Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemA study of the notion of role in relation to the behaviour of full-time mature students in a regional college( 1979)The study seeks to analyze the motivations and performance of forty-five mature students in full-time courses in a regional college from the theoretical perspective of role. Role theory and empirical studies based on the literature are outlined and queried; a hypothetical model is set up, to ascertain the supposed behaviour of adults entering 'a re-socialization experience', and this is tested against findings from the study itself. The conclusion is that role theory has a limited validity as in explanation or predictor of adult behaviour, particularly in a complex society, and that many factors, environmental as well as philosophical, must be taken into account in assessing adult behaviour. Nevertheless, role behaviour can be seen as an element of behaviour, particularly the behaviour of older adults; it has less application to younger adults.
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ItemThe admission process and initial performance of mature-age students who enter higher education via non-academic routes( 2004)This study examined a subgroup of mature-age students who had entered university via non-academic routes. The study sought to identify the group; examine the admissions processes used and the efficacy of the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) within those processes; and explore how the students performed in their first year of study. For the purposes of the study, 'non-academic background' was defined as non-completion of secondary school and/or limited study since leaving school. Data was gathered from a subgroup of applicants through VTAC, and from three case study Schools, via student questionnaires, staff and student interviews and general results data. Only small numbers of mature-age students from non-academic backgrounds enter university, consistently about 3 - 5 per cent of the first year population across Australia. This is a smaller rate than in the past. While the focus of admissions requirements is based on evidence of academic ability, there are still routes available for applicants to provide other forms of evidence. STAT remains a well-regarded instrument for providing evidence of academic potential. On the basis of the study's findings, the admission of students from non-academic backgrounds appears to be a worthwhile exercise, both for the university, which gains committed, high performing students, and for the students themselves, who are able to achieve personal success while preparing for a career change that they hope will be satisfying.
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ItemCompletion and non-completion amongst TAFE marketing students at a university of technology( 2001)The numbers of TAFE Marketing students who do not go on to complete the Advanced Diploma of Marketing at Swinbume University of Technology is substantial. This problem has been researched as part of this thesis with a view to identifying those factors, which distinguish persisters from withdrawers. Previous research covering the higher education, vocational and further education sectors, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, has identified a number of personal factors, institutional variables and environmental factors which increase the tendency of students to withdraw from courses of study. This study involved conducting a survey of a sample of 165 part-time and full-time students enrolled in the Advanced Diploma of Marketing at the Hawthorn, Wantima, Croydon and Lilydale campuses of the Swinbume University of Technology for the first semester of 2000. The study found that withdrawers are less likely to be satisfied with the standard of teaching, are less likely to have undertaken the course to gain entry to another course, are less likely to consider that their employment prospects will be enhanced by completing the course and are less likely to be satisfied with the extent of their intellectual development and are more likely to be enrolled as a part time student. The tendency of students to withdraw from the course was not affected by satisfaction with services provided by the university, the degree of their social integration, their ability to balance the academic workload of the course with competing demands, personal problems, demographic variables or educational background.
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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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ItemThe construction of art in the secondary classroom: an investigation of the theories of Pierre Bourdieu( 1996)This thesis examines aspects of the theories of Pierre Bourdieu as they apply to art education. The study investigates whether Bourdieu's theories are supported by the real life histories of teachers and students. The research utilises the life history approach to investigate three factors which Bourdieu argues are significant in determining a student's chances of success in art education. The three factors are the socio-economic background of the student, the way in which art education tends to construct correct ways of making art and viewing art, and the values of art and schooling as reproduced through the family. This thesis shows how complex the structures are which construct what is taught in schools, and argues that altering the way teachers teach art does not necessarily alter what is valued by the teacher within the art classroom. The thesis discusses the way boundaries are constructed for students and that these boundaries influence the way students make and talk about art. This thesis argues, therefore, that for students to be successful within art education they must adhere to the parameters set by the teachers and the school.
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ItemUndergraduate course preferences of students with some previous tertiary education( 1982)The thesis is an examination of the factors which affect the course choice of applicants to tertiary institutions. The sample is taken from the 1977 applicant cohort registered with the Victorian Universities Admissions Committee. The applicants in the sample are those who had already been enrolled in tertiary educational institutions for at least one year, prior to their application in 1977. The aims of the study are to examine the effect of previous tertiary experience, employment experience, age and sex on the course choice of the applicants. The data used in the study were taken from:. application files held by the Victorian Universities Admissions Committee. The results of the analysis are compared with the results of studies carried out in Australia and overseas which described the vocational and educational choices of students entering tertiary institutions for the first time, and subsequently transferring to other institutions in some cases. The main difference between this study and those which preceded it is that the applicant sample in this study contains persons aged from seventeen years to more than sixty-five years, whilst previous analyses had been confined in the main to the young applicants. A comparison is made between the course choices of the young applicants, aged 22 years or less, and the older applicants, aged 23 years or more. The results of this study are similar to those already published. Nevertheless some new information about the effect of the Victorian tertiary education system - the number and nature of the institutions - on the choices of applicants is presented. In addition the study makes available a comparison of age groups which has not yet been attempted elsewhere. The study shows that applicants of all ages have two objectives: the first, to obtain a qualification which will enable them to find satisfying employment; the second, the study a course which provides them with interesting activity which enables them to find personal satisfaction. In the main students wish to undertake the second objective at a University, whilst vocational training is sought at. a variety of institutions. The prestige and academic standing of the institutions is an important factor in the determination of the applicants' choices, and as a result many are not satisfied in their application.
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ItemManufacturing student organisations: a study with particular reference to Melbourne University, 1880 to 1914( 1995)The foundation of a University poses an interesting problem: will the new institution simply be an imitation of an existing University model, or will it involve an adaptation of different models. The resolution of this problem will in turn determine many aspects of the University's structure and operations, including that of the particular forms of student organisations that will emerge. Universities that are based on faculty-structures tend to have a tradition of faculty-based student organisations, while collegiate-based universities tend to possess college-based student organisations. Phenomena that raise interesting questions about Universities that possess both faculties and colleges. In the case of Melbourne University during the period of 1880 to 1914, the basic structure of the University (faculties and colleges) was emerging, as was a tradition of faculty and college based student organisations. In addition, other types of organisations also emerged which drew their members from different parts of the University. Most notably were the early student 'unions' which explicitly sought to bring all students of the University together, and to create a sense of student solidarity based on one's university, rather than one's faculty or college, membership.
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ItemThe cognitive styles, learning strategies and vocational interests of South-East Asian and Australian students( 2003)Many factors are involved in the way an individual gains an understanding of Mathematics. Their cognitive style, i.e. way they code information for further processing in the brain, is one of these. The learning strategies that they use when a mismatch exists between their preferred style and the material presented to them is another. Riding and Rayner (1998) have developed a model for the whole learning process which contains two dimensions of cognitive style, the Wholist/Analytic and the Verbaliser/Imager dimensions. In the same way as individuals have different preferred cognitive styles, they also express different vocational interests. Holland (1985) developed a model for describing and assessing these vocational interests, the RIASEC model. Cultural factors may influence both an individual's preferred cognitive style and their vocational interests. This study investigates the effect of cultural factors in both these areas, looking particularly at the cultures of South-East Asia and Australia and the cognitive styles and vocational interests of students undertaking a first year university Mathematics course. Cultural differences were found in both areas. Students from South-East Asia (27 males and 17 females) tended to have a more visual cognitive style than Australian students (27 makes and 16 females), particularly when they learnt to read first in a character-based language. In accordance with the values of their Confucian-heritage background, the students from South-East Asia scored more highly on Holland's Conventional scale than did Australian students. In this study, support was also found for several aspects of Riding's Cognitive Control Model. One of these was the use of a Complementary cognitive style as a learning strategy when a mismatch occurred between an individual's preferred learning style and the material presented to them.
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ItemPersonality development in college students: the application and extension of the Perry scheme( 1986)In order to investigate 'personality development' in students attending a provincial College of Advanced Education, forty education students - twenty Year I and twenty Year III students - participated in semi-structured individual interviews. 'Personality development' was operationally defined in terms of the concepts and measures provided: the Perry Scheme (1970) assessed the intellectual and ethical growth, while the Ego Identity Status Measures (Marcia, 1966) and the Self Processing Criteria (Touchton et al, 1977) assessed personality growth. Quantitative and Qualitative analyses of the data supported the general hypothesis that students did mature, in terms of their personality growth, during the time spent at college, with Year III students gaining the higher ratings on all measures. The application of the Perry Scheme to the present population and its extension to other measures provided some interesting results and suggestions for further research. It was recommended that tertiary educators may need to consider developmental theory in their programs in order to foster personal and professional growth in their students.
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ItemRecruits to the professions: the backgrounds, dispositions and performance of students entering engineering, law, medicine and teaching( 1971)This study is about what happens to students in university professional faculties. The investigation from which most of the observations come is a longitudinal study in which students are followed from the time of first enrolment until they leave university (by graduating or without a qualification) and beyond into the early years of work. The theoretical perspective is professional socialization. (From introduction)