Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses
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1 - 10 of 1822
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ItemThe dawn of the thousand year reich : the ascendancy of didactic and neo-classical architecture during the Third Reich( 1978)In the past, Nazi architecture has been a much maligned subject which most commentators, historians and writers have carefully neglected. This legacy has left a deplorable lack of information, especially in the English language. This laudable position becomes more absurd for the copious amount of books, art journals, articles that flourished under the Third Reich are today virtually non-existent. Often when cited, the architecture is used in a hysterical fashion, usually in association with some alleged atrocity, thus pushing even further into the background the original concepts for the architecture's being. Had it not been for recent publications and research, carried out in West Germany, this thesis would have not been possible.
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ItemThe class teaching of music in state-supported schools in Victoria, 1853-1905( 1956)While studying recent developments in the class teaching of music in schools both overseas and in Australia, I became interested in the way in which music had been introduced into the early schools of Victoria, and began to ask these questions. Who were the first teachers of music in Victoria? What methods did they use? From whom did they learn their methods and what was the content of their lessons? After some background reading and thought I decided to begin this investigation, limiting it for the present, to the content and method of teaching music in the state-controlled schools in Victoria from 1853 - 1905. In the pages which follow, I hope to show how a tradition of music teaching was established in Victorian schools, tracing through England, influences from Germany and France. So that the methods of teaching used and the content of the lessons may be revealed, a survey will be made of the life and work of those concerned with the introduction of music into the elementary schools of England and Victoria. The training; of teachers of class music in Victoria will be discussed and, in so far as it is relevent to the period being investigated, music in secondary education will be included. As far as I can discover, no other research has been carried out in this subject in Australia. I hope that what I have written will not only arouse interest, but assist in increasing among leaders in education an appreciation of the value of music in schools. I should like to thank the following people, all of whom have shown great interest and have given me help and encouragement: Mr. E.L.French and Dr. T.II.Coates, School of Education, The University of Melbourne; Mr. !1.C.Brideson, Research Service of The Public Library of South Australia; officers of The Mitchell and Public Libraries, Sydney, The Public Library of Victoria, The Library of The Australian Council of Educational Research, Melbourne, and the Library of The Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Melbourne; Mr. Geoff. H.Allan, Managing Director of Allan & Co., Melbourne, for the access to the diary of Mr. George Leavis Allan; Mr. bar' of Allan & Co., for his assistance in locating copies of early music published by Allan & Co.; Mr. J.Alex. Allan, Clifton Hill, Melbourne, author of "The Old Model School", who lent me relevent original documents; Mrs. A.L.Eastaugh, South Lyndurst, Seaford, for information about her relative Mr. August Siede; Miss Gladys Rhys Davies, Beach Street, East Malvern, author of "Music Makers of the Sunny South", for a copy of her book and access to the original notes from which it was written; and Mr. A.E.H.Nickson of the University Conservatorium, Melbourne, who gave me valuable advice.
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ItemWhat do 'at risk' boys say about their schooling experiences ? : creating agency for boys' views and feelings about school( 2008)The following discussion outlines the theory and operational methods that inform a general ethnographical study, designed to understand the views and perceptions of three 'at risk' boys relegated to a specialised Victorian state school. The methodology hopes to empower the male students taking part in the study by giving emphasis to the didactic importance of their views, opinions and experiences expressed during a series of interviews in which they participate. It is hoped that the boys will be able to identify areas of education that need improvement, and define real life problems within their own learning experiences, so genuine male learning dilemmas and insights are generated and debated in the research. However, Connell (1989, 1995) characterises boys as `inheritors of an all conquering hegemonic masculinity' and this classic feminist perspective seems to be preventing the evolution of a boys' paradigm in education by diverting attention away from boys' educational issues by asking `which girls' and 'which boys' are specifically disadvantaged. This generic ethnographical study attempts a pro-male research project which holds boy's views, opinions and experiences paramount in the research logic processes, and makes use of key foci descriptors conceptualised in recent government research and programmes to discover how young males experience and dialogue about their schooling lives.
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ItemLink between teacher-student relationship, student emotional wellbeing, coping styles, classroom engagement and peer relationships( 2007)This research explored the link between teacher-student relationship, student emotional wellbeing, coping styles, peer relationship and classroom engagement of year 8 students. The participants were Catholic school students and the focus was limited to English class and teacher. The data sources were a Student-Survey (SS) and the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS) (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993). The first component of the research was scale development, to validate the hypothetical categorization of items in the scales; the second was the testing of the hypotheses. Teacher-student relationship was highly correlated with classroom engagement and coping style-solving the problem. The correlation between other variables was positive but not significant.
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ItemParent professional partnerships in IEP development : a case study of a MAPS process( 2007)The practices, language and behaviours which professionals adopt when they meet with parents prior to Individual Education Program (IEP) planning may have a significant effect on the attitudes and capabilities families bring to the educational setting. During this case study the adult family members of a child with additional needs were observed as they addressed the developmental and programming needs of their child by participating in the McGill Action Planning System (MAPS) and a subsequent Program Support Group (PSG) meeting. Themes indicating attitudes or perceptions that empowered the family towards continued participation in collaborative teams for IEP development emerged in the observational data and were defined through the methods of informant diaries and semi-structured interviews. Less dominant quantitative methods were used to verify that the participant's ongoing attitudes towards parent professional collaboration corroborated with the final themes of flexibility, unification, satisfaction and function.
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ItemJust reporting : does the school have a justifiable reporting process?( 2006)This thesis titled `Just Reporting' aimed to explore the question: Does the school have a justifiable reporting process that meets the needs of key stakeholders (parents, students and teachers)? Through a critical review of the research literature relevant to reporting, various ethical issues were noted that assisted in the construction of the questions guiding this study. These ethical issues provided the lens through which I explored the reporting practices at the research school. The title Just Reporting emphasises the justice issues surrounding reporting as a communicative action where the integrity of each individual is maintained and relationships strengthened. The research took the form of a case study involving the participation of thirty-three parents, eleven teachers and twenty-one students from the one school setting in a questionnaire that had both quantitative and qualitative questions that gathered their affective and cognitive responses to the school's written report. I also held one focus group interview with parents to clarify information from the questionnaire. An interactive inquiry with mixed methods approach was chosen as the best way to answer the research questions. The aim was to develop a theory about reporting rather than prove an existing theory. This study examines what reporting is, the audience and purpose of reporting, and the imperatives of justifiable reporting. It gathered the opinions and beliefs about reporting at the research school from key stakeholder groups and sought to discover whether the written report met their needs and fulfilled the requirements of justifiable reporting. Final analysis of the data provided understandings about the nature of reporting at the research school and revealed a number of issues that prevented the process from being fully justifiable.
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ItemCoping with anxiety in childhood : the importance of the anxiety sensitivity factor( 2006)Anxiety sensitivity is a recently identified construct which has become part of the conceptualisation of anxiety. Essentially anxiety sensitivity is the fear of anxiety-related symptoms. Evidence in the research literature suggests that adults who have a high level of anxiety sensitivity, combined with a high level of the more traditionally recognised trait anxiety reported a significantly higher incidence of anxiety disorders. If children in the general population with a predisposition to developing anxiety disorders could be identified, as those who report high anxiety sensitivity together with high trait anxiety, then early intervention may prevent the onset of anxiety disorders in adolescence or adulthood. It is usually the case that children who are anxious adopt a non-productive coping style however anxious children can be taught how to cope effectively with the anxiety experience. Effective coping could be a buffer to heightened anxiety.In the present study anxiety sensitivity, trait anxiety and anxiety symptoms were measured in a cohort of primary school children. Coping strategies used by anxious children were evaluated and compared to non-anxious children. The extent and intensity of children's symptoms of anxiety disorders were investigated. The temperament characteristic behavioural inhibition and family environment factors were also evaluated. Consistencies in these variables were considered in relation to the children's level of anxiety sensitivity and trait anxiety. As well, children's report of their anxiety symptoms was compared to parent report about their child's anxiety symptoms. Results indicated that children with a high level of anxiety sensitivity and/or a high level trait anxiety reported significantly more anxiety symptoms than the children who did not report a high level on the two constructs. Furthermore, children who reported a high level of anxiety sensitivity and/or trait anxiety used more coping strategies associated with a `non-productive' or `reference to others' style of coping than other children. The level of anxiety sensitivity or trait anxiety did not significantly discriminate this cohort of children on behavioural inhibition or family environment factors. Some differences were apparent between children's report and parent report about their child with regard to the children's anxiety symptomatology. There is ongoing debate in the research literature as to whether anxiety sensitivity is a distinct construct or a contributing factor to trait anxiety. The relationship between the two anxiety constructs was examined and some distinguishing characteristics were identified.
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ItemFocus on form in a Thai university English course( 2006)This thesis reports on an investigation about the application of new pedagogy to the teaching of English grammar to the first year English major students in a Rajabhat University in Bangkok, Thailand. This study sought to explore the effectiveness of an indirect explicit instruction approach on improving students' motivation and attitudes towards learning English grammar. This study was conducted in a normal grammar classroom of thirty three students for sixteen two-hour weekly sessions. Kemmis and McTaggart's (1988) action research cycle method was adopted, involving two cycles of teaching-learning activity. Each cycle was regulated into steps of developing a unit of work, implementing an instruction for six weekly two-hour sessions, observing and reflecting. The data obtained consisted of teacher/researcher's journal, students diaries and interviews and students' self-assessment questionnaires. The teacher's journal provided information about how students were responsive to the new teaching approach whereas students reflected on their new learning experiences in their diaries. Moreover, self-assessment questionnaires using a 5-point Likert scale were employed to obtain a clearer picture on students' attitudes, activities provided and their perceived improvement in learning English grammar. The results of this study reveal that indirect explicit grammar instruction had a great impact on students' motivation and attitudes. Effective learning atmosphere and cooperative learning led to significant changes of students' learning behaviours. Students showed their eagerness to participate in the learning process. They became more self-confident and expressed their willingness to take risks in learning in the language classroom. It could be argued that students' attitudes had improved and they, therefore, were motivated to learn English grammar. However, the students' grammatical knowledge had not significantly developed since the study was undertaken over a short period of time. The study proposes some factors that the teachers should carefully take into consideration in adapting indirect explicit approach to their teaching. Of greater significance were contributions made by the study regarding the advantages of developing own instructional materials that respond to the learners' needs over commercial materials and the value of employing action research to investigate problems arising from teaching practice. Finally, it is suggested that a longitudinal study is worth trying in order to establish the applicability of the indirect explicit approach in teaching English grammar in EFL contexts.
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ItemAn evaluation of quality assurance implementation at a higher education institution in Bangkok( 2005)This study aimed to investigate the implementation of Quality Assurance (OA) regarding two compulsory English courses in a Rajabhat University in Bangkok. Quality of these courses is considered to be crucial because they are required for the completion of all undergraduate degrees in every program of study in the Rajabhat. The study intended particularly, to examine the level of success of QA implementation in order to recommend improvements to the implementation process. The study employed a qualitative case study of the institution to reveal factors affecting QA implementation and to construct an improved QA management model for such courses. Document analysis and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The participants of the research were purposively selected according to their levels of participation in the QA program, namely, policy makers, transmitters of the policy and implementers. Miles & Huberman-style grids were employed to facilitate data analysis and then Fullan's theory of change was used as a framework for discussion of the findings. Analysis revealed that QA was thought to be needed but the level of success of the QA implementation was rather low at the course level due to a lack of efficient communication between the systems level and implementers on the ground. Consequently, teaching staff's knowledge and understanding of the QA operation was inadequate. However, strengths of the program included availability of financial and physical supports, i.e. multi-media teaching materials, IT infrastructure and provision of professional development. Perhaps the most important strength was the awareness and willingness of lecturers to implement QA during routine teaching. Nevertheless, IT literacy, teamwork skills and explicit systematic QA implementation documents were inadequate. Overall, this study has demonstrated a limited level of success regarding QA implementation in this Thai context due to various factors. Therefore, recommendations for improvement are presented and a QA model for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is proposed.
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ItemThe value of teacher-friendly auditory processing measures in identifying auditory processing disorders and language difficulties in prep-aged students( 2005)This thesis investigates the value of auditory processing measures available for use by teachers. Two teacher-friendly auditory processing measures are examined, firstly the Auditory Processing (AP) Checklist, which rates a student's auditory processing behaviours as observed in the classroom and the RCH Auditory Processing Assessment, which screens for a student's ability to repeat sentences and digits that they hear. More specifically the RCH Auditory Processing Assessment measures a student's short-term auditory memory (STAM). Auditory Processing Disorders (MD) have been confused with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) and research indicates that low auditory processing abilities can predict poor achievement in language. The complex auditory processing systems are investigated, and it is concluded that these teacher-friendly measures are limited in assessment of Auditory Processing Disorders (APD), as behaviours of APD and the results of the RCH Auditory Processing Assessment show a low correlation. However, as an initial screen the auditory processing measures do have value in identifying potential MD and hence can be used as indicators for further, more comprehensive auditory assessments by an audiologist. The results of this study indicate that there are relationships between the auditory processing measures and a student's language achievement. Also there is a relationship between the AP Checklist behavioural measure and Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) Checklist results, hence indicating the former checklist may be ineffective in differentiating between MD and ADHD behaviours as observed by a student's teacher.