Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe educational theory of G.H. Bantock in the context of British educational thought 1965-1975( 1990)The 1960s and early 1970s witnessed changes in many social values in Britain; the educational world was not immune to the turbulence of these years. The classifications of `traditionalist', `conservative', `progressive' and 'radical' were attributed indiscriminately to the wide spectrum of party affiliations. As a result, the characteristics of these `parties' became difficult to isolate amid the vague condemnatory generalisations and intense criticism of personalities which characterized the period. G.H. Bantock (b. 1914) was considered a prominent traditionalist of these times, and as such, attempted to swim against the tide of what he believed was an increasing, uncultured progressivism. This study attempts to present a summary of Bantock's principal concerns, and to offer a profile of the main thrusts of the arguments which he advanced in over eighty major publications. As a subsidiary theme, it considers the nomenclature of the period, particularly from the perspective of the traditionalist, and seeks to isolate the foundations of that philosophical stance. Part 1 is a summary of the main concerns which consumed Bantock's attention during his career. Part 2 considers the means by which Bantock believed the problems of contemporary education could be solved, and Part 3 presents the author's evaluation of the ideas outlined in the previous sections.
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ItemDefining education: Kieran Egan's contribution to current educational theory and practice( 1990)Kieran Egan has suggested a stage theory for education in which the student moves through four periods of development. The theory is predicated upon a notion of education being a particular type of discipline, different from other areas of study such as philosophy and psychology. The difference, according to Egan, is found in the definition of education as a cultural act. The dominance of psychologists like Piaget and theorists like Dewey has, according to Egan, allowed non-educational theories and practices to erode the proper function of education, that being the creation of a particular type of person. That type of person would be best described as having the characteristics of Egan's "Ironic" scholar, a person with intelligence, humanity and acceptance. Egan also suggests a particular curriculum and teaching methodology in the light of his stage theory. This curriculum is based on the cultural heritage of humanity's quest for enlightenment. The methodology used is to present this cultural heritage in story-form so that it engages children's interest. The story-form is also the most appropriate manner of presenting information to children because information is most easily understood in that format. Egan is critical of current trends in education which, he claims, tend to be destructive of its true function. Empiricism and socialization, according to Egan, have caused education to become mundane and soulless. Education needs to be redefined and theories need to be relevant and pertinent to the process of education. Egan's theory does serve to centre debate about education. His thoughts on educational development and methodology, although salutory, are at times idiosyncratic. His rejection of empiricism in education tends to make his ideas problematic.
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ItemStudent perceptions of giftedness, gifted students, teachers and education of the gifted( 1990)The purpose of the study was to identify perceptions, preferences and attitudes of a sample of secondary school students in relation to giftedness, gifted students, teachers, and educational provision for the gifted, and to investigate differences and similarities between gifted and nongifted students. The sample consisted of 40 identified gifted and 40 nongifted students from Forms 8 to 10. A review of the literature described the history of the development of gifted education, particularly in Australia, and research concerning students' perceptions of the study topics. The study utilised a theoretical background of implicit, social cognition and labelling theories, and a version of the critical incident technique. The findings showed many similarities between the views of the gifted and the nongifted, including a generally positive view of giftedness, of educational provision for the gifted and of gifted students, although they were viewed somewhat less positively than were the provisions for them. The students generally perceived a need for gifted programs, especially at secondary level. They clearly wanted a combination of mixed ability classes and top sets in one or more subjects, not mixed ability classes as the only provision. Withdrawal for the gifted was generally endorsed by both groups. Provision for the gifted within the regular classroom was generally acceptable to the gifted, specifically in the form of advanced rather than wider content, but the nongifted generally rated both forms negatively. The students considered that the most important quality of a teacher was that the teacher should know the subject well. In general, personal-social characteristics of teachers were regarded as less important than intellectual qualities and teaching competencies. Certain characteristics were regarded as more important by the gifted and others by the nongifted. Recommendations were made for the particular school and in general.
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ItemKnowledge and vital piety: John Wesley's ideas on education - sources, theories and practice( 1990)Education was an essential element in the Wesleyan Revival of eighteenth century England. John Wesley sought not only to save souls but also to nurture them in the Christian life: literacy was a pre-requisite for this. He could not rely on the schools of his day to provide an acceptable education, so he established his own school at Kingswood, Bristol, in 1748. For Wesley, the basic aim of education was "to overcome the principle of evil with the principle of Grace", or to set right the "natural bias" of humanity. The daily programme, the rules and the curriculum at Kingswood School were geared to achieving this educational aim. By avoiding all negative influences and enforcing positive ones, he sought to overcome the principle of evil with God's grace. Constant supervision was crucial. The students (all boarders) were awake from 4a.m. to 8p.m. and constantly at their lessons, spiritual exercises or physical exercise - no "playing". There were no holidays or home visits until a child's education was completed. Only children under the age of twelve were admitted. The curriculum was an extension of the same principle. The traditional Classics Course was revised to exclude any un-Scriptural values and to include works of religious biography and ethics. In developing his educational theories, Wesley was truly eclectic. His own religious experience and Arminian theology, and the influence of his mother were seminal. He drew upon other educational systems, particularly the Dissenting Academies in England, the French Port Royal Schools and the German Moravian schools. The writings of Plato, Law, Locke, Milton, Comenius, Fleury and Poiret were also most influential in forming his ideas. These influences, tempered by Wesley's own experiences and failures in three earlier schools, shaped Kingswood School, the definitive expression of his educational philosophy.
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ItemAn education to prayer: the establishment and development of a parochial school in the Catholic parish of St. Brendan's Flemington, Melbourne. 1887 -1947( 1990)�� the present system of Catholic Education in Australia developed not from any predetermined plan but as a result of the conflicting forces in educational development in the nineteenth century and the circumstances of the times." In the latter half of the nineteenth century �conflicting forces� and �the circumstances of the times� resulted in the establishing, in 1887, of a Catholic primary school in the inner Melbourne suburb of Flemington. (From Introduction)
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ItemMulticulturalism: the implications for midwifery education( 1990)Australian society is a system in change, with immigration creating a need for an urgent review of the education of midwives. Caring for the families of differing cultures requires a basic understanding of cross-cultural midwifery beliefs. A comparative analysis was made of the beliefs of midwives and two of the most recent arrivals, Vietnamese and Turkish. Data was collected via a questionnaire. The main findings indicate: (1) midwives have significantly different beliefs regarding childbearing from those of women of other cultures. (2) Childbearing practices vary across cultures. (3) There is an urgent need for midwifery education to include a component on cross-culture childbearing practices to ensure a satisfactory childbearing experience for people of all cultures residing in Australia.
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ItemSkilling the Australian community: futures in public education : young people's perspectives( 1990)Young people were interviewed to ascertain their perceptions of Australia in the next ten years and what skills that they expected that school leavers [i.e. secondary school leavers] will need to have to cope with the future. The findings provided data for a national conference, sponsored by the Commission for the Future and the Australian Teachers' Federation, in Melbourne in April, 1966. The conference explored the demands on education as seen by representatives of six user groups of education, including industry, parents and students. The methodology was basically determined by the nature of the project. The young people reached an "agreed statement" for the project. Their attitude towards the future indicated uncertainty, anxiety and pessimism and that their lives will be increasingly controlled by impersonal technology. The young people believed that there are four main areas of skill development needed by school leavers to cope with the future. The areas are: Intellectual/academic, vocational, social and personal. Some details are provided for each of the skill areas. The young people believed that the development of these skills should be possible through the public education system. Consideration is given to the possibility of implementing student participation and school-work relationships - two of the areas seen as important for the skill development of young people. A scenario of public education in 1998 is provided as a starting point for deeper thought and consideration of the issues raised as a result of the opinions expressed by the young people on the skills needed to cope ten years into the future.
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ItemThe history of the Victorian Association for Gifted and Talented Children( 1990)This thesis has documented the history of the V.A.G.T.C. from its inception in June, 1978 until December, 1989. An outline of the way in which this organization developed, the major influences responsible for this development and the changing role of the Association throughout its life, has been recorded. As there is limited written material available, much of the information provided arises from interviews with six of the people who have held the position of President, other influential people nominated by the Association, Minutes of the Annual General Meetings and any correspondence, membership lists and other documentation the Association provided. Certain future directions and aspirations are recorded.
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ItemHenry Lowther Clarke and educational policy in the Anglican diocese of Melbourne 1903-1920( 1990)The episcopate of Henry Lowther Clarke as fourth Anglican Bishop and first Archbishop of Melbourne in the years 1903 to 1920 saw the most explicit and comprehensive formulation and application of educational policy in the Melbourne Diocese prior to or since that period. In the tertiary sector, there were moves made to establish a Faculty of Divinity at the University of Melbourne, the foundation of the Melbourne College of Divinity and provisions for the theological training of non-matriculated ordination candidates. In the secondary sector of education, thirteen schools were established, acquired or, in some manner, brought under the aegis of the Anglican Church. There was a particular emphasis on the founding of schools for girls. Attempts were made to establish a bureaucratic structure to monitor the acquisition of schools and religious instruction within them. The movement for the introduction of Bible reading integrated into the programme of the State's primary schools continued, having been strongly active during the episcopates of James Moorhouse (1876-1886) and Field Flowers Goe (1887-1901). In the parishes of the diocese, Archbishop Clarke initiated a review of the Sunday School system with teacher training and a common syllabus receiving particular attention. Clarke was also central in the encouragement of the foundation of Anglican free kindergartens in the inner-city region of the diocese. Yet these achievements were not entirely consistent with Clarke's stated objectives. Major influences affecting the partial success of the achievement of objectives are seen in: - the experiences, assumptions and personality of an expatriate bishop elected at the age of fifty; - the nature of Anglicanism in Victoria: its demography, divisions within on issues of churchmanship, its concept of a constitutional rather than absolutist episcopacy, the widespread acceptance of voluntarism and limited financial resources; - the extent of a secularist approach in Australian thought, both in an ideological sense and in the pragmatic sense congruent with the experience of ecclesiastical divisions and antipathy; overt sectarianism, in particular the lack of unanimity or harmony in and between Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant faith and order. The widespread sectarianism during the First World War which centred upon Archbishop Daniel Mannix highlights this influential factor. Thus, while describing and recognising the achievements in Anglican educational activity in the years 1903 to 1920, the failure to achieve explicit objectives has to be evaluated and recognised as part of a complexity of factors, not all of which were appreciated by Henry Lowther Clarke.
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ItemIndependent schools and children of high intellectual potential( 1990)Independent Schools and Children of High Intellectual Potential In the current, rather volatile, educational climate, the community in Victoria is engaged in considerable debate about the putative merits and demerits of the proposed changes to post-compulsory schooling, the consequent flowback to curriculum and methodology in the P-10 years, and the consequences for the nature of our society. It is in this context, on the eve of the implementation of these changes, that this minor thesis proposes that teachers in non-systemic, independent schools continue to need to be made aware of the ways in which students of high intellectual potential might be identified and have their particular needs met within the constraints of the present system, so that the opportunities for the achievement of excellence might be explicitly realized. A survey has been conducted in order to establish, in a broad way, what is being done for children of high intellectual potential in non-systemic, independent schools within a 25-kilometre radius of the GPO, Melbourne. These schools have been surveyed by questionnaire. This questionnaire was designed to enquire about schools' entry policies, preliminary testing of students, the ways in which these tests are employed to group students and in which curriculum areas, at what levels any differential programs operate, the theory and research which informs the schools' policies, the oversight and implementation of these provisions or programs, and the nature of the schools' commitment to recognizing and meeting the needs of the highly able. The results of the questionnaire suggest that the single sex girls schools are more aware of and sensitive to the needs of able students and the ways in which the curriculum might be differentiated to meet those needs than either the single sex boys schools or the coeducational schools. While there is a general awareness of the issue of able students in many schools, there is, with a few notable exceptions, a lack of the firm knowledge and understanding of the ways in which those needs might be met by adopting specific identification measures, by modifying the traditional group structures employed in schools, and by systematically differentiating the curriculum for able students within and across particular learning domains. There is clearly a continuing need for the provision of further professional inservicing of all teachers to assist them in recognizing the needs and fostering the capacities of the intellectually able young in schools, that these students might be afforded the opportunities to realize their maximum potential.