Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe holistic nature of literary knowledge : a perspective of authorial meaning and legitimate significance as a unique aesthetic experience( 1986)Literary knowledge represents the state of affairs in the holistic nature of literature. Within the scheme of co-ordinates that constitute the holistic nature of literature, legitimate aesthetic experience cannot occur unless a valid interpretation of meaning is considered as the probable intention of the author. Understanding meaning initiates legitimate aesthetic experience as opposed to an aesthetic awareness that inadvertently distorts authorial intention to satisfy wishfulfilment gratification of the audience. Validity in interpretation implies satisfying the conditions of knowledge, in that agreement in .judgements about literature is possible. Yet, though meaning may satisfy the conditions of objectivity, each legitimate aesthetic experience is peculiar to the individual's empathic relationship to the valid interpretation. . The significance of the text may be an ineffable aesthetic experience which is a self-evident form of knowledge. The synthesis of Hirsch's theory of 'meaning and 'significance' with Hirst's belief that literature is ? 'unique form of knowledge' gives a dual nature to, and foundation for, the epistemological status of literature. Consequently, there is justification for teaching literary knowledge in texts and procedural knowledge for construal of valid interpretation. Interpretation and criticism have different functions. One attempts to give coherence and objectivity to textual meaning, while criticism imbues a valid interpretation with a 'unique' knowledge that is relative to the dynamic of history and the dialectic of criticism. If students are to perceive in some degree the holistic nature of literary knowledge, then trainee teachers ought to be familiar with the synthesis of Hirsch and Hirst which is a primary principle both in the construal of textual meaning and in the attempt to express legitimate aesthetic experience.
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ItemClinical teaching styles : an evaluation by clinicians and students( 1987)This study examined an important aspect of clinical education - clinical teaching styles - from the viewpoint of both students and clinical educators. In February 1986 physiotherapy students in their third year of the Bachelor of Applied Science course at Lincoln Institute and physiotherapy clinical educators from Lincoln Institute and metropolitan and country hospitals viewed videotapes of three teaching styles and completed a questionnaire which required the respondent to rate these styles. It was hypothesized that clinicians and students would observe and react to the presentation of styles from different perspectives and therefore their ratings of the styles would differ. The results show that this hypothesis is confirmed in that while both groups preferred the "prompting" style to the "explanatory" and "non-intervention" styles, there was also a statistically significant difference between students and clinicians in rating the "explanatory" style - students higher than clinicians. Neither group rated the "non-intervention" style as helpful to learning. Students also differentiated between the effectiveness of styles for different aspects of their treatment of patients; clinicians rated the "prompting" style as appropriate for all clinical tasks. Clinical educators should take account of these differences in perception of teaching styles which may influence the effectiveness of the clinical learning experience of students.
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ItemMontessori mathematics education : its contribution to contemporary mathematics theory and curriculum( 1987)Montessori education has a long and continuing tradition. The mathematics education component is founded upon an extensive sensory education programme developed by Dr Maria Montessori and implemented in schools throughout the world. This thesis traces the historical precedents that provided the framework for the development of an educational programme firmly premised on the need for a sensorial education. The translation of the first part of Montessori's 'Psicoaritmetica' provides an illustration of an introductory mathematics programme using structured manipulative materials. This programme develops as a direct extension of the sensory-motor emphasis of Montessori pre-school education. Finally, the Montessori mathematics programme, developed initially over fifty years ago is considered in relation to contemporary mathematics education theories, many of which have reiterated principles and practices first developed by Montessori.
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ItemWord processing training in Perth, Western Australia: a comparative study( 1985)This thesis, entitled "Word Processing Training in Perth, Western Australia: A Comparative Study", aims to identify and analyse the range of training options available in Perth for secretarial personnel who wish to pursue careers in the word processing field.
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ItemPoetry with teacher and without: an aspect of group work in English( 1980)Recent research suggests that students are, without being directed by a teacher, capable of understanding and appreciating poems through small-group discussion. This study compares junior secondary student response to poems in two types of small-group discussion, teacher-directed and undirected. It investigates (l) differences between group types in students' verbal response, (C2) the relative success of group types in engendering positive attitudes towards poetry, (3) factors contributing to the success or otherwise of the discussions and (4) the adequacy of the research instruments employed. Analysis is made of transcripts of three discussions by each of eight groups. Data provided by these transcripts is used to examine the concept of literary perception, resulting in an extension of a current thesis to include two further perceptions. The study would suggest that teacher intervention may be an impediment to students' appreciation and enjoyment of poetry, that group structures may affect response and that it is possible to discern a model of literary perception.
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ItemThe public examination of English in Victoria : a study of one external influence on the secondary school English curriculum( 1980)The secondary school English curriculum was determined by groups outside schools during the period 1944-1974. External domination of teaching content and methodology was ensured by a system of Public and Matriculation Examinations which empowered agents of the universities to prescribe courses and to assess students' performance in those courses. The University of Melbourne exercised these functions through its Professorial Board and the Schools Board before relinquishing its powers to the Victorian Universities and Schools Examination Board in 1965. Statute and tradition allowed these bodies to establish themselves as a centre apart from schools, and to legitimise their authority through the institutionalised processes of prescription, examination and review of performance. The effect of these processes was to subordinate schools, teachers and pupils. There was immense inertia in the Victorian system of external prescription and examination. Courses and examination papers remained essentially unmodified for long periods. Significant development in the conception and content of English courses occurred, effectively, only at Year 12 in response to social and educational pressures which had previously led to the withdrawal of Public Intermediate and Leaving Examinations. Broadening the goals of H.S.C. English did not, however, signal diminished control over curriculum from the centre. The fact of competitive examinations at the end of secondary schooling continued to shape content and methodology in the earlier years. Competitive examinations engendered in schools, teachers and pupils a narrow conformity, the results of which can most clearly be seen in the failure of the Class A system to produce school-based curriculum initiatives of any substance. The effect of external prescription and examination of English courses was profound. Relationships between teachers and pupils were strongly mediated by the system, reducing the autonomy of both by subjugating their intentions to the instrumental demands of evaluation. So much of a student's 'life chance' depended upon examination success that teachers and taught were continually constrained to focus their attention on the tasks expected in examinations. Fragmentation, in line with the different sections of examination papers, rather than integration became, therefore, the organising principle for teaching aimed at developing those techniques believed to be essential for success in the examination game. External examinations dictated that the English classroom was a place where pupils met to prepare for their encounters with examinations rather than to explore the nature and richness of experience through literature and their own use of language for real ends. The system of Public and Matriculation Examinations established in 1944 was a potent influence on the secondary school English curriculum. The system rested upon a powerful, conservative centre whose legitimacy was so thoroughly entrenched that it was able to admit reform only on its own terms. Thus, it was possible after twenty-five years of relative stasis to negotiate evolution in the details of the school English curriculum without alteration to the essential power relationships. After thirty years, English teachers were still without autonomy. Year 12 English courses continued to exert the pressures and to exact the dependence which had constrained mother tongue studies throughout secondary schools since 1944.