Faculty of Education - Theses
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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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ItemThe poetical understanding of children's imagery of nature : how is poetical understanding evident in children's art?( 2005)This study explores the way in which preschool children engage in the creative process and how their sensory engagement with nature leads to invention of poetical attributes and symbols in their art. The study also examines the teacher's role in creating an environment that nurtures sensory learning, provides new energy and fosters discovery. This study also inquires into the educational theories of 'Reggio Emilia', 'emergent curriculum' and 'phenomenological pedagogy' and their influence in exploring significant moments of children's art creating within the process of 'aesthetic engagement' and 'aesthetic cognition'. The data related to these moments consists of children's visual and verbal images of nature that allowed me to unfold their perceptions of nature associated with beauty and make them evident to the viewer. In that sense data analysis reveals both mine and children's discoveries, with an emphasis on utilizing children's voices within the arts curriculum and making them protagonists of their own learning.
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ItemTraining for Telstra's digital video network : a story of information technology & computer literacy( 2003)This is a study of the new skills required by Telstra staff and the television Network Master Control Room (MCR) staff, to operate and maintain the Digital Video Network (DVN) efficiently, and the training program presented to assist in attaining those skills. The author was the training consultant contracted by Philips Broadcast Television Systems (now Thomson) to refine and deliver the training programs for the Telstra DVN, one of the two foci of this study. The other focus was the change or changes in work processes of staff working with the DVN for Telstra and the TV Networks. The study explored the appropriateness of the training program in transferring these required skills and the learning outcomes of training programs used. The study also evaluates the new skills that are required by Telstra and the television network MCR staff to control and operate the DVN. Telstra DVN employees and all the main television networks MCR staff were invited to take part in the study. The data collected from the study were analysed and the conclusions resulting from the analysis produced a series of recommendations that, if implemented, should improve the effectiveness of these two groups studied by increasing the learning outcome of future training programs and improving the skill levels.
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ItemAn investigation into the design and implementation of professional development programmes in technology for music teachers( 2009)The ,purpose of this study was to investigate the design and implementation of professional development programmes in technology for music teachers. The aim of the study was to identify characteristics of effective professional development and formulate a new paradigm for professional development. Music technology offers much to enhance music education for students, but many teachers are apprehensive about using it. The study examined research literature related to music education, information and communications technology and professional development. A school-based action research project provided practical data for the study. Reflection on this project and the literature found that effective professional development in music technology is school-based, authentic, collaborative and ongoing. Teachers will reap the benefits of such professional development when they participate in online communities of learning, engage in reflective practice, embrace lifelong learning and seek the guidance of mentors.
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ItemLearning work : an ethnography of work and learning in radiation therapy( 2003)That people learn at work seems to be a common sense view, but little is known about how professional identities and knowledge are shaped through and influenced by work. This study is an account of situated learning within the profession of radiation therapists. The study analyses tacit processes and informal practices of workplace learning, towards understanding the role of informal learning within the workplace and the profession. Ethnography and symbolic interactionist approaches and sociocultural perspectives are employed to explore the relational view of communities of practice and in the detail of day-to-day work. This case study highlights the importance of learning embedded in the routines of work practice. It also discusses the idea of cultivating learning through attention to the social context of the workplace and through an acknowledgment and understanding of the full nature of work and learning which occurs within the profession of radiation therapists.
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ItemGuiding, guiding : constructing leadership for young women( 2001)Guiding Guiding, Constructing Leadership for Young Women by Felicity Wightwick seeks to answer the research question: To what extent are young women's perceptions of leadership experiences shaped by formal training?' The reactions of several young women from Guides Australia to their leadership experiences, in particular the Guides Australia/BHP Young Leader (Leading Edge) seminar held in July 1999, are explored. Although the number of participants is small and therefore the findings limited, some interesting and worthwhile themes emerged from the research. This includes a leadership model that provides a possible structure upon which training that seeks to further the concept of community capacity building could be based.
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ItemOut of the frying pan : to what extent does Certificate III in hospitality (Commercial Cookery) prepare students for further education?( 2009)Further education, a subset of lifelong learning occurring post-compulsory schooling, is an educational and economic requirement to re-skill the workforce for current rapid technological changes requiring broadly-focused skills sets. Further education for cooks generally occurs at an Institute of Technological and Further Education (TAFE). The marketing of most TAFEs state they offer improved vocational and further educational pathways. A cook's career is often characterised by a lack of planning, transience, impulsiveness and chance. Professional cooks focus on attaining a set of culinary craft-specific skills which have limited applicability to other careers, whilst often missing opportunities to learn skills of a broader focus. Many cooks have poor experiences of formal education, both in compulsory schooling and at TAFE. Most cooks tend to career change with less than ten years experience of professional kitchens. Changing career increasingly requires pre-training from a formal education provider, however previous poor experiences of formal education inhibits this re-engagement for many cooks. The research explored the perceptions of twenty-four Commercial Cookery students (fifteen male and nine female) and their four (three male and one female) chef-trainers from a metropolitan TAFE (seventeen respondents) and a rural TAFE (eleven respondents) about the extent to which Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) is preparation for further education. The research explored how experiences Of TAFE and professional kitchens impacted on later re-engagement with further education. To achieve this, the research sought the opinions of apprentices through focus groups and chef-trainers through semi-structured interviews. The findings of this study indicate a need to review, anticipate, promote and prepare for the nexus between professional cooking and career change. Further, this study highlights the dominance of the paper-based assessment paradigm, and finds that this is a major obstacle to accessing much further education for kinaesthetic learners. This study should assist curriculum development through recommending scaffolding for later re-engagement with further education within Commercial Cookery study with a view to giving students a better chance to take control of their long-term future.
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ItemEvaluating the foundations for teaching arithmetic CD-ROM: linking theory and practice( 2005)Lack of mathematical content knowledge (MCK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and the ability to translate this knowledge into practice are recognised as major issues for pre-service teacher education today. Multimedia has been suggested as a way of facilitating the transfer of MCK and PCK to the classroom. In this context the Foundations for Teaching Arithmetic (FTA) CD-ROM was developed in 2001. The aim of this study is to evaluate how pre-service teachers in the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne have used FTA, if at all, to improve their MCK and PCK and to support the translation of these into practice. Also under investigation is what conditions facilitate or obstruct student use of FTA as a self-help resource in improving pre-service teachers' conceptual understanding of, and confidence in, their ability to do and to teach mathematics. Questionnaires designed to find out why students did or did not use FTA and their rating of particular features of the resource were completed by 389 students in various education courses. Forty-four student users and non-users of FTA were interviewed individually or in focus groups about their experience of FTA and the factors that contributed to their decisions to use or not use it. The impact of these factors was determined through the development of a framework which mapped the action profile of each student. A four phase needs-based progression model was proposed to explain the factors which contributed to students being able to make the successful translation of PCK on FTA into practice. The design and content of FTA facilitated students' use of FTA for the purposes under investigation. Factors hindering student use of FTA did evolve from the content of FTA, but were attributed to circumstantial factors.
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ItemOnline mentoring in English for young learners (EYL) teacher education( 2004)This research project involved the development, pilot and review of an on-line mentoring program in a developing Teacher Education degree at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in The United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study aimed to incorporate online learning technologies, already available and in use in other programs at the HCT, into the school experience component of the colleges' teacher education program. Participants in the study included student teachers across 3 years of the degree and college faculty across 6 colleges. Participants were involved in the design of this program, in using the program during a trial period, in evaluating its appropriateness, strengths and weaknesses and, finally, in identifying ways it may support inter-college continuity and collaboration in mentoring practices. The study was framed within a qualitative, action research approach and information was gathered through questionnaires and through qualitative focus group interviews. The study was guided by the following questions: How can an on line program facilitate and support the mentoring process? How might an on line program promote inter college communication? How might an on line program promote continuity of mentoring practices? This study contributes to the research agenda in the field of the application of online learning technologies to enhance and support teacher education in the UAE. The study makes six key recommendations and outlines three key areas for future development and research.
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ItemSpecific strategies that can be applied to teach reading in English as a second language to children from different home language backgrounds in Uganda( 2005)The study examined the literature review about strategies that can be applied to teach reading in English to second language learners. Three `training' videos, containing model lessons for teaching English to students in Australia whose first language is not English, were also analyzed to provide an in-depth picture of how some strategies are executed in the classroom context. The aim of the study was to explore and identify particular strategies that can be applied to teach reading in English to children who acquire English as a second language in Uganda. Qualitative exploratory research was conducted to explore the strategies that can be applied to teach reading in English to children from different home language backgrounds in Uganda. Content analysis technique was established to collect data from videotaped model lessons for teaching English to students in Australia whose first language is not English. Using an observation framework, the data was collected and analysed in reference to: strategies carried out in the classroom contexts, teacher's role in language instruction and literacy activities in which learners were involved. The findings suggested particular strategies for teaching reading in English to second language learners with more emphasis on getting meaning out of text. Further, the teacher's role in language instruction was recognised to be vital in teaching reading in English to bilingual students. The results also showed that second language learners effectively learnt to read in English in language contexts that encourage peer-peer and teacher-learner interactions. The study concluded with a discussion of the results and their implications to the teaching of English as a second language to bilingual children in Uganda.