Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 21
-
ItemReporting on school performance in Victoria, an international perspective and implications for school leadership( 1996)Social, economic, cultural and political trends can change in nature and importance over time and influence government schools systems. The degree of precision and the style with which the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a government school system monitors school performance varies over time and can be inconsistent with that which has been used by his predecessor. The government school systems of England and Victoria are examples of school systems that appear to have experienced similar stages of development and have shared similar social, economic, cultural and political trends. These changes have produced inconsistencies for schools in those systems over time. Employees within government school systems are required to respond quickly to changes in their roles and responsibilities. Field officers who work with schools on behalf of the CEO can become a liability to the school system as ambivalence towards their role develops in schools and as technology for reporting on financial matters as well as student achievement and other aspects of school performance improves. The feelings of those employed within a school system can be a major barrier to their coping with inconsistencies brought about by change. One view is that adaptation to this inconsistency can be assisted by having access to incentives to adjust to change or by having an understanding of one's own inconsistencies. Government school system organisation as well as leaders can influence the behaviour of teachers and students and therefore, arguably, influence school performance and how it is reported. Possible changes in the cognitive activity of principals and teachers that might be influenced by feelings and associated with ambivalence, can also be connected with the concepts of transactional and transformational leadership and school system organisation. It appears that, ultimately, the continued existence of government school systems might well depend upon the extent that schools within those systems accept the authority of the CEO.
-
ItemAn investigation into early childhood science within an emergent curriculum framework( 1997)A considerable interest in the concept of emergent curriculum has been generated by the early childhood centres of Reggio Emilia in Italy. This study traces the progress of a science project on spiders in an Australian early childhood centre which purports to have an emergent curriculum. In particular, this study sought to answer the question: What form does a science learning project take in an early childhood class that purports to have an emergent curriculum philosophy? What are the processes involved? What are the roles of the main players? Was this curriculum truly an emergent one? How did it fit with the different perspectives being taken to emergent curriculum in the literature? Did science learning take place? How did this learning fit with current views on science learning in the literature? Using a participant observation approach, this study looks at factors that characterise the processes and the players in this project and considers these in the context of current views on emergent curriculum and early childhood science. Results indicate that while the curriculum in this centre was clearly ‘emergent’, it differed in some minor aspects from both the Reggio Emilia model and the American model of emergent curriculum. The approach used was consistent with the social constructivist approach to science teaching and was clearly conductive to the children's science learning. The study shows that emergent curriculum is a very appropriate approach for science learning.
-
ItemThe role of the Curriculum Co-ordinator in selected independent girls' schools( 1994)The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the Curriculum Co-ordinator in selected independent girls’ schools in relation to Schwab’s (1983) model and to elaborate his theory in practice. Three Curriculum Co-ordinators were asked to participate in the study, the methodology of which involved diary keeping and interviews based on the programme used by Wood (1992) in the professional development of senior staff. The general findings of the study supported the usefulness of Schwab’s model and proposed a typology of leadership styles of curriculum deliberation showing its relationship to management and policy determination in the school. (For complete abstract open document)
-
ItemThe network nation : the relevance of this for possible educational and general public administrative structures and strategies in the 1980s and 90s( 1983)In this thesis consideration is given to the inter-relationships between a number of key concepts and reports in educational and general public administration which have been produced over the last decade. Networking is the inter-connecting concept. In the first half of the thesis the emphasis is on the current relationships between the key themes and educational and general public administrative structures and strategies. In the second half a variation on the “brainstorming” technique (involving purely the author rather than a group of individuals) has been used to produce a scenario of possible educational and general public administrative structures and strategies in the 1980s and 90s (with and emphasis on the possible inter-relationships between these structures and strategies, the key themes, and communication networks) A case study then follows which links the key themes and the scenario by including discussion of one senior educational administrator’s perceptions of probable futures for a particular education system. It is concluded that there is great potential for new technologies to assist with the restructuring of educational and general public administration. Recommendations on how this could be achieved are given.
-
ItemCulturally different and successful?: case studies of gifted Vietnamese secondary students( 1993-01)There is concern in the literature that gifted children from ‘culturally different’ populations, such as Hispanics and Blacks, are underrepresented in special programs due, in part, to the often insensitive traditional methods of identification used that do not detect particular abilities that are valued and promoted within that particular culture. Contrary to these findings, studies indicate that gifted Asians are in profusion. They present themselves as excellent, motivated students and it is almost expected that they will achieve highly in the areas of mathematics and science. The focus of this paper is a study of seven highly capable secondary school boys of Vietnamese background. In several of these cases the children have had huge hurdles to overcome including the death of a mother, escape by boat, life in a refugee camp, parents whose skills are not being utilised as well as being ‘different’. Despite this they have been successful. A case study approach was adopted to look at the nature of these students, the role of the parents and the attitudes towards giftedness. The aim is to present a holistic view of the child rather than obscure their unique characteristics in a muddle of statistics of a large scale study. This paper takes the position that it is dangerous to make such generalisations and that although gifted from the same cultural group will have certain similar traits, the assumption that common values will automatically apply to them should be curtailed as the particular circumstances of the individual child leads to different manifestations in each.
-
ItemSpiritual health: its nature and place in the school curriculum( 1998-04)As spirituality first appeared in Australian curriculum documents in 1994, it was important to establish how educators thought it related to student well- being. In this research a description and four accounts of spirituality - spiritual rationalism, monism, dualism, and multidimensional unity - were developed from available literature. The literature also revealed four sets of relationships important to spiritual well-being. These were the relationships of a person with themself, others, environment, and Transcendent Other. The model of spiritual health proposed here claims that these four sets of relationships can be developed in corresponding Personal, Communal, Environmental and Global domains of human existence, each of which has two aspects - knowledge and inspiration. Progressive synergism describes the inter-relationship between the four domains. The quality of relationships in the four domains constitutes , spiritual well-being in each domain. Spiritual health is indicated by the combined effect of spiritual well-being in each of the domains embraced by a person. The principles of grounded theory qualitative research methodology were used to investigate the views of 98 teachers from a variety of schools near Melbourne. Feedback from 23 Australian experts, on the researcher’s definitions, is discussed. To encompass all the teachers’ views of spiritual health, to the initial categories of Personalist, Communalist, Environmentalist and Globalist, a fifth category was added for the small group Rationalists, who embraced the knowledge, but not the inspiration/transcendent aspects, of the first three domains of spiritual well-being. All the teachers believed spiritual health should be included in the school curriculum, most rating it of high importance, two-thirds believing it should be integral to the curriculum. The teachers’ major curriculum concerns focussed on Self, Others, the Transcendent, or Wholeness. Investigation of those teacher characteristics seen as important for promoting spiritual health, with associated hindrances and ideals, showed variation by gender, personal view of spiritual health, major curriculum concern, teacher and school type. Greatest variation was noticed when comparing school type. State school teachers emphasised care for the individual student from a humanistic perspective. Catholic school teachers were concerned for the individual, with religious activities being implemented by dedicated teachers. Other Christian school teachers focussed on corporate, not individualistic, activities, and emphasised relationship with God. Other non-government school teachers emphasised tradition, with attendant moral values. Implications of these variations on school choice are discussed. Principals’ behaviour, speech and attitude were considered by the teachers to be vital in providing opportunities for spiritual development in schools. A 30-item Spiritual Health Measure (of Humanistic and Religious Aspects of Spiritual Health) was developed using the researcher’s model of spiritual health and data from 300 UK teachers. The SHM should be useful as a diagnostic for individuals or groups to provide base data from which to plan enhancement of their spiritual health. This thesis contains an analysis of how well the Victorian Curriculum & Standards Framework provides guidelines for promoting spiritual health. A position of responsibility, called Spiritual Facilitator, is proposed to help ensure that the rhetoric about spiritual well-being is put into practice in schools.
-
Item"BRIGHT Kids" (Ballarat region's intellectually gifted and highly talented kids) : the background and establishment of a parent support group and teacher network for gifted and talented children in the Ballarat area( 1996)The study is an historical account of the formation of a parent and teacher network for gifted and talented children in the Ballarat area, named BRIGHT Kids [Ballarat Region’s Intellectually Gifted and Highly Talented Kids]. A case study approach was used with the researcher being the founder and therefore a participant observer in the development of the group. To obtain an evaluation of the setting up and development of the group, a questionnaire was sent to all who had attended BRIGHT Kids meetings. Conclusions were drawn from a consideration of the author’s perspective and the responses from the questionnaire.
-
ItemYou can learn things: television in the lives of Vietnamese teenage girls in Melbourne( 1994)This study addresses the ways in which women and ethnic minorities are represented in the Australian mainstream media, in particular television, and what teenage Vietnamese migrant girls do with the representations they encounter. The literature reviewed includes research and theories about psychological acculturation or cross-cultural adaptation; content analyses of television, exposing the ethnocentric and patriarchal nature of the programs and advertisements screened in Australia; feminist and post-structuralist approaches to the study of television; and ethnographic television audience studies. An ethnographic case study approach was employed to explore the television viewing habits of twelve sixteen to eighteen year old Vietnamese girls living in Melbourne. It was found that the girls were watching television regularly, both for pleasure and with a keen desire to learn. The implications of what they are learning from a media which promotes dominant ethnocentric and patriarchal views is discussed, and whether this has a negative impact on the girls' sense of self and development of identity is questioned. While it is difficult to draw direct conclusions on such issues, it can be said that the girls do not feel part of mainstream Australia and possibly will not until they are recognised by the media. Some of the implications for education and schools are also discussed.
-
ItemFrom theatre to communication: the application of theatre techniques to an orientation program for overseas students( 1994)This thesis is a reflective account of my teaching in a program for non-native speakers of English from the Asia and Pacific region, preparing to enter a tertiary system that was vastly different from their previous educational experience. My contribution was to design a compulsory Drama course to train the students in acting techniques to improve their overall communication in a Western English-speaking context and to assist them with integrating the new ideas. A distinctive feature of my course is an extensive study of non-verbal communication through mime and movement activities. In 1993 the period of reflection led me to an important discovery. With the assistance of the Action Research model of plan, action, observation and reflection, devised by Kemmis and McTaggart, I was able to articulate and understand my methodology for the first time. What I had supposed was instinctive, was in fact a thoughtful and systematic process emanating from my background knowledge of drama and experience in professional theatre. This approach, influenced by the philosophies of Grotowski and Stanislavski, enabled me to respond to the students in such a way that I could adapt the curriculum to suit both their academic and personal needs. The students showed the interpersonal skills required to begin development as professionals in Australia, as well as managing the challenge and choices required of them to live in contemporary Australian culture whilst they were students. Without these skills, many aspects of their personal identity were threatened. Further, I recognised that my process as a teacher, solving the pedagogical problems in the development of a responsive curriculum, paralleled the preparation of actors for performance. This thesis documents the exciting journey of my reflection and analysis.
-
ItemProvision for the education of Catholic women in Australia since 1840( 1988)An historical perspective of the Religious Orders of women which entered the Catholic education scene in nineteenth-century Australia, and an appraisal of their adaptation to the forces within Australian society which influenced their provision for the education of Catholic women in this country as they operated under the powerful direction of the bishops.