Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemEquity of access to higher education in Australia : discussion and analysis of issues( 1991)This thesis is concerned with examining policies that have been advocated by successive governments in Australia from 1974-1990 in relation to promoting equity of access to higher education. The thesis outlines the theoretical aspects of equity and reviews the relevant research conducted in Australia and overseas. There have been several attempts to promote equity of access to higher education in Australia: fees were abolished in 1974, TEAS was introduced to replace existing scholarships, AUSTUDY replaced TEAS in 1987, retention rate to year 12 increased from 30% to over 60% in 1990, certain groups were targeted as disadvantaged groups and were afforded special entry, and finally the "White Paper" saw the introduction of the HECS or Graduate Tax in 1988. Research in Australia carried out during the late 1970s and early 1980s suggested that there was a considerable under-representation in higher education of children from the lower SES groups. This pattern appears to have continued despite efforts to promote equity. The analysis carried out in this thesis suggests that there are still many concerns related to equity. It is likely that the HECS will have the effect of increasing the price of higher education and will therefore act as a deterrent to students from less affluent backgrounds, and it may significantly effect part-time and external study. Whilst there appears to be considerable funding for AUSTUDY it may well be not sufficient to encourage students to enter higher education. Of the students entering higher education recent research has suggested that the social mix has remained unaltered. What is certainly not known is the social mix of graduates. If policy has been effective one would expect the social mix to be more balanced. Research needs to be conducted to monitor the impact of HECS to see whether higher education is becoming less available or more equitably available.
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ItemInstitutional influences on approaches to teaching within a flexible university : a cultural historical investigation( 2010)This study investigated the teaching approaches of two business academics located within an Australian university developing its flexible teaching and learning practices over the past twenty years. The interview subjects are highly regarded educators with formative backgrounds in on-campus or off-campus distance teaching. Each has had a long professional relationship with the researcher in her centrally situated position's as an educational developer within the institution. A review of the student learning literature pertaining to teaching and learning approaches in the higher education sector over the last thirty years, shows that "teaching approaches" can influence "student learning approaches"(Ramsden, Paul 2003) and outcomes, (Biggs, J. 2003; Lizzio, Alf, Wilson, Keithia & Simons, Roland 2002) however "institutional influences" upon teaching approaches seems to be substantially overlooked. (Kernber & Kwan 2000) The academics were invited to participate in this study agreeing to retrospectively review and discuss their teaching in three progressive phases of their working history. They were invited to consider their teaching approach using the Approach to Teaching Inventory (Trigwell, Prosser et. al. 2005) in order to reflect upon their personal positioning (Harre September 2004), institutional practice and societal rhetoric in relation to an academic life in various periods of their teaching history. Discursive analysis has been undertaken of the resulting conversations guided by Cultural Historical Analysis Theory, (Vygotsky 1978, Engestrom 1987). This investigation reveals profound institutional influences on the approaches of teachers to their work. Influences on academic life have usually been studied independent of the Higher education teaching and learning literature. This study points to an urgent need to integrate these research interests to inform understanding of material transformative activity for policy makers in higher education.
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ItemLearning for independence : the learning experience of some East Timorese scholarship students in Australia 2001 - 2005( 2007)The people of East Timor voted for independence in a UN sponsored referendum in 1999. The departing Indonesian Army left widespread devastation in its wake. In 2000 the first students left independent East Timor to take up scholarships around the world to help build its human resource. This thesis reports on research into the learning experiences of some members of the early groups of East Timorese scholarship students at different universities in Melbourne. Their experience during the scholarship period is analysed through the framework of adult learning including formal, non-formal, informal and unintentional learning. The students have learned English, taken their studies seriously, created their own community, and, through the support movement for East Timor, have had a range of opportunities to participate in the host community. Despite their formal educational experiences, they are enthusiastic learners committed to contributing to the development of East Timor. This thesis indicates that educators and those in the community support movement can learn from, and contribute to, the learning experience of future students from East Timor. It discusses some attitudes in the student community, shows the students' learning from observation of, and. participation in aspects of the Australian community, and their imagination and citizenship commitment in adapting their learning to the East Timorese.. context.
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ItemPreparing for university : a case study of students in a tertiary preparation course( 2003)Courses that prepare students for tertiary study have been developed in Australian TAFE institutes and universities in response to high dropout rates and government policy aimed at increasing opportunities for tertiary study. One such course, the Adult Tertiary Preparation (ATP) course, at Certificate IV level of the Australian Qualifications Framework, and in particular, its core subject, Language and Learning, was the focus of this study. The aim of the study was to identify and explain changes in characteristics of readiness for self-directed learning, and subsequent changes in identity, in the students enrolled in this course. A group of ten students, broadly representative of the total intake, was interviewed and observed at the beginning, middle and end of the year-long course. When asked to reflect on how they had learned, most placed emphasis on the course content, structure and processes, and on the various forms of participation afforded them within the class group. For some people, relationships with other students, teachers and the wider TAFE community made an important contribution to their learning, with personal preferences for learning in particular ways influencing the direction of skill and identity development. All those who completed the course developed higher aspirations about their future educational and vocational directions. Implications for the future development of the ATP course and its core subject, Language and Learning, and other similar courses and subjects, are discussed.
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ItemNo common view: Chinese students and Australian graphic design education( 2007)Graphic design relies on the use of visual elements to communicate and transfer messages to a predetermined audience. The effective implementation of graphic design solutions is consequently highly dependent on the societal and cultural influences that have shaped our understanding of the world. International students and local teachers often do not share this knowledge and as a result outcomes produced by international students in post-secondary graphic design education programs often do not meet teacher expectations. This research project used a qualitative approach; it employed the field methods of interview and visual analysis to gather data. The study followed three Chinese international students and their Australian teachers through the realisation of individual design projects. The cases were selected from three different post-secondary settings, using three course specific projects. This allowed for variation in actual situations to be observed, thus increasing project scope and depth. Chinese students were selected because they form the largest minority of international student in each of the environments. All participants in each case were interviewed at three stages: after the brief presentation, after the first critique and at project completion. The project aimed to track the processes of teacher and student alike, observing mismatch in expectations, processes and decision-making. The data collected provided the opportunity to identify points of choice and variation between study pairs, as they occurred. This data then allowed analysis of the complex, multilayered differences that influenced misalignment in practical outcomes. To achieve this, interview data was analysed to extract, review and align processes to final design outcomes. The visual data, in the form of the project design solution, revealed how the misalignment was manifest in the student's work. These two data sources provided insight into attitudes and beliefs of both teacher and student. The research has revealed variation in teacher and student visual meaning and design processes from the outset of the project. This variation is manifested in the final design outcome and visually reveals how meaning and aesthetic values are shaped by socio-cultural knowledge. The study shows that the misunderstanding between teacher and student is not a simple linguistic matter, but stems from differences in underlying assumptions. The need for open and transparent discussion of these assumptions in the highly subjective domain of graphic design is evident.
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ItemVision and reality: what are the experiences and perceptions of overseas students enrolled in a year 13 Foundation Studies course in business offered in a city university?( 2001)Internationalization has become one of the 'buzzwords' in Australian education. For most Australian educational institutions, internationalization meant an unprecedented influx of overseas students enrolling in their courses. This thesis will consider the mismatch of expectations between students from the Asia-Pacific region in a tertiary education institution in Australia. What is the mismatch of expectations? What is its extent? How does it come to exist? How does it manifest itself? These questions have been explored in focus group discussions with students from the Asia-Pacific region currently attending a Year 13 Foundation Studies course in a city university. The research found a mismatch between student and staff expectations due to miscommunication and cultural values.
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ItemNetworked learning/learning networks: a case study of constructivist pedagogies in an online post-graduate higher education setting( 2004)The study investigates teaching and learning practices in an online postgraduate higher education setting. It is concerned with how networked teaching and learning practices are organised in space and time. The first part of the study sets the scene and explores the diverse � literatures of online education, which include functionalist, socially critical and post modern accounts. The ontological variety of these accounts is discussed with the writer concluding that actor-network theory has something to contribute to understanding the complexity of socio-technical practices. This section closes with consideration of the methodological approach and ethical concerns of the study. The second part of the study is concerned with discussion of the data stories. These stories tell tales of the shaping and reshaping of learning technologies. They talk of teachers and programmers as network builders, seeking to attract, recruit, enrol and mobilise entities. The stories relate some of the compromises made when the network shudders with dissent or the unexpected and the patchwork done to hold the network together. This section also speaks of networked spaces as uncertain, intersected spaces. It closes with a discussion of how ICTs un/settle learning networks and of the ways in which entities manage their multiple memberships through numerous renegotiations. The third and final section concludes the study. It analyses the data stories and finds that actor-networks are porous and vulnerable. Suggesting that when entities maintain membership in multiple networks identities are constantly contested and redrawn. In lifting contested practices up to view, the study proposes that dis/order might be a positive feature of learning in networked environments. This final section includes some discussion of the implications for the University. And, most importantly perhaps, it makes a call for a new vocabulary, a new way to describe the flows of net(work).
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ItemThe Colombo Plan and the internationalisation of Australian higher education( 2000)This thesis will examine the changing role of international education in the period since the inception of the Colombo Plan from 1950 up to the mid 1980s. In particular, the research concentrates on the Plan's Technical Co-operation Scheme. The first questions to be addressed concern the motivating factors behind the inception of the Colombo Plan from a local (Australian) perspective linked to regional and international influences. The second set of questions concern the way that Australian policy makers perceived the Technical Co-operation Scheme and the role that sponsored students played in achieving the goal of this scheme. This will be done by looking at the values and practices that linked the Plan with the gradual development of marketisation of international education in Australia.