Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses
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ItemThe Curious Child: Engaging very young audiences in the arts( 2020)While artists and producers are showing increasing interest in developing artistic works for very young children, there is much uncertainty about how to write and perform for this audience. Policy and research in this field remain overwhelmingly focused on school-aged children and youth, and accessible examples of practice are all but non-existent. Focusing on participant-observations of integrated arts performances for children aged birth to eighteen months, this research aims to contributes to a better understanding of the ways in which artists can support very young children’s engagement in these works. To achieve this aim, I have designed and undertaken a study that explores the field both broadly and intimately (Stake, 1981), and which balances the “gazing in” at my own experience with iterant “gazing out” towards literature and data (Tedlock, 2005). A progressive focusing research strategy (Patton, 2002; Stake, 1981) was followed, through which varying levels of breadth and intimacy were deemed appropriate at different times. This involved undertaking a field mapping study; reviewing theory and research from the fields of engagement, sociology of childhood, early childhood education, arts education, art and aesthetics, and child development; engaging in self-study; and identifying and more closely examining exemplary teaching-artist practices. Through a combination of reflective narrative and analytic discussion, I demonstrate how teaching-artists can best support very young children’s engagement by focusing their practices on interactions, environment, learning and development, the image of the child, and art and aesthetics.
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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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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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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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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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ItemThe unreal, whizzpopping goose-sitters club: popular children's fiction: an analysis of structure, literary features and ideology( 2000)Children are not so serious as grownups and they love to laugh (Dahl 1988, p81). A survey of children's choices of fiction from their school libraries over a 15 month period revealed six authors who were more popular than all others. The works of these popular authors were the subject of analysis in this study. The aim of the study was to identify characteristics which might explain the popularity of this fiction, and to recognize literary features which may indicate a change taking place in the whole body of children's literature. To achieve this aim the study proposed the benefits of taking an inclusive view of the canon of children's literature. Three aspects of the fiction were then subjected to the analysis tools of literary criticism. Some factors of overall significance emerged from the research. A number of these indicate reasons for children's choice of these authors. It was found that the use of textual support structures was common to the work of more than half of the authors, who then constructed simple linear plots, using devices such as exclamation to maintain interest. However, the research also revealed that it was possible for support structures to be used innovatively to construct more complex plots. Another important factor was the use of humour which could be combined with other genres and literary features to create a complex literary experience. Elements indicative of change in the whole body of children's literature were identified in the works of two authors, but did not feature strongly in any other. Analysis of ideology revealed support for the status quo or tolerance of antisocial behaviour. Only one author advocated respect for all others, perhaps indicating that negative values are not an essential element for popularity. Other significant factors emerging from the research support adoption of the inclusive view of canon in regard to children's literature. This view allows recognition and acknowledgment of authors of popular fiction through literary criticism and has positive implications for young readers.
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ItemAn exploration of gender-neutral picture book characters with young children( 2007)This study explored the use of gender-neutral characters in children's picture books with young children. The use of gender-neutral characters (characters that appear to be of indeterminate gender and display no `markers' that identify them as being either male or female) has increased in children's books with little research on the use of these characters with young children. Of the research that has been conducted, the majority has been conducted within developmental discourses. This study framed an exploration of these characters using concepts from both developmental discourses and feminist poststructuralist discourses to explore young children's reception of these characters and the possibilities and limitations using these concepts to explore gender-neutral characters created. A small-scale qualitative approach was employed with observations and interviews conducted with a group of nine preschool aged children. The conclusions both supported past research specifically around the use of gender stereotypes influencing the assignment of gender to gender-neutral characters and also challenged past research around the role of the concept of egocentric thinking in assignment of gender to gender-neutral characters by young children. It has also been highlighted how the use of concepts drawn from feminist poststructuralist discourses could add to and expand explorations around this topic.