Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses
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ItemAn investigation of principals’ views on the factors that influence the place and provision of music in primary schools( 2023-03)Though music remains an historically strong part of Australian school life, it is vulnerable to low resourcing and lack of status. Much of the literature specifically references the barriers to achieving a level of music provision that meets the needs of students in each individual school community. Research indicates that the principal is a significant influence on music provision in schools compared to other factors, although this is often overlooked in the literature. While the principal as change agent is well documented in certain music education literature, it is unusual to see their views explored in great depth. To investigate this gap, three primary principals from state schools in Melbourne’s northern suburbs in Victoria, Australia, were recruited for an interview-based study that sought to explore the question: What are the perspectives and ideas that shape principals’ views of music education? The study design used semi-structured interviews following a pre-interview survey and used an interpretivist paradigm due to the study’s emphasis on observation and interpretation. Interview data was categorised by theme, and language use was analysed using Conversational Analysis and Discourse Analysis methods. Critical theory, with its emphasis on social and power structures, was chosen as a theoretical framework. Findings suggested that the constraints on principals in Victorian schools, that had been identified in other, non-music education literature, could impact their capacity for provision of music. Principals are identified as possibly the strongest factor in the level and quality of provision, and as provision has been shown to be inconsistent, it is reasonable to assume that the capacity of individual principals is also inconsistent. While many principals value music and will endeavour to resource it in spite of barriers, it is suggested that the benefits of having music in schools be more broadly communicated to all stakeholders to elevate its status. All participants demonstrated a commitment to prioritising music provision at their school, and a willingness to learn more about its benefits. Furthermore, they also articulated the broader concept of needing to extend the knowledge about music’s benefits at a system and / or principal network level, in order to better support principals’ capacity to ensure music provision.
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ItemThe preparation and development of middle leaders in Victorian secondary schools( 2021)Middle leaders in schools provide a critical link between senior leadership and teaching staff. Employing a multi-perspective case study methodology, this study looked at the common themes facing middle leaders at three Victorian secondary schools, Catholic, government, and independent, with regard to their preparation for leadership, their professional and personal development in the role, how their role is perceived by those to whom they report and those they lead, and how they determine if they have been successful in their role. At each school, the following staff members were invited to participate in the study: senior leaders, middle leaders, and teachers. The middle leaders involved in this research were actively involved in leading pastoral, academic, and/or co-curricular departments within a Catholic, government, or independent school. Semi-structured interviewing was used for the purpose of collecting their responses. The participants’ responses were analysed, and emergent themes described. A total of 56 themes with 78 sub-themes emerged from the study, covering the dimensions of preparation, development, perception, and success in leadership. Common themes raised by middle leaders were professional learning, the support provided in their role, career progression, their ability to influence school direction, level of autonomy in the role, departmental management, professional relationships, and their support of students’ achievement. The study indicates that middle leaders’ measurement of success in the role was primarily linked to student achievement in academic and social domains. A leadership development model is offered to support aspiring and current middle leaders.
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ItemPractices and characteristics of principals in low educational advantage, improving Victorian secondary schools; contextually aware leadership( 2020)This study investigated the leadership of two secondary schools of low educational advantage on an improvement journey located in Victoria, Australia. This study provides further understanding of the ways school principals interact with specific contextual factors in order to support their school improvement journey. In both cases, the principals overcame their school’s challenging circumstances, defined by low performance and low advantage, by employing research based initiatives to drive improvement. Informed by a multiple perspective case study methodology, including interviews with the principal and other school leaders, teachers, parents, students and members of the school council, evidence found principals with a strong moral purpose and change leadership enabled long term, albeit slow improvement. This improvement was enabled by the principal’s navigation of a range of contextual factors that influenced, and were influenced by, the characteristics and practices of the school leader. Along with a strong moral purpose, the school principals had a relentless drive for change that enabled them to overcome great adversity within their school contexts. Employing practices such as increased accountability for teachers around their teaching and learning, implementing collaborative practices across many levels of the school and instilling hope through a strong vision, enabled transformation of these schools into a more desirable destination for students, teachers and the wider community.
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ItemDistributed leadership in successful schools( 2019)The key aims of this research were to investigate distributed leadership in successful schools, to examine the extent to which this contributes to school success, and whether there are any identifiable patterns of distributed leadership within successful schools. This study used a mixed methods research approach through the use of social network analysis and individual interviews to explore distributed leadership in three successful Australian secondary schools. A social network analysis was conducted through a school relationships survey to identify the patterns of connections within each school. Eight questions about work connections were asked of all teaching staff in each school, with achieved survey response rates of 51 per cent, 61 per cent and 63 per cent respectively. From the social network analysis well connected and influential leaders were identified and then invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Twenty-six individuals were interviewed, including the three principals, four assistant principals, 15 leading teachers, three teachers with responsibility and one teacher. The semi-structured interviews were used to provide information on distributed leadership at the organisational level, the forms that it took, and what factors impacted it. The interviews also contributed to understanding the practice of leaders in a distributed leadership context, and provided insight into the individual characteristics of influential leaders and what factors impacted their influence within schools. Distributed leadership was identified in each of the three schools and was found to be influenced by two aspects of the schools. Firstly, organisational level factors, including leadership structure, the school’s strategic goals and planning, influenced distributed leadership in terms of what was distributed and who it was distributed to. Secondly, leader influence and capacity to distribute leadership was influenced by interpersonal factors including leader expertise, professional relationships, behaviours that are supportive of other people and the development of trust. A Distributed Model of Influence was developed which allows the extent of an individual’s influence to be mapped from knowledge of their positional power and personal connectiveness. The study contributes to knowledge about successful school leadership, distributed leadership and leadership in general.
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ItemInteractions and collaboration in interdisciplinary teams undertaking project work in higher education( 2019)This study investigates the interactions and collaboration that occur in interdisciplinary teams brought together to undertake project work in a higher educational setting. The aim of the study is to understand whether teams interact to collaborate across project stages to develop project solutions together. The study was conducted at a subject or unit level within a school of design in an Australian university using a qualitative case study approach. The focus was on the processes and interactions of four teams, all of which were undertaking the same project with the same tutor. Data were collected from a number of sources within each team, including pre project interviews with students and tutor, team Facebook transcripts, self reflection journals and assessment results. These data sets were triangulated for the analysis. The iterative analysis identified themes common across teams as well as variations unique to each team. The study found that three key factors, team leadership, emotional intelligence and curriculum development, consistently influence interpersonal interactions and collaboration in interdisciplinary teams. The findings indicate that the leadership role is critical and that the knowledge and personality of the individual who performs this role have the potential to influence the level of team interaction and to guide opportunities for collaborative engagement in the design thinking process. The research presented in this thesis suggests that leaders who are supportive and have the emotional intelligence to recognise and respect the individual value of team members are more likely to lead teams that interact collaboratively in design education. Conversely, a lack of discipline knowledge and low levels of emotional intelligence at the leader level limit the teams potential to interact collaboratively across all stages of the design process. These findings provide significant guidance for educators using interdisciplinary teams in problem based learning.
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ItemEffective quality management in Vietnamese higher education institutions( 2018)Given the current efforts of Vietnamese HEIs to increase quality and catch up with world-ranking universities, it is worthwhile to examine the nature of quality management (QM) implementation in the Vietnamese context and culture. In seeking to go beyond the previous scant research systematically examining the management of quality assurance (QA) in Vietnamese HEIs, this study aims to investigate the nature of QM in Vietnamese public HEIs. Using a sequential mixed methods approach, the study provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the topic by (i) developing a conceptually rigorous and empirically validated framework of QM for Vietnamese public HEIs; (ii) investigating the nature of QM in Vietnamese public universities; and (iii) examining implications for national policy and HEI practice based on the outcomes of the research. The study examines the context of Vietnamese higher education as a rationale for the research and higher education and HEI definitions and relevant characteristics as a background for the analysis. To guide the design of a conceptual QM framework, it explores the major concepts of quality, QA, QM, and a modified Deming cycle. The potential influence of the Vietnamese national characteristics on QM implementation in HEIs is also explored via Hofstede cultural theory. This theoretical understanding helped with the review of the six meta-analyses on QM in higher education to establish essential dimensions representing good practices in world higher education which would potentially work in the Vietnamese context. For empirical validation, a review was administered to international and local experts in higher education and QM in higher education through a two-round survey. The findings yielded an empirically validated conceptual framework. This framework, in turn, directed the location of the relevant documents and guided semi-structured interviews at three selected public HEIs to obtain stakeholders’ insights into QM implementation. The findings of this stage contributed to identifying the implications for national policy and institutional operations. Evidence from the study shows that Vietnamese public HEIs are still at an early stage in QM implementation. The recent efforts to improve QA that emphasise performance-based assessment solved many weaknesses and pushed these HEIs to a higher level. However, they insufficiently accommodated unique institutional requirements, did little to support improvement and ultimately enhancement, and seemed to be underdeveloped in some essential dimensions such as information management and benchmarking. Not surprisingly, they met some resistance. The findings advocate the idea that QA is contextually and culturally dependent. To help make the QA system more consistent and supportive of sustained improvement and innovation, the study suggests a QM framework consisting of nine dimensions, namely, continuous improvement, leadership and management, information management, resource management, education and research management, stakeholder focus and satisfaction, partnership development and management, benchmarking within the institution and beyond, and healthy relationship management. The thesis recommends a compliance culture for the initial stage to develop a full commitment to QA from all stakeholders. For long-term strategies, trust and transparency should be strongly established through quality practices with a focus on national culture.
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ItemA study of successful principal leadership: moving from success to sustainability( 2017)As part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) the researcher revisited successful school principals five years after the initial study. This paper reports on three of these principals in Victoria, Australia and examines the extent to which they were able to maintain both the success of their school and their success as a leader. It focuses particularly on their attitudes to change, how this influences their leadership practice, and ultimately its contribution to improving school performance. A multiple perspective case study methodology was used. Data were collected through individual or group interviews the principal, members of the school board, president, senior staff, teachers, support staff, students and parents. The researcher attended several school functions, examined school documents and shadowed each of the principals for four days. The study found that sustainability of success was an outcome of the principals’ personal qualities, their attitude to change and the strategic interventions they made in response to external and internal environmental influences. These principals demonstrated different attitudes to change both in their capacity to continue to improve the school and to promote exemplary development. As leaders of change, the three principals were characterised as restorer-builder, strategic-builder, and visionary-driver. Whilst all principals were found to have continued to lead successful schools, their attitudes to change were found to influence the pathway of success.
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ItemLeadership in Australian university colleges and halls of residence: a model for the future( 1988)This study examines Australian university colleges and halls of residence (collegiate residences) at a time of pressure and change and proposes a leadership model for success into the future. In 1995, a survey of members of the Association of Heads of Australian University Colleges and Halls Incorporated indicated that 39% of residences were operating at less than full capacity and since that time two residences have closed and others are contracting which indicates a significant problem exists. Pressures on Australian universities are forcing changes which impact upon collegiate residences. Changes to government funding arrangements, increased demands for accountability and better performance, more direct competition, increasing internationalisation, proliferation of institutions providing tertiary education, a rapidly changing working, teaching and learning environment due to new information technology and methods of communication and increasing expectations of students , academic and general staff are pressures on universities. These, together with further residence specific pressures are requiring universities and collegiate residences to respond with strategies and management practices which uphold their mission and are accountable and responsive to their immediate and wider communities. An analysis of the two relevant strands of literature on collegiate residence and leadership theory led to the adaptation of a conceptual framework which Caldwell and Spinks (1992) had developed to apply to self-managing schools. As university colleges and halls of residence arc both university and privately owned and have leadership needs similar to other educational institutions including schools, the CSER n10dcl of collegiate leadership was proposed as presenting an ideal where that collegiate residence leaders would have understanding and expertise in the four domains of strategic, cultural, educational and responsive leadership. The methodology of a questionnaire surveying heads of residences and case study visits to twelve residences and consultations with university and residence professionals with specific knowledge and expertise led to development of profiles of contemporary collegiate residence and headship together with insight into the research question how future leaders will need to operate to be successful in future. From this, a guide for use in self-eval uation within a collegiate residence was developed. The thesis that future leaders will require expertise in the four domains is tested and the significant finding is that the greatest area of weakness is in strategic leadership and development on this domain will be the greatest need of future leaders, particularly those in residences whose survival is threatened. There will also be a need to develop entrepreneurial abilities together with specific components of responsive leadership. As surmised, the strengths of residences and their heads lay within the cultural and educational domains. The CSER model of collegiate leadership proved to be a sound framework for the study and, together with the findings, provided an important contribution to the literature on university residence and leadership theory and practice.
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ItemThe role of school principals in implementing data led professional learning teams in Department of Education and Early Childhood Development schools, Victoria.( 2013)This investigation uses a case study of a Prep-12 college and its attempt to set up professional learning teams. The school is a Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) school based in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The school in question had been part of a Regional initiative called the ‘Achievement Improvement Zones’ and also participated in the Assessment Learning Partnerships program between the University of Melbourne’s Assessment Research Centre and DEECD. The research was conducted by a participant observer employed by DEECD as a teaching and learning coach at the school. Twenty staff members were interviewed and their data was analysed thematically and compared with reports developed from school visits to professional learning teams in 2009. The role of the leadership team (mainly the principal) was the main focus in examining how the school developed professional learning teams. This was measured against the leadership domains developed by Thomas Sergiovanni (2004). The research concurred with his findings about the domains of leadership in suggesting that three domains (educational, technical and human) are the most important when setting up Professional Learning Teams. In the case of the school under study, the human leadership domain appeared to be the most important.
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ItemA community-led bilingual school in action: the Deutsche Schule Melbourne (DSM)( 2012)This research is a case study of the Deutsche Schule Melbourne – A German English Bilingual School (DSM). Located five kilometres from the Melbourne CBD in North Fitzroy, the DSM was established as an independent school in 2008. A unique feature of the DSM is that the school has not yet appointed a principal. This study investigated the founding of this school and asked, “What led to the creation of the DSM and how has the school been developed and sustained since then?” The scope of this research also included two minor questions involving the success of the school to date and the future needs and directions of the school. It describes the creation of this new bilingual school and examines the key factors in its formation and development. Data were gathered through documents and semi-structured, one-to-one and group interviews which comprised a selection of teachers and parents, as well as current and former Board members of the DSM. The case study revealed that the idea for the DSM came from within the German-Australian community who wanted to establish a German-speaking school in Melbourne which would also become a focal point for their community. By drawing and building on support from within that same community, the school was formed. Two distinct phases in the school’s creation were identified and described: The Founding Phase and The Established Phase. Each phase contained a number of clearly defined developmental milestones. In both phases, members from the school community and the wider German-Australian community led the creation and development of the school, making it a community-led school. Key factors found to be essential to the formation of the DSM were: a clear vision; a distributed leadership model; a distinctive marketing orientation; high levels of community support; a collaborative, democratic decision-making process; bilingual/bicultural focus; and, high levels of commitment and persistence. Further analysis revealed strong similarities to Kotter’s theory of change management process in the way the school was created and developed. A comparison of the leadership demonstrated by the DSM community and the Victorian model of Successful Principalship which was part of the International Successful School Principalship Project also showed that the DSM was successfully led by its community. This case study provides insight into new school formation, school leadership, bilingual education and community involvement in schools, and will be of interest to policy makers, researchers and those involved in schools.