Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemStudent expectations of the future( 1992)Specific aims of the study To investigate how present-day students view the future and their place in the workforce of the future. To establish whether or not students regard their present educational experiences as an adequate preparation for their future work. To investigate acceptance of unconventional futures scenarios as possible futures.
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ItemThe impact of the zone based professional development program, "Skill review and professional development", on knowledge, understanding and practice within selected school communities( 1995)While engaged in documenting a retrospective account of a zone based professional development program, Skill Review and Professional Development, which aimed to support school communities in the implementation of skill review and professional development according to the Tripartite Agreement on School Development Planning, I reflected on a statement by Harwayne (1992): 'We take courses. We attend workshops. We read books, We get lots of information. But the really important information comes later on. It comes when we take that seed information back to our classrooms, when we experiment and innovate and invent, when we make it our own. The story really is 'to be continued' (p.337 ). This reflection led to the following questions which drove my investigation: # has the 'seed information' collected during the program been taken back to the school level?; # have school communities been able to 'experiment', 'innovate' and 'invent' in order to make skill review and professional development their own?; and, # in what areas has the zone based professional development program, Skill Review and Professional Development, impacted at the school level? The information gathered to discover the answers to these questions was qualitative in nature and comes from those involved directly with the delivery and implementation of the program. The information draws on what happened at the zone level and what is now happening at the school level. The gathered data took the form of words: written and anecdotal; record and document observations; and transcripts of discussions and interviews, as words captured the spirit of the happenings. The writings of Joyce and Showers (1987), Joyce and Weil (1992), Fullan and Stiegelbauer (1991), Hargreaves (1992), Fullan (1993), Johnson (1993), Guskey (1994) and others have helped make sense of the impact of this program at the school level.
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ItemThe politics of curriculum( 1999)This thesis seeks to document the development, establishment and subsequent demise of Victoria's first independent regulatory body of senior secondary curriculum and assessment, the Victorian Institute of Secondary Education. Analysis of the origins of VISE helps reveal the implicit social conflicts at work within the senior secondary curriculum. The thesis investigates the response of policy makers to the shift in senior secondary education from an 'elite' system to a 'mass' system in light of this conflict. The thesis argues that these responses in general, and VISE's in particular, while significantly expanding school control over the curriculum and pedagogical autonomy, failed to moderate social patterns of success and failure by not challenging the implicit rationale behind the curriculum hierarchy - the needs of the university for selection - and by failing to base curriculum policy on a wider understanding of the origins of such patterns.
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ItemIntegration : an investigation in post-primary schools( 1993)This study presents an account of integration policies and the integration of students with disabilities into mainstream post-primary schools in Italy and Victoria and other selected educational systems. A small number of case studies illustrates how some schools have reconciled their own policies to fall in line with their national educational policies. The organisational structures of secondary schooling and, within them, the provision of programs for the disabled and atypical students both overseas and in Victoria are examined and outlined. Comments are made about particular strengths and weaknesses of the various implementations of similar policies. The thesis concludes by providing a fist of areas which need to be addressed in planning further developments in integration.
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ItemCurriculum and programme provisions for gifted and talented children in Victorian J.S.H.A.A. schools( 1992)This study has surveyed the provision of programmes for Children with High Intellectual Potential (C.H.I.P.) in Victorian member schools of the Junior Schools Heads Association Australia. Fifty-nine schools were surveyed; fifty-four responded, representing some 19,000 junior school children. The survey was divided into six sections covering staffing provisions, curriculum and programmes, definition of gifted children, identification procedures, changing perspectives and importance of C.H.I.P., and subscriptions to journals. The literature search was divided into two distinct sections. Within the Australian context the review was historical, marking the modern beginnings of education for C.H.I.P.. There is a dearth of literature with Australian origins on gifted and talented children. The late seventies and early eighties uncover some material, basically funded and inspired by the Commonwealth Schools Commission. The emphasis is on surveys of programmes. The conclusion is clear that what programmes were operating were ad hoc in nature. This was inevitable, as teacher training for C.H.I.P. was non-existent. In the early eighties, promising programmes in the Victorian Education Department and the Catholic Education system were quickly quashed by a change of government. Major writers such as Gallagher, Maker and Van Tassel-Bash identify three distinct curriculum models, the Content, the Process/Product and the Epistemological. There is no evidence at this stage to suggest that the Victorian C.H.I.P. programmes are anything more than ad hoc. They do not fit into the three identified curriculum models. In-class provision is the main methodology, with programmes based on Bloom's Taxonomy or the Sato/Kaplan Differentiated Curriculum. Many schools are not yet operating strongly founded theoretical based programmes, and are clearly moving without direction. There is lack of understanding of the concept of C.H.I.P., even though identification procedures are quite sophisticated. Interest in teacher in-service appears to be growing rapidly. There is clearly a crucial need to provide pre-service courses at teacher training institutions. The major need for C.H.I.P. is for the Commonwealth government and the Ministry of Education in Victoria to develop and implement a policy on gifted and talented children.
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ItemSociological aspects of service provision for people with intellectual disabilities in Victoria( 1993)This study examines relevant principles within the context of changing values and social structures, that underline the policy initiatives to support people with intellectual disabilities. It contains information about the system of service delivery in Victoria, its history, functions, developments, strengths and weaknesses. It investigates the effectiveness of service delivery to adults with intellectual disabilities by Adult Training Support Services (ATSS) within both the private and government sectors. Differences are drawn in the approach and understanding of normalisation and integration principles between the three selected ATSSs. The study measures the degree of success made by the implementation and outcomes of their respective programmes. This reflects the way the whole service system operates. Finally the service provision system was examined in terms of the minimum conditions necessary for a social system to function.
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ItemChange management for teachers in the restructuring of Victorian education( 1995)The subject of this thesis is change management for teachers in the restructuring of Victorian education. The introduction outlines the restructuring policies for Victorian education and consequent changes in the past decade. Chapter One, the Literature Review, looks at some of the literature written about policies, the nature of change, the place of values and vision in the change process, professional development, leadership and the devolution of power and resourcing. This literature forms the basis for the questionnaire asked of D.S.E. participants to obtain data. Chapter Two, methodology, discusses the nature and implementation methods and questions for collection of data from personnel. Chapter Three states the findings of the data collected from the questions asked of D.S.E. personnel. Chapter Four consists of an analysis and discussion of the findings referred to in Chapter Three in light of the literature discussed in Chapter One. Chapter Five is a discussion of conclusions drawn in light of the Literature Review, questionnaire responses and the analysis of these. Overall, the thesis concludes that given the time frame of the restructuring implementation, resourcing for Professional Development, planning and implementation needs to be reassessed.
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ItemAn investigative model for implementing the Certificate of General Education for Adults( 1995)The study is concerned with the implementation of the competency-based credential, the Certificate of General Education for Adults at two different education providers in Victoria, Australia. It establishes one model of implementation derived from theoretical research into educational change management and from selected documentation of competency-based credentials in the UK and Australia in the period 1988 to 1994. The model is tested at the Study Sites, for acceptability to teaching and co-ordinating staff, using selected variables. It is also used to collect data on the implementation experiences of the respondents. Data collected confirms the acceptability of the model to respondents at the two Sites and the statistical insignificance of differences in the responses. Interpretation of the qualitative data on implementation provides information on the characteristics of the change itself and the roles and influences of associated parties, including teachers and management and external policy makers. It identifies some themes of successful change management, notably the importance of monitoring implementation processes, collaboration among parties involved and the value of initiative taking. Evidence of the organisational and pedagogic impact of the implementation, at the study sites, is assessed. The role, content and focus of an encompassing professional development program, which emphasises collegiality, partnership and flexibility, as an essential adjunct to successful implementation, is explored.
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ItemImpact of changes in Victorian government policies on the provision of schooling for primary school students with disturbing behaviour( 1998)The purpose of this study is to investigate the provision of schooling in Victoria, for children with problems arising from disturbing behaviour in regular schools. It is these students who have difficulty learning, and cause problems for peers and teachers. This problem has attracted more attention in recent decades than ever before as educators and parents seek solutions for these students. The impact of changes in government policies in Victoria, especially the introduction of the Schools of the Future Program, on students with disturbing behaviour is examined, together with effective means of supporting these students, their teachers and parents. The investigator defines disturbing behaviour and how it has been addressed in schools, particularly in Victoria. She examines the Schools of the Future Program, particularly Global Budgeting and its impact on school policies and programs, focussing on the effect of these provisions in schooling for students with disturbing behaviour. The investigator has conducted a study of school principals in the area centred on Ballarat in order to examine their reactions to recent government education policy changes, and their effects on the schooling for such students. She discusses the implications of these changes for students with disturbing behaviour, including the most recent societal changes involving the youth of today, for example, the State Government initiatives addressing Drugs and Youth Suicide which have impacted on support and resourcing to schools, across the state.
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ItemA history of Therry Regional College, Broadmeadows( 1997)The post-war period saw secondary education in Australia in a state of turmoil. Problems of overcrowding, a narrowly academic curriculum, combined with insufficient and unqualified staff, affected both government and non-government secondary schools, The Catholic secondary system had additional problems: the declining numbers of Religious, the increased presence of lay-teachers, and the 'Catholic dream' of a Catholic education for every Catholic child. Catholic educational authorities sought an economical solution to the problems besetting secondary education. Based on an American model, regional secondary schools were established across Melbourne to provide Catholic secondary education for Catholic youth. Therry Regional College, Broadmeadows, was one such Catholic regional secondary college. This history of Therry Regional College, Broadmeadows, examines the College as a Catholic regional secondary school administered by the Christian Brothers in the north-western suburbs of Melbourne. The school's growth paralleled changes in two major areas: Government funding, and the administration of Catholic schools by the Catholic Education Office. The significance of community is examined in relation to the changing faces of the people of Broadmeadows. This history of the College reflects the history of the local community: it is a story of struggle and courage in adversity.