Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemParent attitudes to an independent school( 1986)This thesis examines the attitude of a large, random sample of parents of a single independent school in Melbourne. The School, Carey Baptist Grammar, became co-educational in 1978, partly in response to changes in enrolment patterns. A review of the literature considers trends in parent attitudes and enrolments in government and non-government schools. The present trend in favour of non-government schools in Victoria has important implications for a school such as Carey. The survey reported in this thesis examines the background of Carey Parents, their reasons for choosing Carey, their attitudes to the School's objectives, assessment of the School's performance and whether they believe they are receiving "value for money". A range of specific conclusions and recommendations are reached. The limitations of using the data from this survey for comparison with other schools is discussed.
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ItemA comparison of levels of job satisfaction among Victorian high school teachers in declared disadvantaged and undeclared schools( 1981)This study involved an investigation of job satisfaction among Victorian high school teachers in three declared disadvantaged and three undeclared schools in the Northern Metropolitan Region. The feasibility of the topic was determined by a pilot study undertaken at Upfield high school in 1978. The Region was selected because it had the most declared schools in the state. Pairs of declared and undeclared schools were selected primarily on the basis of their geographical proximity to one another. They were not statistically matched in any way. Questionnaires were distributed to all teaching staff in these six schools. A total of 164 usable questionnaires were returned. Questions were designed firstly, to describe the sample population and secondly, to gauge levels of teacher job satisfaction. The perceived relationship between job satisfaction and Supplementary Grants funding provided under the Disadvantaged Schools Program was investigated by non-parametric testing using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). No statistically significant difference was identified in levels of job satisfaction between teachers in declared and undeclared schools. It is likely that individual teachers will have varying levels of job satisfaction and this was confirmed by the research. The argument that teachers can be categorised into groups who are satisfied and dissatisfied tended to be refuted.
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ItemGreek girls and the culure of femininity : a study of three Melbourne schools( 1988)This study examines how second generation Greek girls develop a sense of self within the context of two cultures--the home and the school. The particular solutions chosen by Greek girls to negotiate these two worlds are formed by the interaction of gender, class and ethnicity in Australian society. In the move to Australia, migrants have transported a culture in which traditional ideologies of the culture of femininity impose a definition of 'good womanhood'--emdodied in the concept of honour--which places strict demands on the behaviour of girls in all aspects of their lives. 'Being Greek' affects girls' educational experiences and constructs their social reality. The study contends that for Greek girls 'goodness' of character is understood as a matter of moving delicately between the precepts of traditionally expected behaviour of females and a school code of behaviour that can be at odds with those expectations. In some schools this cultural dichotomy is heightened by expectations of 'ethnically correct' behaviour based on racist assumptions in addition to a series of values, rules and standards inherent in the culture-of the school which are at variance with the interests and culture of Greek girls. This project studies three schools in Melbourne. It found that while Greek girls perceive education to be the legitimate vehicle to achieve better jobs than those of their parents, some girls participate in counter-school behaviour--in opposition to both the racist and sexist practices in the school and the ccurriculum which does not address their specific needs and interests. Other Greek girls in the same schools, however, conform to the demands placed on them. In one school--a girls' private school--the culture of the school itself does not challenge the Greek code of female honour but rather facilitates a total commitment and celebration of its dictates as a question of family and personal status. However, negotiating the two worlds is for all girls fraught with serious contradictions and ambiguities.
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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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ItemPlanning and budgeting in education: V.C.A.H., Burnley( 1987)In the proposed research attention is focussed upon the administrative functions of planning, budgeting and resource allocation in education with particular reference to the Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture - Burnley Campus. The researcher maintains that these functions are important elements of educational administration which, if done effectively, enhance the overall effectiveness of organisations. Furthermore, it is believed that the individual approach adopted by educational organisations should be developed through a carefully considered policy process. The objective of the proposed research is to discuss planning and budgeting processes applicable to education, including the contemporary version of program budgeting, and to outline the elements to be considered in developing a budgeting model for the Burnley campus. The background to the above analysis will be established through a review of the literature in the field of planning, budgeting and resource allocation in education. An important feature of this review will be the influence of relevant government policy. The methodology used in the study will be a descriptive survey centred around the examination of V.C.A.H. documentation, administrative systems and the interviewing of relevant V.C.A.H. officers. The information provided by this survey will form the basis for an analysis of the existing policies and procedures at Burnley and form the basis for model development.
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ItemThe predictive power of measured interests in tertiary course choice: the case of science( 1987)The importance of career considerations in the processes which determine participation in science and mathematics in secondary school is rarely disputed. Similarly, vocational goals appear to be influential in the process of choosing a course of tertiary study. There are, however, few examples in the literature of the behavioural sciences where measures of occupational interests have been employed in empirical studies of students' school subject or tertiary course choices. In this study, Holland's (1973, 1985) theory of personalities and occupational environments is advanced as an integrative conceptual framework for the exploration of educational issues such as participation and tertiary course choice. It is proposed that a longitudinal study entailing examination of the structural relations between measured occupational interests, school subjects studied, and choice of tertiary field of study, will provide evidence of a substantive and profound relationship. The participants in the study were three cohorts of male Year 10 students (N = 262) attending a single - sex independent school in Melbourne. The Career Assessment Inventory and tests of scholastic aptitude were completed by all Year 10 students in 1981, 1982, and 1983. Other sources of data included details of school subjects studied by the cohorts in Years 11 and 12, final examination results (Year 12), and details of their VUAC applications for college or university courses. Measured interests and school subjects studied were classified in terms of Holland's RIASEC typology, and the applicants' tertiary course preferences were considered in terms of an hierarchical structure of Victorian tertiary courses. A basic causal model of tertiary course choice facilitated a structural analysis of the relations between the variables of interest. The results of the application of multivariate and simple bivariate analyses to the data indicated a clear pattern of strong relationships between occupational interests measured in Year 10, school subjects studied in Years 11 and 12, and preference for science and technology college or university courses. Two elaborations of the basic causal model provided data for an analysis of the effects of a more comprehensive set of interests contrasts on the criterion, and data for estimates of proportion of variance accounted for by the combination of variables included in the basic model. A substantial proportion of the variance in science and mathematics subjects actually studied in Years 11 and 12, and in first preference for a science and technology field of tertiary study, was explained by interests measured in Year 10. The results of the investigation provide compelling evidence of the predictive power of measured interests in tertiary course choice, particularly in the case of science. The results are considered within the conceptual framework provided by Holland's (1985) account of the developmental antecedents of career decision making. Implications for educational and vocational counselling are discussed; the application of Holland's theory to the educational domain is held to support the notion of its generality.
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ItemMovements towards the senior campus concept: two case studies providing description of early movements in the reorganization of secondary schooling in Victoria aimed at providing an educational environment suited for young adults( 1987)This thesis investigates early movements directed towards the emergence of a new form of secondary school organization in Victoria, namely the senior campus. Two elements are identified as having been instrumental in heralding this development, firstly the phenomenon of zero population growth (and a concomitant decline in school enrolments) and secondly, a number of key recommendations of the Ministerial Review of Postcompulsory Schooling, more commonly known as the Blackburn Report. A major causal factor in defining the characteristics of the senior campus, and in ensuring its evolution, has been the influence of powerful teachers' unions upon government policy formulation in this state. The review of literature examines the development, and characteristics, of parallel forms of schooling in other parts of Australia and overseas, endeavours to establish a framework against which the evolution of the senior campus can be compared, and seeks to provide the means of identifying reasons why forms of schooling which have been popular, and successful, in other places, have been deemed as unacceptable for implementation in Victoria. The methodology adopted has been to undertake two case studies, one in Essendon, and the other in Mitcham. Each concerned a group of schools involved in the process of rationalization and reorganization, and each provided for the establishment of a senior campus for students in Years Eleven and Twelve. A common structure was adopted in both cases - Part A provides an analysis of background documents, and Part B provides description of the change process from the vantage point of a participant observer. The Essendon study presents a conceptual model for the reorganization of schooling in the Essendon area, and the Mitcham study describes the evolution of Mullauna College, a multi-campus, P-12 college which will be established early in 1980.