Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemStudent expectations of the future( 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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ItemThe impact of the zone based professional development program, "Skill review and professional development", on knowledge, understanding and practice within selected school communities( 1995)While engaged in documenting a retrospective account of a zone based professional development program, Skill Review and Professional Development, which aimed to support school communities in the implementation of skill review and professional development according to the Tripartite Agreement on School Development Planning, I reflected on a statement by Harwayne (1992): 'We take courses. We attend workshops. We read books, We get lots of information. But the really important information comes later on. It comes when we take that seed information back to our classrooms, when we experiment and innovate and invent, when we make it our own. The story really is 'to be continued' (p.337 ). This reflection led to the following questions which drove my investigation: # has the 'seed information' collected during the program been taken back to the school level?; # have school communities been able to 'experiment', 'innovate' and 'invent' in order to make skill review and professional development their own?; and, # in what areas has the zone based professional development program, Skill Review and Professional Development, impacted at the school level? The information gathered to discover the answers to these questions was qualitative in nature and comes from those involved directly with the delivery and implementation of the program. The information draws on what happened at the zone level and what is now happening at the school level. The gathered data took the form of words: written and anecdotal; record and document observations; and transcripts of discussions and interviews, as words captured the spirit of the happenings. The writings of Joyce and Showers (1987), Joyce and Weil (1992), Fullan and Stiegelbauer (1991), Hargreaves (1992), Fullan (1993), Johnson (1993), Guskey (1994) and others have helped make sense of the impact of this program at the school level.
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ItemThe academic achievements of language centre students at a secondary college( 2001)What are the academic achievements of adolescent new-arrival English as a Second Language (ESL) students at secondary schools in Victoria, Australia? Research on Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) students in Australia has tended to neglect new arrival ESL students. To examine the academic achievements of this important subgroup of NESB students, the current study will highlight the academic achievements of a cohort of Victorian Language Centre students at a Secondary College over six years with interruption to schooling in their first language (L1) as the key variable linked to academic achievement in their second language (L2). Victorian Language Centres provide new-arrival ESL students with the English skills they need to start their secondary educations in L2. The current study examined the academic achievement of two groups of Language Centre students, those who completed their Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and those who left the Secondary College prior to completing VCE. Their academic results were summarised into spreadsheets for quantitative analysis. Subsequent to the quantitative analysis interviews were conducted with four ESL students from the Language Centre currently completing their VCE studies to provide further insight into the factors that enabled them to do their VCE. Results indicate that the academic achievements of this cohort of ESL Language Centre students are poor and that interruption to education in Ll had a major impact on the students' ability to achieve academically at the Secondary College. The study suggests that L1 education is the key variable influencing the student's ability to acquire the academic language skills necessary to meet the academic demands of secondary education, particularly the VCE. Other factors such as support for learning and strong motivation were found to help students overcome difficulties encountered in their secondary education. However, students who were unable to overcome these difficulties left the College prior to completing VCE. It was concluded that the majority of Language Centre students faced uncertain economic futures once they left the Secondary College. The results of the study suggest that Language Centre students need more support and assistance to enable them to complete VCE or to access educational alternatives to the VCE. This study also suggests that more research into the effect of L1 education on L2 education be conducted as this was found to be the key variable in the students' ability to acquire the academic language skills necessary to meet the academic demands of VCE.
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ItemHuman capital : a case study of the AMEP( 1995)This study is an investigation of the Human Capital Approach to education in Australia. It examines whether or not the Commonwealth Government is steering education towards the incorporation of policies that invest greater emphasis and resources into human beings as contributors to economic productivity than it invests in their cultural and aesthetic value. The study incorporates the philosophies of the Human Capitalists and how successive Commonwealth and State Governments apply these philosophies in education policy formulation - particularly the provision of English language to adult migrants through the Adult Migrant Education Program in Victoria. The methodology used is a questionnaire of closed and open-ended questions distributed to AMEP teachers. The researcher duly followed up the questionnaire with interviews of four AMEP teachers in an endeavour to shed more light on the reasons behind the responses given by teachers in the questionnaire. The researcher undertook an analysis of the responses in order to investigate whether or not the Commonwealth Government gives primacy to economic objectives of the migration program over its social, cultural and linguistic objectives. The findings are that the AMEP teachers surveyed believe that the Commonwealth Government does emphasize economic objectives over all other objectives of the migration program. A Human Capital approach to education, reflected in the application of Economic Rationalism, is apparent in Australia's education system according to AMEP teachers surveyed and that such has been the case since the late 1970s. The literary works of Schultz, Smith, Dawkins, Piore, Crittenden, Benovat, Green, Pusey, Kennedy, Marginson and Grubb are included in this study. These works form the literature review of the Human Capital approach. As well, the Reports chaired by Karmel, Williams, Kirby, Fitzgerald and Campbell, and a variety of Commonwealth Reports and Working Party Papers into various aspects of education in Australia are represented in an investigation of the application of the Human Capital approach to education in Australia's main education policies. The findings of this research are that the Human Capital approach to education is influencing the AMEP and that this has wider implications for the national education system in Australia. Almost all AMEP teachers surveyed believe the AMEP no longer follows its own National Plan, in which it spells out its aims and objectives, but pursues the Commonwealth Government's primary objective of pursuing the economic aims and benefits of the migration program.
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ItemCurriculum and programme provisions for gifted and talented children in Victorian J.S.H.A.A. schools( 1992)This study has surveyed the provision of programmes for Children with High Intellectual Potential (C.H.I.P.) in Victorian member schools of the Junior Schools Heads Association Australia. Fifty-nine schools were surveyed; fifty-four responded, representing some 19,000 junior school children. The survey was divided into six sections covering staffing provisions, curriculum and programmes, definition of gifted children, identification procedures, changing perspectives and importance of C.H.I.P., and subscriptions to journals. The literature search was divided into two distinct sections. Within the Australian context the review was historical, marking the modern beginnings of education for C.H.I.P.. There is a dearth of literature with Australian origins on gifted and talented children. The late seventies and early eighties uncover some material, basically funded and inspired by the Commonwealth Schools Commission. The emphasis is on surveys of programmes. The conclusion is clear that what programmes were operating were ad hoc in nature. This was inevitable, as teacher training for C.H.I.P. was non-existent. In the early eighties, promising programmes in the Victorian Education Department and the Catholic Education system were quickly quashed by a change of government. Major writers such as Gallagher, Maker and Van Tassel-Bash identify three distinct curriculum models, the Content, the Process/Product and the Epistemological. There is no evidence at this stage to suggest that the Victorian C.H.I.P. programmes are anything more than ad hoc. They do not fit into the three identified curriculum models. In-class provision is the main methodology, with programmes based on Bloom's Taxonomy or the Sato/Kaplan Differentiated Curriculum. Many schools are not yet operating strongly founded theoretical based programmes, and are clearly moving without direction. There is lack of understanding of the concept of C.H.I.P., even though identification procedures are quite sophisticated. Interest in teacher in-service appears to be growing rapidly. There is clearly a crucial need to provide pre-service courses at teacher training institutions. The major need for C.H.I.P. is for the Commonwealth government and the Ministry of Education in Victoria to develop and implement a policy on gifted and talented children.
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ItemChinese/Anglo-Celtic bicultural children's education experiences in Australia( 2001)This study explores, through three case studies, how home, school and community factors have influenced the education and development experiences of Chinese/Anglo-Celtic bicultural children attending Australian schools. The worldwide lack of previous research on the education of bicultural children and the high outmarriage rate of Chinese-Australian women make it important to understand whether Chinese/Anglo-Celtic children experience similar or different education problems to those experienced by monocultural minority and mainstream children The data was collected from parents and children through questionnaires and individual interviews conducted at each family home. All the participant families were referred to the researcher by colleagues and were previously unknown to the researcher. The findings indicate that the children's home environments have influenced the varying levels of their Chinese and Australian cultural values and language skills. However, they all generally appear psychologically stable and have successfully integrated into their respective schools and mainstream society.
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ItemBuilding social relationships with peers for children with developmental delay( 1993)The focus of the study was to examine the peer social interaction skills of four preschool aged children with developmental delay, across two terms. A case study methodology was chosen because of the variability of skill amongst children with developmental delay. The children's interaction with peers was measured under three different teaching methods in their early intervention and integrated preschool settings Videoed observation of the children's free play interactions were analysed using an observational instrument developed from the literature. Results demonstrated consistently that children with delayed development had difficulty in integrating basic skills to become socially effective. The study reinforced the need for intervention and found several factors that were consistent in promoting social competence. There was a clear finding that was consistent across all four children and the eight contexts. The social interaction between these children and their peers was increased when staff facilitated interaction through group composition selection of activities and the scaffolding of interactive tasks to an appropriate developmental level. Peer interaction was further enhanced when staff used subtle cues suggestions and encouragement at critical moments.
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ItemAuditory skills program( 1993)The Auditory Skills Program is a comprehensive graded program to develop speech and language processing skills through audition and to enhance spoken language skills in students with hearing impairment. The program has two sections:- A section for school aged students who generally have established language and cognition and would be learning to listen to the language they have already developed and would be improving skills such as auditory memory and auditory sequencing; A second section for babies and younger students who would be developing language, speech and cognitive skills through audition. Further sections were also developed:- A placement test was designed for the section for school aged students so that students could be easily placed at an appropriate level in the program. A section on phonemes and suprasegmentals was developed to assist in the development/remediation of specific speech targets. A section on audiological management was included to ensure the appropriate aiding of students at all times. In addition to the manuals, an audio cassette and a video cassette were produced. The audio cassette was designed to develop more complex listening skills - for example, listening to a taped signal and listening with competing stimuli. The video was developed to demonstrate the different skills at various levels in the program being taught to profoundly deaf students.
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ItemNight of the notables : a program for gifted and talented students intended to provide modelling for life from the lives of the eminent and famous for use as gifted education in schools( 1994)One of the continuing needs for the education of gifted and talented children is the provision of effective role models who are their intellectual peers. Being gifted brings special conditions and demands special provisions for a differentiated education. This thesis documents the development, implementation and evaluation of an educational Program intended to cater for the needs of gifted and talented children. It uses the lives of eminent personalities to provide gifted children with role models in life for coping with the phenomenon of giftedness. It argues that such studies provide real-world role modelling, mastery of life-long skills and a strong motivation to achieve. The theoretical base selected is George T. Betts' autonomous learner model, where longer and deeper personal research is supported by athome, in-class and in-school provisions to encourage students to develop higher level communication skills and better self concepts about themselves as gifted persons. The Program, entitled the Night of the Notables, is a flexible educational Program, being both user and teacher friendly, one that can be used as enrichment or extension in selected groups or in general ability classrooms, over shorter or longer time spans, for both gifted and talented, and across several age groups. The thesis documents the progress of the study with lower secondary students at a suburban independent school, analyses data supporting hypotheses about increased cognitive and affective skills, and provides original materials developed to run the Program. Implications for preferring similar methodologies for teaching gifted and talented are developed and explored. It is argued that Night of the Notables is a suitable new model for Australian gifted education. It is adaptable as a stand alone Program or as an infused one. It is multi layered so it can meet the needs of a wide variety of ability levels. It emphasises student choice and commitment and so is similar to the admirable Renzulli Type III Enrichment for gifted education.
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ItemEthnic community schools in Victoria : case studies of three after-hours ethnic schools( 2000)In recent years, interest in the state of ethnic community languages in Australia has brought heightened attention to after-hours ethnic schools and the important role they play in the maintenance and development of languages other than English (LOTEs). While the importance of ethnic schools and their language teaching and maintenance role is today widely recognized by the Australian government, these schools also fulfil a number of other functions for their communities in addition to simply being providers of languages. A descriptive analysis of the cases of three after-hours ethnic schools and their current situation and role is presented in this study with the intent to compare and broaden the view of these schools and their roles and functions. This study examines the current situation and roles of ethnic schools in Victoria using a case study approach within a qualitative research method of inquiry. Extensive data were gathered from participant observations, document analyses, and interviews with parents, teachers and administrators associated with the Latvian, Chinese and Somali ethnic schools. The schools chosen for this study emanate from three very different communities, with contrasting cultures and varying histories of development in Australia. Hence, case studies of each of the schools illustrate their unique process of development; their distinct characteristics, curriculum emphases and instructional approaches; the ways in which the schools are organized and maintained; and their stated aims and goals. Findings from this study showed notable similarities and differences among the three schools. When comparing the schools, variations are in terms of the levels of education they offer, the size of their student enrollment, their curriculum emphases and instructional approaches, the ways in which the schools are organized and maintained, their student population and their varying levels of language competency, as well as differences in the degree of involvement of parents and members from their community. While differing in many respects, the prime aim of these schools is to teach and maintain their ethnic community languages and cultures. Their implicit functions are also to assist in family communication; to develop friendship and a sense of community among students, parents and other schools members; and to socialize and promote in students a strong sense of ethnic identity.