Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses
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ItemEvaluation for Evidence-Based Performance Management: Understanding and Measuring Performance Managers’ Perceptions( 2020)A common claim is that high-performing organizations use evidence-based practice to manage staff performance, herein called performance management. The literature showed that the implementation of performance management policies is crucial because even well-designed performance management models fail if they are not implemented as intended (Armstrong, 2015). Given that behavior can be mediated by perception, this thesis focused on the perceptions held by implementers of performance management that might mediate their implementation of performance management policies. This is important because, despite the research on evidence-based performance management, there remains a gap in understanding and measuring the perceptions held by the implementers. Moreover, there is a sizeable gap between performance management research and practice due to a plethora of obstacles like poor access to reliable research. Three sequential research stages were conducted focusing on item generation, scale development and scale refinement and validation, respectively. An initial set of 130 items was developed, based on a thematic analysis in the narrative literature review and a scoping literature review study (Stage 1). These items were reduced to a set of 55, then 41 items in Stages 2 and 3, respectively, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Cronbach’s alpha calculations and examination of conceptual importance of data from a combined 589 survey respondents. Furthermore, the effect of several antecedent factors was tested using multivariate analysis of variance. The thesis findings enhanced the extant understanding by presenting perception of performance management as a broad concept encompassing two higher order factors (Perception of Efforts and Perception of Results) and eight lower order factors (perception of Performance Evaluation, Documentation, Organizational Support, Supervisory Support, Climate, Turnover, Critical staff Withdrawal and New staff Withdrawal). The findings also added to the literature on the effect of antecedent factors, particularly age, work role, organizational size, industry sector and workforce experience. Finally, the thesis further narrowed the gap between research and practice by creating a theoretically grounded and empirically validated performance management perceptions scale for organizations to use in in evidence-based performance management.
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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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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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ItemRater consistency and judgment in the direct assessment of second language writing ability within the certificates in spoken and written English( 1998)The introduction of competency-based models of language and literacy education in Australia has, to a large degree, coincided with an increased emphasis on direct assessment as the most common means of evaluating second language writing ability within the Adult Migrant English Program. The key problem in directly assessing writing ability is having two or more raters arrive at a similar judgment or rating for the same piece of writing. While there is a long tradition of research on rater consistency and judgment in the holistic assessment of writing ability, similar research on the direct assessment of second language writing ability within the context of competency-based language and literacy education is almost non-existent. This study aims to determine the degree to which the performance criteria designed to assess second language writing ability within the Certificates in Spoken and Written English can ensure acceptable levels of rater consistency, and to describe the decision-making behaviours and strategies used by raters when reading for the purposes of assessment. The think-aloud verbal reports of six experienced ESL raters assessing three texts written by intermediate level adult ESL learners were transcribed and subjected to a rigorous interpretive analysis. In terms of rater consistency, analysis of raters verbal reports indicated that while there was generally a high degree of rater consistency at the overall performance or text level there was considerably tess agreement at the level of individual performance criteria. Analysis of the data revealed that raters adopted distinctive styles or approaches to reading for the purposes of assessment and that raters interpreted and applied the performance criteria statements in a range of different ways. These findings have significant implications not only for the development of competency-based assessment procedures but also for the training of raters. v11
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ItemDefining the characteristics of a good middle school teacher in an Australian setting( 1995)The purpose of this study is to. identify the characteristics of a middle school teacher that define that teacher as a good teacher in the eyes of their Australian colleagues. A model of the good middle school teacher was developed from the North American literature. This formed the basis for interviews with Australian teachers who have been identified as good middle school teachers by their school community. This has led to the establishment of a model based on the responses from the Australian teachers. The focus centred on the characteristics of the teacher but at times has included reference to curriculum and other structures within the school. The report's results reflect the Australian teacher's approval for child centred teaching but with a subject focus. The teachers feel a need for teachers to retain a passion for a subject area in order to inspire and enthuse their students, but doing this within a context of a curriculum focussed on young people and their needs. This study clearly suggests the strong link between teaching philosophy and curriculum and the need to cater towards the needs of both the staff and students in order to educate successfully.
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ItemTelevision viewing and dramatic play behaviour of pre-schoolers( 1995)The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between television and dramatic play by exploring the impact of television viewing upon the play content and play behaviour of pre-school children. This research extends the findings of previous research which assumed that there was a direct causal link between television viewing and the themes, roles and content of children's dramatic play. The results of this research suggest that this view is far too simplistic. They suggest that the outcomes of dramatic play may be modified by a number of factors including: the situational context, the role of adults, and the role of other children. This thesis advances three major findings. Firstly, that others such as parents, peers and teachers have significant influence over pre-schoolers' dramatic play decisions such as in roles, themes and content. Secondly, that the physical environment within which play occurs must be taken into consideration as the situational context can influence and modify the nature of dramatic play. Thirdly, that the child is an active, reasoning participant in dramatic play as the child can choose from the resources available from television and 'replay' only a selection of what was viewed. It is suggested that each child must be considered as a 'selector' exerting control over his/her role in dramatic play.
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ItemA study of transformational and transactional leadership among leaders at the Rajabhat University, Thailand( 2007)The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the leadership styles and organizational culture in The Rajabhat University in Thailand as viewed from the leaders' and non-leaders' perspectives. The study examined leadership behavior based on the notions of transformational and transactional leadership. A survey research methodology was used to gather data from six departments in The Rajabhat University. A total of 96 leaders and 99 non-leaders responded to the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), and 95 leaders and 101 non-leaders responded to the Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ). Leaders perceived their leadership styles to be transformational. Conversely, the non-leaders perceived the leadership styles of their leaders as highly transactional. These results were confirmed by the results of the organizational culture surveys both leaders and non-leaders agreed that the organizational culture were moderately transformational and highly transactional, with non-leaders viewing organizational culture as more transactional than that viewed by the leaders. Transformational leadership culture has been associated with improved organizational outcomes These findings suggest that organizations like The Rajabhat University may need to develop a more transformational leadership culture.
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ItemVision and practice in Catholic schools( 2000)This research examined the way in which a group of principals, teachers and parents from three Catholic primary schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne perceive the translation of vision into practice in their schools. This paper provides an account of the background literature examined, the methodology used, the data collected and conclusions drawn.
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ItemThe academic achievements of language centre students at a secondary college( 2001)What are the academic achievements of adolescent new-arrival English as a Second Language (ESL) students at secondary schools in Victoria, Australia? Research on Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) students in Australia has tended to neglect new arrival ESL students. To examine the academic achievements of this important subgroup of NESB students, the current study will highlight the academic achievements of a cohort of Victorian Language Centre students at a Secondary College over six years with interruption to schooling in their first language (L1) as the key variable linked to academic achievement in their second language (L2). Victorian Language Centres provide new-arrival ESL students with the English skills they need to start their secondary educations in L2. The current study examined the academic achievement of two groups of Language Centre students, those who completed their Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and those who left the Secondary College prior to completing VCE. Their academic results were summarised into spreadsheets for quantitative analysis. Subsequent to the quantitative analysis interviews were conducted with four ESL students from the Language Centre currently completing their VCE studies to provide further insight into the factors that enabled them to do their VCE. Results indicate that the academic achievements of this cohort of ESL Language Centre students are poor and that interruption to education in Ll had a major impact on the students' ability to achieve academically at the Secondary College. The study suggests that L1 education is the key variable influencing the student's ability to acquire the academic language skills necessary to meet the academic demands of secondary education, particularly the VCE. Other factors such as support for learning and strong motivation were found to help students overcome difficulties encountered in their secondary education. However, students who were unable to overcome these difficulties left the College prior to completing VCE. It was concluded that the majority of Language Centre students faced uncertain economic futures once they left the Secondary College. The results of the study suggest that Language Centre students need more support and assistance to enable them to complete VCE or to access educational alternatives to the VCE. This study also suggests that more research into the effect of L1 education on L2 education be conducted as this was found to be the key variable in the students' ability to acquire the academic language skills necessary to meet the academic demands of VCE.
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ItemMuseum exhibitions : the development and application of a cyclic evaluation model( 1995)This thesis makes a contribution to exhibition evaluation by providing a cyclic model designed to encourage museum professionals to adopt museum exhibition evaluation within an Australian context. The rationale for the thesis is that museums rarely, if ever, undertake systematic evaluations of exhibitions or attempt to understand the nature of the visitor experience. This, it is argued, is firstly because of the lack of appropriate methodological tools and models which can be applied to the museum setting and secondly because of the poor culture of evaluation currently existing within museums. The model incorporates both front-end, formative and summative evaluation within the various stages of the process of developing an exhibition. It proposes the formulation of hypothesis about visitor behaviour and exhibition design issues which can be tested out in future exhibitions, and encourages the sharing of findings within the museum profession. It suggests that Australia should develop, through evaluation studies, its own body of knowledge about visitor behaviour as the visitor experience within an Australian context may be quite different to that in other countries. The Cyclic Evaluation Model was developed by the writer of the thesis both through her role as a facilitator of exhibitions and her study of evaluation taking place in the museum environment in western countries. One stage of the model (Summative Study) has been used to evaluate a specific museum exhibition. Only time will tell if it will be adopted by the museum professsion, and only if and when it is adopted can any assessment be made as to its effectiveness in encouraging the profession in Australia to embrace evaluation techniques.