Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemTeaching and learning: the construction of an object of study( 1998-02)While disparities between the declared and the enactive curriculum have been widely observed, the significance of what is actually taught has not been investigated. This study proposes that the enactive curriculum is not merely deviant from the declared curriculum; rather, it is part of the curriculum-making process. Teachers necessarily produce the curriculum as an object of study which students encounter in the classroom. This object of study expresses the teacher’s conception of what students need to learn, and is intelligibly related to what they do learn. To explore this idea, the research project focused on the study of physics and history at Year 12, where teachers used a common curriculum and worked to a common external examination. Teachers of these subjects were interviewed about their practice and what they wanted students to learn. A phenomenographic analysis of these interviews showed a systematic relationship between the teacher’s focus and the embedded metaphors s/he used to describe students’ learning. In physics and history, the teachers’ conceptions formed a parallel sequence. What was to be studied was described in a widening context: from a narrow focus on facts or algorithms, to a wider view of a body of knowledge or theory, to a relational view where the physicist or the historian was seen to construct theoretical interpretations or readings of relevant detail. There was corresponding variation in the questions and tasks in which students were engaged.
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ItemA comparative analysis: 'English' in the Newbolt report (1921) and in the Bullock report (1974)( 1983)This thesis argues the legitimacy and usefulness, within the field of Comparative Education, of studies which focus on the comparative description and analysis of a complex concept or subject-model, as established in two Reports, separated widely in time. What is contrasted and analysed is the substantive definition of 'English' emerging from the Reports of Committees of Inquiry, appointed by the Ministers responsible for Education in England in 1919 and 1972, and chaired respectively by Sir Henry Newbolt and Sir Alan Bullock. The opening chapter demonstrates, in identifying the location of such studies within Comparative Education, that the comparison of documentary sources is a study valid, both at a theoretical and a descriptive level, in contemporary studies in this field. In particular it argues, that especially as comparisons of this type focus on 'change' and 'reform' within the educational curriculum, such studies are fruitful and illuminating in a heuristic sense, and capable of generating explanatory views of how the curriculum of a particular subject comes to be what it is. Chapter 2 provides an analysis, useful for comparative purposes, of the membership and identity of each Committee of Inquiry. In turn, this analysis is used to illuminate the nature and content of each Report, and in particular to provide a framework appropriate for evaluating the extent to which each definition or model of 'English' was a reflection of the lives and times of the particular individuals appointed to each Committee. Although, in total, more than forty persons composed the Newbolt and Bullock Committees, and although the amount of detailed biographical information available varies greatly from person to person, it emerges that there were clearly identifiable groups, representing or even, in a sense, incarnating - particular interests, which pushed the findings and recommendations of the Inquiries in particular directions. Clues are also thus provided about each Committee's motives for and emphases in prescribing the nature, purpose, and content of 'English' in the ways it did. After establishing this background and context, in terms useful for comparative analysis, the concept or model of 'English' as each Committee understood it within the generic categories of 'Language' and 'Literature', is examined. The nature, place, and role of each of the constituent parts of 'English' are compared and contrasted, and within the framework of this comparative approach, key elements in each constituent part are scrutinised, assessed and related to the 'identity' of the Committees which produced them. This process of comparative analysis clearly demonstrates that each Committee was, for its time and place, fulfilling a highly significant role related to educational change and reform, as well as to the definition of 'English' in England in 1921 and 1974. Insights thus emerge which are useful in producing an understanding of the processes of curriculum definition and development. This thesis indicates the extent to which, in England both in 1921 and 1974, the formulation of the aims of 'English' and of its content and teaching, reflected and emerged from 'interests' collaborated in Committees set up by the Government of the day to carry out processes of review and reform. In so doing, it confirms the legitimacy, as well as heuristic value, of studies of this type within the field of Comparative Education.
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ItemThe leadership role of curriculum area middle managers in selected Victorian government secondary schools( 2000)Curriculum Area Middle Managers (CAMMs) are Middle Managers who have responsibility for the operation of key learning areas (subject departments) in their schools. Relatively little studied, compared to senior school administrators, the leadership role of CAMMs was investigated in a sample of Victorian Government Secondary Schools using a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology with no a priori framework. Perceptions of the CAMM leadership role, as well as their involvement in affecting educational outcomes in their learning area, were collected from senior management team (SMT) members, English and mathematics CAMMs, and English and mathematics teachers. Not all the schools involved could provide all of the aforementioned types of participants for interview. In total, 18 SMT members, 11 CAMMs and 1 7 teachers from six schools participated in the research. The perceptions of all three groups of participants (SMT members, CAMMs, teachers) were found to be similar. All three indicated the perception that CAMMs can affect student learning outcomes in their learning area. The perceived leadership role of CAMMs was found to be complex and multi-dimensional, with a situational aspect evident. The leadership role comprised twenty leadership themes, fifteen of which could be considered as the core components of the role. Comparison of the leadership role with the educational leadership literature indicated support for the presence of aspects of four current leadership conceptions; instructional leadership, transformational leadership, pedagogical leadership and strategic leadership. A model of CAMM leadership was presented based on the research findings and the comparison with the educational leadership literature. The model consisted of four leadership components labeled CAMM as instructional leader, CAMM as curriculum strategist, CAMM as learning area architect and CAMM as administrative leader. The situational nature of the CAMM leadership role was emphasised by designating the model as an example of what has been termed portfolio leadership. This leadership model was then incorporated into a second model, the function of which is to offer some insight into the role of CAMMs in influencing educational outcomes in their learning area.
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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.