Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemCatholic higher education in Victoria : a survey based upon the careers of matriculation students, 1950 to 1955( 1966)The survey was based upon a complete census of the students from Victorian Catholic schools who presented for Matriculation between 1950 and 1958, and followed their careers until the end of 1964. The-first part compared the results of the Catholic and of the other schools in Victoria taken together. At Matriculation level, the students from the Catholic schools performed at least as satisfactorily as the students from the other schools. This was,due, however, to the boys rather than the girls, whose results were less satisfactory, than those of the other girls. At university level, the Catholic results in the first year examinations, as far as the limited data permit one to judge, appeared to be below the level of the other students; but when all years were taken into account; there was no significant difference in overall performance of the Catholic and other students. The second part of the survey studied the factors that determined the success or failure of the Catholic schools, and comparisons were made solely between Catholic schools. There was no significant difference between the results of Catholic boy and girl students in their best three subjects in a single presentation for Matriculation, nor between their pass-rates in the first or first three years in the university. The unmatched teaching institutes showed significant differences within each sex division in the Matriculation, but practically none in the first year and in the first three years in the university. The significant differences even at Matriculation, however, tended to disappear, when the institutes were matched on other circumstances influencing achievement. Finally, individual schools showed significant differences in Matriculation results within each sex division, but these tended to disappear in the first and first three years' university results. Significant differences between the results of those presenting for the first time and those for the second time, in favour of the latter, were frequently observed at Matriculation level but scarcely at all in the university. Among the other circumstances influencing achievement, at Matriculation level, socio-economic status was significant for boys' schools, in favour of the higher levels, but not for girls' schools. Size of Matriculation class was significant for boys' schools, in favour of larger classes (20 or more, compared with 10 to 19), but not for the corresponding larger classes in girls' schools (10 or more, compared with 1 to 9). Locality (metropolitan, urban, rural) was not significant for boys' schools, but it was for the girls', in favour of the metropolitan compared with the urban schools. Practically no significance was found in accommodation (boarding compared with day schools, or in educational classification (A and B class schools). At university level, the only circumstance that proved significant was size of class, in favour of schools with larger Matriculation classes among the boys (20 or more, compared with 10 to 19), and with smaller classes among the girls (1 to 9, compared with 10 to 19). On the whole, over the triennia, the standard of results for both male and female schools appeared to be improving significantly.
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ItemSelfoverestimation and scholastic success( 1977)Three weeks before the end of year final assessments at school, 133 boys from forms one, three and five at a Victorian secondary school produced a self rating (SR) in six areas, general academic ability, industriousness in maths and in English, friendliness, and predicted final mark in maths and in English. Each student also rated all other members of his class in these six areas. The composite of these scores produced a group rating (GR) of each student in each of the six areas. The SR was then compared with the GR. If the SR>GR the student was defined as overestimating himself. The other two possible outcomes of this comparison were SR=GR (realistic) or SR
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ItemImproved student learning and leadership in self-managed schools( 1998)This thesis examines improved student learning and leadership in schools under conditions of decentralisation, in a study designated the Learning Outcomes Project. In 1993, in the State of Victoria, Australia, a set of initiatives called Schools of the Future was introduced into government schools. The operation of the school system was changed from a relatively centralised system to one where much of the decision making about operations was decentralised to the school site. The impact on teachers, principals and schools has been considerable. Changes have occurred to teachers' working conditions and the accountability functions of schools through School Charters, Annual Reports and the introduction of Curriculum and Standards Frameworks (CSF) in eight Key Learning Areas (KLA). The Cooperative Research Project, a joint venture of the Victorian Secondary Principals' Association, the Victorian Primary Principals' Association, the Victorian Department of Education and The University of Melbourne, conducted a series of investigations into the processes and outcomes of Schools of the Future, including this study. The Learning Outcomes Project sought to investigate links from the reforms associated with decentralisation in school systems to improved student learning. This is a critical and vital area for research where little concrete evidence is available to support the benefits of decentralisation in relation to improved student learning. Previous studies have found the benefits of decentralisation to be mainly operational and managerial. A qualitative methodology was adopted to seek evidence of improved student learning in schools and explore leadership function under the conditions of decentralisation. Four schools that claimed improved student learning agreed to be part of the study. A conceptual framework was developed that allowed actions at school level be traced through the reforms to improved student learning. The leadership dimensions and strategies suited to schools under conditions of decentralisation were studied with the aid of a conceptual model, using a new model of educational leadership. Causal links from the reforms of decentralisation to improved student learning were mapped. This study reinforces the difficulties of making causal links. The findings indicate that improved student learning under conditions of decentralisation is evident in certain circumstances where clearly defined pathways are established from the reforms to improved student learning. It was shown that direct pathways to student learning were consistently and directly evident from Curriculum- CSF Implementation and Professional Development in all schools and were developing from Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting. The causal maps defined pathways which could be used by schools to monitor improved student learning in Schools of the Future. Leadership suited to decentralised systems was shown to require strong and balanced leadership across the six dimensional model used in this study. It was further shown that leadership dimensions that were not strong in the principal needed to be evident in other leaders for effective curriculum implementation to occur. Useful trends which may be relevant to other schools were found in this study. However, due to the favourable conditions in which this study was conducted across a small number of schools, further research is necessary to validate these findings and caution may be needed if using the findings in other settings.
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ItemSocial area indicators and educational achievement( 1982)This study was concerned with the development and validation of a national indicator of educational disadvantage which would be suitable for guiding resource allocation decisions associated with the Disadvantaged Schools Program in Australia. The national indicator was constructed by using a series of stepwise regression analyses in order to obtain a linear combination of census based descriptions of school neighbourhoods which would be highly correlated with school mean achievement scores. A correlational investigation of the properties of this indicator showed that it was an appropriate tool for the identification of schools in which there were high proportions of students who (1) had not mastered the basic skills of Literacy and Numeracy, (2) displayed behavioural characteristics which formed barriers to effective learning, and (3) lived in neighbourhoods having social profiles which were typical of communities suffering from deprivation and poverty. A theoretical model was developed in order to estimate the optimal level of precision with which indicators of educational disadvantage could be used to deliver resources to those students who were in most need of assistance. This model was used to demonstrate that resource allocation programs which employ schools as the units of identification and funding must take into account the nature of the variation of student characteristics between and within schools. The technique of factor analysis was employed to investigate the dimensions of residential differentiation associated with the neighbourhoods surrounding Australian schools. Three dimensions emerged from these analyses which were congruent with the postulates of the Shevky- Bell Social Area Analysis model. The interrelationships between these dimensions and school scores on the national indicator of educational disadvantage presented a picture of the 'social landscape' surrounding educationally disadvantaged schools in Australia as one in which there were: high concentrations of persons in the economically and socially vulnerable position of having low levels of educational attainment and low levels of occupational skill, low concentrations of persons living according to the popular model of Australian family life characterized by single family households, stable families, and separate dwellings, high concentrations of persons likely to have language communication problems because they were born in non-English speaking countries.
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ItemInfluences on the academic progress of males in a TAFE business course : a case-study approach( 1998)This study is concerned with the academic achievement of young Post-VCE male students undertaking the TAFE Associate Diploma of Business (Marketing) at Swinburne University of Technology's Hawthorn Campus. All had failed to secure a university place. The research sheds light on the influences that contribute to an apparent lack of achievement among these young men while in TAFE. Specifically, it identifies, as significant, inflated expectations of their academic ability, threatened identities as successful learners, the socio-cultural construction of masculinity in their predominantly middle-class secondary schools, and their perceptions that TAFE is best suited to tradesmen. These many influences on academic outcomes can be drawn into two interrelated themes concerning socio-cultural constructions of hegemonic masculinity within their secondary schools, and how this generates a particular view of what it is to be a successful male learner. Thus conditions are established under which these young males have a tendency to over-estimate their academic ability, leading to unrealistic course choices at the end of VCE, which then positioned them for failure. Their inability to secure a university place was, for many, a point of rupture, presenting a threat to their identity, both as a successful learner and as a successful young man. In an effort to protect their 'threatened identities' they sought out a TAFE business course at a multi-sectoral institution to disguise their student status. However, once enrolled in this course they came to realise that their preconceptions of TAFE were unfounded, the classes were not peopled with tradesmen, and the standard was more professional and 'harder' than they had anticipated. This together with the realisation that many other students were similar to themselves, allowed them to maintain their identity as successful learners and ultimately provided them with the opportunity to articulate into a degree course or secure a valued 'white collar' position.
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ItemCreativity and under-achievement : a study of the 1992 Foundation Studies students at Victoria University of Technology (Footscray Campus)( 1993)This study investigates students enrolled in the 1992 Foundation Studies course at the Victoria University of Technology, Footscray Campus. This was a one year bridging course, for students whose Anderson Scores had been insufficient to gain them a place on a degree course. Despite their low scores, many of these students gave an impression of good academic ability, coupled with a divergent, creative approach to their work. My investigation , therefore, sought to establish # if they really were very able; # if any academic under-achievement thus substantiated could be explained by the individual's creativity. The students were investigated for # ability, using Raven's Matrices; # academic achievement , using Anderson Scores; # creativity, using the TCT-DP Creativity Test; # self-esteem, using the Coopersmith self-esteem Inventory; # personality, using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI); # personal histories, using the writing of autobiographies and a survey. A survey of literature covering research on the connections between creativity and academic achievement was undertaken. Testing confirmed lecturers' perceptions of the good academic ability of many of the students. Creativity proved not to be a significant factor in the academic achievement of the majority. However, it was implicated in the under- or over-achievement of some of the students. In most cases, issues of self-esteem were crucial in determining performance; many of the students had low academic and home/family self-esteem scores. Peers scores, however, were high, focussing on sporting and social activities rather than on study. This confirmed the E (Extrovert) preference identified for many students by the MBTI.
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ItemThe effects of imputed popularity and imputed success on self-esteem and school achievement in the eighth grade( 1977)The aim of the investigation was to study the effects of imputed success and imputed popularity on self-esteem and school achievement. 96 eighth-grade students at a Victorian country high school rated themselves and their classmates on "popularity" and "success"; performed three achievement tests (in reading vocabulary, reading comprehension and mathematics); and completed the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory; and the Otis Intermediate Test. It was hypothesized that the more "popular" and more "successful" students would attain higher scores on the three achievement tests and have higher Self-Esteem scores, than less "popular" and less "successful" students. Imputed popularity and imputed success were found to be independent. With the Otis test used as a covariate, students rated high on "success" attained significantly higher scores on the reading vocabulary and mathematics test, and on the Self-Esteem inventory, as hypothesized. Scores on the reading comprehension test were not significantly different. Students rated high on "popularity" did not attain significantly different scores on any of the three achievement tests nor on the Self-Esteem Inventory, than less "popular" students. Implications for classroom practice were discussed.
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ItemThe relationship between academic self-concept, cognitive engagement and achievement( 1999)Much research has documented the influence student self-perceptions of ability have on school achievement. Published literature has been investigating the mechanisms through which these self-perceptions affect performance. This research sought to determine the effect academic self-concept has on cognitive engagement, thereby identifying a possible mechanism through which self-perceptions of ability influence academic performance. After reading published literature in the areas of motivation, goals, academic self-concept, self-efficacy and cognitive engagement, an intervention was designed that aimed to alter student perceptions of their ability, improve their motivation levels and increase the effectiveness of their learning strategies. A self-description questionnaire was used to measure the academic self-concept and cognitive engagement of 221 secondary school science students. Repetitive administration of this questionnaire over a two month period allowed investigation of the relationship between changes in academic self-concept and changes in cognitive engagement and achievement levels of students. In addition repetitive administration of the questionnaire allowed the effectiveness of the intervention in altering academic self-concept and cognitive engagement levels of participants to be measured. Correlation analysis found academic self-concept to have a significant relationship with the cognitive engagement of the students and their test performance and was consistent with the following: 1) a negative correlation existed between academic self-concept and superficial engagement 2) a positive correlation existed between academic self-concept and active cognitive engagement, and academic self-concept and achievement 3) test mark had a positive correlation with active cognitive engagement and a negative correlation with superficial engagement, and 4) a positive correlation existed between measured changes in academic self-concept and changes measured in active cognitive engagement. One hundred and seventy-seven students participated in the intervention sessions. Students who participated in all of the required intervention sessions reported an increase in the use of active cognitive engagement strategies and a decrease in the use of superficial engagement strategies. The control group of students did not report these changes in cognitive engagement. ANOVA revealed the differences between the cognitive engagement of the experimental group and the control group to be statistically significant. The intervention did not significantly improve the academic self-concept of participating students.
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ItemSchool organization as an internal teaching context : case studies of two Hong Kong aided secondary schools( 1996)In this study, school organization is investigated as a teaching context from the teachers' perspective. The study investigates the theoretical position that characteristics of the school organization affect teachers' job-related attitudes which, in turn, affect educational outcomes. A review of the literature shows that various characteristics of school organization are related to teachers' attitudes and performance and educational outcomes of schools. In this study, the case study approach is adopted and both qualitative and quantitative research methods are used. The teachers' job-related attitudes of two aided secondary schools in Hong Kong are analyzed. The internal teaching contexts of the schools are then described in terms of structural, cultural and social relations perspectives. Factors of school organization which may affect teachers' attitudes are identified. The findings from this study provide support for previous research into the influence of teachers' working environments or the internal context of teaching on school effectiveness. Implications for efforts directed at improving workplace conditions in Hong Kong secondary schools and an agenda for further research are discussed.