Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses
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ItemGirls' participation in science subjects in secondary schools in Kenya( 2010)This research aims at uncovering girls' participation in sciences in Kenya at secondary schools so as to provide a comprehensive picture that has been previously overlooked when researching under-representation of females and girls in science and science related careers. The study will help the government of Kenya through the Ministry of Education find out the causes of girls' participation in science and how to help them improve in science performance which is anticipated to improve the lifestyle of the girl-child in Kenya. A qualitative inquiry with case study aspects method was employed for this study with a descriptive case study design. Stratified purposeful sampling was used and data were collected through open-ended survey questionnaires using two groups of participants from State House Girls High School in Kenya. The findings of this research show that an assumption that girls hate science is unfounded. In fact there are a range of complex attitudinal factors and influences present. As this research was based in one single school, it would be of value to focus similar future research on multiple sites and external beyond this year group to track pathways from school into higher education careers.
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ItemWhy do some learn more easily than others? What physical factors influence effective learning?( 2010)Many children are identified as having a problem with literacy. This study was designed to look for possible links between learning difficulties and neuro-physiological development, particularly in the areas of basic neurological development, sensory motor integration skills, retention of primitive reflexes and the development of postural reflexes. Forty grade 1 and grade 2 students between the ages of 6:01 and 8:03 years (M = 7:01), their teachers and their parents participated in the study. Of these 40 students, 20 had been identified by the school as needing literacy support (Group 1) and 20 were achieving typically for their age (Group 2). Group 2 students were matched with Group 1 students for gender, age, class and school. Children with English as a second language or those who had been identified as having any intellectual or physical disability or any diagnosed condition were not included in the study. The groups’ neuro-physiological development was tested by using the Quick Neurological Screening Test (QNST), a series of sensory motor integration activities and Goddard Blythe’s reflex tests. Further data was collected from teacher and parent questionnaires and from an interview with the child. This study found that the children in need of literacy support did not perform as well as their ‘typically achieving’ peers in many areas. They did not perform as well in basic neurological testing, they experienced a higher degree of difficulty with sensory motor activities, they had a significantly higher level of retained primitive reflexes and under developed postural reflexes and their teachers also indicated that they had more difficulties in many physical areas. The study provides further evidence that there is a link between learning and neuro-physiological development, and that children struggling with literacy are also often struggling with underlying physical/developmental difficulties. The results suggest that when educating children with learning difficulties, teachers should have a good knowledge of the physiological mechanics of the way a child learns and to be able to identify and address such things as retained reflexes and sensory motor integration issues so that both cognitive and neuro-physiological factors can be addressed. The implications of the study and suggestions for further research are discussed.
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ItemLiberal education, Heidegger and digital information technology( 2010)Digital information technology in contemporary education has generally been represented as a tool for which students need to become appropriately skilled in order to be thoroughly prepared to participate in society. This has meant that the utilisation of digital information technology in schools has often been accompanied by instrumental attitudes. Such approaches characteristically view technology in terms of its usefulness and relevance for passively facilitating the intentions of human actions. Supported by this instrumental understanding, it has been assumed that digital information technology has a neutral and benign influence on education. In this thesis I shall argue that the instrumental approach which has accompanied the utilisation of digital information technology in schools fails to recognise the negative influence which it can have on the achievement of liberal educational aims. Here I have focused on both “classical-humanist” and “modern” liberal aims of education (Miller, 2007, pp.185-186), which emphasise the development of the student’s personal culture and sense of autonomy. I shall employ Heidegger’s interpretation of modern technology in a critical appraisal of the instrumental way in which we relate to technology so as to show how this can lead to dimensions of our existence becoming technologically determined. Heidegger’s (1993a) suggestion to poetically reflect on technology to access a “saving power” (p.334) that may avert this determinative capacity is then considered as way to develop alternate understandings of digital information technology. To facilitate further development of alternate understandings of digital information technology I have examined the technical properties which differentiate it from other forms of technology. Central to these properties is the process used to digitise ‘real world’ or analogue information. This process can have significant influence on determining dimensions of our existence by privileging digital data which is more compatible with the functioning of this technology. In contrast, I explore the practices of post-digital artists so as to demonstrate how expressive responses to digital information technology have been achieved which appear to acknowledge Heidegger’s saving power. I will conclude by proposing a post-digital approach to education which both supports liberal educational aims and counteracts the possibility of technological determinism inherent to instrumental approaches to digital information technology.
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ItemUnderstanding accounting for TAFE hospitality and tourism students( 2010)Experience as a TAFE accounting teacher indicated to me that understandingaccounting is difficult to grasp for customer service learners, specifically hospitality and tourism students. These learners place an emphasis on social-emotional awareness, self presentation and getting along with others, in their decision-making. Despite that, understanding TAFE accounting may be enhanced by previous studies in the VCE (Yr12 schooling), such as Accounting. Qualitative fieldwork at William Angliss TAFE in Victoria, explored students’ and teachers’ experiences, theorised within adult education literature, to establish recommendations to improve this and similar ‘work-ready’ courses.
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ItemPedagogical strategies and the techno-savvy student: an investigation into the pedagogical strategies used by secondary school teachers( 2010)This study investigates the pedagogical strategies used by teachers in the classroom to cater for the techno-savvy secondary school student. The research in this study supports this view and provides the implications this has on teaching and learning in today’s classroom. The thesis seeks to explore the pedagogical strategies teachers use in the classroom and identify potential practices deficient in the use of ICT by teachers, along with the reasons behind this. The aim of the study was to consider how current pedagogy can improve the student learning environment, encourage self-motivation and engagement within the classroom. This thesis argues that students have a close relationship with technology, one that has begun at a young age. Their fascination with technology is cultured by a medium which allows them to express themselves and to communicate with a complex world. By using ICT within the classroom, teachers are able to tap into this, which in turn, can increase student participation, motivation and engagement. The research process comprised of gathering information through a series of interviews with teachers and students over a two month period. The significance of this study is that it has shown that students prefer to work with technology when completing class work, rather than more traditional methods of reading a textbook, copying down notes from the board and writing in their exercise book. This study has shown that traditional teaching approaches need to be reconsidered by teachers and contemporary approaches using ICT along with the right pedagogical strategies can change the face of teaching for the better.