Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 3 of 3
-
ItemVedic education (Gurukula) in a contemporary context : considerations for a Krishna conscious thinking curriculum( 1997)This thesis presents the Vedic system of education (Gurukula) in a contemporary context. By means of a detailed description and analysis of the essential characteristics underlying the rationale of Vedic education, the Gurukula system is defined from within the tradition it has evolved. I examine the social dimension of Vedic education and consider the importance of a supportive culture. The organisation of society according to varna-asramadharma is described within this thesis and the original intent of its conception defined. Education is described in terms of its purposive nature, the goal being to develop consciousness. Krishna consciousness is described as a state of reality which enables the soul to identify as spiritual, and in that capacity discriminate between spirit and matter. Individuality in this analysis is defined as the constitutional position of the soul. The sanctity of the individual is maintained throughout human life by recourse to the proper use of intelligence. The Gurukula endeavours to provide a framework within which its members can develop the capacity to cultivate a level of consciousness suitable for participation in the culture represented by the Vedic world-view. I have argued a case for developing appropriate curriculum, which enhances both the culture and the process. The educational implications of teaching children to discriminate within a religious framework, while at the same time maintain their independence and power of critical thinking is a challenge. An appropriate program for providing children with the power of discrimination is considered an essential element of education in this thesis. The Philosophy for Children program established by Lipman and colleagues provides educators with a process for encouraging better thinking in the classroom. An essential element in this program is the development of "the community of inquiry". Religious education delivered according to the philosophical inquiry model is recommended in this thesis. This research specifically aims to assist the development of primary curriculum.
-
ItemAssessing critical reading performance in an EAP classroom( 2003)A widespread perception among EAP teachers and course designers in Australia is that Asian university students need some formal training in text analysis and critical thought. To be more precise, Asian students are often portrayed as victims of Asian education, where students are taught to rote learn and memorise, rather than question and analyse as they might be taught in Australia. EAP classes often rest on generalisations about cultural differences, constructing critical reading tasks on the assumption that the problems students encounter in completing critical reading tasks relates to the way they read rather than how they respond to what they read (that is, their familiarity and ability to reproduce arguments in acceptable and culturally expected ways). While EAP researchers have spent considerable energy on improving critical reading methodologies, there has been very little research on the assessment of critical reading in EAP classes. In particular, very little research has offered any explanation of what might constitute evidence of learning to read and respond at a high level. In this thesis, I develop a criterion-referenced critical reading performance rubric, informed by Ballard and Clanchy's (1984; 1988; 1997) research on critical analysis and Toulmin's (1958; 1972; 1984) theories on reasoning and argumentation, to examine the clarity, evidence and logic (CEL) of students' critical reading responses and the influence of text selection on student reasoning skills. Secondly, I explore with students some factors they perceive as affecting their reading performances including text selection. The findings of this research reveal that there are distinct patterns in critical reading performances characterising low, medium and high level students, and that subject matter may be less significant to students' reading performances than they seem to believe. In discussing critical reading performances with students, they identified several factors such as a lack of subject knowledge, a lack of time and a misunderstanding of their purpose in completing the task which significantly affected their performance. Additionally, students perceived their future performances could be improved by choosing texts with subject matter more closely aligned to their academic field. The findings also reveal that most students feel that critically examining topics relating to Australian social issues are not helpful to the overall development of their critical reading skills.
-
ItemCritical thinking, culture and context: an investigation of teaching and learning in introductory macroeconomics( 2001)This study is an investigation of a critical thinking task, Critical and Analytical Learning in Macroeconomics (CALM), in its educational setting. CALM is an assessment task in a first year subject in an Australian university. The study takes into account the context of student learning, situated as it is within the discourses of Western tertiary education and the academic discipline of economics. Into the teaching environment, students bring with them their own previous learning experiences and cultural understandings. The study explores the relationship between the teaching context and the students' own background and the effect that this relationship has on learning. In particular, this study explores critical thinking as described by the students of Introductory Macroeconomics, the designers of the CALM project and the tutors. Two groups of students are considered in this study, local English speaking students and international Chinese speaking students. These two groups are significant in the student population in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce in which this study took place. Interviews were used to collect data from the designers of the CALM project and the students. A focus group and an interview were used to collect data from the tutors. From the data a three level model of critical thinking emerged. This model was informed by the three conceptualisations of critical thinking found the literature. The CALM designers' understandings of critical thinking had a profound influence on the ways in which critical thinking was perceived by the students, both local and international. Students' notions of critical thinking were shaped by the guidelines on critical thinking given to them by their lecturer. Although international students reported that they found the critical thinking task unfamiliar and that this difficulty was compounded by learning in a second language, they still described critical thinking in similar ways to their local counterparts. This similarity can be explained largely by the effort that the international students put into adapting to their new learning environment. Although the tutors had some divergent notions of critical thinking, their ideas had little influence on the students' understandings of critical thinking owing to the constraints of the subject and its assessment practices. This study signals the need for clear conceptualisation of complex notions such as critical thinking and for explicit teaching, modelling and scaffolding of what critical thinking involves. It also points to the need for an unpacking of the assumptions surrounding academic tasks, in this case critical thinking. In addition the study points to the limitations of critical thinking presented to students.