Faculty of Education - Theses

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    Student expectations of the future
    Pepper, Laele ( 1992)
    Specific aims of the study To investigate how present-day students view the future and their place in the workforce of the future. To establish whether or not students regard their present educational experiences as an adequate preparation for their future work. To investigate acceptance of unconventional futures scenarios as possible futures.
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    Successful leaders in successful schools: a case study of a government primary school principal in Victoria, Australia
    Hardy, Richard ( 2006)
    The research examined the leadership behaviour exhibited by a principal of a successful school. It used a single case study of a successful primary school based in Victoria, Australia, using qualitative analysis involving structured open-ended interviews from the multiple perspectives of the principal, teachers, non-teaching staff, parents and students. This research ensured that teachers, other school staff, parents and students were able to comment and thus verify and add to the statements the principal made. The research continued work carried out by Day, Harris and Hadfield. It has contributed an Australian perspective to an international research project on this issue, the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP). The research found it was the principal who made a major contribution to the improvement of the school. Over his tenure as principal, and through his vision, dedication and passion, the principal improved the learning outcomes for all students at his school. He not only improved the academic nature of the school but created a safe and nurturing environment that encouraged the children to want to go to school and to succeed. The research reinforced a lot of what past research has suggested is required for a leader to make an impact or improve the situation in a school. He shared and articulated a clear vision that the staff made their own. The principal, being the main leader, and through empowering others, had made important contributions to student learning. He had mastered a core set of basic leadership practices, was and made everyone accountable for their results and performance, and sought and provided constant feedback. He was a spokesman and role model and defender of social equity and fairness. The research found that most of these qualities the principal displayed appeared to stem from the character of the man - his moral and ethical stance and his commitment to the principles of equity and social justice. His leadership style had extended beyond just transformational leadership to be better described as a highly political, value-led contingency model of transformational leadership. This research contributes to identifying the characteristics and skills that are necessary to create and maintain a successful school and to informing professional development programs for current and future principals.
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    Teacher perspectives: the head injured student returns to school: a pilot study
    Berryman, Cally ( 1993)
    This exploratory research sets out to examine teachers' perspectives of teaching head injured students who had returned to regular schools after sustaining an accident or trauma. Thirty teachers from secondary and tertiary schools took part in the study. Qualitative and quantitative methods of research were utilised. The 30 secondary and tertiary teachers were interviewed and a questionnaire was used which was analysed by SPSSx package. The findings of the study indicated that years of teaching experience does not enable a teacher to cope better with teaching head injured students returning to their classes. The findings also indicate that teachers with special education are not prepared for teaching and dealing with head injured students.