Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemAn evaluation of the National Studies Program( 1999)This study focuses on the National Studies Program, which is one of the activities Emergency Management Australia (EMA) and, more specifically, the Australian Emergency Management Institute (AEMI) has supported and undertaken. Since its inception the National Studies Program has consisted of workshops, seminars and study periods which explored multi-disciplinary aspects of emergency management. All these activities were designed to enhance prevention, preparedness, response or recovery capabilities or to further community understanding. The National Studies Program has evolved in an unsystematic manner. An evaluative review of how it has evolved, combined with the collection of information from involved individuals has provided a means of making the program more relevant, better presented with improved outputs and outcomes. In this study, data were collected and analysed from archival records and interviews. A needs assessment was undertaken to determine the gap between what is currently the case and what should be, in order to determine a set of recommendations for improving an existing program. This evaluation was undertaken by an internal evaluator so the study should be seen as a contribution to the insider for insider category of evaluation practice. It is therefore expected that because of the evaluator having a stake in the program the recommendations will be effective and be utilized.
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ItemOrphan in the Pacific : a drama teacher's lived experience( 1999)This is a qualitative study of the lived experience of a drama teacher over a six-year period as she journeys from neophyte to experienced teacher. The study examines how an individual experiences the phenomenon of teaching drama and explores how teaching interconnects the private and professional lives of the drama educator. As the teacher-researcher I collected and analysed data from my own practice in order to reflect on my teacher life history. This study aims to establish what it means to be a drama educator and define the 'good' drama teacher. The research was conducted in three education settings. It is presented in the narrative style of the 'hero's journey' outlined by Vogler. The autobiographical narrative constructed from the various participants' voices reveals how the context of the settings in which the events took place impacted upon the teacher's life story. The study illuminates the multiple roles played by the drama teacher in her personal and professional lives. It provides an understanding of the needs of the beginning and experienced drama educator; and the importance of teacher life histories to make sense of the drama teacher's working life.
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ItemEffect of congruence in measured interests on self-perceived academic competence in Australian Year 12 students( 1999)The link between interest and quality of learning experience in school has attracted voluminous research in recent years. Varied conceptions of interest, however, lead to gaps in our knowledge about the nature of the empirical linkage between interest and the quality of learning. In the light of Holland's theory of interest and model of person-environment interaction, the present study, unlike the previous studies, conceptualises interest as an interaction between generic interest as an individual characteristic and the nature of the learning environment. Subject-level interest is thus seen as resulting from the congruence of generic interest and the content of the individual school subjects chosen for study. Several recent Australian investigations have shown strong links between Holland's RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional) generic interest themes and students' subject and course choices. These links make it possible to investigate the effect of congruence between generic interests and school subject choices on the learning experience of students. The data of this study derives from a 1993 National Survey on school subject choice in approximately 10,000 Australian Year 12 students. The perception of academic self-concept in students, as a facet of quality of learning experience, is focused upon as a criterion for testing the effect of congruence between generic interest and school subject choices of the students. Investigation of the empirical relationship between congruence and students' perception of academic self-competence is facilitated by the mathematical expression of congruence which is formulated by Hesketh and Myors (1997) as a multiplicative term in a multiple regression analysis which also includes terms for student background characteristics, interests and curriculum fields studied. Further, to control for the possibility of clustering effects at the school level, multi-level regression modelling was used. The study found a positive relationship between congruence in interest and improvement in students' perception of academic self-competence, net of background (gender and socio-economic background), interest, and curriculum field participation, for four of the six congruence terms investigated. It was interesting to note that the effect of congruence was mediated through self-perceived interestingness in the curriculum studied. That is to say, students who chose school subjects congruent with their generic interest found their studies more interesting and their belief in their academic self-competence stronger than their non-congruent peers. It is recommended that curriculum planners and counsellors take account of the positive psychological impact of congruence between generic interest and school subject choice in designing 'interest congruent' learning experiences and in assisting students make congruent choices in Year 11 and 12.
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ItemEnterprise skills and teaching( 1999)The issue of enterprise in secondary education has become a major focus in recent years. Given its relative infancy, little research has examined this concept. This study examines the various definitions of enterprise, listings of skills that exist, and proposes a redefinition of the notion of enterprise. Enterprise is an area of knowledge valued in business transactions that is characterised by certain behaviours and needs to be taught. The teaching of enterprise is treated in a similar manner to the teaching of thinking skills and the conditions under which it can be taught. This exploratory study examines teacher knowledge of the generic cognitive skills associated with enterprise which have been identified, and the extent to which teachers believe they foster these behaviours in their students. Fifty-three teachers from a range of independent and government schools were surveyed. The results suggest that when a broad definition of enterprise is used teachers have a strong belief in what skills are important in indicating enterprise behaviours in their students and are able to identify these skills. The results also indicate that teachers believe many of the enterprise skills are not being encouraged in their students. Type of school and gender does not appear to play a significant role in determining these teacher beliefs, but contrasts did emerge between subject areas when teachers were examined on the extent to which they believed they fostered these behaviours. To this point there has been no empirical data on which skills should be considered enterprising. Future studies would need to examine what skills are considered core and peripheral, how different contexts can encourage the teaching of enterprise skills, and the development of teachers' personal and professional values where there is little domain specific knowledge. In the light of this study four recommendations are made.
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ItemA study of some of the factors which influence the second language learning of Auslan by adults( 1999)At present Australian Sign Language (Auslan) is taught as a LOTE (Language Other Than English) to mainly adult populations in TAFE institutions across Australia and its popularity is growing steadily. Many of these second language learners are looking to a career in the Deaf Community and allied organisations or in the education of deaf children where in a growing number of programs a high level of Auslan competence and an in-depth knowledge of the Deaf Community and its culture are essential requirements. Sign language research is still very new and is mainly concerned with such areas as linguistics and the structure of Auslan, Deaf identity, comparisons between spoken and signed languages and the role of Auslan in the education of deaf children. There is much pioneering work to be done in these areas working from the Deaf perspective. However, little research has been carried out in the area of adult learning of Auslan as a second language from either a teaching or learning point of view. This is becoming more necessary as the number of adult AusIan learners increases. This work describes a study that was carried out in 1998 in a TAFE college in Perth, Western Australia. It is one of the first studies to address some of the issues concerning the adult second language learning of Auslan. Working from the vast body of second language research in spoken languages, certain psychological, sociological and individual personal variables that influence the adult second language learner of spoken languages have been applied to Auslan learning. The effects of these variables on the adult second language learner of Auslan from both a teaching and a learning point of view are the subject of this study.