Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAn analysis of how an innovation is disseminated by using the origins of the vertical curriculum concept in Victorian State Secondary Schools( 1985)The purpose of this investigation was twofold. One aim was to discover the origins of the vertical curriculum structure that has made a considerable impact on state secondary schools in the last decade. The other aim was to establish how the idea spread throughout the system and why schools made this major change away from the horizontal curriculum. Three research methods were used in this study. Firstly, Education Department Secondary School Handbooks were studied to identify the vertically structured schools in 1975 and 1982. Secondly, a telephone survey was undertaken in order to find more information about each of the forty-four vertical models discovered in the 1983 Handbook. This survey also enabled the original innovative schools to be identified, key individuals to be established and communication links between schools to be drawn up. Finally, the key carriers of the concept were interviewed to gain in depth information on the innovation. The outcome from the data collected should assist in the understanding of how a major curriculum change can disseminate throughout the schools in an education system. These implications should apply to educational systems outside of both Victoria and Australia.
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ItemThe struggle to achieve : the Vietnamese experience of secondary schools in working class neighbourhoods of Melbourne, 1986( 1990)Within the vast scope and complexity of the refugee experience this study deals with a simply defined, yet central issue to the settlement of young immigrants from Viet Nam in Australia. That is, the differing impact of personal factors preconditioning attitudes and values towards education, and school ecology on their educational trajectories and social destinations. To answer this question, the location occupied by this immigrant group within the school system was initially determined, and subsequently the influence of school organizational structure and classroom practice on educational performance in these settings was described and explained. Vietnamese pupils, their teachers and peers in 16 randomly selected government high schools in Victoria, and those persons responsible for the child's welfare in Australia provided rich and varied information for analysis. Detailed interpretation of this comprehensive data-base focused on one school representative of the wider sample. The study found that while educational trajectories and social destinations are largely controlled by the working class location Vietnamese youth occupy in the secondary school system, the impact of this setting is mediated by an exceptional determination, on their part, to escape the influence of multiple social factors which influence the outlooks and achievements of children, whoever they may be, who occupy these sites. Despite an heroic commitment by teachers in these schools and the determination of the Vietnamese to exploit, to the maximum, the limited opportunities available to them, the dependence of these young immigrants and their families on education for social advancement renders them vulnerable to failure. The study demonstrates, that despite the illusion of democratized educational theory and practice that these educational settings suggest, the reality is that educational conservative structures mitigate against social advancement. These institutional barriers, it is shown, operate on two levels. Firstly, the comprehensive curriculum plays a central role by disproportionately directing these young immigrants into the theoretical mathematics and physical sciences, a process consecrating them as an academic elite, while at the same time confirming the lowly position they occupy in the social hierarchy of their school and neighbourhood peers. Secondly, the study demonstrates how academic streaming is an aggravating circumstance coming on top of the other inequalities suffered by all children in these settings. Not only do the out-of-school activities of these young immigrants not support their curriculum placement, but teachers tend to misjudge Vietnamese classroom conformity as scholasticism, not passivity. Thus, rather than viewing this exceptional behaviour in working class settings as an indication of the struggle with which these young people have to cope, teacher definition of their school experience sees it as proof of an effective classroom process and of learning taking place. The study concludes that while the actual relationship that exists between the teachers and Vietnamese youth, and the schools they attend and the neighbourhoods these schools serve, remains unchanged, the price the Vietnamese have to pay for perceived scholasticism is loss of control of their immediate school experience and authorship of their own lives.
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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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ItemAn analysis of the recent reform movement in education, with special reference to Victorian secondary schools in the late nineteen sixties( 1977)The school reform movement in the nineteen sixties accompanied unprecedented change in culture and society. Curriculum reform was attempted throughout much of the developed world; in Victoria, the Curriculum Advisory Board was formed, and the Education Department initiated the Curriculum Reform Project for secondary schools. But the reform movement was complex; there were several distinct groups within it (deschoolers, educational technologists, and liberal humanists) whose aims and methods were often contradictory. The major reform philosophy in Victoria was liberal humanist and expressed most notably in the writings of the Director of Secondary Education, R.A. Reed, whose Curriculum Reform Project was not necessarily successful in its own terms, but nevertheless had a significant effect on secondary schooling in Victoria. The reform movement demonstrated how complex is the phenomenon of educational change; it is obviously more complicated than is suggested by the ideas of circular change or pendulum swing, and is perhaps best seen as resulting from the disturbance of equilibrium in a strong field of forces. Attempted liberal reform in Australia has led to the formation in 1973 of the Australian Council for Educational Standards, a group dedicated to the resistance of reform. There is presently a crisis in education, a crisis marked by uncertainty. The crisis should be resolved by encouraging alternatives in education, and by reorganizing educational institutions so that they can become more flexible and adaptable.
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ItemSchool-based curriculum development : its introduction and implementation in Victorian state high schools 1968-1978( 1979)Curriculum reform in the nineteen-sixties was in part a response to economic and technological change. In examining the antecedents to secondary curriculum reform in Victoria, however, I have discussed educational as well as economic factors. Secondary curriculum reform was closely associated with the Director of Secondary Education, Ron Reed, the Curriculum Advisory Board he established, and the introduction of a policy of school-based curriculum development. The scope of the review, the strategy and the implementation policy adopted by Reed and the C.A.B. were unusual and are examined in detail in this study. The devolution of responsibility to schools for continuing development of the new curriculum was fundamental to Reed's policy. But while its basis was pedagogical, it involved a redistribution of control over education and thus was inherently political. The conflict between secondary teachers and secondary inspectors of which curriculum control was a part was therefore probably unavoidable. It was exacerbated, however, by an incomplete understanding of the limited nature of the policy, and of the curriculum theory on which it rested. By 1973 the reform movement had reached its peak. Many schools abandoned the reforms because they had failed to produce the anticipated results. Some schools persisted in developing the new curriculum, however, and the experiences of one such school, Ferntree Gully High School, are examined in detail here. It is my hypothesis that without the power within the school to revise the curriculum in the light of experience, continued development could not have taken place. It is clear, however, that this was not a sufficient condition, and I have examined the school experience in order to reveal some of the other conditions necessary. The impact of the reform policy, although primarily concerned with curriculum content and organization, was on the practices and organization of the school as a whole. In order to understand this it is necessary to see the relationship between curriculum content and classroom interaction and between curriculum organization and school organization. These relationships, implicit in the work of the C.A.B., are only now beginning to emerge in curriculum theory. ii
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ItemThe survival of the Victorian high school, 1929-1939( 1981)The Victorian high school has managed to survive in spite of itself. In a sense it was very nearly still born. The legislative authority allowing it to exist was riddled with restriction on its development; it was demanded that its curriculum serve the vocational requirements of the State and its geographic dispersion favour both rural interests and the independent school system. As a vehicle for the promotion of mass secondary education it was ill conceived and poorly designed. The emergence of the Great Depression found the future of the school in doubt. Departmental plans aimed at restructuring the school in accordance with the English pattern of Modern and Grammar Schools were reaching fruition while the worsening economic climate was acting to affirm the conviction of those who believed that post-primary education was a privilege to be bestowed on the few who could benefit. Throughout the decade Victorian high schools struggled to justify their right to exist. Their capacity, how-ever limited, to foster social mobility came into conflict with an established meritocratic model of social improvement in which only the recognisable and socially approved ability of individuals warranted rewarding. The right of the schools to nurture ability and the right of those within them to choose their own careers within an accessible system of subsidised State secondary education had to be won from the disciples of parsimony and the guardians of social order. Successive reductions in Government funding acted to increase the costs imposed on local school communities. As a result their commitment to their local high school was tested and their assessment of the worth of a high school education became a matter of constant review.
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ItemFactors influencing the development of curriculum initiatives in Victorian secondary schools( 1989)This thesis is based on a study of teachers at Preston East Technical School. The purpose of the interviews was to illicit information about teachers' perceptions of themselves as compared with their given role in the state system. This is then analyzed against what is offered as the ideal role of a teacher. It is suggested that if it is the teacher's role to improve educational opportunity, then teachers should be concerned with the outcome of exiting students. This would involve detailed monitoring of programmes, possible delivery of additional programmes and industrial campaigns not only for necessary educational resources but also for job creation for youth. This thesis demonstrates that teachers are too involved in the psychic reward of their job and this, combined with the undermining of their conditions, is preventing further curriculum development. Processes, such as the participatory model used by the Ministry of Education which involve teachers in anything other than viewing student outcome, are time-consuming and divert attention from the issue of equity. What is recommended as an ideal learning situation is the formation of a partnership between student and teacher, where both work as if part of a research team, who will call upon the wider community for clarification of values and information.
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ItemHigh schools with technical components: the first decade, 1969-1978( 1978)Historically, state post-primary education in Victoria has been shared between the Technical Schools Divsion and the Secondary Schools Division, with each establishing separate schools in proximity to the other. However, by the late 1960's, country centres without technical schools were seen to have potential student populations too small to justify a technical school in addition to the existing high school. Yet in certain of these small centres a vocal demand existed for technical education, this demand originating from a variety of sources. The response was to place technical studies in existing high schools. The schools developed integrated courses over all levels, and significant educational advantages were claimed from this. However, the location of technical components was determined not so much by educational ideas, as by a reaction to community stimulus. This was illustrated in the development of policy concerning technical components, for it was aggregative in nature, adapting to changing pressures and circumstances. The technical component innovation did not occur in isolation. Curriculum developments which occurred in both Divisions, facilitated it, and the associated reduction in external control of schools was but one of a number of other factors which provided encouragement. Both the development and some current features of high schools with technical components are examined, as is their future. It appears that their numbers will not expand significantly, particularly as alternative responses to demands for technical education have been implemented. The future of high schools with existing technical components is also unclear, in part due to the possibility of restructuring in the Education Department.
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ItemThe public examination of English in Victoria : a study of one external influence on the secondary school English curriculum( 1980)The secondary school English curriculum was determined by groups outside schools during the period 1944-1974. External domination of teaching content and methodology was ensured by a system of Public and Matriculation Examinations which empowered agents of the universities to prescribe courses and to assess students' performance in those courses. The University of Melbourne exercised these functions through its Professorial Board and the Schools Board before relinquishing its powers to the Victorian Universities and Schools Examination Board in 1965. Statute and tradition allowed these bodies to establish themselves as a centre apart from schools, and to legitimise their authority through the institutionalised processes of prescription, examination and review of performance. The effect of these processes was to subordinate schools, teachers and pupils. There was immense inertia in the Victorian system of external prescription and examination. Courses and examination papers remained essentially unmodified for long periods. Significant development in the conception and content of English courses occurred, effectively, only at Year 12 in response to social and educational pressures which had previously led to the withdrawal of Public Intermediate and Leaving Examinations. Broadening the goals of H.S.C. English did not, however, signal diminished control over curriculum from the centre. The fact of competitive examinations at the end of secondary schooling continued to shape content and methodology in the earlier years. Competitive examinations engendered in schools, teachers and pupils a narrow conformity, the results of which can most clearly be seen in the failure of the Class A system to produce school-based curriculum initiatives of any substance. The effect of external prescription and examination of English courses was profound. Relationships between teachers and pupils were strongly mediated by the system, reducing the autonomy of both by subjugating their intentions to the instrumental demands of evaluation. So much of a student's 'life chance' depended upon examination success that teachers and taught were continually constrained to focus their attention on the tasks expected in examinations. Fragmentation, in line with the different sections of examination papers, rather than integration became, therefore, the organising principle for teaching aimed at developing those techniques believed to be essential for success in the examination game. External examinations dictated that the English classroom was a place where pupils met to prepare for their encounters with examinations rather than to explore the nature and richness of experience through literature and their own use of language for real ends. The system of Public and Matriculation Examinations established in 1944 was a potent influence on the secondary school English curriculum. The system rested upon a powerful, conservative centre whose legitimacy was so thoroughly entrenched that it was able to admit reform only on its own terms. Thus, it was possible after twenty-five years of relative stasis to negotiate evolution in the details of the school English curriculum without alteration to the essential power relationships. After thirty years, English teachers were still without autonomy. Year 12 English courses continued to exert the pressures and to exact the dependence which had constrained mother tongue studies throughout secondary schools since 1944.
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ItemMovements towards the senior campus concept: two case studies providing description of early movements in the reorganization of secondary schooling in Victoria aimed at providing an educational environment suited for young adults( 1987)This thesis investigates early movements directed towards the emergence of a new form of secondary school organization in Victoria, namely the senior campus. Two elements are identified as having been instrumental in heralding this development, firstly the phenomenon of zero population growth (and a concomitant decline in school enrolments) and secondly, a number of key recommendations of the Ministerial Review of Postcompulsory Schooling, more commonly known as the Blackburn Report. A major causal factor in defining the characteristics of the senior campus, and in ensuring its evolution, has been the influence of powerful teachers' unions upon government policy formulation in this state. The review of literature examines the development, and characteristics, of parallel forms of schooling in other parts of Australia and overseas, endeavours to establish a framework against which the evolution of the senior campus can be compared, and seeks to provide the means of identifying reasons why forms of schooling which have been popular, and successful, in other places, have been deemed as unacceptable for implementation in Victoria. The methodology adopted has been to undertake two case studies, one in Essendon, and the other in Mitcham. Each concerned a group of schools involved in the process of rationalization and reorganization, and each provided for the establishment of a senior campus for students in Years Eleven and Twelve. A common structure was adopted in both cases - Part A provides an analysis of background documents, and Part B provides description of the change process from the vantage point of a participant observer. The Essendon study presents a conceptual model for the reorganization of schooling in the Essendon area, and the Mitcham study describes the evolution of Mullauna College, a multi-campus, P-12 college which will be established early in 1980.