Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe preparation and development of middle leaders in Victorian secondary schools( 2021)Middle leaders in schools provide a critical link between senior leadership and teaching staff. Employing a multi-perspective case study methodology, this study looked at the common themes facing middle leaders at three Victorian secondary schools, Catholic, government, and independent, with regard to their preparation for leadership, their professional and personal development in the role, how their role is perceived by those to whom they report and those they lead, and how they determine if they have been successful in their role. At each school, the following staff members were invited to participate in the study: senior leaders, middle leaders, and teachers. The middle leaders involved in this research were actively involved in leading pastoral, academic, and/or co-curricular departments within a Catholic, government, or independent school. Semi-structured interviewing was used for the purpose of collecting their responses. The participants’ responses were analysed, and emergent themes described. A total of 56 themes with 78 sub-themes emerged from the study, covering the dimensions of preparation, development, perception, and success in leadership. Common themes raised by middle leaders were professional learning, the support provided in their role, career progression, their ability to influence school direction, level of autonomy in the role, departmental management, professional relationships, and their support of students’ achievement. The study indicates that middle leaders’ measurement of success in the role was primarily linked to student achievement in academic and social domains. A leadership development model is offered to support aspiring and current middle leaders.
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ItemTertiary music education and musicians' careers( 2018)Australian tertiary institutions offer many courses for musicians intent on working in the music industry. There has been, however, limited research into how these courses from different providers contribute to musicians’ careers. The rationale for conducting this research was to provide insights to educators on how they might design courses to meet better the needs of musicians preparing to work in the music industry. A review of the literature highlighted the concerns of educators and academics about the balance in curriculum emphasis between musical expertise and industry practice. This study examined the merits of different pedagogical paradigms through the experiences of graduates from different tertiary music offerings. Using a mixed methods approach and a descriptive, interpretive research design, this study explored the experience of tertiary music graduates and how their learning contributed to establishing their music careers. Data were analysed around three themes, (1) the characteristics of music portfolio careers, (2) tertiary music education experiences and graduate outcomes, and (3) the ongoing professional development needs of musicians for sustaining a music career. The findings demonstrate the formidable challenges of working in a music portfolio career including the self- management of a career in a precarious employment market. Such careers required a mix of work realms such as music practice, teaching and entrepreneurial activities to generate new work. Consequently, career trajectories were found to be necessarily circuitous and “messy” but there is evidence that tertiary music education is a significant intervention in the continuum of learning for a musician’s career. It is argued that there are five broad categories of proficiencies that are required first to establish and then sustain a music career. The pedagogies and course emphases from different tertiary music providers in the Australian state of Victoria contributed in different ways towards musicians’ careers. Furthermore, there were some shortcomings in requisite proficiencies which suggest the potential for further curricular development. This potential lay in both undergraduate courses to better prepare musicians for starting out in their careers, and post-graduate courses to provide further development for the sustainability of musicians’ careers.
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ItemPromoting change in teacher practice through supported differentiation of instruction in mathematics( 2019)Differentiated instruction has been shown to be effective in improving student learning outcomes; however, the resulting work load can be difficult for teachers to manage. A teaching package known as the NRP (Number Resource Package) was created to support teachers to differentiate their instruction, and used effectively in two classrooms. The package allows teachers to identify their students’ current understanding using a diagnostic test and a Guttman Chart, and then provides appropriate material for the area in which students need further consolidation. It assists teachers to identify, and provide instruction for, several different knowledge levels within the one classroom. Use of the NRP in the two experimental classes was compared with five classes that did not use the NRP and continued to follow their school’s mathematics curriculum. This study involved a quasi-experimental approach, using qualitative and quantitative data. Involved were an experimental group (two teachers) and a control group (five teachers) and a total of 147 year 7 students. The research took place in a large school in western Melbourne, Australia. The qualitative data consisted of three surveys and provided information on the effectiveness of the components in the NRP. The quantitative data consisted of a pre- and a post-test completed by students in both the experimental and control groups. These tests were completed at the beginning and the end of a nine-week teaching cycle and the learning gains were determined for each student (i.e. the difference between the pre- and post-test). There was a statistically significant difference between the experimental group and the control group when these learning gains were analysed. The results demonstrated that students in the experimental group who were taught using the NRP showed greater improvement on the post-test when compared to students in the control group. It was noted that those students who performed ‘below’ the expected level and those students who performed ‘above’ the expected level showed the most improvement in the experimental group, when compared with the control group.
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ItemMapping the landscape of language learning in Victorian independent schools( 2017)The researcher for this study was granted access to a hitherto unanalysed collection of data: the results of annual surveys on language learning of all independent schools in the state of Victoria, Australia. These surveys detailed the language learning programmes of 126,377 students in 203 primary and secondary schools in 2013. Using the methodologies of Descriptive Research and Grounded Theory, the researcher undertook quantitative analyses of the data to produce an overview of language learning across the Independent sector in Victoria, and snapshots of several languages, calculating the total number of students learning the language and schools teaching it, the location of the schools (metropolitan or regional), the average Socio-Economic Status (SES) index of the schools, the gender balance of students and the number of teachers. The next part of the study involved pursuing patterns and theories that emerged from the data. Four main issues were explored using the data from the surveys: 1. the concentration of students at primary school level in learning certain languages, and the time allocated to these languages in schools; 2. the issue of compulsory language studies, and retention rates; 3. boys and language learning; and 4. children of different socio-economic status and language learning. It was found that some languages, such as Japanese and Italian, were almost exclusively taught in primary school, but in most schools they were given considerably less than the government recommend ninety minutes per week; there was a strong correlation between the mandating of language studies and student retention, and making languages compulsory for longer was associated with higher retention rates in the final year of schooling; languages in the final year of schooling showed in general a stronger proportion of girls, but this was largely due to the strong position of French, which showed a marked imbalance between the genders; and children of low socio-economic status were more likely to learn languages in their final year of schooling than other students, but they tended to choose community languages, which had an impact on the score used to determine university entrance.
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ItemAn investigation of Samoan student experiences in two Homework Study Groups in Melbourne( 2015)This research examines Samoan student experiences in two Homework Study Groups in Melbourne using a researcher-practitioner approach. The study highlights the need for teachers to acknowledge students’ preferred learning methods, especially those of minority backgrounds like the Samoan participants in this study. Samoan symbolic meanings from traditional tattoos and decorative ornaments are used as metaphors to describe the positive responses provided by participants in this study. Similar to the way in which the tatau (tattoo) symbols used in ritual tattooing for Samoan men and women represented readiness to serve one’s family and extended community, educational aspirations and employment pathways are explored from a participant perspective as a way of serving and supporting their migrant families in Melbourne. Through a detailed investigation of the experiences of students in two homework study groups in Melbourne, this study finds that while students and their families place a high priority on learning, their cultural practices are not compatible with standard Western learning approaches. The homework study group provided a social space in which students could ask the teacher questions without fear of appearing foolish, and in which they could apply themselves to study. It provided a physical study space away from the demands that Samoan families place on their young people, and it provided a cultural space in which the students could learn according to fa’aSamoa (traditional values and beliefs). This study makes a contribution to an understanding of the motivations of Melbourne-based Samoan students to learn, of what concerns them, and of impediments to their educational success. It also offers insight into the benefits that setting up a specific space for students offers, when its specific intent is influencing the merging of traditional Samoan and Western ideas to further learning and understanding. Participants in this study indicated that Homework Study Groups provided structure and learning strategies that improved academic outcomes. It was not only a space in which participants felt they could seek assistance and support from a teacher/researcher who understood the importance of their cultural values and beliefs, it was also a space where participants felt safe to share the highs and lows of their educational experiences.
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ItemStrategies of policy steering: the transnational work of the OECD in education policy( 2013)In his thesis, Bryan Wood examined the role the OECD now plays in steering education policies of its member states. He explored the strategies the OECD has developed to enhance its effectiveness, helping to reshape our understanding of teachers' work.
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ItemLearning through simulation: powerful, purposeful and personal( 2011)Simulation has been in use for many years in the education of health professionals. The value of this as an educational pedagogy is under-researched. While there have been some valuable studies, these mostly focus on the technical aspects of simulation. The aim of this research was to examine simulation beyond the development of technical skills, to determine the validity of simulation in the development of higher-order thinking and clinical judgement. Simulation has been in use in one form or another in the development of health care professionals for many years. Until recently simulation was generally seen as an adjunct to the education and training process, and not part of the overall development of the professional. However in more recent times with the reduction in the availability of clinical practicums and the increased demand for these placements, simulation has become a more important part of the educational process. Yet the research into the effectiveness of simulation in the development of the health care professional is currently under researched as discussed above. For this reason it is an area requiring further research. This is a qualitative study involving educators and students from nursing, medicine, paramedicine and the fire brigade. Eighteen educators and eighteen students were interviewed through semistructured interviews. The observations were restricted to the pseudo-authentic workplace and consisted of seven educators, forty-six students from paramedicine and the non-emergency patient transport sectors. A review of curriculum documents was also undertaken to locate and assess the espoused views of the teaching organisation on simulation in the education of their students. The findings were triangulated to provide reliability to the results. This research has shown that simulation is a pedagogy that can assist in the development of higher-order thinking and judgement-making during “hot action”. This study has identified that the development of higher-order thinking and judgement-making through public reflection occurs best in the third phase of a simulation. In conclusion, simulation is a powerful learning and teaching pedagogy, and can be considered as one of the active learning pedagogies. Furthermore, if the simulation is well constructed and executed, it can provide valid experiences for the participants. These experiences can provide for the development of an epistemology of practice with highly developed higher-order thinking and clinical judgement capabilities.
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ItemAsian studies in Australian education 1970-2002 : a study of four reports( 2005)For well over a hundred years Australia's relationship with Asia has been contentious. In contemporary Australia there is still an ongoing debate on Australia's possible place in and relationship with Asia. The debate occurs across the social and political spectrum in Australian society. Over recent decades this debate has been a major policy issue in education policy for both federal and state governments. The argument for the study of Asia in education is not immune from this wider political and social discourse addressing Australia's position and place in Asia. Between 1970 and 2002 there have been four major Reports on Asian studies in Australian Education. The reports: the Auchmuty Report (1970), the FitzGerald Report (1980), the Ingleson Report (1989) and the Jeffrey Report (2002) offer a unique opportunity to chart the development of Asian studies and languages in Australian education over an extended period of time. The reports provide a unique insight into the state of Asian studies at approximately ten year intervals. Each report offers a detailed account of the contemporary situation, mostly in the universities, of the study of Asia and languages. Each offers explicit policy recommendations to enhance the position of the study of Asia into the future. The recommendations are directed to government, educational authorities, universities and members of the profession. These reports provide the basis for this thesis. For the study of Asia to gain an accepted and permanent place in the curricula in Australian = education and in particular in universities, new approaches to policy development and implementation must occur. The traditional culture of the universities, the European tradition, must be challenged as it presents many barriers, both pedagogical and administrative, to acceptance of the study of Asia. In addition, over the last 15 years, Australian universities are being continually reshaped by a change process instigated by the Federal government. All disciplines have been and are still being affected by these changes. The case for the study of Asia must be framed in such a way that it recognizes and responds to these organizational and financial changes and challenges if the study of Asia is to become a key component of the curricula. The contention of this thesis is that the study of Asia and Asian language must have an accepted and recognized position in Australian education at all levels. The policy advocacy for the study of Asia, while recognizing the pragmatic reasons of improved economic ties and outcomes and political relations should, at the same time, highlight the invaluable learning opportunity that the study of Asia's many and varied histories and cultures provide. The study of Asia, then, would meet the economic and vocational imperatives of present government policy while at the same time contributing to a greater understanding of society.
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ItemSharing the spirit: transmission of charism by religious congregations( 1998)Catholic schools have experienced significant changes in recent years. Other than the pressures that all schools face, the issue of the identity of Catholic schools has loomed large. With the dramatic decrease in the active membership of religious congregations, the continuation of their charism, their philosophical and spiritual tradition, has been a crucial concern. In this study, the processes for charism transmission were examined in order to identify these processes and their underlying assumptions. Through the use of interviews, participant observations and document analyses, the processes for charism transmission currently in use were documented. Charism transmission was found to occur through a range of formal and informal processes. Informal processes included school structures, networks, personal contact and the everyday reality of school life. Formal processes included a range of programs planned to share overtly the charism with lay colleagues. These included inservices, extended reflection programs and explorations of personal spirituality. These processes were consistent with the definition of charism proposed by Lee (1989) and with the model of shared praxis proposed by Groome (1991). In addition, vision, in this study, was influenced significantly by the historical context and tradition of the group. Thus, the description of vision, as proposed by Staessens and Vandenberghe (1995), was augmented with this additional perspective. The assumptions, which strongly influenced the chosen processes, were primarily related to the expected roles of religious and their lay colleagues. Although a shared or mutual responsibility was advocated by the majority of congregations, the processes employed were not always consistent with that assumption. As a result, a framework, based on the work of Butler (1996), for the development of more coherent and comprehensive approaches has been proposed.