Faculty of Education - Theses

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Stories of Hope: Towards a systems reconceptualisation of hope theory

Colla, Rachel Helen ( 2023-11)

Hope is a crucial concept to explore to prepare our youth for a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. It is a strong protective and enabling factor for emerging adults, specifically in the context of university studies. However, there remain several unanswered questions about the mechanisms that facilitate these adaptive relationships. Additionally, there are limitations evident in the translation of the dominant psychological theory of hope to facilitate hope in young adults. This thesis aims to address these gaps, storying the journey towards a reconceptualised systems theory of hope. To progress this endeavour, the thesis aimed to: 1) examine the development of Snyder’s (1989) Hope Theory and ensuing methods of study to ascertain potential gaps in the theoretical construction and 2) compare lay to scientific theories of hope to explore both support and opportunities for refinement of the central tenets of these theories. Four investigations were conducted to address these aims. Firstly, a critically appraised topic (CAT) review of Snyder’s (1989) Hope Theory revealed meta-theoretical, theoretical and methodological limitations that have constrained our ability to assess the dynamic interactions between factors that enable hope. The second investigation introduced a storying methodology, Participatory Narrative Inquiry (PNI), to address these limitations, demonstrating how this approach can facilitate the co-production of new knowledge with participants to help refine contextually relevant theories. This investigation was the first critical analysis of the PNI methodology in the academic literature. The PNI approach was tested in a multi-phased qualitative study that engaged university students as co-researchers to explore their experiences and lay theories of how hope emerges. Findings contributed empirical support for some of the central tenets of different theories of hope but also identified missing elements central to students’ experiences of hope. These findings provided support for an expanded theoretical framework that encompasses factors across the self as a system and within systems that are crucial to enabling the experience of hope in these students. The final investigation proposed an initial model integrating these findings in an expanded dynamic systems theory of hope. This program of research contributes a new meta-theoretical systems conceptualisation of hope, providing both theoretical and empirical evidence for the addition of new mechanisms that enable hope to emerge in university students. It further contributes new knowledge on a methodological approach that enables participatory exploration of complex wellbeing experiences, facilitating a more democratised pathway to theoretical construction. These contributions have practical implications that can enable the design of more effective tailored strategies to facilitate hope in emerging adults and fuel the next wave of discovery in hope research.
The Wellbeing Museum: cultural encounters of the third age

Gan, Lena ( 2023-11)

In an era of global ageing populations, oversubscribed public health systems and the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, wellbeing has become a societal matter of concern and policy priority. Contemporaneously, self-help and health and fitness cultures, along with an array of spiritual and holistic interests have played a role in furthering wellbeing activities. A body of epidemiological research points to the strong association of cultural attendance such as museum visitation with health and wellbeing. Yet little is known about how benefits are produced, the effects of different types of engagement and the circumstances and conditions under which they are most likely to occur. In response to these gaps, this study explores the museum encounters of people aged over 45 years, the mechanisms at work, the role of affect and the conditions of possibility for wellbeing that museums afford. Set up as a multi-site ethnographic case study, the focus is the more-than-human, situated, sociomaterial practices that occur in four museums: Melbourne Museum, Australia; Nantes History Museum, France; Te Papa Tongarewa, New Zealand; and Manchester Museum, UK. Wellbeing is an ill-defined and elusive construct, with diverse, co-existing discourses and approaches that tend to focus on the identification of its determinates and/or components. However, taking a Spinozo-Deleuzian materialist view as this study does, it can be regarded as increased capacity. This approach affords the conceptual conditions to explore the lively interactions amongst spaces, bodies, perceptions, sensations, constructs and objects and their capacitating effects. Wellbeing emerges, it is argued, through an ecology of sociomaterial practices in more-than-human functional collectives. These practices enrich people’s understanding of themselves in relationship with the world. And museums, as fully staffed storehouses of cultural heritage, artefacts, memories, history, identities and stories, have affective appeal, are highly accessible and provide particularly generative conditions of possibility for the wellbeing of older people.
Mindfulness in Education: Critical Debates, Perspectives, and Pragmatic Recommendations

Lee, Winky Wing Kay ( 2023-11)

Interest in mindfulness for education has burgeoned. However, this growth in interest is followed by emerging debates and criticisms regarding the intentions and the social and political implications of integrating mindfulness into schools and universities. While scholars have increasingly attended to these critiques and criticisms, it is unclear how these issues and concerns may translate into practical considerations for educational leaders, policy makers, and stakeholders. This dissertation sought to explicate foundational discussions on three critical considerations for mindfulness in education: 1) a persistent tension between the need to adapt mindfulness for contemporary and secular applications, while preserving the integrity of the practice; 2) the social and political implications arising from implementing mindfulness amidst a context of neoliberalism, commercialism and consumerism; and 3) the nascent status of existing empirical evidence on mindfulness, and a limited research understanding of the potential adverse effects of mindfulness-based programs/practice, when done with children and adolescents, especially those with a predisposed vulnerability. This dissertation offers pragmatic recommendations to address each of these critical considerations. To provide empirically grounded insights into the three critical considerations for mindfulness in education, this dissertation presents three research studies which examined educators’ and university-attending emerging adults’ perspectives on mindfulness in education, and their experiences with mindfulness practice and mindfulness initiatives provided by their educational institutions. The findings provide support to the acceptability of mindfulness, as a universally applicable, suitable and beneficial approach to mental health and well-being, among educators and university students. In general, educators’ and university students’ perceived purpose and motivations for practicing mindfulness tended to reflect ‘thin’ and ‘instrumental’ goals, which align with the commonly proposed aims of the practice, both in the literature and in popular culture. Concerns relating to potential religious conflicts and adverse effects from mindfulness practice were raised by few educators. In addition, educators valued independent research evaluation of mindfulness in education, though they lacked confidence in the current state of research. Overall, educators believed that mindfulness was valuable to education, and was beneficial to practice by students and educators regardless of their age or religious backgrounds. However, educators emphasised on the importance of committing to ‘proper’ implementation of mindfulness in education, in order for such a movement to have positive impact on education. These results are discussed in light of the proposed critical considerations. Further contribution of the dissertation to the topic is discussed and future directions for research are proposed.
Crafting wellbeing at work: Analysing the effects of job crafting to guide the development of a new coaching-assisted job crafting program

Silapurem, Likitha ( 2023-12)

Job crafting involves employees proactively redesigning their work boundaries to better align with their work needs, skills, interests, and passions. Research on job crafting has increased exponentially in recent years, yet the growing literature on job crafting has become relatively saturated with cross-sectional research. This means that much of the evidence on job crafting is limited in its ability to allow causal inferences. Furthermore, the available work that generally does allow for stronger causal inferences, such as experimental research, has shown somewhat mixed findings, suggesting that a deeper analysis is needed to determine whether causal inferences are currently plausible and also what makes interventions more effective in yielding desired work outcomes. Thus, the aim of this research is to explore and analyse the causal effect that job crafting has with key outcome variables, and to develop and pilot an approach that may help overcome some of the limitations of job crafting interventions. These aims were addressed using three studies and a conceptual review. Study 1 is a systematic review and meta-analysis using longitudinal job crafting literature (k = 66, N = 27,195) that revealed that job crafting at Time 1 had strong, positive associations with a range of desired work outcomes at a later time point. Findings from this study provide evidence of temporal separation, thereby providing stronger evidence for a potential directional relationship than previous reviews which primarily consist of cross-sectional research. However, as longitudinal research does not allow for absolute conclusions about causality to be drawn, Study 2 extended these findings with an analysis for causality to assess whether a causal relationship exists between job crafting, and two key work outcomes: work engagement and job performance. Using Hill’s (1965) framework, the extant literature was appraised against six criteria and showed that there was evidence to suggest that a positive, causal relationship may exist between expansion-oriented job crafting and work engagement. Findings from this study also revealed that job crafting interventions are generally limited by such factors as including isolated job crafting workshops, with participants afforded little ongoing support, structure, and guidance, that have reduced the effectiveness of the interventions. I argue that these limitations could be overcome by integrating workplace coaching into job crafting interventions. Thus, Study 3 conceptually reviewed the feasibility and highlighted the benefits of integrating coaching with job crafting interventions as a way to increase their effectiveness. Study 4 piloted this new integrated intervention empirically in a mixed method pilot study (n = 8 intervention group, n = 6 control group). Qualitative feedback about the intervention delivery and coaching was also obtained. Findings from this study provided promising preliminary evidence regarding the positive effect that the addition of coaching had on job crafting interventions.
Uncovering Student Values and Wellbeing Across Mathematics and Science Education

hill, julia lindgren ( 2023-09)

Over the past few decades, interest in student wellbeing has increased worldwide. However, the literature focuses on general wellbeing rather than subject-specific experiences. Given the pervasive negative attitudes, emotions, under-participation, and disengagement of students in mathematics and science education, I argue for a wellbeing approach that supports students to thrive, which is contextualised to these subjects. This thesis aimed to elucidate value-based student wellbeing experiences specific to mathematics and science education. An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was employed to uncover diverse students’ values to develop and empirically confirm mathematical (MWB) and science (ScWB) wellbeing frameworks. In total, 13,708 primary and secondary students across three countries (Australia, mainland China, and New Zealand) responded to a survey. Thematic and statistical analyses were undertaken for the qualitative and quantitative components of this survey, respectively. Across diverse age groups, cultures, and countries, findings suggested that the fulfilment of seven core or ‘ultimate’ values fostered students’ MWB: Accomplishments, cognitions, engagement, meaning, perseverance, positive emotions, and relationships. The same seven plus an autonomy ultimate value were associated with students’ ScWB. Despite the similarity of these ultimate values for diverse students, the instrumental values underpinning these ultimate values appeared to be culturally unique. Australian students rated their wellbeing higher in science than in mathematics education. Gender differences in wellbeing were wider in science than mathematics education, with males reporting significantly higher ScWB than females. My research makes subject-specific wellbeing visible. Findings can potentially inform curriculum development, teacher education, and educational policies to support more engaging and meaningful mathematics and science pedagogies.
What is logical deduction, in relation to physics, and how can students improve in this?

McKenzie, Russell David ( 2023-11)

This research was done in the context of the increasing emphasis on thinking in education and the contention by many researchers that improvement in thinking leads to improvement in learning. The other context is the difficulty of physics as a subject at high school and the constant search for better methods of teaching the subject. The objective was to investigate the suitability of logic education as a method to improve students understanding of physics. The current state of physics and thinking education was explored in the Literature Review. This included an analysis of methods aimed at improving student performance in physics, improving thinking and improving performance in physics by improving the thinking that occurs in this subject. Consequently, logical deduction in physics was deemed an area with the potential to support such improvement. As well, the process of logical deduction was found to need clarification. The nature of logical deduction was, therefore, explored using a philosophical method. The first outcome of this was that the process usually thought of as ‘logical deduction’ was reconceptualised as ‘deductive inferring’. This was to better reflect its nature as a thinking process. Wittgenstein’s critique of solitary rule-following was then applied to the processes of deductive and inductive inferring, and they were problematised accordingly. Consequently, a more accurate delineation of these processes was given as deductive-like and inductive-like inferring. To assess the suitability of logic education for physics education, the thinking involved in physics problem-solving was investigated empirically using a think-aloud method. It was found that deductive-like inferring played a key role in this thinking. For instance, it was implicated in moving from the information given in a question, alongside assumed knowledge, towards an answer. The results strongly suggested that logical deduction should be an element in a suite of thinking skills explicitly taught to high school physics students, and that more emphasis should be placed on logic and thinking more generally in education. The results of these analyses also motivate further research in this area and suggestions for these were made.
Investigating the Use of Augmented Reality Game-Based Learning in Classrooms to Support Student Learning in Victoria

Dixon, Janelle Denise ( 2023-09)

In our rapidly changing world, technology has become an inescapable part of people’s lives. Unprecedented availability of cost-effective technology offers opportunities to innovate teaching practices to match the demand for young people to understand and use emerging technologies. Despite the importance of augmented reality as an emerging technology that affords students access to tools and environments not available previously, and the opportunities it offers when combined with game-based learning to form augmented reality game-based learning (ARGBL) for innovative practice in education, there has been limited research conducted into the emerging area of ARGBL. Specifically, there is a lack of research into teachers’ perceptions and use of ARGBL in classrooms in Victoria, Australia. This two-phase qualitative case study that consisted of an online survey and semistructured interviews investigated how ARGBL is used in classrooms across Victoria and identified how teachers use ARGBL in classrooms and for what purpose. The online survey and semistructured interviews had eleven and four participants, respectively. The study found that a range of teachers in different school settings across Victoria use AR and ARGBL across nearly all learning areas. The affordances of ARGBL were focused on the unique presentation that ARGBL facilitates and how this benefits student engagement and learning outcomes. The main areas teachers found challenging when implementing ARGBL were cost, technical issues, easy-to-use technology, and the ability and confidence to employ an emerging technology in their classrooms. This research also demonstrated how the TPACK Framework can be used to model and analyse the knowledges required to integrate ARGBL into the classroom. This study contributes a new understanding of the ways in which teachers integrate ARGBL into their classrooms to support student learning in Victoria, providing a new perspective on Victorian teachers’ practice, experience, and perspectives on using ARGBL in their classrooms.
Complex syntax use in children with hearing loss

Klieve, Sharon Anne ( 2023-07)

Children with hearing loss (CHL) present with a wide variety of language and literacy profiles unique to this population. Even with advancements in early identification, technology, and early intervention, many CHL continue to show language difficulties when compared to their typically hearing peers. These difficulties are across multiple aspects of language including phonology, vocabulary, and morphosyntax. One area that has been explored minimally is complex syntax. Complex syntax competence is important for language, reading comprehension, writing proficiency, and social relationships. Complex syntax is often mistakenly assumed to be a later developing skill that follows mastery of grammatical morphology and simple sentence structure. However, complex syntax is simultaneously acquired, with grammatical morphology and basic clausal structure (Barako Arndt & Schuele, 2013) emerging at a relatively young age. Complex syntax is shown to be a continuing area of challenge for CHL. The purpose of this study was to describe and profile CHL’s complex syntax use to better understand the vulnerabilities and resiliency in language for these children. This PhD study examined complex syntax use by 8- to 10-year-old CHL as compared to their typically hearing peers. The two groups undertook a range of language and cognitive measures, including elicited language samples. Frequency, variety, and accuracy of complex syntactic productions were compared across the groups. Results indicate that while CHL produce a similar range of complex syntax types, they exhibit less frequent use, less variety, and reduced accuracy across and within complex syntax types as compared to their typically hearing peers. CHL demonstrate a range of error types that suggest challenges across multiple language domains. Greater processing demands are suggested to cause breakdowns across multiple levels of sentence production, with CHL demonstrating differences in a range of cognitive processes, particularly phonological memory. The differences, although somewhat reduced as compared to previous research, and possibly masked by the small sample size, warrant further investigation. This research contributes valuable information for clinicians, educational professionals, and researchers around strengths and challenges in CHL’s complex syntax use. The novel assessment protocol has promise as a comprehensive battery that can provide a deeper analysis of complex syntax in individual CHL. This research also focused attention on the importance of considering the interactions between language domains and the interrelationships between language and cognitive capacities. Further research should continue to investigate this important area of language.
Democracy, meaning, and general self-efficacy in democratic and mainstream schools

Singh, Neha ( 2023-11)

Meaning in life (ML), meaningful work (MW), and general self-efficacy (GSE) are constructs related to numerous positive life outcomes. Meaning allows individuals to navigate personal and social changes, which is vital at a time of declining democracy, pandemics, political polarisation, wars, climate crisis, and other upheavals. The experience of meaning begins during the school age years; thus, it is imperative that well-being education explores the experience and impact of meaning in school (MS). This comparative thesis is conducted in the context of democratic schools, where students have greater control over their personal study plans and school governance, and mainstream schools, where these features are not central. Through two mixed-method studies involving a case-study approach to distinguish the schools and then a large-scale enquiry into MS in these schools and its impacts on adult ML, MW, and GSE, I aimed to understand how schools can foster democracy and meaning. In Study A, using thematic and content analysis, I analysed four Australian democratic and mainstream schools’ policy documents to identify similarities and differences between them pertaining to the schools’ salient features and beliefs underpinning them and the democratic potential of these policies. Notable were the stark differences in the conceptualisation of community, schools’ beliefs about students, and students’ voices and autonomy. The interrelated impacts of these three themes on other aspects of schooling were also significant. The first part of Study B conceptualised MS. I used Study A’s findings and existing literature on meaning to operationalise MS and develop the Meaning in School Scale (MSS). I then tested the MSS for content validity with experts (N = 5), face validity with non-experts (N = 7), and construct validity with former democratic and mainstream students (N = 641), which resulted in a 3-factor measure consisting of Academic Content, Family Role, and Psychosocial Factors. Study B then explored dissimilarities in the levels of these variables by school type; the role of MS on adult life outcomes; model invariance; and the differences between the effects of MS on the adult variables by school type using online questionnaire data from former students of democratic and mainstream schools (N = 641) using structural equation modelling methods. Findings demonstrated that the structural model for the two school types was invariant. Regarding differences between the two school types, the democratic sample reported higher MS, but ML, MW, and GSE were similar. Next, the effects of schooling on adult life indicated that Psychosocial Factors and Academic Content were associated with adults’ ML, while Academic Content predicted GSE, but MS had no impact on MW. Finally, incidental findings revealed that Psychosocial Factors experienced during school appear to be an important driver of only the democratic sample’s GSE, whereas Academic Content affects GSE only for the mainstream sample. However, this possible moderation effect needs to be investigated further. The research highlights the distinctions between the two school systems. Further, it suggests that democratic school structures can contribute to stronger school and future democracies and provide insights into making schooling more meaningful and the ways they impact upon adult ML and GSE.
What role can universal design play in facilitating inclusive learning and teaching within online business degree programs at Australian universities?

Edwards, Miriam Ruth ( 2023-11)

In an attempt to be inclusive, Australian universities have traditionally provided reasonable adjustments to students living with disability. This process has been criticised for requiring students to self-report based upon narrow classifications of impairment (Pitman et al., 2021). Another concern has been students under-reporting disability (Brett, 2016a) for a variety of reasons, including stigma (Berman et al., 2020). Trends have suggested that the number of students living with disability will continue to increase (ADCET, 2021), and as such, reasonable adjustments may not offer a sustainable approach in future. This view aligns with those who have advocated for a universally designed curriculum (Burgstahler, 2020; Novak & Bracken, 2019). Universal Design (UD) refers to products and environments designed to be useable by as many people as possible, without adaptation (CUD, 1997). This is consistent with the social model of disability since it assigns the responsibility of inclusion to society rather than the individual (Oliver, 1986). With that in mind, this study sought to identify practices within Australian universities based upon UD principles. In doing so, business faculties were targeted due to the reach they have and their diverse student cohort. This study also argued that online delivery has become ubiquitous with university coursework, and as with others (Kent et al., 2018), it challenged assumptions about inclusivity in such cases. As a result, this study asked, “What role can universal design play in facilitating inclusive learning and teaching within online business degree programs at Australian universities?” The literature review found reports of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (CAST, 2018) within individual subjects and the suggestion that Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) (Scott et al., 2003) could potentially support broader organisational change (Black et al., 2014; Rao et al., 2021). Based on that review, the investigation included surveying and interviewing disability support staff and educational designers to learn about professional practice as it related to UDI (Scott et al., 2003). This produced 14 survey responses and seven interviews involving educational designers along with five survey responses and one interview involving disability support staff. Collectively participants identified 10 Australian universities. This was complemented with a desktop environmental scan of all disability action plans (DAPs) published by Australian universities. It was found that although reference to UD was appearing more often within DAPs, most actions taken to address disability were reactive in nature. Participants reported challenges due to lack of influence, ignorance towards disability, and competing demands placed upon academics. Despite this, it was found that at one university a widescale initiative had allowed for the application of UDL (CAST, 2018). The aim of that institution was to not only address the needs of students with disability, but to anticipate diversity more broadly. These findings suggested that universities looking to employ UD should develop a widescale approach extending beyond the teaching academic (Lawrie et al., 2017) while also offering reasonable adjustments when needed. Because of this, the discussion focussed on the importance of stakeholder relationships, the need for common understandings about inclusive practice, and policy which contextualises UD within each university (Fovet, 2020). Recommendations have been offered, along with the limitations of this study. In way of conclusion the main research question was revisited and ideas for future research shared.

Faculty of Education - Theses

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