Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe community language school: a study on early adolescents' coping and attachment to parents, peers and teachers( 2009)Community language schools (CLS) are voluntary educational settings which provide heritage language and culture study to school-age children. Despite their longstanding presence in the Australian community, very limited research exists on these institutions or the youth who attend them (Clyne & Fernandez, 2008; Strand, 2007). In acknowledging the paucity of research in this area, and the importance of close relationships for children's development, the main aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of parent, peer and teacher relationships in a sample of students attending CLS. This study therefore provided the first insights into the nature of relationships established in the language school setting. Relationship quality was investigated within an attachment theoretical framework. Attachment theory, regarded as one of psychology's most influential theories of close relationships and emotional development (Morelli & Rothbaum, 2007; Posada & Jacobs, 2001) aims to understand the influence of significant relationships throughout the lifespan. Relationship constructs consistent with the theory were measured to understand the quality of participants' relationships both within and external to the language school setting. Participants' coping behaviours were also measured to provide an index of well-being in order to help elucidate which of the relationships measured linked more or less closely to adaptive behaviour. A total of 160 students aged 9 to 13 years attending Chinese (n = 75) and Greek (n = 85) community language schools in Melbourne took part. All participants were asked to report on a questionnaire about their perceived attachment security in four relationship types: relationships with parents, relationships with peers from the mainstream school, relationships with peers from the language school, and the relationship with the teacher from the language school. A coping questionnaire also elicited information on participants' coping styles. In addition, a random selection of participants (n = 37) took part in an interview exploring their likes, dislikes and friendships from the language school. The results showed significant cultural effects for attachment security. Greek participants reported higher levels of felt security towards parents and peers from the language school setting. Gender effects were also found with females consistently reporting higher levels of attachment security to peers. Perceived security in the parental relationship associated most strongly and consistently with both productive and non productive coping styles. Security in the peer relationships across the two school settings (mainstream and language school) showed differential links to coping. Perceived security in the teacher relationship from the language school did not show any significant links to coping. Analyses of the interview data highlighted themes on the need to modify the learning methods adopted in the language school curriculum in order to further engage students. The findings of the present study underscore the importance of examining culture and gender in relationship research and reaffirmed the significance of the parental relationship during early adolescence. Implications of the research relate to the benefits of conducting multi-systemic explorations of close relationships, as insights were offered on interventions within school and community contexts.
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ItemA journey in language teaching and learning( 2000)This study is a journey of teaching and learning. I describe my own language learning and my entry into the second language teaching profession. Over my years of teaching as a secondary teacher of French and German and a German Method tutor I have experienced the vicissitudes of differing language teaching methodologies and language acquisition theories. The study emanates from my growing concerns with student second language learning based on the experience gained by mid-career as I saw students flounder and become disaffected. In my reflections I searched for mediating tools to provide greater self-regulation in student learning. I felt the need to strengthen the pedagogical relation (van Manen, 1991, 1994) in a trialogue between the teacher, the students and the subject domain of the German language (Roberts, 1996). To better respond to my teaching and learning responsibilities I undertook this study using the metaphor of my journey of teaching and my students' journey of learning. My own language learning experiences form the background as I embarked on a language teaching career. During my professional life I have experienced the methodological swings which influenced the language teaching scene. I consequently developed an eclectic method of teaching. However, I continue to seek the epistemological and ontological assumptions underlying my teaching. The study arises in the context of the 1990's when Australian Federal and State Government policy statements on the school curriculum implied that in the future all students in Australian schools should continue second language studies through the compulsory years. These students are faced with multi-faceted influences on their learning and adjustments to second language teaching practice are required. Australia's English-speaking heritage and isolation result in resistance to second languages. The translation of words, meanings and cultures is an operation fraught with risk for students who fear both new associations and rupture with their own life systems and identity. Language teaching has to embody a sympathy for the students' feelings and a pathway to make their learning more meaningful as they seek to establish their personal identity in German. I have attempted to reposition myself in my classes to foster the pedagogical relation so that my affection and commitment can make the translation of words, meanings and the German culture more accessible to my students. In exploring my students' learning strategies based on Oxford's (1986) classification I enter into a conversation with the students in two classes, Year 7 and Year 10, of a Melbourne girls' school as they progress on their journey of language learning. Their developmental needs and attitudes require responses in social situations that are meaningfully situated and enhance recognised learning strategies that mediate learning and motivation. The reflective inquiry pursues a dialogue between situated activity and mental processing in the classroom. In small group settings students engage in self-expressive activities (Prawat, 1998) that promote student self-identity and also link the dual domains of learning and motivation. The design of the group work tasks enable students to develop in the "Zone of Proximal Development" (Vygotsky, 1978). Support is offered through scaffolding, intersubjectivity and the use of mediational tools. As the students and I reflect on their learning and affective positioning we move towards a growing awareness of strategic learning that can foster increasing self-regulation in the students' learning and an increasing appreciation of German.