Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAustralian studies and the Geelong College( 1988)The Geelong College pioneered the teaching of Australian Studies as part of the secondary school curriculum. The notion of teaching about Australia through an inter-disciplinary course was seen as revolutionary in its early days of the mid-1970s. Since that time, however, the teaching of Australian Studies has become increasingly widespread in schools, and also in some tertiary institutions. Over the same period, the Australian Studies course at The Geelong College has undergone review and change according to staff interests, student reaction and the contemporary situation. In the early 1980s, the face of Victorian Education was to change through the effects of the "Blackburn Report", an enquiry into post-compulsory schooling, of which a major recommendation was that all students should undertake a study of Australian society at Levels 11 and 12. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Board has used this recommendation as the basis for introducing a compulsory two-unit course titled "Work and Australian Society" as part of the new Victorian Certificate of Education, which will be fully operational by 1991. The Geelong College, like all other secondary schools in the state, is having to prepare for the introduction of Australian Studies in this form. Although this school has had the advantage of experience with an established Australian Studies course, the present course does not fully satisfy the requirements of the VCAB guidelines; therefore some degree of modification and rewriting is necessary. This thesis will attempt to design, implement and evaluate some units of work for Year 11 Australian Studies students at The Geelong College, units which satisfy both the VCAB requirements and the needs of the student clientele of this particular school. In order to undertake such a project, this thesis initially examines the development in the study of Australian society and culture. It then attempts to identify a methodology which could be used as a model for the planning of curriculum modfications for this course. The nature of the particular institution in question will be examined as a preparatory step to the development of a curriculum. The thesis concludes with a review of the process undertaken and discusses its applicability as a general methodology.
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ItemPerceptions of education and the post-industrial society: a study of student attitudes( 1987)Much has been written in recent years about the emergence of the post-industrial society. The works of writers such as Alvin Toffler, Daniel Bell and Barry Jones have, over the past fifteen years, discussed the question of an emerging new economy and the implications that this will have for both individual citizens and nations. This thesis seeks to examine the attitudes of young people towards the future and to find out the extent to which they feel optimistic or pessimistic about such things as: careers, areas of study at school, the state of the world and contemporary media preoccupations such as nuclear disarmament. The thesis methodology is based on an anaylsis of 2 219 questionnaires completed by Year 10 students in four states, plus a small case study of students' own personal writing about the future. Chapter 3 presents a picture of the post-industrial state as it is popularly portrayed in the press. Chapter 4 examines the way in which education is presented by the media and looks at the criticisms that have been levelled against it by journals such as the Bulletin since 1976. Chapter 5 is an analysis of the survey findings and presents a detailed discussion of these findings. This chapter also tests the validity of hypotheses such as: * That students who intend to seek employment in agriculture and manufacturing will be more likely to feel pessimistic about the future than those who are planning to work in the information and service sector. * That students doing Maths and Science courses will be more optimistic than those doing Humanities and Creative Arts. * That girls will choose careers in more traditional occupations long associated with women, and will therefore feel more pessimistic about the world and the future than boys do.
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ItemDistinguishing the science content taken by grade 12 students( 1977)The population of grade 12 students in Australian secondary schools has been steadily increasing over the past two decades. For most of this period the percentage of students at this level choosing science-type courses has been decreasing, and recently the actual number taking physics and chemistry has declined in some states. This study aimed to find a set of variables that would maximize the prediction of grade 12 student science content. Emphasis was directed toward identification of science talented students not opting for high science content in grade 12, and, equally as important, those of low science ability who select predominantly science courses at this level. It was proposed that the variables could be measures of any area likely to be related to the criterion. For example, factors associated with the home, the school, and personal measures were all included. The variable set was then searched for that combination returning optimal criterion prediction. Attention was focussed on six main units of analysis viz males, males of higher science ability, males of lower science ability, females, females of higher science ability, females of lower science ability. The data in each unit was subjected to both discriminant (stepwise and direct) analysis and a process similar to a stepwise regression procedure called the Automatic Interaction Detector (AID). AID employs a branching process using variance analysis to subdivide the sample into subgroups which maximize dependent variable value prediction. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) conducted a series of tests on a stratified random sample of grade 12 students throughout Australia in 1970. The results, held at ACER, included measures of some 418 variables thirty four of which were selected for this investigation. Included in this group were the results of the four Commonwealth Secondary Scholarship Examination (CSSE) ability tests taken two years earlier. Analysis units were formed on the basis of sex and CSSE - Science score. The results indicate successful science content prediction is possible with the personal or internal variables of science interest, attitudes and abilities, consistently being of greatest importance. The participating external variables vary depending on the unit of analysis. The non-monotonic "State" and "Type of School" factors are predominant in AID analyses.
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ItemPerceptions of Chinese university EFL teachers and learners on appropriate western language teaching methods in use in China( 2004)The last 20 years have witnessed the introduction and the development of `Western' language teaching methods in the Chinese context. A large amount of research has been conducted on this iss�e. Some focuses on the appropriateness and the effectiveness of importing the "Western" methods to the teaching of English as a foreign language in China (Scovel 1983; Burnaby & Sun 1989; Cortazzi & Jin 1996); others suggest teachers and learners from different cultures may have different ideas about what constitutes good teaching (Richards & Lockhart 1994). The present study reports on the results of an investigation into Chinese EFL teachers' and learners' perceptions concerning the appropriateness and effectiveness of Western language teaching methods in use in the Chinese. context. In particular, it attempts to explore their attitudes towards and their evaluation of learner-centred communicative activities in use in their English Intensive Reading classes. The major findings of this study is that, first, both teachers and learners understand learner-centred and communicative language teaching well and hold positive attitudes towards the Western methods, which make it possible and feasible to introduce and implement communicative approach in China. They are also aware of the difference between the Western and the Chinese contexts and point out that adaptation is necessary when introducing the Western methods to the Chinese context. Secondly, this study also finds a mismatch between teachers and learners in terms of their understanding of and attitudes towards Western methods. Learners seem to be more positive than their teachers to welcome learner-centred communicative approach, which is far beyond their teachers' anticipations. This indicates the importance of negotiation between teachers and learners in Chinese EFL classes.
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ItemSucceeding academically at a working-class school: some case studies( 1990)In this pilot study, I chose to interview only academically successful students because I wanted to identify as many as possible of the factors that might be unique to this group. In a larger study it would be necessary to interview the unsuccessful as well to establish whether the characteristics identified were in fact unique to the successful students. (From chapter 1)