Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemStudent expectations of the future( 1992)Specific aims of the study To investigate how present-day students view the future and their place in the workforce of the future. To establish whether or not students regard their present educational experiences as an adequate preparation for their future work. To investigate acceptance of unconventional futures scenarios as possible futures.
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ItemThe impact of the zone based professional development program, "Skill review and professional development", on knowledge, understanding and practice within selected school communities( 1995)While engaged in documenting a retrospective account of a zone based professional development program, Skill Review and Professional Development, which aimed to support school communities in the implementation of skill review and professional development according to the Tripartite Agreement on School Development Planning, I reflected on a statement by Harwayne (1992): 'We take courses. We attend workshops. We read books, We get lots of information. But the really important information comes later on. It comes when we take that seed information back to our classrooms, when we experiment and innovate and invent, when we make it our own. The story really is 'to be continued' (p.337 ). This reflection led to the following questions which drove my investigation: # has the 'seed information' collected during the program been taken back to the school level?; # have school communities been able to 'experiment', 'innovate' and 'invent' in order to make skill review and professional development their own?; and, # in what areas has the zone based professional development program, Skill Review and Professional Development, impacted at the school level? The information gathered to discover the answers to these questions was qualitative in nature and comes from those involved directly with the delivery and implementation of the program. The information draws on what happened at the zone level and what is now happening at the school level. The gathered data took the form of words: written and anecdotal; record and document observations; and transcripts of discussions and interviews, as words captured the spirit of the happenings. The writings of Joyce and Showers (1987), Joyce and Weil (1992), Fullan and Stiegelbauer (1991), Hargreaves (1992), Fullan (1993), Johnson (1993), Guskey (1994) and others have helped make sense of the impact of this program at the school level.
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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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ItemCurriculum and programme provisions for gifted and talented children in Victorian J.S.H.A.A. schools( 1992)This study has surveyed the provision of programmes for Children with High Intellectual Potential (C.H.I.P.) in Victorian member schools of the Junior Schools Heads Association Australia. Fifty-nine schools were surveyed; fifty-four responded, representing some 19,000 junior school children. The survey was divided into six sections covering staffing provisions, curriculum and programmes, definition of gifted children, identification procedures, changing perspectives and importance of C.H.I.P., and subscriptions to journals. The literature search was divided into two distinct sections. Within the Australian context the review was historical, marking the modern beginnings of education for C.H.I.P.. There is a dearth of literature with Australian origins on gifted and talented children. The late seventies and early eighties uncover some material, basically funded and inspired by the Commonwealth Schools Commission. The emphasis is on surveys of programmes. The conclusion is clear that what programmes were operating were ad hoc in nature. This was inevitable, as teacher training for C.H.I.P. was non-existent. In the early eighties, promising programmes in the Victorian Education Department and the Catholic Education system were quickly quashed by a change of government. Major writers such as Gallagher, Maker and Van Tassel-Bash identify three distinct curriculum models, the Content, the Process/Product and the Epistemological. There is no evidence at this stage to suggest that the Victorian C.H.I.P. programmes are anything more than ad hoc. They do not fit into the three identified curriculum models. In-class provision is the main methodology, with programmes based on Bloom's Taxonomy or the Sato/Kaplan Differentiated Curriculum. Many schools are not yet operating strongly founded theoretical based programmes, and are clearly moving without direction. There is lack of understanding of the concept of C.H.I.P., even though identification procedures are quite sophisticated. Interest in teacher in-service appears to be growing rapidly. There is clearly a crucial need to provide pre-service courses at teacher training institutions. The major need for C.H.I.P. is for the Commonwealth government and the Ministry of Education in Victoria to develop and implement a policy on gifted and talented children.
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ItemBuilding social relationships with peers for children with developmental delay( 1993)The focus of the study was to examine the peer social interaction skills of four preschool aged children with developmental delay, across two terms. A case study methodology was chosen because of the variability of skill amongst children with developmental delay. The children's interaction with peers was measured under three different teaching methods in their early intervention and integrated preschool settings Videoed observation of the children's free play interactions were analysed using an observational instrument developed from the literature. Results demonstrated consistently that children with delayed development had difficulty in integrating basic skills to become socially effective. The study reinforced the need for intervention and found several factors that were consistent in promoting social competence. There was a clear finding that was consistent across all four children and the eight contexts. The social interaction between these children and their peers was increased when staff facilitated interaction through group composition selection of activities and the scaffolding of interactive tasks to an appropriate developmental level. Peer interaction was further enhanced when staff used subtle cues suggestions and encouragement at critical moments.
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ItemAuditory skills program( 1993)The Auditory Skills Program is a comprehensive graded program to develop speech and language processing skills through audition and to enhance spoken language skills in students with hearing impairment. The program has two sections:- A section for school aged students who generally have established language and cognition and would be learning to listen to the language they have already developed and would be improving skills such as auditory memory and auditory sequencing; A second section for babies and younger students who would be developing language, speech and cognitive skills through audition. Further sections were also developed:- A placement test was designed for the section for school aged students so that students could be easily placed at an appropriate level in the program. A section on phonemes and suprasegmentals was developed to assist in the development/remediation of specific speech targets. A section on audiological management was included to ensure the appropriate aiding of students at all times. In addition to the manuals, an audio cassette and a video cassette were produced. The audio cassette was designed to develop more complex listening skills - for example, listening to a taped signal and listening with competing stimuli. The video was developed to demonstrate the different skills at various levels in the program being taught to profoundly deaf students.
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ItemNight of the notables : a program for gifted and talented students intended to provide modelling for life from the lives of the eminent and famous for use as gifted education in schools( 1994)One of the continuing needs for the education of gifted and talented children is the provision of effective role models who are their intellectual peers. Being gifted brings special conditions and demands special provisions for a differentiated education. This thesis documents the development, implementation and evaluation of an educational Program intended to cater for the needs of gifted and talented children. It uses the lives of eminent personalities to provide gifted children with role models in life for coping with the phenomenon of giftedness. It argues that such studies provide real-world role modelling, mastery of life-long skills and a strong motivation to achieve. The theoretical base selected is George T. Betts' autonomous learner model, where longer and deeper personal research is supported by athome, in-class and in-school provisions to encourage students to develop higher level communication skills and better self concepts about themselves as gifted persons. The Program, entitled the Night of the Notables, is a flexible educational Program, being both user and teacher friendly, one that can be used as enrichment or extension in selected groups or in general ability classrooms, over shorter or longer time spans, for both gifted and talented, and across several age groups. The thesis documents the progress of the study with lower secondary students at a suburban independent school, analyses data supporting hypotheses about increased cognitive and affective skills, and provides original materials developed to run the Program. Implications for preferring similar methodologies for teaching gifted and talented are developed and explored. It is argued that Night of the Notables is a suitable new model for Australian gifted education. It is adaptable as a stand alone Program or as an infused one. It is multi layered so it can meet the needs of a wide variety of ability levels. It emphasises student choice and commitment and so is similar to the admirable Renzulli Type III Enrichment for gifted education.
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ItemTowards redressing the neglect of "dispositional knowledge"( 1991)Dispositional knowledge has been long neglected (with only few exceptions) by philosophers even though this topic should be of particular interest to philosophers of Education. All dispositional knowledge can be expressed in the grammatical form 'x knows how to 0'. So, in examining dispositional knowledge statements, we need only consider statements which are expressible in this form. Kyle's work on dispositional knowledge (or knowing how to) was misleading in that he assimilated cases of human dispositional knowledge with cases of physical dispositions. More recently David. Carr has proposed an alternative view of knowing how to which culminates in three criteria for the application of physical know how to an agent; these criteria are parallel to the widely acknowledged tri-partite account of propositional knowledge. Carr neglects an account of mental know how on the grounds that mental know how cannot be distinguished from mental ability. Carr's account of physical know how is flawed. And an analysis of mental know how is required. An examination of mental know how reveals criteria for mental know how which are parallel to the criteria for physical know how.
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ItemStanding strong or standing weak? Equal opportunity, violence against women and the school curriculum : a case study( 1994)Despite violence against women becoming a very public issue in recent years, remarkably little material on this subject has so far found its way into the school curriculum. This thesis examines a set of curriculum materials called Standing Strong, which specifically aims to help students make sense of violent and sexually abusive relationships. The thesis outlines and evaluates the materials in light of their ability to achieve one of the major objectives of recent equal opportunity policy, namely, to help achieve "equality between the sexes, and...improv(e) the conditions of life for girls and women...taking account of their cultural, language, and socio-economic diversity...". (Commonwealth Schools Commission, 1987: Recommendation 2, p. 25). The evaluation takes two main forms, one theoretical, the other empirical. The theoretical evaluation draws upon recent post structuralist and constructionist feminist writings. The empirical evaluation is undertaken by drawing upon the research findings derived from in-depth interviews with 24 young women who had used the Standing Strong materials during their secondary school education. The thesis argues that Standing Strong is flawed theoretically, and that this is likely to hamper its usefulness in practice. The research data confirm this pessimistic conclusion. The thesis concludes by reflecting on whether a focus on education might be more of a hindrance than a help to the development of a meaningful and effective solutions to violence against women.
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ItemStudent perceptions of giftedness, gifted students, teachers and education of the gifted( 1990)The purpose of the study was to identify perceptions, preferences and attitudes of a sample of secondary school students in relation to giftedness, gifted students, teachers, and educational provision for the gifted, and to investigate differences and similarities between gifted and nongifted students. The sample consisted of 40 identified gifted and 40 nongifted students from Forms 8 to 10. A review of the literature described the history of the development of gifted education, particularly in Australia, and research concerning students' perceptions of the study topics. The study utilised a theoretical background of implicit, social cognition and labelling theories, and a version of the critical incident technique. The findings showed many similarities between the views of the gifted and the nongifted, including a generally positive view of giftedness, of educational provision for the gifted and of gifted students, although they were viewed somewhat less positively than were the provisions for them. The students generally perceived a need for gifted programs, especially at secondary level. They clearly wanted a combination of mixed ability classes and top sets in one or more subjects, not mixed ability classes as the only provision. Withdrawal for the gifted was generally endorsed by both groups. Provision for the gifted within the regular classroom was generally acceptable to the gifted, specifically in the form of advanced rather than wider content, but the nongifted generally rated both forms negatively. The students considered that the most important quality of a teacher was that the teacher should know the subject well. In general, personal-social characteristics of teachers were regarded as less important than intellectual qualities and teaching competencies. Certain characteristics were regarded as more important by the gifted and others by the nongifted. Recommendations were made for the particular school and in general.