Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemTeachers' storytelling techniques and comprehension of narratives in Singaporean preschool children( 2004)There is growing body of evidence supporting the many connections between competent comprehension of narratives and the effective use of storytelling strategies. This study d?fines the cluster of concepts related to storytelling and narrative comprehension in young children and synthesizes the research on the role of storytelling in children's language development, in this case, the development of narrative comprehension. A critical review on storytelling beliefs and practices of preschool teachers in Singapore revealed that the espoused theories of the benefits of effective storytelling have not been distinguished from their own practices in the classrooms. This is due to a set of mitigating circumstances. The study notes the teachers' changing attitudes towards the use of more engaging storytelling techniques as emerging evidence suggest that a more engaging storytelling approach facilitates children's perspective taking and later abstract thought. This research also notes that there is a need for an inclusion of a more comprehensive storytelling course in the present Early Childhood training programme, thus identifying implications for understanding preschool teachers' development as storytellers. This study provides direction for further research in children's responses to storytelling.
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ItemTeaching children to use metalanguage : what they say they know( 2002)What should be explicitly taught to primary school children in writing has been hotly debated over a number of decades in Australia. At the heart of this debate are questions of how much knowledge about their language children can learn and how much is really useful in order to use language effectively. This study, a case study from one Year Six classroom, proposes that teaching students some overt knowledge of their language, and developing a metalanguage in the Systemic Functional Grammar tradition with which to define this knowledge, is possible and assists children to write more successfully. The study analysed the students' progress in writing texts across factual and fictional genres as well as tracking the reflections students made on their own knowledge. The students not only identified how they had been able to improve their writing, but express satisfaction in possessing such knowledge about language.
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ItemPerceptions of writing tasks and the quality of written pieces in a senior primary classroom( 1992)This integrated study explores teachers' and children's perceptions of classroom writing tasks and the quality of children's writing in a Grade Five/Six classroom. In particular, it focuses on the children's perceptions of the processes involved in writing specific genres: narratives; reports; poetry; descriptions; and arguments, and their judgements of their own and others' pieces. These perceptions are then considered in the context of the instructional strategies used by the researcher and the teacher. Instructional strategies include: the use of models as demonstrations of writer options; the use of direct audiences of peers; and the production and use of lists of criteria (or scales) of quality. Central to the study is the development and use of a shared language within the community of writers in order to define writing tasks more clearly and to provide guidance for the judgement of written products. The research adopts an interpretative case study approach and was designed to change as well as to study the particular situation. All Grade Five/Six children were included in the study although, in the analysis, reference is made to six case histories in order to illuminate particular patterns and relationships. The changes in children's perceptions of writing tasks and outcomes has implications for teachers, not only for what they teach, but also, how they teach.
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ItemMultidimensional thinking( 2008)Thinking permeates our lives. Yet it remains mostly invisible and difficult to describe what we mean by it. This thesis clarifies the main schools of thought on thinking in education and proposes a framework which accurately describes the experience of thinking. As educators, our understanding of thinking influences not only the way we teach it but also how we assess and evaluate it. A disparate definition of thinking means disparate outcomes both in the context of education and the wider society. This thesis provides a clearer way forward by describing thinking as Multidimensional, consisting of three dimensions (critical, creative and positive affective) and one meta-dimension (metacognitive thinking). Extracts from idea centred dialogues will be analysed to illustrate Multidimensional thinking. The Community of Inquiry will be proposed as the ideal environment for the development of Multidimensional thinking because it makes thinking visible. Understanding thinking as Multidimensional is just as complex as conceiving of thinking in a critical thinking framework but it is far more accurate in describing the experience of thinking. The Multidimensional thinking framework encourages changes in teacher pedagogy and the thinking oriented curriculum.
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ItemPatterns of musical development : a study of children's composing and compositions( 1995)The study aimed to investigate the nature of musical development for preschool and primary aged children. In the domain of music education, many developmental perspectives currently influence teaching theory and practice. These range from notions of development as orderly, sequential and similar for each child, to those conceptions of development characterised by the individual differences of children. The present study set out to review such theories through the observation and analysis of the musical composition procedures and products of twenty seven children, aged between three and eleven years, and drawn from three different educational and musical contexts. In addition, the researcher aimed to identify those factors which could be considered significant for musical development. As the project developed, broad developmental patterns were identified. Development appears to be dominated by a singular, dramatic advance at around six and seven years of age where developing self consciousness and intentional behaviour, together with an accumulated body of basic musical skills and understanding, enable basic musical engagement. Prior to this period musical engagement appears to be subservient to the predominantly egocentric perspective of children. Subsequent to seven years of age, development was observed to become increasingly individual and inconsistent. Factors emerging as significant concern, the impact of developing self-world relations on music making, the increasing tendency, with development, to utilise conscious modes of cognition with the relative neglect of intuitive modes of operation, and, finally, evidence provided by a sample of musically naive students, points to the importance of indirect and informal musical experience for the development of musical ability, suggesting the need for educators to look beyond formal instructional methods if students are to achieve optimal musical development.
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ItemThe parent-child mother goose program : a case study of a family-centred early intervention literacy initiative( 2006)Research related to early childhood education and development indicates the importance of the quality of social services provided to children in the early years. The Parent-Child Mother Goose study looks at the effectiveness of an early childhood program as a preventative intervention for children with additional needs through action research. The study was conducted over two cycles during 2005. It uncovers the characteristics of the Mother Goose Program; the role of the professional; and the effects of the intervention on parents and children. The study also introduces some of the most important concepts in early childhood education which include: Parent-Focused Programs, Family-Centred Practice, Inclusive Practice, and Retention in Early Intervention. Last the research examines the gaps in the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program and discusses issues such as: Concept Clarity, Cultural Competence, Access and Participation, Follow ups and Feedback, Fathers in the Early Years and Evaluation in Early Childhood Programs. The research addresses each issue separately and provides future recommendations for early childhood professionals in the context of a small scale study. The research concludes that the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program is an affective preventative intervention for parents and children who are committed to consistent participation.
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ItemProblem solving in paediatric medicine : an analysis of student and consultant diagnostic skills( 1983)A study was undertaken to examine the similarities among and differences between the process of problem solving by undergraduate medical students and experienced consultants in the area of paediatric medicine. To approximate the clinical situation, a naturalistic study was carried out. Patients were chosen from those attending a consultant medical outpatient department of a teaching hospital and selected because of their relatively common paediatric problems. A videotape recording was made of the patient- student/consultant encounter to facilitate subsequent analysis. The students/consultants were also asked to complete a prescribed protocol detailing their hypotheses or diagnoses at various stages of the interview and after completion of the examination. Their judgement as to how they had learned these skills in problem solving was also sought. Both students and consultants used a hypothetico-deductive method of problem solving, generating multiple hypotheses early within the patient encounter. However students, in contrast with the consultants, considered a greater number of hypotheses but did not, carry out an efficient inquiry strategy. They often arrived at an incorrect final diagnosis, despite having earlier considered the correct diagnosis. The experienced consultant on the other hand raised fewer. hypotheses, was more selective in his subsequent hypothesis testing and arrived at the final correct diagnosis. The consultants also seemed more understanding of the importance of the child within his family, which was particularly relevant in the assessment of the child with biopsycho-social symptoms. All students when reflecting on how they had learnt their problem solving skills, Included formal learning in their response. In contrast the experienced consultants all cited Independent learning. The observation of an appropriate clinical model was reported equally by both students and consultants. Discussion centres around these findings with additional consideration being given as to whether problem solving skills may be learnt.
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ItemPractice MRI: analysis of an educational play therapy intervention in the practice MRI unit at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne( 2008)Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a common investigation performed on young children who are required to keep still for up to 60 minutes for the study to be performed successfully. Paediatric patients often find the confined space, noise, need to lie still and potential for intravenous contrast, anxiety provoking and which may be so distressing that they are unable to cope. General anaesthesia (GA) is then required to ensure diagnostic images are achieved. It was believed by staff in the Departments of Educational Play Therapy and Medical Imaging at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, that an intervention which supported children to develop understandings of the MRI process and appropriate coping strategies would allow more children to undergo MRI without the need for a GA. With this in mind, a practice MRI intervention, conducted by Educational Play Therapists was developed. The intervention was carried out in a practice MRI unit, a shell of an MRI, devoid of magnets. This study was to review if gender, age, time between practice and clinical MRI, time of day the clinical MRI occurs or the child's position in the MRI unit, would impact a child's ability to cope with the rigors of a practice MRI and go onto achieve diagnostic scans in a clinical MRI scan. Data was analysed by quantitative methodologies. Participants totalled 291(N), mean age 7.9 years. 240 (82.5%) were considered a pass at practice and 226 (90.8% of those who went on to a clinical intervention) were able to obtain diagnostic images at clinical MRI. None of the hypotheses was confirmed, but this is in itself interesting. The discussion suggests possible reasons for the non-confirmation of the hypotheses and proposes further areas for quantitative and qualitative research.
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ItemA study of the social and play interactions of kindergarten children from long day care and home care backgrounds( 1999)Some kindergarten teachers have expressed concern that a combination of regular attendance at both kindergarten and day care programs has a disruptive effect on four year old children. They report a higher incidence of non-compliance and aggressive behaviour in children who move between child care and kindergarten programs on a regular basis. Many kindergarten teachers question whether dual attendance really meets the needs of children or whether it puts them under undue stress, resulting in high levels of disruptive behaviour. This study compared the behaviours of ten children who regularly attended both kindergarten and long day care programs ('day care' children) and ten children who only attended a sessional kindergarten for a half day program and were cared for by their parents for the rest of the day ('home care' children). The behaviour of these children was observed during free play time in the kindergarten program, using a variety of formal and informal observational techniques. These observational techniques included Parten's scale of social participation and a modified version of the Piagetian Smilansky scale which measures social and cognitive dimensions of socio-dramatic play behaviours. Non-compliance and aggressive acts were also recorded as were the play themes in the dramatic play. The data is supported by field notes taken during the observations. Data was analysed after each observation session throughout the research using the coding scales and the field notes. Further data was gathered via interviews with some kindergarten teachers in the community about their perceptions of the behaviour of the children who attend both day care and kindergarten. Interviews were also held with the kindergarten teachers and child care workers who implemented the programs which the study children attended. The results of the study indicated that there is a general perception amongst kindergarten teachers that the 'day care' children do not assimilate well into the kindergarten setting; that they are rougher and more aggressive in their play and are less compliant. This was not the case for the 'day care' children in this study. In regard to these children, there was almost no evidence of aggressive acts; the children were generally compliant and were co-operative during routines. The 'day care' children did mix with 'home care' children attending the centre; yet the 'home care' children tended to make fewer social contacts with the 'day care' children. There was variation in the types of play in which 'day care' and 'home care' children engaged. 'Home care' children spent considerably more time engaged in non play than the children who attended kindergarten and day care. The play of 'home care' children was mostly constructive, solitary or parallel play; while the play of 'day care' children consisted mainly of associative and cooperative dramatic play. It was found that the variation between the amount of dramatic play between the two groups was significant.