Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemGesture-based approaches to language learning(University of Melbourne, 2012)
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ItemInformed consent for children in Saudi Arabia( 2012)Informed consent is considered an integral part of the ethical dimension of research, especially in educational research undertaken with children. The procedures and details of obtaining informed consent from children’s parents have received much scholarship in the field. This study aims at exploring the issue of obtaining informed consent for children in educational research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The thesis proposes that that there is a gap in obtaining informed consent from parents of children involved in educational research in KSA. Data was collected through a questionnaire, which was completed by six participants who hold graduate degrees in education research. Results indicated that there were clear administrative processes undertaken by the participants to obtain permission to undertake research in early childhood settings, firstly from the Ministry of Education and then the principal of early childhood settings. There were no formal ethics guidelines, protocols, or processes discussed in relation to obtaining informed consent from children’s parents in KSA. Researchers who discussed informed consent from parents and children when conducting research on children were guided by their experience in the United States or the United Kingdom. This was the major reason behind choosing post-colonialism as a conceptual frame for the study. The point being stressed is that there is no harm in importing academic and research practices from the West as long as they do not contradict major religious and cultural practices— something that goes in line with Islam’s encouragement of gaining knowledge. Post-colonial theory supports a way to navigate western concepts of informed consent with KSA’s social and historical beliefs and practices. The study concludes by stressing the necessity of adopting the informed consent procedure in research conducted on children in KSA. The nature and details of this informed consent can be appropriated to fit the social and cultural realties of KSA. It is also recommended that further research be done in this field.
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ItemThe nature of the knowledge for teaching Year 6 geometry in Taiwan( 2012)This study investigates the nature of Taiwanese Year 6 teachers' knowledge for teaching geometry (KTG), and its relationship to their general and professional backgrounds. There is a case study of ten Year 6 teachers with in-depth classroom observations and interviews, which shows the nature of the teachers' KTG. There is also a written questionnaire for 152 teachers from a stratified random sample of 30 schools from across Taiwan, which demonstrates the relationship between teachers' personal backgrounds and their KTG. After analyzing the data by both qualitative and quantitative methods, the result shows that the Taiwanese Year 6 teachers are fully educated on geometric content knowledge (GCK) and geometric pedagogical content knowledge (GPCK) for teaching. However, the teachers generally performed weakly on their geometric curricular knowledge (GCuK). In particular, the use of IT materials, the improvement of reasoning abilities, and the updating of the knowledge of curriculum content will be the main themes that the Year 6 teachers need improve in the future. Additionally, the attributes in teachers’ general background (TGB) mainly affected their GCK for teaching, whereas the attributes of teachers’ professional background (TPB) plays a significant role in influencing both the teachers’ GCK and GPCK performances. These results also support previous research that the teachers’ GCK does relate to their personal backgrounds (e.g., Fackler, 2006; Ross, Bruce & Hogaboam-Gray, 2006; Shacter & Thum, 2004). However, the result conflicts with the finding from the study by Hill (2007) which found that the teachers’ PCK had a positive relationship with their length of teaching experience. The teachers who taught for more than 15 years did not perform better on GPCK than the teachers in this study who had fewer years of teaching experience. The result in this study shows how the different routes of teachers’ training and attendance frequency at professional development (PD) programs in mathematics or geometry in Taiwan do affect the Year 6 teachers different KTG performances. Thus, there is still room to improve the system of teachers education in Taiwan.
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ItemMeasuring the development of professional learning teams( 2012)In many schools, groups of teachers are meeting regularly with the intention of improving their practice so they can enhance the learning of their students. These groups, often known as professional learning teams or professional learning communities, have been shown to be an effective means of changing classroom practices and improving student learning (Bolam, McMahon, Stoll, Thomas, & Wallace, 2005) Team activities such as interpreting evidence of student learning, examining the effectiveness of teaching and assessment strategies, and collaboratively planning teaching are integral to the process, as is creating a culture of engagement that increases the involvement of teachers in these collaborative practices. The purpose of this study was to design an instrument to measure the degree to which professional learning teams engage in activities that have been identified as improving the teaching practices of members and enhancing the learning of their students. The study took a criterion-referenced measurement approach and utilised item response modelling (Rasch model) in the analysis. This study produced two online questionnaires for teachers; one that concentrated on the activities undertaken by the team and the other that measured the engagement of teachers in the functioning of the team. It showed that it is possible to distinguish between the sophistication of functioning of professional learning teams and to distinguish between the engagement of teachers in the functioning of professional learning teams. It was possible to describe different levels of sophistication and engagement which can be used by researchers investigating professional learning team functioning. These levels have been combined into two developmental progressions. It is hoped that teachers will be able to use these progressions to enhance the functioning of their teams.
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ItemHow are teachers' pedagogic practices and students' learning about metacognition associated with what teachers know about teaching for metacognition?( 2012)Teaching for metacognition (TfM) is important for student learning. It develops students’ ability to examine critically how to complete cognitive tasks effectively and efficiently within and outside of academic contexts, independent of teacher guidance. Despite the importance of TfM, there are few studies on what teachers know about teaching it, and none examines how teachers’ pedagogic practices and students’ learning about metacognition may be associated with what they know about teaching metacognition. It is important to understand how teachers’ pedagogic practices and students’ learning about metacognition may be associated with what they know because it can highlight kinds of knowledge that are essential for teaching metacognition, and this can inform teaching and teacher training. This thesis investigated how 14 Singaporean Humanities teachers’ pedagogic practices and their students’ learning about metacognition were associated with what they knew about TfM. It was a multiple-case study which triangulated findings from multiple sources of evidence, and took into consideration the perspectives of teacher- and student-participants and their contextual specificities. The data suggested that though the teacher-participants knew the value of TfM, they did not have adequate empirically validated knowledge about TfM and this may have impinged on their pedagogic practices and students’ learning about metacognition in various ways. If teaching metacognition is encouraged, it is essential that teachers have adequate knowledge about TfM so that they can adopt pedagogic practices which are rooted in empirically validated knowledge. Details of the findings and their implications on teaching and teacher training are discussed in this thesis.
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ItemLearning to be a guest in the home of another: perceptions, purpose and positioning in short term volunteerism( 2012)This study analyses the expectations and reflections of participants in the ‘Thailand Mission Awareness Tours’ program as they prepare for, take part in and return from their intercultural experience. Sending organizations do not have the ability to influence how short term missions (STM) or volunteer tourists (VT) are received or viewed by long-term workers or nationals, but they are able to prepare them in how to better position themselves for the experience. Unfortunately volunteer travelers are often more focused on what they can accomplish at a location than on the relationships they could encounter, develop and build while being there. They build houses rather than relationships (Reese, 2009, p. xviii) for the locals rather than with them (Armstrong, 2006; Schwartz, 2003). To work with someone there must be equality, togetherness, a two way relationship. Being Guest and Host, as part of the hospitality suggested by Derrida (2000), is a relationship that is reliant upon one and the Other. It requires a disposition which is significantly different. Literature from within VT and STM, whilst philosophically different, is strikingly similar in content and emphasis. Most of this literature focuses on the positive profiling and experience of the travel participant and largely overlooks the experience of the host and host community. This focus has been criticised in the literature, but little has as yet been done to amend the situation (Gray & Campbell, 2007). In this ethnographic study positionality, as experienced by participants in the Thailand Mission Awareness Tour (TMAT) program, is examined. The emphasis is on how they position themselves in relation to each other, their hosts and the host community. Some findings were surprising and unexpected, particularly in relation to the participants’ responses to, and interaction with, expatriate hosts. Participants tended to compare themselves and their life situations with those of the expatriates, and often judged themselves quite harshly as a result. The author concludes that pre-travel education for those going on a volunteer experience should situate them in a receptive frame in preparation for positioning themselves as Guest, thereby supporting mutuality, relationality and positive experience for all involved. It is suggested that further research be undertaken into the efficacy of the type of education proposed in this thesis and how, or if, that education influences the positionality of participants. It is also suggested that research be undertaken into how this education and the resultant positionality is responded to by hosts and their communities. There is much work that remains to be done in this space relating to improving intercultural communication. This thesis forms a small part of that work.
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ItemCan school connectedness reduce the continuity of adolescent depressive symptoms?( 2012)By 2030, depressive disorders are expected to be the leading cause of disease burden (measured in disability adjusted life years lost to illness) in high income countries. The direct health care costs are now dwarfed by the indirect costs, with days lost from work owing to depressive symptoms exceeding all other disorders and representing a significant loss to the global economy. Depressive symptoms typically have their onset in adolescence and show strong persistence into young adulthood. Outside of the family, school is one of the most salient environments for young people across the period of peak incidence for depressive symptoms. However, the relationship between the school environment and adolescent mental health outcomes remains controversial. The first aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the relationship between school connectedness (as an overarching construct and in terms of its sub-dimensions) and depressive symptoms during adolescence, restricted to longitudinal study designs to avoid ambiguity around temporal relationships. Results from this review show considerable research investment in primary (universal) prevention of depressive symptoms in adolescence. Specifically, that school connectedness and high-quality relationships with teachers may play a role in preventing depressive symptoms in adolescence (universal prevention). However, there was a dearth of research on the role of school connectedness as a potential modifier of strong continuities in depressive symptoms across adolescence (indicated prevention). This knowledge prompted the second research question of this study; the extent to which positive school connectedness may act as a potential modifier of strong continuities in depressive symptoms across adolescence. The answer to this question has important implications for informing targeted (indicated) prevention though promotion of school connectedness. Data were drawn from the Australian Temperament Project (ATP), an ongoing, large scale longitudinal study initiated in 1983 as a representative sample of 4–8 month old children in Victoria. The role of school connectedness in moderating persistence of depressive symptoms was examined within two discrete time intervals (1) early to late adolescence (13–14 years and 17–18 years), and; (2) middle to late adolescence (15–16 years and 17–18 years). Structural equation modelling was used to examine developmental relationships. Results suggested that school connectedness (overall and dimensionally) does not significantly moderate (reduce) the risk of continuity of depressive symptoms between early and late adolescence (13–14 years and 17–18 years), or middle and late adolescence (15–16 years and 17–18 years) amongst the sample of 1,258 young people. Furthermore, there was no evidence that school connectedness reduced risk for depressive symptoms in late adolescence. Rather, findings suggested that those who enter secondary school with high depressive symptoms may have greater difficulties connecting with the school environment. The findings of the systematic review and the current study contribute to understanding the nature of the relationship between school connectedness and adolescent depressive symptomatology, and open new directions for future research into a range of issues concerning how school connectedness may serve as a target for indicated and universal prevention of adolescent depression.
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ItemBigger, better brains: neuroscience, music education and the pre-service early childhood and primary (elementary) generalist teacher( 2012)Since the early 1990s, there has been an enormous amount of research into the ways in which music listening and music training can improve our understanding of the structural and functional aspects of the human brain. As research in this interdisciplinary field, known as neuromusical research, advanced, it was also discovered that formal music training may have significant effects on brain development. As this is a relatively new field of research, the findings from these studies have remained predominantly in the area of neuroscience and have not been widely disseminated to educators or applied to educational practice. This thesis initially aimed to explore the possible applications of these findings in music education practice. It was then modified, due to the outcomes of the literature review, to examine the effects of these findings on the values that pre-service generalist primary (elementary) teachers hold towards music education. This thesis consisted of two interrelated studies. Study A mapped the current neuromusical research literature related to the effects of formal music training and summarised the significant findings to date. The mapping methodology included a four-stage process to determine the breadth of the field and identify categories, connections, correlations and contradictions across the findings. Study A revealed that neuromusical research findings are not advanced enough to be confidently applied to music education practices, which indicated the need to modify the initial focus of the thesis. This resulted in Study B, which consisted of a quasi- experimental quantitative study to measure the possible impact of neuromusical research findings on the perceptions of music education held by pre-service generalist primary (elementary) teachers. This study took the form of a ten-week teaching intervention with a pre- and post-test survey, and the resultant data was analysed for changes in values towards music education. Study B revealed that the values held by the participant group towards music education improved significantly after the teaching intervention. Furthermore, the experiment group, who were exposed to the neuromusical research findings, had more positive values than the control group in the majority of measures. Exposure to the neuromusical research findings was shown to affect the experiment group participants’ values in a number of ways: they indicated a higher level of confidence in the delivery of music education, rated music education at a higher level of importance in the curriculum, used higher levels of critical thinking and educational philosophy to justify the value of music education and performed better in their assessment items. This study has shown that exposure to the neuroscientific and aesthetic benefits of music education can positively influence the values pre-service generalist teachers hold towards the discipline. This is worthy of further research, as it could help improve the rate and quality of the delivery of music education by generalist teachers when they enter the profession.
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ItemExploring the person in teaching: teacher positionings in Singapore( 2012)Teachers in Singapore are recognised as key to successful educational change and improvement and are often positioned at the centre of education reforms. While significant research attention has been given in Singapore to teachers this attention tends to focus more on the knowledge and skills of teachers, the technical aspects of teaching, and overlooks the personal dimensions of teaching. Internationally however, previous research has established the importance of teachers’ biography, life experiences, values and beliefs in their teaching practices which in turn influence opportunities for students to learn. This small-scale, qualitative study investigated the personal, biographical experiences, values and agendas Singaporean teachers bring to their teaching. Utilising semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and research conversations the study explored the personal biographies of four experienced, primary school teachers and how they located themselves within the broader context of Singapore. In this way the thesis examines the interrelationships between the personal biographies of the four teachers and the unique and particular context of Singapore in which they live and work. The focus of the thesis was on the ways in which personal experiences and agendas, national and cultural contexts, and discourses come together in the construction of teacher identities in Singapore. The study demonstrated that despite the different ethnic and personal backgrounds of the teachers, in the ways they talked about both their own history and their views of teaching, what emerged more strongly was the narrative of Singapore’s nation-building project and culture. The teachers’ stories and narrations of their childhoods, their schooling experiences, personal positionings, practical experiences and understandings about education and teaching, reflected the broader national, cultural and educational narratives and agendas in Singapore. These broader narratives propagate, legitimise and popularise beliefs about being a ‘good citizen’, being Singaporean, the purposes and aims of education, and the roles of teachers in Singapore. Their identities were told through their relationships to these larger narratives, particularly the orientation to progress, entrenched in Singaporean society and culture. Although, these broader narratives were integrated quite strongly into the individual agendas and identities of the teachers, telling a more public story, the study also traced a quieter, private story unfurled in the tensions and disjunctions the teachers experienced, and unspoken stories, in relation to the national and educational agendas in Singapore. Issues with the meritocratic system, which forms the underlying logic of Singaporean society, surfaced in their own stories of schooling and also in their stories of teaching and their students. The general avoidance and hesitation around the subject of race and religion seem to hint underlying, silent stories that are perhaps not sanctioned or legitimised as part of the public story. A progress-oriented stance, translating educationally into a competitive, academic, result-oriented school culture, does pose some dilemmas for the teachers, not as inappropriate aims for schooling but in terms of managing the cost of this push for academic performance.
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ItemEducating the reflexive citizen: making a difference or entrenching difference?( 2012)Young people’s democratic participation is the focus of a growing body of education policies and practices. These purport to enable all young people to be reflexive citizens with the agency to direct their own lives as well as to ‘make a difference’ in ways that improve the democratic fabric of society. These purposes remain both remarkably resilient and under-examined. At an historical juncture when forms of democracy are changing but inequality remains rigidly entrenched, this lack of critique renders some young people particularly vulnerable to governance by educational agendas which have little to do with either democracy or agency. This thesis explores the ways in which young people are constructed as reflexive citizens through their schooling and what this means for young people who are subject to structural or socioeconomic inequalities. It investigates how Australian education policy constructs young people’s democratic participation and what discourses of ‘youth’ and ‘citizenship’ inform this construction as well as how this construction mediates the experience of participation for young people in two Victorian schools located in low socioeconomic communities. Methodologically, this thesis draws on a critical discourse analysis of recent Australian education policy as well as case research in two government secondary schools located in outer Melbourne and rural Victoria. Theoretically, it is grounded in education and youth sociology, drawing on concepts of governmentality, reflexive modernity and critical pedagogy. This thesis reveals the deep ambiguities that accompany some young people’s experience of participation as well as the contradictory forces that shape the practices of educators. It also offers some fresh ways of understanding the role of schools in enabling young people’s democratic participation as well as young people’s capacity to see themselves in enabling ways.
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