Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemEthnocentricity in The school paper, 1896-1939( 1985)This thesis explores the nature of the ethnocentric focus of the School paper from its inception in 1896 to the commencement of World War II in 1939. Although the School Paper was first published in response to an expressed government request that colonial reading material be provided to Victorian pupils, School papers from 1896 to 1907 are dominated by a powerful British influence extending to moral, economic, patriotic and military spheres. The monarchy is the imperial focus. Although proud Australian nationalism is a gradual development, there is already consciousness of a distinct, unique social and environmental milieu. The period is marked by profound respect for Britain, a sense of kinship with America and tolerance for the Arab world; 'coloured' races, including Australian Aborigines, are depicted as being inferior to whites. The years 1908 to the commencement of World War I in 1914 are marked by the strength of the Empire Movement; imperialist propaganda was actively disseminated by the School paper. There is growing awareness of Australia as native land, with its own individual identity, yet still with a filial link to Britain. The School paper. reflects the preparation of children for the coming war. America is looked on with favour and Germany is regarded with some reservation. Coloured races continue to be scorned, except for the Australian Aborigines who, at this time, are accorded a significant degree of respect and sympathy. Australian nationalism was crystallised during the war years from 1915 to 1918, and the Anzac legend became enshrined, assisted by School Paper promotion. Patriotism was both engendered and used by the School paper to raise money for the war effort. From this period there is a decline in the strength of British focus in the School Paper and a shift to imperialism. Although attitudes to white races are generally tolerant, with much forbearance towards Turkish and German enemies, there is coolness towards America, a general disregard of Australian Aborigines, and a persistence of prejudice towards other 'coloured' races. The post-war decade, 1919-1929, marks a flowering of Australian nationalism, with School Papers cultivating pride in Australian literature, art, history, and sporting heroes. Anzac Day and Armistice Day commemorative issues recount for new generations the honour that Australia achieved in war. Although the imperial theme is promoted less aggressively, Australia is still depicted as daughter of the Mother Country, and the Royal Family is regularly presented as both head and symbol of the Empire. Tolerance is extended to Europeans, Irish and Americans, but is witheld from Maoris, American Indians, Africans and Australian Aborigines. School Papers during the Depression years from 1929 to the commencement of World War II reflect a diminution of active Australian nationalism and of British martial content. Concomitantly, imperial sisterhood and internationalism are fostered. The pacifist tone of School Papers of this time sits oddly with the continued promotion of Anzac Day and Armistice Day. Contradictory School Papers messages at this time validate respect and tolerance for other races, yet show quite vicious intolerance of non-whites, including Australian Aborigines. By 1939 the School Papers demonstrate a continued pride in British ethnocentricity, superimposed on which is an Australian nationalism that waxes and wanes in intensity. There is tolerance of a broader range of races, but there remains a cruel arrogance towards the alleged inferiority of 'coloured' peoples; the School Papers was a powerful force in the transmission of these attitudes.
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ItemThe relationship between the intellectual biorhythm cycle and academic performance( 1985)The problem presented in, this study was the investigation of the existence of a 33-day intellectual cycle. The study was designed to answer two questions. First, does evidence exist to indicate a 33-day intellectual cycle in which an observable difference occurs in academic performance on the Progressive Achievement Test in Mathematics as administered on ascending critical, descending critical, lour point and peak point days? Secondly, does evidence exist to indicate a relationship between a 33-day intellectual cycle and a sex of subject difference which is reflected in the measurement of academic performance as measured by the Progressive Achievement Test in Mathematics? The data were then subjected to two methods of analysis. First, analysis of variance was carried out on Test 2A and Test 2B respectively. Secondly, analysis of covariance was carried out. The analysed data consisted of 104 pairs of test scores.- These scores were obtained from 104. Year 7 and 8 students from Mildura High School who completed two parallel forms of the Progressive Achievement Test in Mathematics. Hypotheses pertaining to the intellectual biorhythm cycle, sex of subject, and their two-way interaction were formulated and each was tested at the 0.05 level of significance. Six hypotheses were examined, Analysis of variance was employed to test the first three null hypotheses, and analysis of covariance was employed to test the three other hypotheses. In summary, five of the six null hypotheses were accepted at the 0.05 level. No evidence was found in this study to support the theory that a relationship existed between the intellectual biorhythm cycle and academic performance. Similarly, no evidence was found to support the theory that a relationship exists between the two-way interaction of sex of subject and biorhythm phase with respect to academic performance. In contrast to these results, a significant relationship was observed between the sex of subject and academic performance as measured by the Progressive Achievement Test in Mathematics. This relationship was then. examined over two testing sessions by analysis of covariance. No significant response by sex to change in biorhythm phase were found to exist. On the basis of this study, several recommendations for future research. on biorhythm theory were given. These recommendations considered the collection of data and research design. Finally, it was pointed out that the validity of the biorhythm theory is open to debate and that future studies be scientifically rigorous.
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ItemAccountability and professionalism in education reflected in community opinions on teacher assessment( 1985)This study takes place at a time when there is a widely-canvassed philosophy which states that the degree of accountability required by individuals in the community will come only through their more direct personal involvement in all stages of the education process. Accountability, (the visible attempts to demonstrate responsibility for a process), is said to be the concern of everybody connected with education, either as parents, taxpayers, employers or teachers and not, as in the past, restricted to the occasional external measures of performance carried out by Education Department hierarchy. We now need to know whether the education community expects a different type of accountability, if teacher assessment still forms a major part of that accountability requirement and whether teachers are still accorded the same professional status as they were. Until our knowledge in this area is improved, we will not understand whether the changes that are occurring in the Victorian education system are the result of a demand for change by the community, or political/economic expediency, or a belief that people should become involved in functions that were once considered government responsibilities. Thus this study arises from the need to understand whether changes in education are reflecting the expectations of education communities. As education communities will have a multitude of expectations, this study concentrates mainly on their expectations in respect of teacher assessment. Accountability is a demonstrable responsibility to the public through a variety of measures. Historically, assessment of teacher performance has been one of the main measures of the quality of a teacher's contribution to education, so concentration on this issue will provide much needed information on perception of accountability today. Teacher assessment is that process of gauging the quality of a teacher's performance. This process has three major functions: (a) to measure the comparative ability of teachers for promotion; (b) to maintain standards of teaching and (c) to provide a measure of accountability to the public as an indication of competency and money well spent. This case study examines the opinions of a small sample of members of state high school communities to the issue of teacher assessment and, through their opinions, provides an insight into their perceptions of professionalism and accountability in education. The sample is of five nominated persons of the education communities in each of six state high schools in the Western Metropolitan Region of the Victorian Education Department. Several happenings in Victorian education over the last five years indicate that this study is of vital importance. Firstly there has been a gradual decline in the proportion of students attending state post-primary schools. Secondly, there has been far greater involvement expected of local communities in the policy-formulation and organization of schooling with a resulting 'democratization' of processes in education. Thirdly,' there has been a gradual withdrawal of many forms of external control over secondary school teachers either through teacher assessment, student external examinations or centrally-imposed courses of study. As these happenings involve redefining the functions of state education and the teacher's role in these functions, it seems logical that a corresponding redefining of professionalism and accountability is also taking place within the community. If a shift in definition of these key concepts is not taking place within school communities, it would seem impossible for state education authorities to justify the profound changes they are demanding.
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ItemWho pays the piper? : government funding of private schools in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia in the 1980s( 1985)The study identifies trends and analyses policies relating to the government funding of private (non-government) schools in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia in the 1980s. Six trends are considered: Intersectoral shifts; Calls for new initiatives for aid to private schools; The renewed debate; The effects of laicization of catholic school teachers; The regulation of private schools in receipt of aid; The evaluation of the role of federal (central) governments in aiding private schools. A final chapter deals with the insights into the Australian trends gained from the study.
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ItemPlanning in the School of Mechanical Technology, TAFE sector, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology( 1985)The purpose of this study was to examine the mutual relationship between the realities of corporate planning in the School of Mechanical Technology, TAFE Sector, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and Austen's (1981) model for normative planning, and to then determine, within the context of normative planning, the actions which the School would need to take so as to enable it to anticipate and adapt to future conditions. Austen's (1981) model for normative planning and its application to corporate planning at the RMIT was reviewed. In recognizing that collaborative decision-making between the managerial and technical levels is the key to effective implementation of normative planning, the writer elaborated on the principles of collaborative management and, in turn, identified the kind of strategy and structure which would facilitate normative planning. According to Austen (1981), normative planning fosters the development of an organizational environment in which the desires of all members of the organization and its task environment are identified, individual ideals are transformed into organizational norms, and the technological function of the organization is subordinated to the learning function. Within this context, collaboration between the managerial and technical levels in the decision-making processes of the organization ensures that the creativity and ingenuity of individuals and their ability to input to planning are acknowledged, and that, as a consequence, the psycho-social benefits of planning are shared by all members. The deployment of a participative self-regenerative strategy was viewed as being an appropriate means by which normative planning could be implemented and the organization's capability for engaging in continuous problem-solving and self-regeneration could be enhanced. The structural form relevant to this strategy was identified as being one in which adaptive change can be nurtured by the establishment of a dual organizational process - namely, a planning system which is concerned with desired ends and means (i.e. strategic planning) and a resource-conversion system which is concerned with on-going ends and means (i.e. operational planning). A description of the dynamics of the School's evolving corporate-planning process was achieved by conducting a series of interviews with key people, who were involved with that process, and by accessing information from relevant documents in the School. A range of axioms for effective planning were identified. These provided the writer with a basis upon which to conduct a critical analysis of the School's corporate-planning process, to delineate the essential characteristics of that process, and to establish the relationship between those characteristics and the features of normative planning. In inter-relating the characteristics of Austen's (1981) model for normative planning with those of the School's evolving corporate-planning process, the writer concluded that the establishment of an operational-planning process in the School was distinguished with the significant features of Austen's (1981) model and that, as a consequence, the School was well positioned to proceed with the implemention of that other dimension of corporate planning - namely, strategic planning. More specifically, the writer found that the head-of-school had provided ample opportunity for senior staff to further their understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of learning how to plan and how to manage the complexities of planning; participative decision-making was accepted as being the organizational norm upon which could be developed an organic approach to planning; the planning process was understood generally as being a collaborative venture in which the head-of-school, senior staff, and the teaching and non-teaching staff would continue to share their expertise and to work together in formulating, implementing and monitoring their plans; and it was accepted that as the School moved into strategic planning then greater attention would need to be given to expanding the School's environmental surveillance activities.
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ItemInitiative and control : in the Disadvantaged Schools Program in Victorian government schools, 1973-80( 1985)The Disadvantaged Schools Program seemed a fertile field for the study of the relationship between initiative and control. While the need for organisational controls, in the interests of conformity, cohesion, security, co-ordination and effectiveness can hardly be disputed, neither can the urge of individuals to be themselves, and to act as they think best. While any group, organisation or society needs some pattern of regulation, both for its own sake and for the sake of its members, harmony is a heavenly rather than an earthly state. The intrinsic nature of man, the gap between prescribed and actual organisational goals, the effect of continual change in people, structures and external conditions, all serve to ensure that the interaction between people and organisations can never be smooth for long. The key problem awaiting solutions is the finding of the parameters of the optimal relation between the individual member of an organisation and it overall structure, between individual aims and organisational goals, between necessary mechanisms of delegation and control and individual needs and expectations.
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ItemFactors affecting moderated HSC scores( 1985)Grading of students leaving schools in Victoria at the end of Year 12 is based on a combination of assessments by teachers and marks gained in external examinations. Before school-based marks are combined with examination marks to form a total score for each student in each course, the school-based marks are moderated, that is, adjusted to a common standard. For most courses the moderation procedure involves a comparison of the mean and standard deviation of a group's school-based marks with the mean and standard deviation of the same group's examination marks. This thesis showed that a student's moderated mark produced by the currently-used method may be significantly affected by the size of the school group and by the performance of other students in that group. It was demonstrated that good correlation between the school-based marks and the external examination marks of a school group is no guarantee that moderated marks are reliable. It was shown that the distorting effect of poor examination performers on a group's moderated school-based marks is not necessarily reduced by the presence in the group of good performers. Some alternative methods of adjusting school-based marks were described and compared.
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ItemWord processing training in Perth, Western Australia: a comparative study( 1985)This thesis, entitled "Word Processing Training in Perth, Western Australia: A Comparative Study", aims to identify and analyse the range of training options available in Perth for secretarial personnel who wish to pursue careers in the word processing field.
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ItemThe history of St. John's College Braybrook, 1958-1978: an illustration of the tensions between local initiative and centralization in the field of Catholic education( 1985)In 1958 a group of local priests from within the Sunshine/Braybrook region saw the need for the establishment of a school to cater for post-primary catholic boys and showed much initiative in their attempts to bring such a venture to fruition. Their initiative is demonstrated by their efforts not only to assure the central authorities that the project was feasible from the financial angle, but also by their extensive attempts to gain the services of a religious order to conduct the college. Having no success with the local orders, the priests turned to overseas for assistance. In 1964 the Brothers of the Sacred Heart arrived in Australia to open their first college. With the opening of the school at the commencement of 1965, the priests' venture had become a reality. As the sixties progressed changes to catholic secondary education within the archdiocese were taking place. The role of the laity within the Church became a more active one. This was translated into the life of the college by means of increased participation in decision-making processes by the laity. Further, the re-introduction of "state-aid" enabled the college, like many others, to survive financially. It did at the same time enable catholic central authorities to play a more dominant role in the operation of the college. The college continued to expand throughout the seventies. Co-education was introduced at the senior levels in 1972. This led to the establishment in 1975 of an Archbishop's Committee to investigate the possibility of establishing a separate senior college. Unlike the planning which took place in the fifties by the priests, this venture was undertaken by the central Catholic Education Office. Local initiative had to a great extent been replaced by centralization.
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ItemJohn Lawrence Tierney: his contribution to education in Australia( 1985)When John Lawrence Tierney retired from the service of the New South Wales Department of Education in June 1952, few outside his immediate circle knew his name. His forty-odd years of teaching had brought him none of the rewards which come to the most successful of that profession. He had, however, made a noteworthy contribution. For John Tierney was also "Brian James", whose short stories, marked by comic invention and acute observation (especially of idiosyncratic behaviour), had been widely acclaimed since first they began to appear in the Bulletin ten years earlier. In his fifties before he began to take his writing seriously, his earliest themes were of the land. Born and raised on a farm, he had always hankered after a return to the life he knew before teaching. From the very beginning his short stories were compared with those of Henry Lawson, and some eminent critics thought Tierney's surpassed them. A year before his retirement, his first novel, The Advancement of Spencer Button, was published. Two features made it remarkable: its construction (Norman Lindsay referred to it as "one of the few major novels in the country"), and its themes. It was the first Australian novel to take schoolteaching as its subject. Not only was it a full account of the growth and development of public education in New South Wales, from the Public Instruction Act of 1880 until the Second World War, but also it contained much detail on daily life in our schools. Moreover, it was unique in its presentation of the account from the teacher's point of view rather than from the student's. It explained, for the first time, the frustrations and tensions of "the system" of education that had evolved. It was a comic novel, but its purpose was serious. For Tierney, education was central to the health of society, and it was important that it should be properly examined and then made well. Most of his writing after this novel dealt with similar issues. Unfortunately, none of it ever reached its heights. His retirement did not bring him the peace and leisure he had hoped for. He found that much of the desire to write had evaporated. Other circumstances, too, had changed. Those who had advised and encouraged him earlier were less able to do so. The last ten years of his life produced little. In all, the output during his writing career had been comparatively meagre. For this and similar reasons, an accurate assessment of his contribution is not easy - and, in fact, will not be possible until history makes its final judgement on the literary merits of his writing. In the meantime, there are two aspects of his contribution which even the passing of time cannot deny: four decades of dedicated service to the youth of the nation, and a unique novel. These make him worthy of special attention.