Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAn investigation of Australian OECD Pisa trend results( 2009)This thesis investigates a range of equating-related issues for the Australian data collected under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The implications for Australia's reported trend results are considered in detail. Following the exploration of differential item functioning (DIE) and dimensionality of the Australian PISA scales, a single scale, over all three PISA cycles (namely 2000, 2003 and 2006) for each major PISA domain (namely Reading, Mathematics and Science) was constructed. Previous published PISA results have employed a common reporting scale across all cycles for Reading, however scales common to all cycles have not been utilised for Mathematics or Science. Two further classes of equating issues are considered in this paper. First four different approaches to equating were used - two different treatments of missing data as well as two different item sets (all items and link items only) were estimated for each scale - and for each approach the implications for trends were discussed. Second, the equating approaches studied here used item parameters which are set at the country level rather than at the international level, thus allowing an examination of the impact of country DIF on the Australian trend results. Australian PISA trends were first explored in terms of means and standard deviations, and then in terms of the overall shape of the estimated performance distribution. This was achieved through the use of Q-Q (Quantile-Quantile) plots. Where applicable, comparisons were made with published trends. While results showed many similarities between models and published results, some differences were found. Australian PISA Reading means were statistically significantly lower when treating all omitted (or missing) responses as not administered at the item calibration stage compared to treating embedded omitted responses as incorrect and trailing omitted responses as not administered in PISA cycles 2003 and 2006. Between 2003 and 2006, published Australian Mathematics means were significantly lower than those found in this study. The published results showed a decline in means between 2003 and 2006, whereas the results reported here showed no change in the Australian means between these two cycles. Published Australian Reading distributions reported a decline from 2000 to 2003 and 2003 to 2006 in the number of Australian students located at the top end of the performance distribution. Between cycles 2000 and 2003 there was a decline from around the 70th percentile onwards and between cycles 2003 and 2006, the decline was even more severe; the higher the ability group the higher the decline from around the 20th percentile onwards. These estimated changes in the distribution shape were not replicated here, where the Australian data is analysed independently of the international data. The reanalysis undertaken here found a decline between the first two PISA cycles, but remarkably in the bottom 15 per cent of the distribution only. Between cycles 2003 and 2006 an almost constant decline across the whole proficiency distribution was found and not a decline that was limited to the top end of the distribution. The reported results highlight some of the potentially important differences that can occur when different analysis methods are used.
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ItemInstitutional influences on approaches to teaching within a flexible university : a cultural historical investigation( 2010)This study investigated the teaching approaches of two business academics located within an Australian university developing its flexible teaching and learning practices over the past twenty years. The interview subjects are highly regarded educators with formative backgrounds in on-campus or off-campus distance teaching. Each has had a long professional relationship with the researcher in her centrally situated position's as an educational developer within the institution. A review of the student learning literature pertaining to teaching and learning approaches in the higher education sector over the last thirty years, shows that "teaching approaches" can influence "student learning approaches"(Ramsden, Paul 2003) and outcomes, (Biggs, J. 2003; Lizzio, Alf, Wilson, Keithia & Simons, Roland 2002) however "institutional influences" upon teaching approaches seems to be substantially overlooked. (Kernber & Kwan 2000) The academics were invited to participate in this study agreeing to retrospectively review and discuss their teaching in three progressive phases of their working history. They were invited to consider their teaching approach using the Approach to Teaching Inventory (Trigwell, Prosser et. al. 2005) in order to reflect upon their personal positioning (Harre September 2004), institutional practice and societal rhetoric in relation to an academic life in various periods of their teaching history. Discursive analysis has been undertaken of the resulting conversations guided by Cultural Historical Analysis Theory, (Vygotsky 1978, Engestrom 1987). This investigation reveals profound institutional influences on the approaches of teachers to their work. Influences on academic life have usually been studied independent of the Higher education teaching and learning literature. This study points to an urgent need to integrate these research interests to inform understanding of material transformative activity for policy makers in higher education.
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ItemLearner access to language research( 2008)This is a study of how my class of learners perceived the relationships between English language learners, teachers, and researchers, during a five week Intensive Academic Preparation ELICOS course at an Australian university. As a starting point, it seizes on the fact that learners, unlike teachers and researchers, are rarely, if ever, encouraged to engage with language research as a potentially valuable resource for language learning. Noting the dearth of literature surrounding this topic specifically, this study focuses on the appropriateness of various practitioner inquiry models for a naturalistic exploration of my own classroom. The approach taken is one of Exploratory Practice, which is a set of guiding principles motivated by a strong ethicality towards learners and teachers. Using everyday pedagogical activities as data collection methods, such as group discussions and summaries as well as individual written pieces, this study reveals three important characteristics of my learners: a sense of pride in their personal knowledge of English language learning, an understanding of themselves as individuals within the language learning process, and a deep concern with the practical aspects of learning English. Meanwhile, my learners generally portray the relationships between learners, teachers, and researchers as hierarchical and unidirectional, with researchers and research on top. Overall, the study suggests that there is some value in providing access for my learners to language research, and in the conclusion to the study I make some recommendations for future research centring around ideas of learner identity, teacher/learner understandings of roles, and the place of the individual language learner within language learning.
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ItemInteractions between first and second language writing skills in Macedonian bilingual children in Australia( 2009)The theoretical belief arising from the interdependence hypothesis suggests that there is a common underlying proficiency in bilingual literacy development, particularly with respect to literacy skills, strategies and knowledge transfer across different languages. According to this view a strong establishment in one language not only develops skills in that language, but also facilitates the development of a second language. The aim of this research was to look at the interactions between literacy in Macedonian and English and to analyse the role of the first language literacy in second language acquisition in two dissimilar languages. Although the research explored the relationships between first language (Macedonian) and second language (English) writing skills, strategies and knowledge, the influence of motivation and the performance in English were also discussed. Namely this research investigated the skills and strategies that Macedonian bilingual children use for writing in Macedonian script and whether these strategies have a positive or negative transfer to English literacy. This research also analysed the writing behaviours, and attitude towards the two languages and how they affect the transfer of literacy skills and strategies. To address the aim of this research and gain an in-depth understanding about bilingual children's language acquisition and development a qualitative case-study method was employed. The subjects for this research were six nine year old children from a Macedonian/ English bilingual school. They were asked to write recounts in both languages, Macedonian and English, in order to investigate the transfer of skills, strategies and knowledge across both languages. The think-aloud protocols were used to look into the writing process and to categorise the types of writing strategies that the children can transfer from Macedonian to English literacy. This method was used to observe children's writing processes while writing and simultaneously discussing what thoughts were going through their mind. The childrens' attitudes towards learning in two languages were discovered by using semistructured interviews. The official results from the literacy assessment conducted at the school were also analysed and compared. The discussion of findings from the six children focussed on the transferable skills and strategies and the relationship between Macedonian and English writing. This research confirms that writing behaviours and strategies that the children displayed were consistent across both languages, even though the languages have different writing systems. In fact this research provided a better understanding of children's biliteracy development from an early age in a bilingual setting. Results of the study indicated that there is an interdependent ability between the first language and the second language writing and that there is a positive transfer of skills, strategies and knowledge from Macedonian to English. Therefore the conclusion is that the development of the stronger language literacy (Macedonian) facilitates literacy development in the second language (English) and that access to two languages from an early age and the possibility of learning those languages can facilitate literacy development.
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ItemPhenomenal robotics! : so what are students' perceptions about the robotics experience?( 2006)Robotics as a learning experience is becoming very popular in Australian schools and is being offered to students at primary and secondary level. It is considered to be a valuable integrated unit particularly in the areas of science and mathematics but also provides an ideal environment for students to engage and learn via constructionist principles. But what do young students perceive to gain from participating in a robotics experience? This investigation looks at the lived experience of doing robotics through the eyes of a group of students who were of mixed ages but had participated in the robotics' experience when they were in grade six as 12 year olds. The students were interviewed regarding the effect of the robotics experience on their learning during and after the experience ended. Students reflected on the phenomenon and made strong connections with the social value of the program. Their emphasis was not so much on academic skills gained but on the sense of self and its relationship to the group. The robotics experience provided an environment that allowed the students to feel valued and motivated to strive for goals, without realising they were gaining valuable information and skills as well as enjoying themselves.
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ItemInteractions between literacy in Korean and English in Korean immigrant children in Australia( 2008)Previous research has found that literacy skills, knowledge and strategies transfer across languages, and a strong establishment in one language facilitates development of a second language. This research is ultimately concerned with the interactions between literacy in different language contexts - Korean and English. That is, the research explored how bilingual children's literacy in the first language (Korean) affects the acquisition of a second language (English). To accomplish this objective, this study investigated the strategies that Korean bilingual children use for reading and writing in Korean script and whether these strategies have a positive or negative transfer to English. This research also exposed the reading and writing behaviours, and attitude towards the two languages and how they affect the transfer of literacy skills and strategies. The study was based on the qualitative case-study method with some additional quantitative measures, in search for in-depth understanding about bilingual children's language acquisition and development. The subjects for this project consisted of three Korean immigrant children aged eight to ten for the purposes of comparison. This research asked them to display their literacy experiences in both languages and their attitudes. The main precise method for reading was the running-records technique, which tests contextual reading accuracy and strategy use during which children read the appropriately leveled texts. Whether the texts are appropriate is decided by the error rate that is simply estimated by the number of words read incorrectly to the total number of words read. Reading data was analysed though the running records coding scheme and conventions. A running record was suitable for the research in terms of helping assess children's reading ability, and capture various reading behaviours and strategies use, based on the children's errors and self-corrections. To look into the writing process, think-aloud protocols were employed. This is defined as verbalising thought processes while reading or writing. Children's introspective verbal reports were coded and analysed through Arndt's (1990) modified version of the coding scheme developed by Perl (1981). The method helped the researcher discover the writing processes and interactions between the first and second languages. Discussion centred on the transferable strategies and the relationship between Korean and English reading and writing. The result was that the reading and writing behaviours and strategies that the children displayed were consistent across languages. All in all, this research provided a better understanding of Korean English bilingual children's biliteracy development. The research concluded that a positive transfer of strategies occurred from Korean to English, and accordingly Korean literacy had a positive effect on English literacy development.
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ItemTrial of a standards referenced framework for the defining and measuring of the manutention competency( 2004)Manutention is the skills training component of an integrated approach to manual handling risk reduction. Based of the work of Paul Dotte, Manutention training courses are delivered in Australia through the auspice of the Australian Association of Manutention Practitioners (AAMP). The assessment and reporting of training outcomes is hampered by the lack of industry standards for manual handling trainers. In part this is due to the lack of recognition of manual handling as a skill, although there is ample evidence in the literature to suggest that, as a psychomotor skill, it can be taught, learnt and with practice, levels of expertise can be achieved. Standards referencing is considered a form of criterion referencing where levels of performance are defined along a continuum of increasing competence. Using this, framework the Manutention competency was defined and descriptive standards were articulated for each level. The aspects of performance and associated quality indicators that contribute to the competency were written as scoring rubrics. This study used item response theory to investigate whether the Manutention competency could be empirically validated using a standards referenced framework. It also investigated whether the scoring rubric could be applied to inform judgements of competence at varying levels. The finding supported the use of a standards referenced framework as a best practice assessment model for AAMP and lent weight to the argument that manual handling is a skill.
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ItemCaught in the middle : teachers' perceptions of the usefulness of the Record of oral language when used with ESL students( 2004)In the present educational context, large-scale literacy reform has been hotly debated in the media by various stakeholders while on the other hand the " voice that has been largely absent from these debates has been that of teachers". This study attempts to correct this imbalance by reporting on a study of teachers' perceptions of the usefulness of the ROL as a testing tool for students learning English as a second language. It was designed to offer the researcher, the participants and other stakeholders great insight into the current complexities that teachers face when assessing the oral competence of students learning English as a second language. Teachers were given the opportunity to critically examine their own assumptions, beliefs and practices about oral language learning and assessment and challenge the current use of the ROL in the Children's Literacy Success Strategy (CLaSS) program. A qualitative case study approach was selected to allow the voices of the participants and the researcher to be heard in a familiar setting. Thirty minute semi-structured interviews were conducted separately so that teachers could speak freely thus enabling the researcher to follow individual trains of thought and obtain in-depth responses. The study concluded that the usefulness of the Record of Oral Language as a testing tool for students from language backgrounds other than English was not the central issue. Research findings instead highlighted the difficulties faced by mainstream teachers expected to effectively assess the oral language skills of students for whom English is a second language without effective Professional Development support. The central issue that has emerged in this study is the place of teacher professional knowledge for these teachers of ESL students. Not only are ESL students disadvantaged in the current educational climate but so are the mainstream teachers. Teachers' responses to this study reaffirm the need for Professional Development in ESL pedagogy as a way to effectively support the Oral Language and Literacy Learning of ESL which was valued pre Literacy Advance.
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ItemGuiding, guiding : constructing leadership for young women( 2001)Guiding Guiding, Constructing Leadership for Young Women by Felicity Wightwick seeks to answer the research question: To what extent are young women's perceptions of leadership experiences shaped by formal training?' The reactions of several young women from Guides Australia to their leadership experiences, in particular the Guides Australia/BHP Young Leader (Leading Edge) seminar held in July 1999, are explored. Although the number of participants is small and therefore the findings limited, some interesting and worthwhile themes emerged from the research. This includes a leadership model that provides a possible structure upon which training that seeks to further the concept of community capacity building could be based.
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ItemAssessing critical reading performance in an EAP classroom( 2003)A widespread perception among EAP teachers and course designers in Australia is that Asian university students need some formal training in text analysis and critical thought. To be more precise, Asian students are often portrayed as victims of Asian education, where students are taught to rote learn and memorise, rather than question and analyse as they might be taught in Australia. EAP classes often rest on generalisations about cultural differences, constructing critical reading tasks on the assumption that the problems students encounter in completing critical reading tasks relates to the way they read rather than how they respond to what they read (that is, their familiarity and ability to reproduce arguments in acceptable and culturally expected ways). While EAP researchers have spent considerable energy on improving critical reading methodologies, there has been very little research on the assessment of critical reading in EAP classes. In particular, very little research has offered any explanation of what might constitute evidence of learning to read and respond at a high level. In this thesis, I develop a criterion-referenced critical reading performance rubric, informed by Ballard and Clanchy's (1984; 1988; 1997) research on critical analysis and Toulmin's (1958; 1972; 1984) theories on reasoning and argumentation, to examine the clarity, evidence and logic (CEL) of students' critical reading responses and the influence of text selection on student reasoning skills. Secondly, I explore with students some factors they perceive as affecting their reading performances including text selection. The findings of this research reveal that there are distinct patterns in critical reading performances characterising low, medium and high level students, and that subject matter may be less significant to students' reading performances than they seem to believe. In discussing critical reading performances with students, they identified several factors such as a lack of subject knowledge, a lack of time and a misunderstanding of their purpose in completing the task which significantly affected their performance. Additionally, students perceived their future performances could be improved by choosing texts with subject matter more closely aligned to their academic field. The findings also reveal that most students feel that critically examining topics relating to Australian social issues are not helpful to the overall development of their critical reading skills.