Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe effectiveness of roleplay in changing disadvantaged students' attitude to schooling and to themselves( 1994)This study sets out to examine the relationship between the development of language and social competence. It draws on the theories of language development proposed by Chomsky, Piaget's cognition development and the sociolinguistic notions of Bruner, Vygotsky and Labov. The educational context of the study is that imposed by the policies developed by the Victorian Ministry of Education which requires schools to provide an inclusive curriculum to meet the needs of all students. For many secondary schools, groups of students, especially those who are disadvantaged by social and emotional difficulties place a great demand upon the existing structures and their needs are unfulfilled. A review of relevant literature on social competence and roleplay was undertaken which indicated that a program of communication and roleplay activities may address the needs of these students. Therefore this study has sought to examine the impact of such activities on the level of social competence of a group of disadvantaged students who were aggressive, cynical, disruptive and not participating in school life. This study was undertaken in a mainstream school in the Western Region of metropolitan Melbourne. Students who participated were pretested to establish their attitudes towards the use of aggression and power, established authority and cynicism level. After participating in a program of communication activities and reflective roleplays the students were tested again to determine the level of attitudinal change. The key findings of this study demonstrated that significant attitudinal change occurred in the participants and that they considered themselves to be better able to understand why existing constraints were in place. The study also indicated that a program which utilises roleplay and implemented within the also found that there communication activities can existing school organisation. It also found that there is a need for change in teacher perception and school structure to accommodate students with social/emotional difficulties.
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ItemThe political ramifications of changes in the delivery of nursing education in Victoria( 1993)The purpose of this research was to determine; whether, between 1974 and 1987, undergraduate Nursing education in the Colleges of Advanced Education tended to politicize the new recruits to the profession via curricula. whether those asked to participate in the research believed that there was a level of information being provided during their Nursing course which they considered to be political in nature. whether those asked to participate in the research believed that this level of information that they considered to be political in nature influenced their subsequent participation in activities which could be considered in turn to be political in nature. what constraints in the workplace were identified by those asked to participate in the research, which may have adversely effected any political activity they may have been involved in, or influenced by. whether there were any other real or conceptual factors not identified or not specifically addressed in the research which could have impacted on the research participants, and possibly influenced their responses, and thus, research outcomes. Subsequent to the research, the information obtained would be scrutinized for possible outcomes, ramifications and commented on. This process is more formerly addressed in the methodology.
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ItemImmigration, the media and student understandings( 1986)This study investigates the issue of Asian immigration as it was treated by two newspapers in a three month period in 1984 and also examines the attitudes of three groups of adolescents to the messages conveyed by the media representations. This study is divided into three main parts. In the first chapter there is a selective review of the material in the area of racism and the media, in particular those studies carried out from an ideological consensus point of view. In addition, there is a review of relevant studies carried out in the youth culture/politics area. The second part of the study provides a detailed examination of the strategies employed by two newspapers The Herald and The Sun News- Pictorial for the construction of the 'Immigration Debate' in the period March to June 1984. The third and final part of the study examines the extent to which the students accepted or rejected the ideological framework established by the two newspapers in their treatment of the immigration issue. As a result of this three-stage analysis, it is argued that the strategies employed by the two newspapers in helping to construct the debate on immigration ensured that the ideological framework for this debate was essentially racist. It is also argued that at the level of discourse many of the students involved in the study were shown to be not directly aware of the 'Blainey Debate'. However, it is also apparent that when they examined the media representations they displayed little ability to reject the ideological boundaries established for debate. The media representations legitimised and transmitted what could be called the 'new racism'. This study found that the students were not able to critically question this new racism.
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ItemVCE course development days, 1991 : an appraisal( 1992)This minor thesis traces the evolution and rationale of the development and implementation of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) from its inception in 1987 to its first full year of operation in 1992. It outlines the design and operation of the professional development program undertaken to assist the implementation of the certificate. Its focus is an appraisal of the major element of the professional development program - the 1991 course development days. Three perspectives are offered in this account of the effectiveness of the 1991 course development days - a district evaluation, individual presenter's responses and a regional survey. The appraisal concludes with an overview and a set of recommendations for continuing professional development for VCE teachers beyond 1992.
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ItemA study of religious education in Catholic secondary schools : attitudes of students, content, methodology and gender issues( 1999)The subject of Religious Education (RE) is the one feature distinguishing Catholic Schools from Government Schools. It is a unique subject because its impact on students' lives is long-lasting and important. The factors influencing students' attitudes and perceptions of RE are examined in this study. Two of the main factors researched here include the content of Religious Education lessons and the methodology employed by teachers, as perceived by students. Marked differences in the gender responses of students were observed to be very significant and these are discussed and explored. Recommendations for possible ways of addressing these disparities are also included.
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ItemCompletion and non-completion amongst TAFE marketing students at a university of technology( 2001)The numbers of TAFE Marketing students who do not go on to complete the Advanced Diploma of Marketing at Swinbume University of Technology is substantial. This problem has been researched as part of this thesis with a view to identifying those factors, which distinguish persisters from withdrawers. Previous research covering the higher education, vocational and further education sectors, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, has identified a number of personal factors, institutional variables and environmental factors which increase the tendency of students to withdraw from courses of study. This study involved conducting a survey of a sample of 165 part-time and full-time students enrolled in the Advanced Diploma of Marketing at the Hawthorn, Wantima, Croydon and Lilydale campuses of the Swinbume University of Technology for the first semester of 2000. The study found that withdrawers are less likely to be satisfied with the standard of teaching, are less likely to have undertaken the course to gain entry to another course, are less likely to consider that their employment prospects will be enhanced by completing the course and are less likely to be satisfied with the extent of their intellectual development and are more likely to be enrolled as a part time student. The tendency of students to withdraw from the course was not affected by satisfaction with services provided by the university, the degree of their social integration, their ability to balance the academic workload of the course with competing demands, personal problems, demographic variables or educational background.
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ItemDeveloping an educational vision : fusing primary and secondary horizons( 1998)The middle school has been the focus of considerable policy scrutiny at national and state levels in education in the last decade. As students move through school, attitudes to their educational environment and school management change particularly in the middle years - years 5-8. A number of large scale studies imply the benefits that would flow in transferring primary pedagogy and institutional practices to secondary classes in overcoming what has been seen as an early alienation of secondary schooling. This longitudinal case study seeks to explore changes in the various components of the quality of school life between primary and secondary school which exist in a primary school year 6 and secondary school year 7. In this collaborative research, data is gathered from the students' perspectives about their views on transition for their common primary school in year 6 to three secondary schools in year 7. The 'real world' of students, in their school context, is explored through the use of survey and direct contact in the form of interviews and discussion with students and teachers. The research, unlike some larger sample statistical surveys, suggests that improvement in the quality of middle school life in years 6 and 7 would be facilitated by a two way flow of ideas, experiences and enthusiasm.
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ItemThe paradox of silence and heterosexism : the impact of secondary schools on the construction of male homosexualities( 1997)The heterocentric discourses in schools have marginalized male homosexual students through approaches in the academic and hidden curricula and in pedagogical practices. The multiple discourses in schools have viewed a student's construction of their sexuality and gender as oppositional categories. These approaches have not positively contributed to divergent expressions of homosexuality and of alternative masculinities because schools have failed to view the relational nature of identity construction and its policing through heterosexist discourses. Extracts from five participants in the case studies illustrate the silence experienced by homosexual students through the academic curricula and the paradox of hyper-sexualization in schools. Discipline and support procedures implemented to combat heterosexist attitudes have not been effective, as the multiple discourses have created a vacuum of silence filled with heterosexist violence.
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ItemThe reorganisation of learning in the middle school : teacher positioning, affiliations and departmental influences( 1997)Recent emphasis on whole school planning and professional development models seems to ignore the embedded and embodied social reality of departmental subcultures in secondary schools. This research suggests however that while departments may be potent primary sites for decision making where much professional knowledge can be assumed and is codified in tradition, interdisciplinary initiatives may be more effective in changing a school's footing. Where a more fundamental repositioning of the school is intended the social and organisational "apparatus" must be imminent, reproduced moment by moment in the conversational action of the teachers and carried through time, not as abstract schemata, but as current understandings of past and present conversations that transcend action. This thesis is a study of eminent change in the organisation of the school in the form of an integrated curriculum unit (I.C.U.) introduced in Year 7 in an independent Years K-12 College. It is concerned with the imbeddedness of school culture in the restricted discursive practices of teachers in their subject departments and focuses on the process and possibilities for fundamental change in the middle school curriculum. The study is framed by the organisational tensions felt by three of the author's colleagues who with the author were key members of the I.C.U. team. These were the tensions between their subject department roles and the humanistic positions the teachers were espousing in conversations with the author as they discussed a joint reconstruction of new middle school curriculum. It is a study of an attempt at a number of management levels to transform the educational emphasis, institutional practices and societal rhetorics in secondary education. The three teacher colleagues were surveyed and interviewed about the influence of departmental subcultures on the organisation and restructuring of learning in the middle school. Background contextual data on teacher's departmental affiliations is included along with the student's perceptions of the humanistic goals of the I.C.U. program. A variety of methodologies were employed to provide a more comprehensive picture of this curriculum enterprise in a secondary school within a dominant departmental structure. The study does not provide solutions for others to adopt, rather the narratives describe the problems faced by teachers in acting in ways beyond those ascribed to them in their institutional roles in subject departments.
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ItemTeachers, change and integrated curriculum( 1992)This study describes and analyses a process of change sought through a professional development program about integrated curriculum. A yearlong, school-based program was planned and carried out by the staff of one school in conjunction with the researcher who acted as an outside agent of change. The study had a number of purposes: (1) to explore the roles developed by an outside agent of change in assisting teachers' planning and teaching of integrated curriculum; (2) to examine the way in which teachers developed and changed in relation to integrated curriculum; and (3) to examine factors which appeared to facilitate the process of change towards the planning and implementation of integrated curriculum. The research design drew from ethnographic and action research methodologies and was based on a naturalistic paradigm. Several data sources were used. Extensive data were gathered from four teachers through interviews, written document analysis and participant observation. Three key informants including teachers and observers of the program provided additional data through interview. The remaining staff presented a third source of data through observation, written responses and self- evaluations. A detailed journal, kept by the researcher throughout the study, served a range of important functions including the diversification and triangulation of data. Final analysis of the data provided insight into the nature. of the role of the outside agent of change. In providing input, facilitating the process of change, responding to and challenging teachers, aspects of this role emerged as multidimensional and interdependent. Success in this role depended on a close understanding of individual teachers; the culture of the school; and the nature of integrated curriculum. Teacher change in relation to the implementation of integrated curriculum varied amongst individuals. Collectively, however, teachers developed a clearer conceptual framework in which to plan. They fine-tuned or re-examined their use of resources, selection of content and attention to children's prior and developing understandings. In facilitating the change process, integrated curriculum emerged as a powerful vehicle through which acknowledged characteristics of effective professional development could be fostered in a purposeful way.