Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses
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ItemA comparative study of primary school social studies in three Australian states : Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia, 1952-1975( 1976)This study is concerned with the way in which Primary school Social Studies curricula have been revised, organized and developed from 1952 to 1975 in three Australian States - Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. As few commercially produced Social Studies courses, or indeed Social Studies units, have been forthcoming in these States, coverage in this thesis concentrates on those syllabus revisions which have been produced by Revision Committees organized by the respective Education Departments in these States. Underlying factors which have been instrumental in Social Studies revisions and their final outcome - a Social Studies Syllabus - have been analyzed by considering those constraints which form a part of the Curriculum Materials Analysis System (1967). The constituent six part cluster questions have been used in horizontal analysis to highlight features of Social Studies courses in the 1950's as compared to those of the 1960's, and the most significant changes which have occurred in the most current revisions. From courses which presented a high degree of uniformity in their emphasis on facts, social living and citizenship, have emerged State revisions which, though differing in format and degree of inclusiveness, reflect attributes commonly associated with 'new' Social Studies.
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ItemThe movement to establish a higher technological institute in Victoria, 1940-1963( 1976)The general thesis is that the series of episodes during this period, during which attempts were made to establish a higher technological institute, constitute an important background to the policy adopted with respect to non-university tertiary education in Victoria as a result of the Martin Report of 1965. In 1940 demands were made within the Technical Schools' Association of Victoria and the Council of Public Education by W.G. McRobert and G.R. King for degrees in technical science to be awarded by Melbourne Technical College. This is seen as initiating a series of moves forming a continuous thread, ending about 1963 with the Ramsay Report on the future of tertiary education in Victoria. The course of a number of proposals for a higher technological institute are traced: the movement for an institute of technology, 1943-1947, including the Seitz Committee and Report; the joint college of technology proposal by the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne Technical College, 1948-1950; the University of Technology Committee of 1955-1956 and the impact of the Murray Committee; the establishment of Monash University, 1958 and the search for alternative solutions to the problem of higher technological education; and the impact of the Ramsay and Martin enquiries during the early 1960s. Some themes developed include the effect of the 1939-1945 war on the public esteem for technical education; the attitude of the University of Melbourne towards proposals for other degree-granting institutions; the significance of the failure of the draft institute of technology bill, 1947; the failure of the university of technology proposal and the crisis over student demand for university education of the early 1960s; and the tension between state and commonwealth attitudes to the development of tertiary education in Victoria in the early 1960s. A continuous thread throughout the story is the aspiration of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology to attain an unquestioned pre-eminence in higher, technological education. Victoria was not, in fact, able to establish the higher technological institute which had been supported by a number of important groups in Victorian education during the period. An important conclusion is that the role of the technical colleges prescribed by the Martin Committee in fact pre-empted the situation by diverting the largest of Victoria's technical colleges from its possible destiny as a higher technological institute. Rather it became one of a number of colleges of advanced education whose purpose was to extend, in an economical manner, tertiary education opportunities on a broad front.
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ItemOrigins and development of general science in Victoria 1942-1962( 1976)This thesis is a detailed study of the teaching of General Science in Victorian secondary schools during the period, 1942-1962. The beginnings of the General Science movement can be traced to investigations into science education in England in 1918. However, many ideals of the subject date back to the nineteenth century. Hence some time has been spent in researching the aims and practice of science teaching in England during these earlier stages. Similarly, it has been necessary to study early science curricula in Australia. This background allowed an analysis of effects that Nature Study courses, university science subjects and any unique aspects of Australian education may have had on the origins and implementation of General Science. Syllabuses, courses of study, examination papers and examiners' reports have been thoroughly studied to determine the nature and direction of teaching that took place. In particular, the effect of subject content, examinations, text books and teaching methods has been researched. Hence it has been possible to analyse critically the origins and evolution of General Science. This retrospective study has not only allowed close scrutiny of the ideals and actual classroom practice of the time; it has also afforded valuable insight into essential guidelines that are necessary for general curriculum evaluation and development. Many of these guidelines remain relevant today, even though some thirty years have elapsed since the first General Science course was adapted in Victoria.
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ItemA comparative survey of the teaching of mathematics in primary schools in South Australia and Victoria( 1976)During the last two decades the teaching of mathematics in Australian primary schools has experienced widespread changes in content and method. These changes were introduced, mainly, in an attempt to overcome certain problems associated with the teaching of the subject. The views of psychologists and mathematicians influenced the new approaches to a greater extent than on any previous occasion. At the outset this thesis discusses some of the problems encountered in the teaching of mathematics and outlines three areas.requiring attention. An overview is given of the place of mathematics in the primary school curriculum in South Australia and Victoria since the middle of the nineteenth century. In tracing this development, an historical setting is given for the current controversies in the teaching of mathematics. A number of important changes in the teaching of mathematics emerge. In particular the changes which have occurred during the last twenty years are considered in some detail. An attempt is made to compare these recent developments and special attention is given to the period since the Australian conference on primary school mathematics in 1964, when a major restructuring of courses was proposed. Finally, it is shown that in attempting to overcome the problems associated with the teaching of mathematics, other factors have emerged which have implications for future developments. The current claim that the 3 R's have been neglected is likely to bring about a change in emphasis.