Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemLeadership and management in three exemplar non-government Australian Christian schools( 2000)The aim of this study was to identify some of the keys to the success of three non-government Protestant Christian schools, two parent controlled and one church sponsored. An expert panel nominated successful schools. Those with the greatest number of nominations were invited to become case studies. Qualitative methods of in-depth interviewing and document study were employed in each of the three schools. Eleven interviews were conducted, three chairpersons, three principals, three deputies, one school general manager and one sponsoring church general manager. The two research questions focused on a description of the current leadership and management practices and an understanding of the outcomes of the leadership and management in the lives of the students. These questions were developed into a conceptual framework that underpinned the study, namely that the leadership and management styles create distinctive structures in effective schools that in turn lead to the key attributes of success in the three Christian schools. The most significant findings of the research were that a collaborative leadership style dominated the organisations and that the school boards were now concentrating on governance and the implementation of a modified CEO model for their principals. Distinctive enrolment policies were being carefully implemented by committed Christian teachers whose contribution was regarded as the single most important factor that has led to the success of the schools. The teachers' primary objective was to see the lives of the students transformed, which was the central feature of the schools' dynamic vision. It is hoped that this study will be of value to anyone who wishes to see Christian schooling in Australia continue to succeed.
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ItemThe year co-ordinator in selected Victorian metropolitan independent schools : profile, practice and prospects( 1987)This study was designed to examine the position and role of the Year Co-ordinator in selected Victorian Metropolitan Independent schools. The principal objectives of the study were: (i) to discover what sorts of persons undertake this role and establish whether they have personal, academic and career characteristics in common; (ii) to look at the year co-ordinator's perception of the role; and (iii) to examine the career interests of year co-ordinators and, in particular, to gauge their opinions on how well their present role is preparing them for future responsibilities, such as Deputy Principal or Principal. A questionnaire was distributed to forty AHISA affiliated Independent schools in Victoria. Twenty eight valid responses were received. Six Principals returned their questionnaires stating that the position of year co-ordinator did not exist in their schools. The schools who did not reply were telephoned and it was established that year co-ordinators did exist in those schools.
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ItemHawthorn Leadership Assessment Centre : a case study of assessors' perceptions( 2001)The implementation of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Assessment Centre at Hawthorn Leadership Assessment Centre (HLAC) is a part of The University of Melbourne s post-graduate syllabus. At the completion of an assessment centre assessors were interviewed. Their perceptions indicate that H LAC is an effective professional development activity for participants and assessors alike. This finding emerged through the implementation of a semi structured interview schedule. The study also found that assessors believed a more culturally relevant model reflective of local practice be explored or incorporated into the franchised NASSP model.
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ItemSchools of the Future and curriculum development and implementation : an investigation( 1995)Restructure of the Ministry of Education has ensured that schools are no longer centrally administered but are self-managing within the Schools of the Future program under the Directorate of School Education. As a result, changes have occurred in many areas including administration, financial management, staffing structure and teacher support in areas such as curriculum. This study investigates three schools that are members of the Schools of the Future Pilot Program and seeks to find the effect that the changes from the Program, have had on Curriculum Development and Implementation. The study reviews the literature available on the topic, in particular the notion of self-managing schools in Victoria. Therefore it reviews information on the Schools of the Future Program. It also seeks to understand the effect of changes in curriculum policy and the provision of professional development. The study also seeks to explore the effect of leadership style on the implementation of curriculum within a school. Qualitative research methods were employed when data was collected from the three participating schools. The schools were selected for the following reasons: (i) they are members of the Schools of the Future Pilot Program(or Intake 1); (ii) they are situated in a similar socio-economic area; (iii) the author had ready access to those schools. By applying grounded theory technique to the data a model was developed - The Curriculum Triangle. This model is a suggested representation of what is occurring in the selected schools and could be used further to analyse data from schools, and thus generate the possible areas requiring professional development and curriculum leadership.
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ItemMovements towards the senior campus concept: two case studies providing description of early movements in the reorganization of secondary schooling in Victoria aimed at providing an educational environment suited for young adults( 1987)This thesis investigates early movements directed towards the emergence of a new form of secondary school organization in Victoria, namely the senior campus. Two elements are identified as having been instrumental in heralding this development, firstly the phenomenon of zero population growth (and a concomitant decline in school enrolments) and secondly, a number of key recommendations of the Ministerial Review of Postcompulsory Schooling, more commonly known as the Blackburn Report. A major causal factor in defining the characteristics of the senior campus, and in ensuring its evolution, has been the influence of powerful teachers' unions upon government policy formulation in this state. The review of literature examines the development, and characteristics, of parallel forms of schooling in other parts of Australia and overseas, endeavours to establish a framework against which the evolution of the senior campus can be compared, and seeks to provide the means of identifying reasons why forms of schooling which have been popular, and successful, in other places, have been deemed as unacceptable for implementation in Victoria. The methodology adopted has been to undertake two case studies, one in Essendon, and the other in Mitcham. Each concerned a group of schools involved in the process of rationalization and reorganization, and each provided for the establishment of a senior campus for students in Years Eleven and Twelve. A common structure was adopted in both cases - Part A provides an analysis of background documents, and Part B provides description of the change process from the vantage point of a participant observer. The Essendon study presents a conceptual model for the reorganization of schooling in the Essendon area, and the Mitcham study describes the evolution of Mullauna College, a multi-campus, P-12 college which will be established early in 1980.
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ItemLeadership frames and principals' learning( 1995)This thesis forms part of the Review of the Schools of the Future "Leading Victoria's Schools of the Future" undertaken by the University of Melbourne - Institute of Education, in conjunction with the Directorate of School Education and Principal Associations. The Schools of the Future program was initiated by the newly elected Victorian Liberal Government in 1993. It involves the devolution of authority and responsibility to the local school level and a decrease in the central role of the DSE. The scope of change has required a staged introduction process and extensive professional development activities. The implementation process has resulted in 500 schools joining the SOTF program every six months with the process being completed by the end of 1995. This thesis was designed to provide a review of the professional development activities associated with the implementation of the SOTF program. It uses the Bolman and Deal (1991) framework of organisational theory, as adapted by Cheng (1993) to analyse the leadership orientations of principals and their past, present and future professional development needs. The framework provides five areas - structural, human resource, symbolic, political and Sergiovanni's (1984) educational frames. Both a quantitative and qualitative methodology was used. A survey was sent to eighty principals randomly selected from Intake Three of SOTF. The results to the survey provided the frame orientations of principals as well as data on the four most significant professional development activities undertaken in the last five years. An analysis of the data provided information which enabled the selection of two principals for interviewing at the Intake and Implementation stage of the SOTF program. The data are reported as survey and interview results. The qualitative work - based on Miles and Huberman (1984) relied on data reduction, data display, data collection, involving counting and noting patterns and themes, and conclusions drawing and verification methods. The findings clearly indicate that principals of SOTF have strong human resource and educational frames. However, there is need to provide professional development activities in the symbolic and political frame areas as these frames are strong indicators of leader effectiveness but are the least preferred frames by principals. The principals found that the collegiate group provided significant support during the charter writing stage and in some instances, beyond. Professional development activities need to be provided during the implementation stage of the SOTF program. The data suggests that there is an urgent need for the DSE to present a strategic plan of the direction of education and to slow down the rate of change so that schools at the local level can address their needs.