Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe role of an early childhood educator in children's emerging literacy( 1996)During the two years of this semi longitudinal study, one early childhood educator reflected on and developed her practice. The particular focus of this study was the pre-school children's literacy development and how best this could be facilitated and supported. Action Research was chosen as the most suitable research methodology which enabled the investigation to develop in an iterative manner. In the first instance an analysis of the literature concerning children's early learning, their literacy development and the role of the adult during these early years was reviewed. The next stage involved a critical evaluation of both the provisions and resources for literacy in the pre-school classroom under investigation and also the most appropriate role for the teacher in relation to these children's emerging literacy. While the focus of this study has been the development of the teacher's knowledge base and practice, it was also possible to monitor the literacy development of the children from ages three to six years. In addition, highly favourable results were obtained by those children who took part in the study when they were compared with others who did not after the start of formal schooling. Consideration has also been given to the role of parents of these children in the pre-school environment and their role with respect to childrens emerging literacy.
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ItemThe impact of the National Training Reform Agenda and workplace rearrangement on staff development in Australian academic and state libraries( 1997)In Australia, the combination of a changing workforce profile, the changing nature of work and industrial agreements and the changing role of education and training gave rise to the National Training Reform Agenda (NTRA). The main aim of the NTRA is to increase the competitiveness and productivity of Australian industry through industry responsive reform of the vocational education and training system. The development of a National Framework for the Recognition of Training (NFROT) and nationally endorsed industry competency standards, along with The Training Guarantee Act (1990), were intended to ensure that the Government’s major reform program for education and training for Australian industry took effect.
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ItemBiliteracy development through early and mid-primary years: a longitudinal case study of bilingual writing( 1999)This thesis reports a five-year study of bilingual literacy development. Utilising Systemic Functional Grammar (Halliday 1994) and genre and register theory (Martin 1992; Martin & Christie 1997), the study analyses daily literate production of a simultaneously bilingual child in the majority (English) and minority (Russian) languages, from pre-school through the first four years of schooling. The longitudinal case study is complemented with comparative analysis of texts written by the child's class peers. Until recently, bilingual studies have focussed on children's developing oral fluency, whereas emergent biliteracy has received marginal attention, being largely limited to learning to read. This study examines the patterns of early biliteracy development, including the influences of minority literate practices on the majority language writing. The study demonstrates that the child's control of writing developed significantly in both her tongues, showing a movement from early scribbles, to typically congruent choices, to emergence of abstraction and metaphor. The scope of fields explored included fictional and non-fictional (both personal and "researched") topics. The choice of themes was influenced by the school curriculum expectations, as well as by the child's interests and reading experiences in both her languages. Majority writing revealed considerable development of English genres promoted at school, whereas minority writing was more advanced in types of texts linked to family values and interests. The study thus establishes a taxonomy of the child's emergent written text types in English, and reveals her successful development of control over the genres characteristic of the English-speaking literate culture. In her minority language, the child constructed texts drawing on personal experiences, such as personal letters, as a means of maintaining personal communication with relatives and Russian-speaking friends. Also, the minority literacy came to be used as a tool for academic learning in familial contexts. It is argued that minority literacy learning has influenced the child's learning to write in English. Thus, the patterns of the child's familial language uses on some occasions stimulated the emergence and development of some English written text types. In addition, the topics explored in reading and talking in the minority language were sometimes drawn upon in English fictional and factual writing. The study also provides examples of direct scaffolding of English written genres in the process of child-parent conversation, by largely using the child's family language. It is argued that scaffolding resulted in more mature text construction, via the joint negotiation of meaning. The study shows that the child's English writing performance was comparable to, and on many occasions superior to, that of the better-achieving monolingual students in her class. It is therefore suggested that development in literacy in the child's minority tongue enhanced her English competency. Overall, it is argued that learning to read and write in both her tongues allowed the bilingual child to participate effectively in the literate practices of the majority and minority communities. Her progress in developing biliteracy was to a considerable extent a result of the cognitive and linguistic stimulation which the child had available in the home.
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ItemAccessing the discourses of schooling: English language and literacy development with aboriginal children in mainstream schools( 1998)This thesis reports on aspects of an intervention program in literacy and language development implemented for Aboriginal children at Traeger Park School in Alice Springs. The study proposes that the provision of access to academic/literate discourses for Aboriginal children is an issue that has been either avoided or devalued generally in Australian linguistic research. This negative orientation has been particularly prevalent in mainstream linguistic studies which have followed Labovian (ie. Labov 1969) perspectives on notions of difference/deficit since the 1970's.
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ItemMentoring in Australian organisations and its relevance to lifelong learning( 1998)Mentoring has been a popular adult development practice for centuries predating Homer’s Odyssey (c.800 BC) from which its name has been derived. Myths, legends, oral histories and factual accounts attest to its significance to date (e.g. King Arthur and Lancelot; Jesus Christ and Simon Peter; Spirit dreamings and aboriginals). Although various cultures have placed different emphasis on the importance of mentoring, it has been defined consistently as describing situations where experienced, wise and esteemed members of a culture, mentors, assist usually younger but always less experienced members, mentees, to achieve a level of personal excellence not attained previously. Mentoring has derived its lasting international influence from a tacit understanding of its process and benefits. Specific elements within the mentoring process such as mutual trust, reciprocal respect, influence of gender, enriched teaching, enhanced learning, roles and functions relevant to adult development have been noted and discussed often in previous studies. Alternatively, hidden factors such as the interplay of intellects, emotions, attitudes, values, beliefs and ethics have received minimal attention. This thesis, which comprises sixteen case studies including medicine, law, finance/business, multimedia technologies, public service/women, defence forces/intelligence/men, and education in diverse organisations, focuses on mentoring’s influence upon individual learning with particular attention to the development of superior performance, excellence and eminence throughout the life span and issues in a new theory of mentoring in the Australian context. To provide the appropriate infrastructure for the construction of this theory of mentoring, qualitative methods were employed; these were supported by statistical analyses of demographic data, especially prepared and adapted computer assisted graphic organisers and a non verbal, multimedia animation. The present study is considered significant for several reasons. The concept of mentoring seemed to be recognised yet scant research concerning its value had been initiated in Australian contexts. There is no comparable Australian study of its size, type or organisational diversity preceding it. Secondly, the organisations which participated in the study were diverse in character yet they recognised mentoring’s efficacious role in professional, organisational and personal development. In particular, the emergence of personal development, as an important consideration within the workplace, was novel. Thirdly, this study offers a theory of mentoring for the next millennium and thus contributes to new knowledge in its field. It illuminates mentoring’s importance in the learning process of individuals, irrespective of whether they are mentors or mentees, by bringing to light its hidden elements in concert with its observable factors. Finally, previous studies have not utilised similar combinations of qualitative methods, demographic surveys, cybernetic diagrams and multimedia support to assist interpretation and depiction of elements which comprise mentoring. In summary, the purpose of the study has been to note similarities and differences between the components of mentoring in the organisations studied; examine the observable elements of mentoring; explore hidden aspects of its process; and, finally, to develop a theory of mentoring which advances our knowledge of the field.