Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe teaching of history in state-supported elementary schools in Victoria, 1852-1954( 1965)The major concern of this thesis, then, is to trace and account for the introduction of History as a subject in 1886, to show its development in an initial period of transition as the implications of the new subject were explored, to follow it through the years of the "New Education" to the time when it became an established and accepted subject, changing little, to examine a period of exciting rediscovery and revision in the early 1930's, and finally, after another twenty years of relative but deceptive calm,to describe the changes which led to the introduction of Social Studies at the expense of History, Geography and Civics in 1954.
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ItemThe origins and early history of the State secondary school teachers in Victoria, 1872-1926( 1968)In tracing the history of state secondary school teachers in Victoria from their origins in the primary teaching service until 1926, this study covers the areas relevant to teacher status - viz., teacher training, conditions and associations - and an attempt has been made to evaluate the progress made towards professional status. The Diploma of education course, initially a two-year University course aimed to train teachers of academic subjects, was instrumental in raising the academic and pedagogical qualifications of secondary teachers. It was, however, inadequate in that it did not train teachers in sufficient numbers, and it was always starved of finance and essential resources. The Diploma was supplemented by the post- Intermediate Trained Teacher's Certificate courses in manual and Domestic Arts and Commercial subjects. Because the education Department played a significant role in both systems of training and the teachers had no control of training standards, the progress that was made was achieved without reference to the teachers, and was offset by the increasing numbers of temporary teachers employed in the secondary schools. No significant progress was made by secondary teachers in determining their professional conditions. These were almost entirely decided by the centralized administration which widened and tightened its influence. Professional freedom in areas such as curricula was further limited by the uniformity imposed by the public examination system. State secondary teachers were willing conformists to these pressures restricting their professional activity, and directed most of their energy towards regularizing their position within the public service. Even in this sphere, they achieved little: their salaries were relatively poorer in 1926 than they had been in 1912, it took thirteen years to gain a Classification Board, and they rarely succeeded in gaining concessions even on minor matters. Hence state secondary teachers were enthusiastic supporters of the movement towards the uniting of all teachers within the one Union which culminated in 1926. By 1926, then, the greatest gain that state secondary teachers had made was in their training and qualifications. For the rest, their steps towards professional status were faltering and often retrograde.
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ItemA consideration of the notion of discipline as it is used in educational discourse, and an examination of some aims, beliefs, assumptions and justifications implicit or explicit in statements about practice of discipline in Victorian high schools( 1969)Chapter 1 ... Introduction. The thesis aims to clarify the use of the word discipline in educational discourse, and to examine critically some aims, beliefs, assumptions and justifications implicit or explicit in statements about practice of discipline in Victorian High Schools. The connecting thread is to be found in the relationship between what is thought and said about discipline and what is done in the name of discipline. Chapter 2 ... The definition of Discipline. The main contexts in which the word is used in education, (a) discipline in learning and (b) discipline in moral-social behaviour, are circumscribed, and defining characteristics, systematization, organization and deliberation, are established. Further lines in the rough sketch map of meaning are drawn in by reference to various frames of reference in which the notion is involved ... (a) for the first context, learning psychology, definitions of mental discipline and subject disciplines, and concepts of mind, (b) for the second context, psychology, sociology, ethics, philosophy and linguistics. In learning, Ryle's dispositional concept of mind and Dewey's definition of intelligence are linked to the notion of discipline; and in behaviour, internalization, either of coercion or of co-operation, is suggested to be central to the notion. Finally, the process-product ambiguity in 'discipline' and relationships between the two main contexts, are discussed.' Chapter 3 ... Discipline in Learning. Current curriculum revision in Victorian High Schools is considered, particularly the plan to 'break down' subject-discipline boundaries. The notion of structure in language and in knowledge is explored to defend subject-disciplines. Consistencies are traced between notions of flexible, open-ended concept-structures, theories of subsumptive learning, dispositional concepts of mind. If mind is defined as the individual acting purposefully and intelligently to 'control' environment by structuring generalizations about relationships, the individual is insofar self-disciplined. 'Structure' is considered central to notions of knowledge, mind, self-discipline and curriculum and hence is a basic concern of formal education.' Chapter 4 ... Discipline in Moral-Social Behaviour. Uncertainty about aims, confusion in methods, and lack of consistency in the use of discipline in its two contexts, are examined in statements about discipline of moral and social behaviour in High Schools found in reports, 'codes' of discipline, special courses of study, and suggestions on classroom management. The notion of self-discipline is examined as a moral-social aim and those conditions and methods which encourage or inhibit the realization of this aim are discussed. Self-discipline is finally defined as an outcome of a total school experience in which work-centred co-operation, mutual respect and rational indirect prescription of behaviour are prominent.
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ItemEducation and state control in Victoria, 1900-1925( 1963)This is an attempt to make sample assessments of State-controlled education in Victoria in the first quarter of this century, to define the nature of State control and to judge of its quality and effectiveness. The term 'State control' has been interpreted to include partial and indirect control as well as that which is complete and direct: hence Part III has been devoted to control exercised by the State over private and denominational schools, for this extension of the State's arm was characteristic of the period. Within the State's own Department system, the whole field proved too vast for one thesis: therefore, on the assumption that the system at the Primary level was fairly well established before the turn of the century and that other Melbourne researchers are covering the field of technical education, attention in Part II has been focussed on the establishment of State high-schools. Part I, on administration, naturally treats of the system as a whole. Another limitation imposed by space and time concerns sources of material. Any assessment must embrace causes as well as results, and in that even the sample field proved too large for detailed consideration of a wide range of causes, attention has been concentrated on internal evidence -- that is, evidence contained in Department documents and reports. Apart from practicability where evidence is embarrassingly plentiful, one justification of this approach is that in the period under survey Victorian State-controlled education was dominated by the strongest and most influential of its several Directors, Mr. Frank Tate. It has been the fashion to count this domination to the credit of Victoria's first Director and to the great advantage of the State. But one of the assumptions underlying the commentary in the pages that follow is that in a democratic society the professional administrator and his officers should not be obliged or even permitted to determine the social objectives underlying the processes of education. It is theirs as experts to determine the most appropriate means by which the goal shall be reached after it has been determined and defined by the community through its elected representatives. (From Introduction)
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ItemStudents' attitudes concerning mathematics: a study of the opinions and views concerning mathematics and mathematics teaching held by students in the upper primary and lower secondary schools of New South Wales and Victoria( 1966)From an examination of the relevant courses of study in mathematics and the associated published writings hypotheses were proposed to examine the influence of an emphasis on an inquiry and discovery approach to the teaching of mathematics on the attitudes concerning mathematics of students in the upper primary and lower secondary schools of New South Wales and Victoria (each N = 1000). Emphasis on the use of inquiry methods at the lower secondary school level was found to be associated with students' views that mathematics teaching involved more inquiry and discovery, with students' opinions that mathematics was an open and creative process and with the students' greater interest in mathematics. At the upper primary school level a strong influence of curricular factors was not detected, however, the evidence suggested that the classroom teacher played an important part in the development of attitudes concerning mathematics. The data collected was examined for the influence of several non-curricular factors including the sex of the pupil, and the occupation and the place of residence of the students' father. The sex of the student and differences in the scientific nature and the socio-economic status of the father's occupation were found to be linked with some differences in the opinions expressed by the students concerning mathematics.
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ItemThe work of the denominational and national boards of education in Victoria 1850-1862( 1965)Any historian has many difficult decisions to make concerning his choice of material, for the educational historian the problem is no less difficult. Should be concentrate on the complex issue of relations between church and state which influence both education and the life of the whole community, or should he allow his educational interests to anchor him in the classroom itself, and so develop a history of pedagogies which only rarely asks what is happening in the wider community? Should he take some issue, such as teacher training or inspection, and trace it through a period of time, or should he endeavour to see the way in which various activities are carried on in a more limited period? Both these vertical and horizontal views of history are necessary, for without the one history can appear static, and without the other the interaction of various forces can often be ignored.
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ItemThe educational work of the Presentation Sisters in Victoria, 1873-1960( 1965)The general aim of this study is to examine the activities of one congregation of religious teachers, the Presentation Sisters, in one state, Victoria. Within such a small world it is possible to recognise in very human terms the working out of forces set in motion by political procedures, developments which in a more general history would be dismissed in one or two rather abstract statements. Who would expect to find more than a brief reference to Dr. James Francis Corbett in a general history of formal education in Australia? Such trifles as the names and the fortunes of the nuns caught up in the stream of events would be too infinitesimal to be considered, except in so far as, for better or for worse, in some vague, shadowy way they helped maintain a system of independent schools. It is the human element that interests the writer most – the impact of events on people of certain character and temperament, the interaction of widely differing personalities, the emergence of leaders, the formation of opinions, the movements towards decisions, the careful plans, the apparently haphazard developments. The specific aims of the study are to provide a record of the work of the Presentation Sisters in Victoria from 1873 to 1960, and to show how far latter day trends, within the Congregation, are explained by its history. The framers of policy in 1873 could not envisage the scene of 1960, yet that scene can be interpreted only in terms of the forces set in motion during the early years. Those forces have gathered momentum and have resulted in the development of distinctive characteristics in the Victorian convents. Amalgamation is an interesting case in point. The two oldest foundations, Presentation Convent, Windsor, dating from 1873, and Star of the Sea, Gardenvale established in 1885, had their roots in Limerick and Kildare respectively. These Irish houses, though essentially the same, developed as separate foundations with strong local traditions. By 1960, however, there are twenty four Victorian convents amalgamated under on Mother General resident at O’Neill College, Elsternwick. Parallel to this development is the process of adaptation, as essentially European traditions have been reinforced, modified or completely changed, under the impact of the Victorian educational environment over a period of nearly one hundred years. This is not to imply that amalgamation and acculturation are developments peculiar to the Australian communities, but merely to point the fact that certain characteristics may be explicable only in terms of the Victorian educational scene. The phrase “certain characteristics’ calls for emphasis. As a religious order working within the Catholic Church in five continents, the congregation must be viewed within this wider context if its Victorian story is to have any real significance. Valuable data preserved in the archives of the twenty four Victorian Houses : there are many senior nuns who lived with the Foundresses of the earlier established houses, and who are well informed about the origin and growth of the Congregation in Victoria. As yet, no systematic attempt has been made to assemble this information for the benefit of the younger members of the communities. It is the writer’s sincere wish that this first effort may open the way for further research. This work is presented in two parts. Each chapter of Part I deals with a major chronological period: Part II is concerned with major developments in the schools, therefore each chapter cuts across the chronological periods.