Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemCultural preservation : the Estonian experience in Australia 1947-1987( 1987)This study is based on an historical perspective which traces the origins and development of Estonian organisations which are viewed as representing the 'conscious' attempts to preserve Estonian culture in Australia. The organisational problems and strategies to preserve the culture are examined in terms of the relationship between strategies used by the Estonian community and those used simultaneously by the wider community in response to changes in social relationships and emerging government policies. A major source for research material has been through oral history sources in interviews and contacts with several ethnic Estonians(primarily immigrants),who have been actively involved with organised Estonian cultural life : extensive interviews were conducted in Melbourne,Sydney, Thirlmere,Adelaide and Canberra; the writer has also spent almost twelve months being actively involved in some of the Estonian organisations including the Melbourne Ladies' Choir, Festivals and concerts. Other important sources of information include the Eesti Paevad Albums(Estonian Festival Albums, 1954-1986),historical writings about Estonia and Estonian people,contemporary publications, research and other projects, an original questionnaire for second generation Estonians,and the writer's participation in the National Research Conference on Ethnicity and Multiculturalism at the University of Melbourne (May 14 - 16) in 1986. Part 1 introduces the underlying concepts of 'culture', 'community' and 'ethnicity',with a section on the relevant historical and geographical background of Estonia and Estonian immigrants. Aspects of the Estonian culture within the Australian context are examined using an adaptation of Raymond Williams' interpretation of culture this study stresses the importance of creating a balanced interpretation of Estonian culture at three levels,that is,the 'living community','recorded' culture and 'selective tradition' in the argument for developing strategies for preserving the Estonian culture through the process of mainstream education. Part 11 follows on from the foundations laid by the 'Old Estonians'(pre-World War ll),and outlines the changing role of major Estonian organisations such as the Festivals,Choirs, Estonian school,the press,and to a lesser extent the Church,in preserving the Estonian culture according to emerging trends within the Estonian community and the surrounding culture. Part 111 highlights the nature of the 'ageing' and diminishing Estonian community in Australia,with - the emergence of the younger generation of ethnic Estonians in Australia as the vehicle for the creation and transmission of Estonian culture. The intercultural context and the nature of contemporary social relationships provide evidence of the change from the ethnic exclusiveness of the earlier period,to the widening framework for Estonian ethnicity and interest in preserving the Estonian culture. Many of the current developments from within the Estonian community and its wider context are presented as evidence of trends which are moving towards the realization of crucial strategies which are needed to preserve the Estonian culture in Australia through the process of education.
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ItemComputer-assisted instruction in history( 1987)The usefulness of computer-assisted instruction in the teaching of history is evaluated in this thesis. A number of evaluation schemes were reviewed and one, the MicroSift checklist, was applied in the assessment of some history programs used in schools in Australia. The MicroSift checklist was used within the context of Scriven's evaluation of software. Further evaluation of several of the programs was undertaken in two Melbourne Secondary Schools using Stake's Countenance Model. Questionnaires were administered to students and staff in both schools. Some evidence was found that the history programs had been well received in the schools. Comments have been made about the successfulness of employment of computers in Australian schools, and some recommendations offered for the development of appropriate software for South African use.
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ItemSocial studies in Victorian technical schools, 1938-1974( 1987)This thesis investigates the changes which have occurred in social studies in Victorian Technical Schools from 1938 to 1974. Social studies first appeared in Victoria when it was introduced into Preston Technical School during 1938. By the early 1940s social studies was starting to replace history and geography in most Victorian Technical Schools. Its status was low, and its course of study was usually reserved for those technical students who were labelled as under-achievers who would probably not progress beyond forms 3 or 4. The boys were relegated into the trades, while the girls headed for domestic courses. The teaching of social studies during the 1950s was undertaken by many teachers who had escaped from teaching subjects traditionally associated with an academic discipline, and by teachers who were unqualified. This situation remained virtually unchanged up until 1967. The whole "aura" of social studies and its curriculum went through something of a renaissance, which had its birth in 1967 at Burwood, Victoria, at the U.N.E.S.C.O. Seminar on the "Teaching of the Social Sciences at the Secondary Level". Immediately following the Burwood Seminar, the Victorian Advisory Committee on the Teaching of Social Science in Secondary Schools was established. In 1968 the Technical Schools Division set up a Standing Committee on Technical Schools Social Studies (SCOTSSS), and in the same year curricula autonomy was devolved, and the Director-General of Education in Victoria gave all schools in the state the right to determine their own curriculum. The Victorian Secondary Social Science Project (SSSP) was established in 1971 under the jurisdiction of the Victorian Advisory Committee, while the National Committee on Social Science Teaching (NCSST) held its first meeting in November 1971. In 1972 the Victorian Association of Social Studies Teachers (VASST) created a regular journal, Study of Society. Other key factors which have helped in the development of social studies have been the direct financial assistance from federal sources, overseas influence on social studies/ science teaching, a. rapid upsurge of student teachers completing social studies method courses, and a unique body of curriculum personnel working outside the Education Department. All of the above factors were instrumental in the re-birth of the subject of social studies in Victoria's Technical Schools since 1967.