Faculty of Education - Theses
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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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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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ItemApplications of item response theory to identify and correct for suspect rater data( 2006)This thesis describes a plausible values imputation approach for deriving population estimates on several language proficiency domains. The approach harnessed a multi-dimensional item response analysis combining student responses, rater judgements and student background variables. The target student population was lower grade primary school students enrolled in the Hong Kong schooling system. The raters consisted of local teachers of English employed within the sampled target schools. The primary objective of this research was to impute plausible values where no data was provided or where rater data was deemed suspect. By necessity, a secondary objective of this study was to establish rules for justly excluding particular data on the basis of questionable validity. Surveys such as TIMSS, PISA and NAEP have used such "plausible value" methodologies to account for incomplete test designs and person non-response (Beaton & Johnson, 1990; Yamamoto & Kulick, 2000; Adams & Wu, 2002). The point of difference between this study and other similar studies was the use of item response theory (in particular plausible values imputation) to identify and correct for invalid rater judgements in a large-scale educational survey. An additional research outcome included a derived index of rater data quality based upon imputation scores.
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ItemHuman capital : a case study of the AMEP( 1995)This study is an investigation of the Human Capital Approach to education in Australia. It examines whether or not the Commonwealth Government is steering education towards the incorporation of policies that invest greater emphasis and resources into human beings as contributors to economic productivity than it invests in their cultural and aesthetic value. The study incorporates the philosophies of the Human Capitalists and how successive Commonwealth and State Governments apply these philosophies in education policy formulation - particularly the provision of English language to adult migrants through the Adult Migrant Education Program in Victoria. The methodology used is a questionnaire of closed and open-ended questions distributed to AMEP teachers. The researcher duly followed up the questionnaire with interviews of four AMEP teachers in an endeavour to shed more light on the reasons behind the responses given by teachers in the questionnaire. The researcher undertook an analysis of the responses in order to investigate whether or not the Commonwealth Government gives primacy to economic objectives of the migration program over its social, cultural and linguistic objectives. The findings are that the AMEP teachers surveyed believe that the Commonwealth Government does emphasize economic objectives over all other objectives of the migration program. A Human Capital approach to education, reflected in the application of Economic Rationalism, is apparent in Australia's education system according to AMEP teachers surveyed and that such has been the case since the late 1970s. The literary works of Schultz, Smith, Dawkins, Piore, Crittenden, Benovat, Green, Pusey, Kennedy, Marginson and Grubb are included in this study. These works form the literature review of the Human Capital approach. As well, the Reports chaired by Karmel, Williams, Kirby, Fitzgerald and Campbell, and a variety of Commonwealth Reports and Working Party Papers into various aspects of education in Australia are represented in an investigation of the application of the Human Capital approach to education in Australia's main education policies. The findings of this research are that the Human Capital approach to education is influencing the AMEP and that this has wider implications for the national education system in Australia. Almost all AMEP teachers surveyed believe the AMEP no longer follows its own National Plan, in which it spells out its aims and objectives, but pursues the Commonwealth Government's primary objective of pursuing the economic aims and benefits of the migration program.
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ItemInstitutional influences on approaches to teaching within a flexible university : a cultural historical investigation( 2010)This study investigated the teaching approaches of two business academics located within an Australian university developing its flexible teaching and learning practices over the past twenty years. The interview subjects are highly regarded educators with formative backgrounds in on-campus or off-campus distance teaching. Each has had a long professional relationship with the researcher in her centrally situated position's as an educational developer within the institution. A review of the student learning literature pertaining to teaching and learning approaches in the higher education sector over the last thirty years, shows that "teaching approaches" can influence "student learning approaches"(Ramsden, Paul 2003) and outcomes, (Biggs, J. 2003; Lizzio, Alf, Wilson, Keithia & Simons, Roland 2002) however "institutional influences" upon teaching approaches seems to be substantially overlooked. (Kernber & Kwan 2000) The academics were invited to participate in this study agreeing to retrospectively review and discuss their teaching in three progressive phases of their working history. They were invited to consider their teaching approach using the Approach to Teaching Inventory (Trigwell, Prosser et. al. 2005) in order to reflect upon their personal positioning (Harre September 2004), institutional practice and societal rhetoric in relation to an academic life in various periods of their teaching history. Discursive analysis has been undertaken of the resulting conversations guided by Cultural Historical Analysis Theory, (Vygotsky 1978, Engestrom 1987). This investigation reveals profound institutional influences on the approaches of teachers to their work. Influences on academic life have usually been studied independent of the Higher education teaching and learning literature. This study points to an urgent need to integrate these research interests to inform understanding of material transformative activity for policy makers in higher education.
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ItemClinical teaching styles : an evaluation by clinicians and students( 1987)This study examined an important aspect of clinical education - clinical teaching styles - from the viewpoint of both students and clinical educators. In February 1986 physiotherapy students in their third year of the Bachelor of Applied Science course at Lincoln Institute and physiotherapy clinical educators from Lincoln Institute and metropolitan and country hospitals viewed videotapes of three teaching styles and completed a questionnaire which required the respondent to rate these styles. It was hypothesized that clinicians and students would observe and react to the presentation of styles from different perspectives and therefore their ratings of the styles would differ. The results show that this hypothesis is confirmed in that while both groups preferred the "prompting" style to the "explanatory" and "non-intervention" styles, there was also a statistically significant difference between students and clinicians in rating the "explanatory" style - students higher than clinicians. Neither group rated the "non-intervention" style as helpful to learning. Students also differentiated between the effectiveness of styles for different aspects of their treatment of patients; clinicians rated the "prompting" style as appropriate for all clinical tasks. Clinical educators should take account of these differences in perception of teaching styles which may influence the effectiveness of the clinical learning experience of students.
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ItemLearning literacy : a case study of the development of English literacy skills in two adult ESL students( 1997)This minor thesis reports on the findings of a study done of two adult international students of English as a Second Language. The study attempts to outline the issue of difficulties experienced by these students while learning to write in English in preparation for tertiary studies in Australia. The main aim of the study was to attempt to illustrate that international students need to be instructed by their teachers in how to write in the genre required for tertiary study. An attempt was made to measure the language level of the two students to determine how thoroughly prepared they were in the genre they were mainly required to write in their tertiary study. For these two students, this genre was business report writing. It was realised that although the two students had received practice in responding to General English writing tasks, they had not been taught how to write business reports. This conclusion was drawn through the study in which qualitative techniques of research and text analysis were used. Firstly, the students were given a series of reading and writing tasks to perform to determine their levels of English at the start of the study. At the end of the study there was a similar set of tasks for the students to perform. Secondly, the students and two of their teachers were interviewed. The students tried to reveal their perception of what their English Language intensive courses had taught them. The teachers who had taught these students attempted, through their responses to the interview questions, to outline the objectives of the courses they had delivered Thirdly, the students' attempt at writing report genres in their tertiary study was commented upon. At the end a short business report was selected as the target text and this was analysed. Systemic functional grammar was drawn upon to analyse the target text. The analysis of this model text was used to compare the analyses of the responses of the students to business report writing tasks. A summary of the findings is presented in this thesis and comparisons made in order to come to a conclusion that there does exist a need for overseas students intending to go on to further tertiary study to be taught explicitly through deconstruction of model texts by the teacher. The genre of the model text has to be directly related to the tertiary course of study that the students are going to follow. The students need to be provided with close guidance by their teachers, and constant practice of the genre is required.
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ItemEvaluation of a Cancer/Palliative Nursing Care subject and a comparison of processes and outcomes for traditional classroom and distance education teaching modes of delivery( 2000)This Evaluation is concerned with the educational outcomes of a postgraduate subject, 'Cancer/palliative care nursing 1'. The subject is taught in the classroom as well as by distance education in the print medium and, as well as considering the outcomes for the subject per se, the Evaluation also compares the outcomes for each teaching mode. The questions addressed in the Evaluation are: a) does the delivery of the subject (regardless of the method used) have the outcomes that might be expected of a postgraduate diploma level subject? and b) are students taught by distance education mode disadvantaged by comparison with students who are taught by traditional classroom methods? There is an abundance of literature on distance education, most of which uses, explicitly or implicitly, classroom teaching as a largely unexamined exemplar by which distance education is judged. This thesis critically examines the distance education literature and identifies factors salient to a comparison of these two methods of teaching. The Evaluation method is based on the theory-driven approach advocated by Chen (1990) and incorporates an adaptation of the program logic framework put forward by Funnell (1996). It incorporates two methods of evaluation: the subject's outcomes measured against a prescription; and, a comparison of the distance education outcomes with classroom teaching outcomes. A prescription of how the subject should be delivered and the outcomes that should be expected was developed from stakeholder interviews, informed by a critical review of the distance education literature and the evaluator's knowledge of the discipline. A method of measuring the actual delivery of the subject against the prescription (regardless of the teaching mode) was devised and a minimum acceptable standard of success established. Substantive methods used include both qualitative and quantitative data gathered by questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations and a content analysis of the study guide used by distance education students. The Evaluation findings are that on most, but not all, outcome measures the subject met the set standard of success. One outcome unspecified in the prescription (although implied) was the increased clinical confidence engendered by undertaking this subject. Students taught by the traditional mode gained from classroom interaction although the degree of interactivity was found to depend on the personal qualities of lecturers and students and the structure of teaching sessions. Distance education students were not disadvantaged by this teaching mode and on some measures, such as being able to study at their own pace or the grades they achieved, could be said to be advantaged.
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ItemTIMSS : a question of validity( 2000)The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the largest comparative study of its kind, was administered to approximately 500,000 students worldwide. In Australia, the results of this study are being used to compare our students and schools to other students and schools around the world. The results may also influence decisions about curriculum reform and allocation of educational funding within Australia. This thesis sets out to investigate the TIMSS test items for Population 2, with the objective of determining the degree of validity of these test items to Australian mathematics teachers and their students. By eliciting feedback from a sample of Australian mathematics teachers, their thoughts on the validity of the TIMSS test items were documented. This was achieved through a mail out questionnaire that included a representative sample of 32 TIMSS test items from population 2. Four review questions were developed to target teacher beliefs as to whether enough content had been taught to Australian students by the time TIMSS was administered, the validity of including such items in the TIMSS study, the usefulness of the TIMSS test items for ascertaining student competence, and student familiarity with the item styles used in TIMSS. The results from the questionnaire were used to establish the overall validity of the TIMSS test items to Australian Mathematics teachers and the students they teach. In total, 154 teachers, representing Government, Catholic and Independent schools, from around Australia replied to the questionnaire. The study found widespread variability in the type and amount of content taught by teachers to their Australian students. Consequently, differences in content validity of the TIMSS study were found to exist across Australia. These differences appeared to be more apparent between states and territories than between school sectors. Respondents also expressed concern about the general appearance and layout of the TIMSS test items. In particular, some of the language used in test items relating to Proportionality, appeared not to be used in Australian classrooms. In addition to this, teachers reported that the TIMSS test items were not particularly useful for ascertaining student competence. This casts doubt over the value of any inferences made from the results of TIMSS. Furthermore, this research found significant variability in student familiarity with the item formats used in the TIMSS study. Overall, students were found to be most familiar with the short answer format and least familiar with extended response and performance assessment formats. This is a particularly important result as the TIMSS designers placed great emphasis on the use of extended response and performance assessment formats.
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ItemCaught in the middle : teachers' perceptions of the usefulness of the Record of oral language when used with ESL students( 2004)In the present educational context, large-scale literacy reform has been hotly debated in the media by various stakeholders while on the other hand the " voice that has been largely absent from these debates has been that of teachers". This study attempts to correct this imbalance by reporting on a study of teachers' perceptions of the usefulness of the ROL as a testing tool for students learning English as a second language. It was designed to offer the researcher, the participants and other stakeholders great insight into the current complexities that teachers face when assessing the oral competence of students learning English as a second language. Teachers were given the opportunity to critically examine their own assumptions, beliefs and practices about oral language learning and assessment and challenge the current use of the ROL in the Children's Literacy Success Strategy (CLaSS) program. A qualitative case study approach was selected to allow the voices of the participants and the researcher to be heard in a familiar setting. Thirty minute semi-structured interviews were conducted separately so that teachers could speak freely thus enabling the researcher to follow individual trains of thought and obtain in-depth responses. The study concluded that the usefulness of the Record of Oral Language as a testing tool for students from language backgrounds other than English was not the central issue. Research findings instead highlighted the difficulties faced by mainstream teachers expected to effectively assess the oral language skills of students for whom English is a second language without effective Professional Development support. The central issue that has emerged in this study is the place of teacher professional knowledge for these teachers of ESL students. Not only are ESL students disadvantaged in the current educational climate but so are the mainstream teachers. Teachers' responses to this study reaffirm the need for Professional Development in ESL pedagogy as a way to effectively support the Oral Language and Literacy Learning of ESL which was valued pre Literacy Advance.