Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses

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    Supporting teacher learning through professional learning teams
    Bellesini, Stephen G. ( 2004)
    The Professional Learning Team (PLT) is a relatively new concept that has appeared on the educational horizon in the past decade. Indeed they have drifted to the foreground as the impact of PLTs within schools has gained momentum with the emergence of major systemic projects. This research examines this impact in the light of one such project, the Early Numeracy Research Project (ENRP), and the way that teachers learn in a collegial environment. In analysing the data, I have attended statewide and cluster meetings, interviewed individual teachers and focus groups of PLTs in three schools that were part of the ENRP. I have identified seven aspects that emerged as integral to the work and sustainability of PLTs. These emergent themes are interdependent and each one provides an insight and link to the central theme of teacher learning. Teachers are challenged to change when they are engaged in new ways of teacher practice. Projects that are clearly defined and are linked to system and school goals provide a framework for this change and learning to be generated. Professional learning requires scaffolding that is braced together by communal reflection, sound professional and personal relationships and internal and external support. Leadership that is distributed throughout the membership and is supportive ensures that facets of PLTs can cohere together and maintain a sustainable future. The findings in my research demonstrate that teachers are receptive to the inception and maintenance of PLTs in their schools. However, I raise other possibilities in my conclusions that take PLTs beyond their initial purpose and scope within systemic projects. The evidence is irrefutable that�PLTs provide opportunities for teachers to learn in a safe and collegial atmosphere and that the outcomes of this teacher learning impacts favourably on students.
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    Key factors for change in Catholic primary schools
    Bellesini, Stephen G. ( 1995)
    Change is inevitable, and it cannot be avoided unless we live in a vacuum. Forces from within and from outside are continually beckoning adjustments. The complexity of change is evident as the combinations and permutations of a range of phenomena and events react to create a new dynamic, sometimes completely different from anything else. Key Factors for Change in Catholic Primary Schools attempts to recognise these forces and recommends factors that need consideration for this change to be authentic and moral. The research that I undertook reinforced the views of education writers (eg. Fullan), that change which is imposed has little chance of fruition, as collaboration is overlooked for false expediency. Conversely, change that evolves from a group that has a common purpose and driven by collegial leadership, is more likely to succeed. Yet there are still no certainties, as some factors lie beyond the control of good management. In particular, the parochial nature of Catholic primary schools, and the role of the parish priest has to be acknowledged. Seven key factors for positive change management are identified and in the light of certain contextual realities.