as social theory because a curriculum interrelates knowledge and social practices that legitimate the dominant culture. The relationship between society and schooling is reflected in the curriculum; a critical pedagogy attempts to reveal the ideological content within the curriculum as it is related to the question of power. An analysis of schooling and the curriculum traditionally has been divided into two main categories. The functionalist mode comprises various human capital economists, such as Becker (1964), who give emphasis to the functional role between schooling and economic and social requirements. In this case, schools' role is to prepare their students for the job market.-Within this functionalist mode, a more critical analysis has also been developed by Bowles and Gintis (1976) and Carnoy and Levin (1976), among others, who argue that schools reproduce the prevailing class structure. The other tradition wants to see schools as autonomous so that schools can be used as initiaters of social and political_ change, as was emphasized by Dewey (1916) and other progressive educational theorists. This paper addresses the question of whether different classes can benefit From the same academically oriented curriculum. Bourdieu and Passeron [1977) argue that the educational system merely reproduces the cultural capital which has been distributed before students enter education; those with the highest amount of cultural capital will benefit most from schooling. The same argument is taken up by Bantock [1965) who maintains that working class children are for cultural reasons likely to be inhibited from gaining the best of education even if they were given equal chances; because, as he continues to argue, 'high culture' for the working classes is meaningless. Thus, these different writers would agree that members of the working class are inhibited because of their working class culture rather than their measured IQ. Jencks (1972) and Boudon (1974) in a slightly different way argue that the class inequalities which have deeply structured roots, and are maintained by social forces, are beyond the reach of equalitarian educational reform. However, it will be argued in this paper that schooling must promote a common culture for all if all participants in schools are to benefit equally. An 'organic' curriculum suited to either class will only cement and fortify class divisions. Instead, this paper argues for the adoption of a strict academic curriculum as a means of redistributing knowledge, and thus political power, so that education may be disengaged from serving the ands of an exploitative, capitalist economy.
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ItemReading and reconstructing the world: investigating children's frames of Asia-Australia relations through transformative discourse( 1994)The challenge for members of contemporary societies is to become increasingly global in their outlook at the same time as the world becomes increasingly difficult to 'read'. Texts construct views of 'reality' and the complexity of contemporary life is reflected in the range and number of texts which influence 'ways of seeing how things are'. For people to make sense of their lives on both a personal and global scale, the ability to critically read a wide range of texts is essential. This critical literacy enables them to construct and reconstruct meaning .It assists in developing a more inclusive world view and living with the multiple realities which mirror the interdependent nature of modern day life. As a means of discovering more about self and others, the development of a critical literacy must begin with the acknowledgement of texts that are carried around inside the person or internalised as 'truths'; thoughts, feelings, beliefs, opinions and so on which are manifested in the ways in which a person participates in both a personal and global domain. In other words, these internalised texts have a powerful influence on the ways in which world views are constructed and played out. An examination of these internalised texts is fundamental to the development of a critical literacy and ultimately the development of a Discourse (Gee 1990, 1992, 1993) which allows for the transformation of new ways of talking about new ways of thinking, feeling into new ways of acting. It is thus central to the development of an active global citizen. A transformative Discourse (borrowing from Freire 1972, 1973, 1985, 1987(a), 1987(b) and Gee 1990, 1992, 1993) validates the voice of the individual and it is essential that a teacher scaffolds learners as they construct and reconstruct meaning. Essentially, the teacher needs to model a Discourse of critique and an attitude towards critique so that over time critical Discourse becomes a fundamental part of learning and indeed life. One means of looking inward to interrogate internalised 'truths' and develop new ways of talking, thinking, feeling and acting is for the teacher to engage learners with significant content and a methodology which values multiple realities. A focus on the study of Asia, and in this case a study of Asia-Australia relations, counter balances a prevailing Eurocentric view of 'how things are' and enables learners to reconstruct images of self and other. Bringing the world into the classroom through systematic inquiry allows it to be tilted on its axis and examined from a range of vantage points.
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ItemAfter Freire: a study of the politics and pedagogy of Henry Giroux( 1991)The development of critical pedagogy after the publication of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed has taken many interesting and controversial turns. One theorist who takes up and expands on Freire's insights in a western context is Henry Giroux. Broadly speaking, Giroux writes from a similar vantage point and expresses similar epistemological, political, sociological, and pedagogical viewpoints to Freire. Giroux at the same time addresses his work to an American audience and thus implicitly his works are relevant to us here in Australia. This thesis, whilst dealing with Freire and Giroux, concentrates on Giroux, and attempts to understand and critique the political, pedagogical, and theoretical arguments that sustain and support Giroux's notion of critical pedagogy. Certain key questions arise in any study of such a topic. How democratic is utopian radicalism? What is the relationship between pluralism and democracy? What does it mean to be educated? What are the political and epistemological bases for teaching practice and the function of schools? This thesis contends that, whilst pedagogy may be political, the real area of contestation is the type of politics that Freire and Giroux propose. The central thrust of this thesis combines liberal, pluralist and pragmatic insights in an effort to interrogate the utopianism that informs Giroux's and Freire's position. The arguments put in the thesis are drawn from several intellectual traditions. However, the ultimate vantage point from which Giroux and Freire are critiqued is a liberal one, and ultimately it is from a liberal perspective that Freire's and Giroux's positions are interrogated and understood. The liberal perspective, although not without its obvious flaws, does tie democracy to notions of plurality, difference, choice and tolerance. Issues of inequality and injustice are important in education, but they should be viewed within a paradigm that recognizes contingency and plurality, rather than asserting the possibility of radical utopias. Education should not foreclose on our choices, but rather should provide us with the knowledge with which to make and understand our choices and ourselves. Thus education in the service of utopian ideals may undercut the very goals it seeks to achieve. In short, whilst Giroux and Freire engage in an interesting and sometimes inspiring discourse, I believe the philosophy and politics that informs their positions to be ultimately misconceived.