Faculty of Education - Theses
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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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ItemA study of teachers' experiences of six years of laptop computers in the classrooms of a senior secondary school( 2000)This is the report of a study based on a Melbourne Secondary School looking at the use of laptop computers made by the staff in their teaching. Questionnaires were the instrument used to find a measure of the level of penetration and overall acceptance of laptop computers and computer technology by the Teaching Staff. The questionnaire was administered in 1997 and again in 1999. This study looks, with regard to the use of laptop computers by staff, at aspects of the teaching curriculum, administrative tasks and teaching at the classroom level over the two-year period 1997 to 1999. The questionnaire used is a `census' of all staff teaching at Years 9-12 where the laptop program is mandatory in a variety of study areas. The finding of this report is that the program at Goodlands Grammar has, at least in the short term, created a teaching environment that is still working within the traditional curriculum, using computers to achieve traditional outcomes. The computer has not, as yet, become integrated into the classroom program; rather it remains a complicated overlay to the existing curriculum.
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ItemLeadership and management in three exemplar non-government Australian Christian schools( 2000)The aim of this study was to identify some of the keys to the success of three non-government Protestant Christian schools, two parent controlled and one church sponsored. An expert panel nominated successful schools. Those with the greatest number of nominations were invited to become case studies. Qualitative methods of in-depth interviewing and document study were employed in each of the three schools. Eleven interviews were conducted, three chairpersons, three principals, three deputies, one school general manager and one sponsoring church general manager. The two research questions focused on a description of the current leadership and management practices and an understanding of the outcomes of the leadership and management in the lives of the students. These questions were developed into a conceptual framework that underpinned the study, namely that the leadership and management styles create distinctive structures in effective schools that in turn lead to the key attributes of success in the three Christian schools. The most significant findings of the research were that a collaborative leadership style dominated the organisations and that the school boards were now concentrating on governance and the implementation of a modified CEO model for their principals. Distinctive enrolment policies were being carefully implemented by committed Christian teachers whose contribution was regarded as the single most important factor that has led to the success of the schools. The teachers' primary objective was to see the lives of the students transformed, which was the central feature of the schools' dynamic vision. It is hoped that this study will be of value to anyone who wishes to see Christian schooling in Australia continue to succeed.
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ItemThe value of library advisory committees( 1996)The study reported in this thesis investigated the value of Victorian university library advisory committees to committee members, with particular reference to their liaison function. A review of the literature gave some indication of their value. It also indicated that their liaison function was wide ranging and successful to varying degrees. However, the literature focused on these aspects from the point of view of librarians. There is a paucity of literature that articulated the views of non-librarian committee members, or investigated the value of library advisory committees from their perspective. It was the aim of the present study to redress this imbalance and investigate the value of library advisory committees, thus highlighting their benefits and disadvantages, for both librarians and non-librarians alike. The methodology used in the study was a survey using a self-administered questionnaire. The sample consisted of all members of all library advisory committees in four major Victorian universities. In addition to closed questions, the questionnaire used many open questions in order to draw out members' attitudes to and perceptions of their committee. The results of the survey indicated that on many aspects of committee operations and functions, committee members have parallel views regardless of whether they are librarians or non-librarians; consequently a profile of the typical committee member emerged. These results suggested that committees are functioning successfully and are valuable to their members, particularly as a means of liaison. However, it was notable that, in relation to policy issues, the views and priorities of librarians and non-librarians differed significantly. Unlike librarians, non-librarians were more likely to be of the opinion that their committee should offer more opportunity for policy input and involvement. The present study also revealed that more work needs to be done to determine the value of library advisory committee for students.
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ItemThe link between secondary education and the chemical industry in Victoria( 1994)This study investigates the existing links between the chemical industry and secondary education in Victoria. The current views of the chemical industry towards their involvement with secondary schools and secondary teachers' perceptions of industry are examined. The authors' personal perspective based on professional participation in industry and in education forms an integral part of the study. The major factors that currently impact on the link between education and industry are outlined. The effectiveness of recent initiatives, both national and international for the development of closer links are examined. Key personnel in schools. and industry were interviewed in order to examine the current relationship between secondary schools and industry. The extent to which each party takes responsibility for incorporating this relationship as an important factor contributing to the chemical industry's future is also examined. This study reveals that the number of initiatives aimed at securing a closer link between secondary schools and industry within Victoria are limited and the overall coordination and direction of this link is inadequate. Recommendations are therefore put forward to improve this situation.
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ItemThe effectiveness of roleplay in changing disadvantaged students' attitude to schooling and to themselves( 1994)This study sets out to examine the relationship between the development of language and social competence. It draws on the theories of language development proposed by Chomsky, Piaget's cognition development and the sociolinguistic notions of Bruner, Vygotsky and Labov. The educational context of the study is that imposed by the policies developed by the Victorian Ministry of Education which requires schools to provide an inclusive curriculum to meet the needs of all students. For many secondary schools, groups of students, especially those who are disadvantaged by social and emotional difficulties place a great demand upon the existing structures and their needs are unfulfilled. A review of relevant literature on social competence and roleplay was undertaken which indicated that a program of communication and roleplay activities may address the needs of these students. Therefore this study has sought to examine the impact of such activities on the level of social competence of a group of disadvantaged students who were aggressive, cynical, disruptive and not participating in school life. This study was undertaken in a mainstream school in the Western Region of metropolitan Melbourne. Students who participated were pretested to establish their attitudes towards the use of aggression and power, established authority and cynicism level. After participating in a program of communication activities and reflective roleplays the students were tested again to determine the level of attitudinal change. The key findings of this study demonstrated that significant attitudinal change occurred in the participants and that they considered themselves to be better able to understand why existing constraints were in place. The study also indicated that a program which utilises roleplay and implemented within the also found that there communication activities can existing school organisation. It also found that there is a need for change in teacher perception and school structure to accommodate students with social/emotional difficulties.
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ItemTeacher's management of learning in small groups in science classes( 1993)Established curriculum documents in Victoria recommend group work as an effective teaching strategy but the implementation and management of such groups is poorly understood by many teachers. This study investigated two management strategies which differed in the degree of role attribution amongst group members and the effect of the strategies on communication, behaviour patterns and achievement on a problem solving investigation. Students in three parallel year eight science classes from one school were observed over an eight week period. A low level and a high level management strategy were randomly allocated to each of two classes and used to manage group work. After four weeks the management strategies were exchanged. The third class, which was used as the control, was managed in a way which was more typical of a traditional science class. Randomly selected groups of students from each class carried out a practical problem solving investigation as a pretest, then again at the completion of the first four weeks (phase 1) and again after the completion of the second four weeks (phase 2). Student conversations within groups were recorded and coded to identify levels of communication types. Students' written reports for each test were assessed and scores analysed. Teachers completed an observation schedule to identify styles of leadership and types of group behaviour within each class. It was found that the use of the low level management strategy, in particular, did increase the relative frequency of communication at higher cognitive levels, those of conceptualisations, as compared with the control treatment. Problem solving skills as measured by achievement on the written practical investigation improved over time and there was a significant effect in the area of "making measurements" when the management strategies were used as compared to the control treatment.
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ItemInfluences at work on the shaping of a Catholic girls' secondary school( 1989)1988 is the twenty-fifth year of the existence of Ave Maria College, a girls' Catholic secondary school at West Essendon, established in 1963 by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. This thesis endeavours to trace the forces which shaped it - the sociological, religious, political and economic forces which influenced its growth. It examines the background and development of the College under the guidance of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, the handing over of the College to the the Catholic Education Office on the departure of the sisters in 1975, the subsequent administration by an Interim Board of Management and its eventual development as an autonomous College within the Catholic Education system, and the laitization of the College which is a feature of many Catholic secondary schools of the 1980's.
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ItemMethodological issues in the calculation of enrolment retention rates( 1982)This study examines the methods used in calculating age- and grade- retention rates for secondary schools in the Victorian education system. It focusses on the methodology' used to obtain these statistics rather than on applications of the generated statistic. However, the administrative uses for which retention rates are calculated have been considered. As a consequence of applications of the retention statistic being diverse and requiring considerable detail to be fully understood, their discussion will be reserved to a separate appendix (see Appendix I, The Collection and Use of Enrolment Data in the Victorian Education Department). The use of school data to calculate retention may be regarded as an attempt to overcome the problems faced in collecting individual pupil data. The latter would necessitate the tracing of all individuals in each age-cohort separately over that time, a task requiring data-collection methods which are yet to be made available. ''Apparent" retention rates, as they are usually called, are used on the assumption that they are unlikely to differ from "exact" retention rates, those rates obtained when individual data is used, at least in the case of aggregates greater than the individual school level. Any errors resulting from this assumption can possibly be reduced by altering the method of calculating apparent retention rates. This thesis investigates a number of different approaches of calculating retention rates with this aim in view. This thesis does not attempt to reveal anything new about the factors which affect retention. However, it is clear that in exploring new methods of calculating retention, the influence of these factors must be kept in mind. Such factors may be of long-term rather than short-term influence or they may be an aggregate one rather than one which is exhibited at a particular school. The literature on the subject is equivalent to much of the work on social differences in educational achievement, since retention rates are in one respect the most rudimentary index of school achievement, the length of schooling. Thus, no attempt has been made to offer a review of the general literature. Instead, monographs or reports most relevant to the methodological aspects are cited in the footnotes at the appropriate points, or discussed within the text when necessary.
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ItemVision and practice in Catholic schools( 2000)This research examined the way in which a group of principals, teachers and parents from three Catholic primary schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne perceive the translation of vision into practice in their schools. This paper provides an account of the background literature examined, the methodology used, the data collected and conclusions drawn.