Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAsian studies in Australian education 1970-2002 : a study of four reports( 2005)For well over a hundred years Australia's relationship with Asia has been contentious. In contemporary Australia there is still an ongoing debate on Australia's possible place in and relationship with Asia. The debate occurs across the social and political spectrum in Australian society. Over recent decades this debate has been a major policy issue in education policy for both federal and state governments. The argument for the study of Asia in education is not immune from this wider political and social discourse addressing Australia's position and place in Asia. Between 1970 and 2002 there have been four major Reports on Asian studies in Australian Education. The reports: the Auchmuty Report (1970), the FitzGerald Report (1980), the Ingleson Report (1989) and the Jeffrey Report (2002) offer a unique opportunity to chart the development of Asian studies and languages in Australian education over an extended period of time. The reports provide a unique insight into the state of Asian studies at approximately ten year intervals. Each report offers a detailed account of the contemporary situation, mostly in the universities, of the study of Asia and languages. Each offers explicit policy recommendations to enhance the position of the study of Asia into the future. The recommendations are directed to government, educational authorities, universities and members of the profession. These reports provide the basis for this thesis. For the study of Asia to gain an accepted and permanent place in the curricula in Australian = education and in particular in universities, new approaches to policy development and implementation must occur. The traditional culture of the universities, the European tradition, must be challenged as it presents many barriers, both pedagogical and administrative, to acceptance of the study of Asia. In addition, over the last 15 years, Australian universities are being continually reshaped by a change process instigated by the Federal government. All disciplines have been and are still being affected by these changes. The case for the study of Asia must be framed in such a way that it recognizes and responds to these organizational and financial changes and challenges if the study of Asia is to become a key component of the curricula. The contention of this thesis is that the study of Asia and Asian language must have an accepted and recognized position in Australian education at all levels. The policy advocacy for the study of Asia, while recognizing the pragmatic reasons of improved economic ties and outcomes and political relations should, at the same time, highlight the invaluable learning opportunity that the study of Asia's many and varied histories and cultures provide. The study of Asia, then, would meet the economic and vocational imperatives of present government policy while at the same time contributing to a greater understanding of society.
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ItemSharing the spirit: transmission of charism by religious congregations( 1998)Catholic schools have experienced significant changes in recent years. Other than the pressures that all schools face, the issue of the identity of Catholic schools has loomed large. With the dramatic decrease in the active membership of religious congregations, the continuation of their charism, their philosophical and spiritual tradition, has been a crucial concern. In this study, the processes for charism transmission were examined in order to identify these processes and their underlying assumptions. Through the use of interviews, participant observations and document analyses, the processes for charism transmission currently in use were documented. Charism transmission was found to occur through a range of formal and informal processes. Informal processes included school structures, networks, personal contact and the everyday reality of school life. Formal processes included a range of programs planned to share overtly the charism with lay colleagues. These included inservices, extended reflection programs and explorations of personal spirituality. These processes were consistent with the definition of charism proposed by Lee (1989) and with the model of shared praxis proposed by Groome (1991). In addition, vision, in this study, was influenced significantly by the historical context and tradition of the group. Thus, the description of vision, as proposed by Staessens and Vandenberghe (1995), was augmented with this additional perspective. The assumptions, which strongly influenced the chosen processes, were primarily related to the expected roles of religious and their lay colleagues. Although a shared or mutual responsibility was advocated by the majority of congregations, the processes employed were not always consistent with that assumption. As a result, a framework, based on the work of Butler (1996), for the development of more coherent and comprehensive approaches has been proposed.