Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses

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    Measurement of the ability to generate higher order learning in MOOCs
    Milligan, Sandra K. (University of Melbourne, 2016)
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    Parent-professional relationships in early intervention for children with hearing impairment : the Malaysian experience
    Othman, Basyariatul Fathi. (University of Melbourne, 2010)
    Establishing collaborative parent-professional relationships is one of the central values of the family-centred approach to early intervention (Blue-Banning, Summers, Frankland, Nelson, & Beegle, 2004; Dunst, 2002; Park & Turnbull, 2002). The shift from a professionally-centred to a family-centred approach in early intervention has been documented in western countries over the last three decades (Brader, 2000; Espe-Sherwindt, 2008). However, there is a dearth of similar reports based on studies conducted in Asian countries, such as Malaysia. This study describes parent-professional relationships in the context of early intervention for children with hearing impairment in Malaysia. Twenty-two parents of children with hearing impairment and ten professionals who provided early intervention services to the parents were recruited from four programs in Kuala Lumpur and surrounds. The majority of parents were mothers, and all the professionals were speech-language pathologists who had been consistently working with the family for at least one year prior to this study. There were two stages of data collection. During Stage 1, all the parent and professional participants individually completed questionnaires. The questionnaires investigated the beliefs, interaction behaviours, and quality of relationships of the parents and professionals involved in this study. The parent participants also responded to two additional domains of investigation: family functioning and service satisfaction. Five parent-professional pairs who reported highly positive relationships in their questionnaires participated in Stage 2. They were firstly videotaped during an intervention session, and then interviewed separately about their parent-professional interactions. The videotapes were used to study the pairs� interaction behaviours. The interviews provided insights from these participants on their roles and interactions in their parent-professional relationships. The questionnaire, video, and interview data were firstly analysed separately, and then were triangulated to generate case studies. Results yielded from all sources of data have been reframed according to the relational and participatory helpgiving practices (Dunst, Johanson, Trivette, & Hamby, 1991; Dunst & Trivette, 1996). Relational helpgiving practices were strongly evident in this study, such as professionals displaying positive interpersonal skills, and establishing positive relationships with parents. Furthermore, positive attitudes towards parent capabilities were also found, where the parents� knowledge about their child, and the parents� roles as their child�s teachers at home, were highly valued by the professionals. The participants in this study not only believed in equal relationships, they also ranked their parent-professional relationships as equal. However, the participatory helpgiving practices were markedly absent from this study�s findings. The professionals� specialized knowledge and skills, decisions, and behaviours, were the driving factors in the intervention. The professionals also assumed many leading roles in intervention, such as the decision maker, planner, controller, and instructor to parent. Parent involvement, although deemed as important, was defined by the professionals as parent compliance to professionals� instructions. Other less empowering roles assumed by the parents, such as the non-participating observer in intervention session, indicate inequality in the parent-professional relationships. Being trained in a professionally-centred model, the professionals focussed their intervention on the child, rather than on the family. A generic program for all families was also implemented by the professionals. This may help to explain the family�s report that their own strengths and resources being under-utilized, and their specific family needs not addressed by the professionals. The presence of relational helpgiving and the absence of participatory help giving identify the parent-professional relationships in this study as characteristic of a family-allied model of intervention rather than family-centred.
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    Complex syntax use in children with hearing loss
    Klieve, Sharon Anne ( 2023-07)
    Children with hearing loss (CHL) present with a wide variety of language and literacy profiles unique to this population. Even with advancements in early identification, technology, and early intervention, many CHL continue to show language difficulties when compared to their typically hearing peers. These difficulties are across multiple aspects of language including phonology, vocabulary, and morphosyntax. One area that has been explored minimally is complex syntax. Complex syntax competence is important for language, reading comprehension, writing proficiency, and social relationships. Complex syntax is often mistakenly assumed to be a later developing skill that follows mastery of grammatical morphology and simple sentence structure. However, complex syntax is simultaneously acquired, with grammatical morphology and basic clausal structure (Barako Arndt & Schuele, 2013) emerging at a relatively young age. Complex syntax is shown to be a continuing area of challenge for CHL. The purpose of this study was to describe and profile CHL’s complex syntax use to better understand the vulnerabilities and resiliency in language for these children. This PhD study examined complex syntax use by 8- to 10-year-old CHL as compared to their typically hearing peers. The two groups undertook a range of language and cognitive measures, including elicited language samples. Frequency, variety, and accuracy of complex syntactic productions were compared across the groups. Results indicate that while CHL produce a similar range of complex syntax types, they exhibit less frequent use, less variety, and reduced accuracy across and within complex syntax types as compared to their typically hearing peers. CHL demonstrate a range of error types that suggest challenges across multiple language domains. Greater processing demands are suggested to cause breakdowns across multiple levels of sentence production, with CHL demonstrating differences in a range of cognitive processes, particularly phonological memory. The differences, although somewhat reduced as compared to previous research, and possibly masked by the small sample size, warrant further investigation. This research contributes valuable information for clinicians, educational professionals, and researchers around strengths and challenges in CHL’s complex syntax use. The novel assessment protocol has promise as a comprehensive battery that can provide a deeper analysis of complex syntax in individual CHL. This research also focused attention on the importance of considering the interactions between language domains and the interrelationships between language and cognitive capacities. Further research should continue to investigate this important area of language.
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    Democracy, meaning, and general self-efficacy in democratic and mainstream schools
    Singh, Neha ( 2023-11)
    Meaning in life (ML), meaningful work (MW), and general self-efficacy (GSE) are constructs related to numerous positive life outcomes. Meaning allows individuals to navigate personal and social changes, which is vital at a time of declining democracy, pandemics, political polarisation, wars, climate crisis, and other upheavals. The experience of meaning begins during the school age years; thus, it is imperative that well-being education explores the experience and impact of meaning in school (MS). This comparative thesis is conducted in the context of democratic schools, where students have greater control over their personal study plans and school governance, and mainstream schools, where these features are not central. Through two mixed-method studies involving a case-study approach to distinguish the schools and then a large-scale enquiry into MS in these schools and its impacts on adult ML, MW, and GSE, I aimed to understand how schools can foster democracy and meaning. In Study A, using thematic and content analysis, I analysed four Australian democratic and mainstream schools’ policy documents to identify similarities and differences between them pertaining to the schools’ salient features and beliefs underpinning them and the democratic potential of these policies. Notable were the stark differences in the conceptualisation of community, schools’ beliefs about students, and students’ voices and autonomy. The interrelated impacts of these three themes on other aspects of schooling were also significant. The first part of Study B conceptualised MS. I used Study A’s findings and existing literature on meaning to operationalise MS and develop the Meaning in School Scale (MSS). I then tested the MSS for content validity with experts (N = 5), face validity with non-experts (N = 7), and construct validity with former democratic and mainstream students (N = 641), which resulted in a 3-factor measure consisting of Academic Content, Family Role, and Psychosocial Factors. Study B then explored dissimilarities in the levels of these variables by school type; the role of MS on adult life outcomes; model invariance; and the differences between the effects of MS on the adult variables by school type using online questionnaire data from former students of democratic and mainstream schools (N = 641) using structural equation modelling methods. Findings demonstrated that the structural model for the two school types was invariant. Regarding differences between the two school types, the democratic sample reported higher MS, but ML, MW, and GSE were similar. Next, the effects of schooling on adult life indicated that Psychosocial Factors and Academic Content were associated with adults’ ML, while Academic Content predicted GSE, but MS had no impact on MW. Finally, incidental findings revealed that Psychosocial Factors experienced during school appear to be an important driver of only the democratic sample’s GSE, whereas Academic Content affects GSE only for the mainstream sample. However, this possible moderation effect needs to be investigated further. The research highlights the distinctions between the two school systems. Further, it suggests that democratic school structures can contribute to stronger school and future democracies and provide insights into making schooling more meaningful and the ways they impact upon adult ML and GSE.
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    Exploring perceptions of quality TVET teachers in Laos through the lens of the capability approach
    Saephan, Sanva ( 2023-10)
    Improving the quality of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) teachers in Laos has been a national priority for more than a decade. Policy documents from the Ministry of Education and Sports in Laos have identified the poor quality of TVET teachers as a major challenge to the development of a quality TVET education sector (GoL, 2007, 2016e, 2021b). This, in turn, affects national socio-economic development. However, the way quality TVET teachers are conceptualised in policy documents from the Ministry of Education and Sports is narrow, focusing solely on the capacity of individual TVET teachers. The external conditions that shape teaching practice are disregarded. To broaden the understanding of quality TVET teachers in Laos, this study adopts the capability approach as a conceptual framework to both examine the intersection between individual and contextual factors and capture the voice of TVET teachers and policymakers. It uses a mixed-method approach to analyse the elements of quality TVET teachers valued by TVET teachers and policymakers. It also examines the opportunities and constraints that impact the teachers’ capacity to implement and develop what they value in teaching. The findings reveal that both TVET teachers and policymakers value the following five elements of quality TVET teachers in Laos: (1) Assessment Competencies; (2) Pedagogical Competencies; (3) Occupational Competencies; (4) Professionalism; and (5) Personality Traits. The study uncovers multiple systemic challenges that impact the quality of TVET teachers in Laos. These challenges include nepotism, ambiguous rules and regulations, limited capacities of TVET teachers and insufficient resources, particularly in terms of funding. These obstacles impede the ability of TVET teachers to excel in their roles. Due to the challenges and limited opportunities they face, TVET teachers turn to informal peer-to-peer learning as a means of creating opportunities for themselves. Moreover, they exploit ambiguities in the rules and regulations to manipulate them for personal gain, often to the detriment of their colleagues. The findings of the study shed light on the intricate relationship between social structures and individuals. This study makes three significant contributions. Firstly, it contributes to our knowledge of what constitutes quality TVET teachers by considering not only individual and social factors, but also local norms and practices, and the agency of teachers and policymakers. This comprehensive perspective deepens knowledge of the subjective nature of teacher quality. Secondly, it offers insights that could inform education policies designed to improve the teacher quality by aligning the values of TVET teachers and policymakers. This insight facilitates targeted policies and efficient allocation of resources, while also informing the development of curriculum for pre-service and in-service TVET teachers. Thirdly, the study holds methodological significance because it operationalises the capability approach and develops a scale to measure the elements that characterise quality TVET teachers, an area with limited existing literature. The creation of this instrument provides a valuable frame of reference for future research, enabling more rigorous investigations into the factors that contribute to teacher quality in the TVET education sector.
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    Repertoires of Resistance: The Lived Experiences of Women of Colour Early Childhood Educators
    Lam, Claudine Jane Kyen Yin ( 2023-08)
    Deploying four core tenets of Critical Race Theory to problematise inequitable power relationships, my research investigated how women of colour early childhood educators in Australia experience race and how this informed their teaching practices. In doing this, it interrogated how the circulation of power inherent within constructs of race, racialisation and discourses of racism authorise and legitimise whose lived experiences of racial inequity are privileged or silenced. Drawing on data collected via Walking Interviews, Photovoice and Critical Group Discussions, three significant findings emerged. Firstly, the circulation of majoritarian narratives and discourses of denial of racism operate to (re)centre and preserve white privilege and power. Secondly, the conflation of diversity and difference with discourses of multiculturalism obscures and reinforces the fabrication of a colonised, racialised ‘other’. Finally, counter-narratives can be deployed to resist and decolonise the impacts of race, racialisation and discourses of racism. Collectively, these findings make visible the need to centre, honour and celebrate the voices and lived experiences of women of colour early childhood educators, speak back to the early childhood profession and further explore diverse theories of social change.