Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe care of the pre-school child in N.S.W( 1944)THE CARE OF THE PRE-SCHOOL CHILD IN NEW SOUTH WALES. The thesis as presented falls into four definite parts. The first, Section I., is concerned with the history and philosophy of the care of the very young child overseas. As we owe so much, particularly in our educational attitudes, to the "Old Country", an of later years to America also, the relevant developments in these two places have been given. Health, custodial and educational aspects have all been included. The latter part of Section 1 is concerned with philosophical considerations, the modern theories of child care, and their practical applications in that most satisfying and satisfactory environment for the pre-school child, the Nursery School, a development of the twentieth century. Section II, concerned particularly with matters in New South Wales, deals with the two aspects of child-care, Section lIa. with the physical side, Section II b. with the educational provision. Of these, the first emphasises preventive measures, and is concerned with the development of such movements as Maternal and Baby Welfare, the work of the Bush Nursing Association, the Flying Doctor, the Far West Children's Health Scheme and the less romantic but equally essential services of hospitals, clinics, etc.. But in these days other organisations than purely medical ones are being interested in health movements, and so Play Centres too demand a passing word. Section II b. deals with the educational aspect, where more emphasis is placed on the psychological side, though health matters are by no means regarded as unimportant. Here both residential and non-residential facilities available for the pre-school child are reviewed, and the Nursery School is declared to provide the best opportunity for a co-ordinating centre of the interests of the child. The provision made by the State, the Kindergarten Union, the Day Nursery and Nursery Schools Association and the Local Governments surveyed from the point of view of the service each provides for the "whole child"; and conclusions are drawn as to. the value of the provision made for the pre-school child, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Section III. is photographic. Unfortunately, the studies were not taken on my visits, but are due to the generosity of two Nursery School Directors (of the Erskineville Day Nursery and the Free Kindergarten, Maybanke) and my brother, without whose assistance this section would have been very uninspired. Last of all come the appendices containing matters of interest in pre-school work, which from the point of view of perspective could not be included in the main body of the work, yet are of value for reference. Appendix I. shows the educational provision made by the State for. children under the compulsory school age in the more closely settled metropolitan areas. Appendix II. details the provision made by the Kindergarten Union and the Day Nursery and Nursery Schools Association. The long waiting lists emphasise. the inability of voluntary organisations to cope with the problem, even in pre-war days. Appendix III. offers a graded list of toys suitable for pre-school children. Appendix IV. outlines "Emergency" Nursery Courses suggested for the training of staff urgently, needed to supplement the fully trained Kindergarten 'and Nursery School staffs for any further expansion in pre-school care. American and English war-time nursery care is not given in the main part of the thesis as the information was gleaned almost entirely from periodicals and newspaper articles, and one always treats this type of information with reserve, wondering how much of the subject matter is propaganda of some sort, and how much can be accepted as scientific fact. Appendix V. simply contains types of record forms actually in use in the various pre-school institutions.
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ItemSelection in Queensland secondary education( 1952)The aim of the present thesis is to survey the origin and mature of selection in secondary education in Queensland and to compare the prognostic value of different methods of selection in the State schools in the metropolitan area with a view to suggesting better methods of educational selection and guidance.
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ItemEducation in Papua New Guinea( 1951)Material advances in living standards over the whole area and throughout total communities are necessary to promote the social welfare and development of the native peoples of Papua New Guinea. The terms, Fundamental Education, Community Development and Mass Education, are more comprehensive than the traditional term, Native Education, and indicate a much wider field for the educational sociologist. The project in Fundamental Education in Papua New Guinea, which is an integrated plan of sociological and technological advance for the native people, is known as the New Order, and took form as the Japanese were driven from the territories. More than usually difficult tropical environments have retarded scattered groups of native people, of great ethnic variety, speaking different languages, using primitive and restricted technology and living in varying stages of physical debility, disease, superstition, ignorance, malnutrition and helplessness in the face of increasing westernization. The recent war increased welfare problems. Although the natives show unexpected adaptability and resilience, westernization, with absentee labour, 'bully beef economy' and introduced disease, has added to the poverty and weakness of the native societies. The natives need urgently basic techniques of living. Later, there will have to be considerable material and technological advances to enable these native people to take a full share in the development of their country. The educationists have two important tasks : (1) The task of designing the community projects and directing the practical, material enterprises towards desirable social development. In Papua New Guinea this task is the responsibility of the Administrator. The departmentalised form of organisation of the Administration of Papua New Guinea tends to conceal the share of the Director of Education and other heads of departments in this task. (2) We must not assume that the native people will acquire our ideas and attitudes or follow the course that we consider desirable. Material changes, and enrichment of native communities need changes in attitude and ideas on the part of the native. The techniques of Mass Education must be used to explain, cajole, coerce, persuade, enlighten and discipline the native people about the new materials and new methods. Universal primary education is the aim of long range plans for this purpose; but the present needs of the native people require these long range plans to be supplemented by all available means of propagation and mass conditioning. The present Director of Education is specially qualified to resolve disconformities of acculturation, from a psychological viewpoint. The evidence indicates that the natives react favourably to large scale and seemingly disruptive material change, and that psychological problems of westernization can be exaggerated. It is helpful to maintain the native's sense of security, and one of the ways of doing this is to preserve the dignity of native languages, ceremonies and cultural life. Voluntary bodies, the Christian Missions, have been engaged in the work of welfare and development of the native people for more than sixty years. With the advance of their civilising mission, they have been able to introduce refinements of method and have extended their range. Following the war, many of the missions have staged a brilliant recovery. They are progressive in educational method and take a large share in the social welfare and development of the native people. The diffusion of essential westernization and the propagation of desirable attitudes among the native people are very important aspects of education in Papua New Guinea. Particular attention is paid to formal and informal methods of diffusion, and mass communication. Films, broadcasting and publishing receive attention, for they seem to present efficient mechanical means of disseminating and humanising knowledge at a level that may be useful in the conditioning of illiterates. Diffusion, propagation and general and thorough dispersion to all the native people, of the new ways of living, is the task of education. Indeed, this is almost a definition of education. The present Director has boldly pioneered the use of films and broadcasting, and, as far as the preparatory organisation, has been most successful. There is no comparable achievement amongst retarded multilanguage groups anywhere. So far it has not been possible to establish rapport, nor to exploit the full possibilities of these and other media. Probably the best means of diffusion of the new techniques is that process herein called social learning and imitation, and left unanalysed. Successful enterprises, in which the natives themselves have taken part, and have shared in the benefits thereof, seem to be the best incentive to the spread of new techniques. A number of circumstances, including the departmentalised system of organisation of the Administration, have tended to restrict the Director of Education to a pedagogic role. There has been an unfortunate tendency to restrict the full sociological significance of important groups (for example, women - the education of women and girls) to a single aspect of their social development, namely, pedagogic institutions. The Director has not had directive control over the sociological aspects of the work of the various technical departments. An isolated school system could do much harm by educating for a non-existent economic situation. The Director has had to resist firmly the establishment of schools ahead of a careful programme of training for native teachers and leaders. At the same time he has encouraged experiments. There are a number of interesting new government schools. Among the many achievements of the present Director of Education has been the provision of schools for the children of the Europeans of the territories, and for the Chinese. The New Order is an enterprise in Fundamental Education worthy of favourable comparison with any oversea project. There is no doubt about the ultimate success. At present the Administration is at the transition stage between welfare work following the war and the preparatory work for development, and the implementation of overall plans for the development of the resources of the territory. The crucial question arises about education in Papua New Guinea. Having already spent, or earmarked for spending, �40 million in reconstruction, welfare and in preparatory organisation for development, will the Commonwealth Government continue to assist with increasing expenditure, without return, a social and economic developmental programme designed to increase permanently the resources of the territory, to enrich the native people and raise their standards of living, and at the same time, to leave them in full control of their government, their land and cultural and ceremonial life?
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ItemThe teaching of French in New South Wales and Victoria 1850-1958( 1958)This thesis is a study of the development of the subject French at the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne and in the schools of New South Wales and Victoria. It seeks to show why French was taught in this land so far from France, by what methods it was taught, to whom and by whom it was taught. It was impossible to discover the answers to these questions without studying the growth of the two Universities and in particular the changes of curriculum in their Faculties of Arts, the relationship between the Universities and the schools and the influence of the University Departments of French on French in the schools, the growth of secondary education and the public examination system, and the reforms in the curriculum of the secondary schools in the twentieth century as a result of changes in educational theory and philosophy. Only against this background is it possible to understand the rise and fall of one particular subject.
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ItemLive and learn: a plan for an educated citizenry( 1946)The creators and improvers of Attic prose, the chief literary and most elegant language of ancient Greece, were the Sophists, who flourished in the latter half of the 5th century B.C. They were really a class of teachers or popular lecturers which met the demand for education among the people in those days. It is extremely doubtful if they had any common philosophical doctrine. Grote has disproved the traditional view of the Sophists that their intellectualism was characterised by scepticism and ethical egoism; this charge is still made against adult educators: Whatever criticism might be made of the Sophists - Socrates and Plato opposed them - they made a definite contribution to culture. Adult education had its genesis with them. They introduced the people to a wide range of general knowledge, they led their listeners into discussions, they investigated history, poetry, mathematics and science. The fact that they received fees for their courses and made a livelihood out of their teaching did not commend itself to the Greece of that time. It is strange how history repeats itself; even today there is a reluctance on the part of some individuals to pay teachers in order that they might make a livelihood: From the time of the Sophists, philosophers of all hues have agreed on the point that education is a lifelong process. It is no matter for congratulation that today we are far from applying that fact. When the franchise was extended greatly during the last century and politicians decided that, in their own interests, their masters should be educated, the education provided was confined to childhood. Some years ago H. G. Wells surprised a complacent world by declaring that we must choose between education and catastrophe. We know now which prevailed. But because we have suffered a world catastrophe, the primary and secondary schools are not to be castigated. The children could have done nothing to avert this conflict; the older generation, the adults, with parochial prejudices, should have served this world better. It should be the supreme aim of a democratic state to have an informed and intelligent citizenry; democracy is sustained by education. (From Introduction)
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ItemNew objectives for Indonesian education: a critical account of the present stage of development of a government educational system in Indonesia( 1956)My thesis is: "Taking into consideration all relevant factors, Indonesia is developing a modern educational system which is steadily being adapted to meet the needs of the country". It is inevitable that, in considering the degree to which a system has become modern, a foreigner must be influenced by his own "western" oriented background. I have .spent my educational life in the science section of a government secondary school and in a teachers' college in Australia. My particular interests will be reflected in the attention I have given to the state system and the relative neglect of the private systems in Indonesia. In any case, the total field is too vast for first hand study so that most attention is given to that part of education controlled by the Department of Instruction in the Ministry of Education, Instruction and Culture. (From introduction)