Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe relationship between the knowledge teachers have of their pupils and the self-initiated science activities of the pupils( 1967)The investigation was concerned with an examination of the affective responses associated with an increase in teacher knowledge about pupils. Previous research supported the general theory that affective action follows from a teacher's knowledge about pupils, and, by affecting teacher-pupil rapport, stimulates pupil activity. The hypothesis tested in this investigation was that: 'Science classes taught by teachers who have increased knowledge about their pupils, will show a relatively greater frequency of performance of self-initiated science activities.' A sample of 46 beginning male science teachers from Melbourne University and the Secondary Teachers' College, who were teaching forms III or IV science in 1965, were stratified into two groups on school location (metropolitan and nonmetropolitan), matched on MTAI scores, and members of each matched pair randomly assigned to either experimental or control groups. The experimental groups were supplied with biographical information about their pupils, obtained from pupil questionnaires and school records, while the control groups were not. After a six month interval a test showed that the experimental manipulation of 'teacher knowledge about pupil' had produced significant, though small, differences in teacher knowledge about pupils in favour of the experimental groups of teachers. However measures of the pupils' self-initiated science activities obtained by a Science Activity Inventory did not reveal any significant differences between the classes of the experimental and control groups of teachers, i.e. the hypothesis of the investigation was not supported.
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ItemThe educational ideas and influence on Victorian education of Dr. John Smyth: principal of the Melbourne Teachers' College, 1902-1927 and the first professor of education in the University of Melbourne, 1918-1927( 1967)Second in authority and influence only to Frank Tate, Dr. John Smyth was uniquely qualified to interpret the ideas of the "New Education" movement for Victorian schools at the turn of the century. Instead of using a biographical approach, this thesis outlines the diverse intellectual backgrounds which together formed the basis of Smyth's ideas. His New Zealand teaching experience coincided with the beginnings of reform there and his understanding of the "New Education" was deepened through study in Germany and Scotland from 1895 to 1901. German demands for realism in education; kindergartens and the theories of Froebel and Pestalozzi; the new techniques of Herbart and Rein; the establishment of teacher-training as a legitimate function of the university; and the beginnings of experimental psychology at Leipsic, were experienced by Smyth at first hand. The philosophy of Neo-Idealism which he espoused explains his ability to synthesize conflicting elements of the complex "New Education" movement. These major influences can be seen as the thesis examines Smyth's impact on Victorian education as Principal of the Melbourne Teachers' College (1902-27) and as the first Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne (1918-27). Separate chapters develop Smyth's attitudes to teacher-training and the College's growth under his control; his direct responsibility for the creation of the Free Kindergarten Union of Victoria and the improvement of Infant Schools; his idealistic philosophy translated into practice in the rural schools; and the significant contributions he made to the development of a School of Education at the University of Melbourne. A final assessment of Smyth the man reveals him as an intensely religious, dedicated educationist who had a lasting impact on the pattern of Victorian education. His relationship with Frank Tate emerges as that of an idealistic reformer unable to accept happily the limitations of compromise forced on Tate, the shrewd administrator, by a political and economic climate hostile to any but utilitarian educational reforms. Whilst Smyth’s educational ideas were not always fully implemented, the part he played in a period of educational history hitherto dominated by the name of Tate cannot be ignored. His intellectual stature and his actual accomplishments mark him as a key figure in our understanding of the development of Victorian education.