Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemManagement development strategies and their contribution to organizational learning( 1998)This study investigates the role of frontline managers in bringing about change in the workplace and the ways in which the learning needs of these managers can be supported in a production environment. Within the context of economic reform and technological change, as discussed in the literature, a group of frontline managers from a rural food production company was interviewed. Their responses are discussed, in light of the current understanding of the importance of the development of the workplace as a learning environment and the valuable contribution that all forms of learning, including formal and informal learning experiences, can provide. The fieldwork indicates that the "culture" of the workplace dictates and influences the types of learning that are recognized as legitimate and, therefore, considered valuable. Whilst training opportunities for managers have been made available within the organization, these have not been specifically planned for individuals, but rather have been in response to the organization's perception of developing generic management skills. The thesis concludes that frontline managers, whilst playing a central role in bringing about positive change within the workplace, need support to develop appropriate skills and it is also clear that recognition must be given to the role of all employees, not just managers, in contributing to the development of a long-term enterprise vision.
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ItemThe poetical understanding of children's imagery of nature : how is poetical understanding evident in children's art?( 2005)This study explores the way in which preschool children engage in the creative process and how their sensory engagement with nature leads to invention of poetical attributes and symbols in their art. The study also examines the teacher's role in creating an environment that nurtures sensory learning, provides new energy and fosters discovery. This study also inquires into the educational theories of 'Reggio Emilia', 'emergent curriculum' and 'phenomenological pedagogy' and their influence in exploring significant moments of children's art creating within the process of 'aesthetic engagement' and 'aesthetic cognition'. The data related to these moments consists of children's visual and verbal images of nature that allowed me to unfold their perceptions of nature associated with beauty and make them evident to the viewer. In that sense data analysis reveals both mine and children's discoveries, with an emphasis on utilizing children's voices within the arts curriculum and making them protagonists of their own learning.
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ItemA Review of the changes necessary to ensure the successful implementation and maintenance of a competency based training and assessment program into the Australian Customs Service( 1995)This review examines the changes necessary to to ensure the successful implementation of competency based training and assessment into the Australian Customs Service as recommended by the "Review of the Australian Customs Service and Australian Customs Service - Report of the Consultancy for a Human Resource Development Plan" completed in November 1993.
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ItemGuiding, guiding : constructing leadership for young women( 2001)Guiding Guiding, Constructing Leadership for Young Women by Felicity Wightwick seeks to answer the research question: To what extent are young women's perceptions of leadership experiences shaped by formal training?' The reactions of several young women from Guides Australia to their leadership experiences, in particular the Guides Australia/BHP Young Leader (Leading Edge) seminar held in July 1999, are explored. Although the number of participants is small and therefore the findings limited, some interesting and worthwhile themes emerged from the research. This includes a leadership model that provides a possible structure upon which training that seeks to further the concept of community capacity building could be based.
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ItemOut of the frying pan : to what extent does Certificate III in hospitality (Commercial Cookery) prepare students for further education?( 2009)Further education, a subset of lifelong learning occurring post-compulsory schooling, is an educational and economic requirement to re-skill the workforce for current rapid technological changes requiring broadly-focused skills sets. Further education for cooks generally occurs at an Institute of Technological and Further Education (TAFE). The marketing of most TAFEs state they offer improved vocational and further educational pathways. A cook's career is often characterised by a lack of planning, transience, impulsiveness and chance. Professional cooks focus on attaining a set of culinary craft-specific skills which have limited applicability to other careers, whilst often missing opportunities to learn skills of a broader focus. Many cooks have poor experiences of formal education, both in compulsory schooling and at TAFE. Most cooks tend to career change with less than ten years experience of professional kitchens. Changing career increasingly requires pre-training from a formal education provider, however previous poor experiences of formal education inhibits this re-engagement for many cooks. The research explored the perceptions of twenty-four Commercial Cookery students (fifteen male and nine female) and their four (three male and one female) chef-trainers from a metropolitan TAFE (seventeen respondents) and a rural TAFE (eleven respondents) about the extent to which Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) is preparation for further education. The research explored how experiences Of TAFE and professional kitchens impacted on later re-engagement with further education. To achieve this, the research sought the opinions of apprentices through focus groups and chef-trainers through semi-structured interviews. The findings of this study indicate a need to review, anticipate, promote and prepare for the nexus between professional cooking and career change. Further, this study highlights the dominance of the paper-based assessment paradigm, and finds that this is a major obstacle to accessing much further education for kinaesthetic learners. This study should assist curriculum development through recommending scaffolding for later re-engagement with further education within Commercial Cookery study with a view to giving students a better chance to take control of their long-term future.
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ItemTraining needs of small business( 1990)Research in the area of Small Business has regularly pointed to the high failure rate, especially for those businesses in their early years of operation. These studies frequently recommend the need for more training of the small business owner/manager. If training is to be successful it must address a need which has been observed. To enable the training of the small business owner/manager to be more effective their needs must be ascertained. This study examines a sample of small business owner/managers and their attitudes to and requirements for training. Small business owner/managers were questioned about their present and desired levels of knowledge, skills and attitudes relating to small business management. By making a comparison of the desired levels with present levels the most commonly occurring gaps in owner/managers' knowledge, skills and attitudes were identified. These have been defined as training needs of this group. These needs are further categorised according to the profiles of the owners. From the survey results training needs have been identified and target groups highlighted for improved marketing of courses by the various providers of small business training.
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ItemAn investigation of the effect of teachers' reflection on their development of pedagogical content knowledge for teaching primary mathematics( 2008)In recent years, teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has become the subject of an increasing volume of research. Another body of literature has grown around the subject of reflection, and its effect on practice. Although a link between the two has often been assumed, few have attempted to map this link explicitly. This study investigates the possibility of such a link, and explores possible descriptions of the link. This case study compared two primary (elementary) teachers, investigating both their PCK and their reflection. The teachers were asked to complete a written questionnaire about mathematics teaching, including some questions requiring a response to hypothetical classroom situations. They were then interviewed about the questionnaire. The teachers were observed as they taught, and interviewed about those lessons. The questionnaire and first interview were used to investigate the teachers' PCK, and all interviews were used to investigate the teachers' reflection. One teacher was found to have both rich and well-connected PCK, and a strong tendency to reflect. The second teacher was found to have much weaker PCK than the first, and also demonstrated less reflection. Some examples of the first teacher's reflection were examined, to investigate the possibility that the teacher's reflection had an influence on the development of PCK. PCK was observed to develop during reflection, suggesting that reflection influences the development of PCK.