Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemWhat do 'at risk' boys say about their schooling experiences ? : creating agency for boys' views and feelings about school( 2008)The following discussion outlines the theory and operational methods that inform a general ethnographical study, designed to understand the views and perceptions of three 'at risk' boys relegated to a specialised Victorian state school. The methodology hopes to empower the male students taking part in the study by giving emphasis to the didactic importance of their views, opinions and experiences expressed during a series of interviews in which they participate. It is hoped that the boys will be able to identify areas of education that need improvement, and define real life problems within their own learning experiences, so genuine male learning dilemmas and insights are generated and debated in the research. However, Connell (1989, 1995) characterises boys as `inheritors of an all conquering hegemonic masculinity' and this classic feminist perspective seems to be preventing the evolution of a boys' paradigm in education by diverting attention away from boys' educational issues by asking `which girls' and 'which boys' are specifically disadvantaged. This generic ethnographical study attempts a pro-male research project which holds boy's views, opinions and experiences paramount in the research logic processes, and makes use of key foci descriptors conceptualised in recent government research and programmes to discover how young males experience and dialogue about their schooling lives.
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ItemParent professional partnerships in IEP development : a case study of a MAPS process( 2007)The practices, language and behaviours which professionals adopt when they meet with parents prior to Individual Education Program (IEP) planning may have a significant effect on the attitudes and capabilities families bring to the educational setting. During this case study the adult family members of a child with additional needs were observed as they addressed the developmental and programming needs of their child by participating in the McGill Action Planning System (MAPS) and a subsequent Program Support Group (PSG) meeting. Themes indicating attitudes or perceptions that empowered the family towards continued participation in collaborative teams for IEP development emerged in the observational data and were defined through the methods of informant diaries and semi-structured interviews. Less dominant quantitative methods were used to verify that the participant's ongoing attitudes towards parent professional collaboration corroborated with the final themes of flexibility, unification, satisfaction and function.
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ItemThe vertical curriculum meeting the needs of students of high intellectual potential( 2000)This pilot project investigated one Victorian Independent School's implementation of the vertical curriculum in Grades Five and Six in over a one-year period in 1998. The study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the vertical curriculum model for students identified as intellectually Gifted, High (Gifted and Bright) and Mainstream (Average, Low Average and Low) students by reviewing the students' progress in mathematics. Using Progressive Achievement Tests in Mathematics at the beginning and end of the year the identified Gifted, Bright and Mainstream students' progress was monitored to track their mathematical development, consisting of - achievement or progress made. The cohort reviewed consisted of eighty eight students incorporating eleven identified intellectually Gifted students, thirty three Bright students and forty four Mainstream students, as identified by the Raven's Progressive Matrices. The findings indicated firstly that an advanced level of mathematical achievement was found for the identified Gifted students. Secondly, it was found that the vertical curriculum assisted the Mainstream students as they showed significant mathematical progress. The findings indicated that the vertical curriculum provided an equitable educational option for the identified intellectually Gifted, Bright and Mainstream students.
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ItemReflective practices and work intensification among training and support managers in the disability sector( 2003)Using a qualitative, case-study approach, this research is concerned with exploring potential links between work intensification, management practice, reflection and workplace learning. The study was conducted with managers from Adult Training Support Services (ATSS) within the disability sector in Victoria. Data collection methods included a survey, focus groups and interviews. The project explored changes in the workplace over the past five years, the role of reflection in workplace learning, particularly in management learning, learning in communities of practice, and the influence of work intensification on reflective practice and workplace learning. Data indicated that ATSS managers place a great deal of importance on reflective practices. Yet it appears that, due to work intensification, reflective practices have changed significantly over the past five years, for the most part, in ways likely to be detrimental to the organisations involved. It is argued that work intensification has marginalised many reflective practices for ATSS managers, to the extent that 'deep level' learning within these organisations seems to have been significantly restricted. It appears that learning opportunities would be furthered if these managers were given more time and space to reflect.
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ItemUnderstanding the perceptions of primary school and early childhood teachers about the inclusion of children with special needs in regular classrooms( 2003)Today, many regular schools in the State of Victoria provide inclusive education programs. Educating children with and without disabilities is linked with upholding the rights of all children regardless of their class, culture, gender or developmental abilities. This study was aimed at exploring perceptions of early childhood and primary school teachers about the inclusion of children with special needs from six independent schools located in metropolitan Victoria. Data were analysed and compared to identify if there were differences in teachers' attitudes in relation to beliefs and values, feasibility of implementing inclusive programs in regular classrooms and their confidence to carry out inclusive practices. Findings indicated that all participants in the study were very positive about the philosophy of including children with disabilities in regular classrooms. Several factors were identified as major contributors to the positive perceptions of teachers. Data also revealed that teachers had many concerns regarding the implementation of inclusion in their regular classrooms. The findings of this study had implications for best practice to improve the implementation of inclusive programs in regular classrooms.
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ItemEstablishing a multi-sited disposition for ethnographic research in the field of education( 2008)This thesis responds to the challenge of how educational research might be practised in a contemporary world that is no longer necessarily organised by nearness and unity. Focusing on ethnography, it argues for what a multi-sited disposition contributes to research in the field of education. By giving prominence to the notion of multi-sited ethnography. as it has been developed by the anthropologist George Marcus this thesis shows how ethnography conceived this way is now necessary in educational research. The study brings together recent concepts from anthropology with Australian educational ethnography, providing an analysis and reconstruction of how to go about doing ethnography in a world that is characterised by partial connections. To highlight the contributions to education of this research disposition, the final part of the thesis provides an exploratory account as an example of how to approach a specific research topic in this field. In sum, this thesis makes a unique contribution' to educational research by providing an ethnographic approach for the study of contemporary educational lives.
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ItemAn exploration of the preparation and training of Samoan secondary school principals for leadership( 2000)This study is an exploration of the preparation and training of Samoan Senior Secondary Principals for leadership in school. The study utilised a qualitative methodology as the perspective of the principals was sought. The particular research instrument used were semi-structured interviews. These interviews were audio taped and fully transcribed. This raw data was complemented by a form which was used to establish background material on each principal. The themes that were identified, with the aid of a grid which displayed the data, raised a number of issues facing Samoan leaders. The literature review set the context for current Samoan education, by giving an historical view of the development of education since the arrival of Europeans in Samoa in the 1830s. This historical perspective revealed that many of the issues that affect Samoan Education today have had a long standing impact in Samoa. The context in which principals exercise their leadership is both complex and problematic. The analysis of results used the verbatim quotes of participants to highlight the issues. A key issue is the appropriateness of the transfer of models of leadership training from a Western perspective in Samoa. The conclusion reached in this study is that the range of issues that face a leader in a Samoan Secondary school, require an approach to preparation and training for leadership that is not currently occurring. Samoan principals in this study have not received a level of training for leadership that specifically addresses the concerns faced as leaders in their schools.
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ItemApproaching the undiscussable : investigating learning in an educational policy making organisation( 2004)This study investigates the learning culture in the Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate, part of the policy-making section of the New South Wales Department of Education in Australia. It is based on the premise that organisations learn through the collaborative efforts of the staff who work in them. This learning results from an alignment of two theories: the 'espoused' and the 'enacted'. The 'espoused' theory represents the organisation's intent and usually resides in written documents. The 'enacted' theory is demonstrated through the organisation's practice. When these theories fail to align, the organisation's capacity to learn becomes inhibited. The gap between these two theories is 'undiscussable'. It creates tensions that the organisation does not discuss. The participants in this study were staff members located in the Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate. They included administrative and support staff as well educators and the Directorate's leaders. Data were gathered from these staff members using a survey and interviews. By comparing and contrasting their perceptions and experiences of the Directorate's 'espoused' and 'enacted' theories, the study describes the nature of the Directorate's learning culture and its effect on the staff. A model for learning in organisations, derived from the literature, provided the theoretical frame for this investigation. The study identified that the respondents experienced tension in their practice because their 'espoused' theories did not align with the Directorate's 'enacted' theories. This tension represented four 'undiscussables' or processes that hindered its learning: absence of trust, treating knowledge as a product, harmful 'knowledge-power' relationships and a 'failure' to examine critically the educational and socio-political assumptions on which its work was based. The study concludes with a description of the type of learning organisation that the Professional Support & Curriculum Directorate could become if it discussed these undiscussables constructively.
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ItemWhere are they now ? : an investigation into the vocations and lifestyles of the University High School Acceleration Program 1988 cohort( 2000)This study investigated the current vocational and lifestyle situations of the 1988 intake cohort of the University High School Acceleration Program (UHS AP) in Melbourne, Australia. There were three main. reasons: to ascertain whether the participants' current situations were predicted by the literature in gifted education; to ascertain whether the current outcomes were predicted by the stated aims of the UHS AP and to invite respondents to reflect on their secondary schooling. A target cohort of 22 from the 1988 AP intake was selected after consultation with the co-ordinator of the UHS AP. The investigation sought factual information such as current occupation and personal circumstances and also ascertained current attitudes to particular aspects of their accelerated secondary schooling. This was done using a self-administered questionnaire incorporating a variety of question formats. Seventeen members of the cohort completed the questionnaire, providing information about: their current vocational status and influential factors for this; their current personal circumstances and feelings about these; their proudest achievements; their plans for the future and their current feelings about their experience in the UHS AP. This study is a follow up based on Dr Betty Murphy's 1994 thesis, which studied the first ten cohorts of the UHS AP. Her findings were employed in the analysis of the results. Vocational and lifestyle circumstances varied, as predicted by the literature. Reported satisfaction with their experience of acceleration was high, although suggestions for improvement in both curriculum and counselling were made. An attempt was made to link matters raised in the responses with the initial aims and objectives of the UHS AP. While there was a good correspondence between these objectives and reported outcomes, the objectives do not emphasise the same aspects of acceleration which the participants valued - namely the strong friendships they developed and the chance to be themselves.
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ItemFace-to-face : cross-cultural communication with Somali-speaking parents( 2008)This research thesis reports on an investigation of cross-cultural communication at one Victorian primary school, at which the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the staff and a sizeable proportion of the parents differ markedly. This qualitative, case study investigated the perspectives of one group of parents, all from a Somali speaking background, and school staff about the current levels of cross-cultural communication and how these key stakeholders believed home/school links could be improved. Data for this investigation were gathered from parent participants through group and individual interviews, some of which were conducted in Somali with the assistance of a bilingual research assistant. Consideration of these participants' vulnerable social status (Liamputtong, 2007), was an important aspect of this research process thus ensuring these parents, seldom heard within the school environment, had the opportunity to express their opinions and relate their experiences of cross-cultural communication with school staff. The data collection process, therefore, provides a model for excellent cross-cultural communication between an institution, such as a school, and a marginalised parent community. Written questionnaires, comprising open-ended and some ranked questions were used to investigate staff perspectives of cross-cultural communication. This was followed by a group interview with some staff members in which issues were discussed with greater depth. This research project revealed that the low-levels of cross-cultural communication noted at this school are not an indication of the level of goodwill held by Somali-speaking parents and school staff. On the contrary, all participants expressed a strong desire to learn more about the other and for communication levels to improve, recognising the importance of strong home/school links in improving educational outcomes for students. Through the suggestions, opinions and experiences of participants, a series of recommendations are made in this report, so that the momentum of improved communication, initiated by the research project, might be continued at the school, or within similar educational contexts.