Digital Commons Network^™

Technology In Teacher Education : Using Multimedia To Enhance The Design And Make Processes., Brian Ferry, Christine Brown

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on the use of a multimedia journal to enhance a subject in technology education. The subject was delivered to preservice teachers studying to be primary school teachers. The multimedia journal was used to assist in the delivery of the subject and to record the progress made by students. It is argued that multimedia used in this manner complements and extends upon the teaching program and becomes an integral part of the learning process

Public Speaking For Graduate Student Reachers In The Diploma Of Education., D. M. Murison Travers

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Graduate student teachers in the Diploma of Education took part in a 10 hour elective on speaking in groups, aimed at helping those who were communication apprehensive or shy to overcome their fears. Confident speakers also took part, to provide modelling and assistance, and to learn ways of teaching oral communication in school. McCroskey's (1977) Verbal Activity Scale (VAS) and Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) were used with a questionnaire evaluating the programme (EvaIProg) to compare the reactions of the more and less confident speakers to the activities. The less confident speakers claimed to benefit from the programme, which …

Four Book Reviews, Carlisle Sheridan, Ann Crittenden, Bruce Haynes, M. Wild, A. M. Blackmore

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Fox, Mem. (1993) Radical reflections : passionate opinions on teaching, learning, and living. Sydney, Harcourt Brace.

Ingvarson, L, and Chadbourne, R (Editors) (1994) Valuing teachers' work : new directions in teacher appraisal. Camberwell, Vic : Australian Council for Educational Research.

Shears, L. (Editor) (1995) Computers and schools. Camberwell, Vic : ACER.

Maltby, F., Gage, N. L. & Berliner, D. (1995) Educational psychology : an Australian and New Zealand perspective. Brisbane : John Wiley.

Diversity Awareness In Management Education: Survey Results 1995 Research Project, Catherine Smith

Research outputs pre 2011

While much is known about female disadvantage in learning, less research has explored their advantages, or the advantages and disadvantages experienced by male students. It seems to be generally assumed that gender issues are exclusively female issues. This project sought to dispel this myth by gathering information about male students' perceptions and experiences, and comparing them with those of female students, to highlight perceptual differences and their implications for learning.

Children's Knowledge And Understanding Of Basic Number Facts, Jack Bana, Richard Korbosky

Research outputs pre 2011

Automatic recall of all the basic number facts is a major objective in primary school mathematics. This is an objective that is not easily attained. Many students have problems acquiring the skills which lead to correct and immediate responses (automatic recall) for all the basic number facts. Knowledge of the basic number facts is essential for undertaking all computation efficiently. These basic facts are defined as 0 + 0 to 9 + 9 for addition and their subtractive opposites; and 0 x 0 to 9 x 9 for multiplication and their inverses in division. This is a total of 390 …

Literacy At A Distance: Language And Learning In Distance Education, William Louden, Judith Rivalland

Research outputs pre 2011

This study provides a description of the practices and strategies of distance learning for students in Years 6 to 10. It describes the materials and modes of delivery of distance education, and identifies three influences on achievement. A model for improvement is proposed, identifying ten prospective areas for improvement of distance education services...

Women And Leadership Working Paper Series: Paper No. 3: Merit Or Obligation, Leonie V. Still

Research outputs pre 2011

The issue of merit or obligation concerning women's progress in employment in general, and in organisations in particular, gained renewed impetus in late 1994 with the push to have more women in politics. Australia and New Zealand led the world when establishing the right of women to vote, but are at present only slightly ahead in terms of women's representation in national and State Parliaments despite the centenary of women's suffrage (Coopers and Lybrand, 1994). Partly as a result of this lack of progress, the Australian Labor Party, at its 1994 National Conference, passed a motion to guarantee women a …

Women And Leadership Working Paper Series: Paper No. 2: Managerial Women And Enterprise Bargaining, Leonie V. Still, Denis Mortimer

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Women And Leadership Working Paper Series: Paper No. 1: Self-Employed Women: Four Years On, Leonie V. Still, Bill Chia

Research outputs pre 2011

Entrepreneurial or self-employed women are a growing component of the workforce worldwide. Australian statistics reveal that women are establishing their own businesses (in particular in self-employment) at a approximately twice the rate of men. In 1991-92 more than one million (41 per cent) of the 2.6 million people working in small business were women. Less than one third of these were self-employed or employers, while women accounted for 46 per cent of small business employees (Employment and Skills Formation Council, 1994)...

International Review Of Women And Leadership: Volume 1 Number 2, Leonie V. Still (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Mental Computation In School Mathematics: Preference, Attitude And Performance Of Students In Years 3, 5, 7 And 9, Alistair Mcintosh, Jack Bana, Brian Farrell

Research outputs pre 2011

Commencing in 1989 a team consisting of Alistair Mcintosh, Paul Swan and Ellita de Nardi at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, probed the strategies used by children of primary school age when calculating mentally, with a view to developing and promoting more appropriate and effective mental computation...This present monograph, which looks at the mental computation of Western Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, is one of the outcomes of this collaborative research project.

Domestic Violence: Service Providers' Perceptions Of Factors Affecting Women's Decision To Leave Abusive Relationships, Anne I. Walters

Theses : Honours

Review of research conducted into woman abuse indicates there was an emphasis on questions looking at why women stayed in abusive relationships. Little or no research was specifically designed to answer questions about how women leave abusive relationships or determine the salient factors involved. The literature review also highlighted the importance of services and service providers because women who had experienced abuse would seek help and Knight and Hatty (1992) found that the quality of help received determined their future responses. Kurz and Stark (1988) found that workers' perceptions about woman abuse influenced how workers responded to the women seeking …

Postdischarge Surveillance Of Surgical Wound Infection By Telephone Interview, Robyn Taverner

Theses : Honours

Many postoperative wound infections are not being detected by traditional methods of surveillance of hospital acquired infections, due to decreasing length of hospital stay Unless some form of postdischarge surveillance is undertaken, rates of hospital acquired infections will he underestimated. While Infection Control Practitioners are aware of this problem, implementation of postdischarge surveillance is hampered by lack of research into suitable cost-effective methods. This study describes the implementation and feasibility of postdischarge surveillance by telephone interview and compares rates of infection in a private hospital before and after discharge. During a five month period a systematic sample of 300 clients …

Long Term Restoration Of Peak Torque, Endurance And Muscle Activation Post Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Darryl Alan Turner

Theses : Honours

In recent years, Accelerated Rehabilitation (A.R.) protocols have been used following Anterior Cruciate Ligament (A.C.L.) reconstructions, the longer term effects of these programs are seldom analysed. This study examined musculoskeletal mechanisms that might affect long term functional restoration, the control subjects (n = 19) of mixed age and gender, had no previous knee deficiencies and were recreationally fit. The experimental subjects (n = 17) had undergone intra-articular A.C.L reconstruction, using bone patellar-tendon bone grafts performed by the same surgeon and had also participated in the A.R. protocol, similar to that described by Shelbourne and Nitz (1990). The experimental group attended …

Perceptions Of Lower Secondary Design And Technology Teachers About The Utilisation Of The Design Process, Desire Mallet

Theses : Honours

This study investigated the perceptions of lower secondary school teachers about the utilisation of a design process. Seven Design and Technology teachers from government and private secondary schools, situated in Perth metropolitan area, were selected. The participants have been using a design process in lower secondary school for at least eighteen months prior to the study. Each participant was interviewed individually and the interviews were audio-recorded. The Education Department of Western Australia considers a design process as a central element in the Technology and Enterprise learning area of the Student Outcome Statements. However, not much is known about how this …

Identifying The Difficulties Experienced By Year 10 High School Students When Attempting To Solve Genetic Pedigree Problems, Richard Hamilton-Brown

Theses : Honours

Teachers rate genetics as one of the most difficult biology topics for high school students to understand (Finley, Stewart & Yarroch, 1982). It has been observed that some students are able to solve genetics problems using routine algorithmic methods, without understanding the basic underlying concepts (Stewart, 1982). The aim of this study was to identify the procedural errors and conceptual misunderstandings that the students had when attempting to solve genetic pedigree problems. Genetic pedigrees are diagrammatic representations of the members and ancestral relationships in a family (Cummings, 1991). Two male and two female students were selected from each of four …

Reasons Given By Year 9 Girls For The Non-Selection Of Outdoor Education In A Selected Government School, Janene Walton

Theses : Honours

This study focuses on the reasons why fewer girls than boys are selecting outdoor education units in Year 9 in a selected government secondary school in Perth, Western Australia. Outdoor education has attracted increasing enrolments across all years since units were introduced at lower school level in 1987. However the percentage of girls enrolling has declined over the same period. The participation rate for Years 9 to 12 has consistently been about two times greater for boys than for girls. The study utilised group interviews as a means of data collection to document the girls' reasons for not selecting Outdoor …

The Effects Of Strategy Instruction On The Vocabulary Acquisition And Reading Comprehension Of Grade Five Students, Michelle Gurry

Theses : Honours

Two studies were conducted to examine the effects of specified teaching strategies on vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Two methods were used to teach Grade 5 students to infer word meanings from context. The first was based on regular methods that occur within primary classrooms. The second involved a detailed strategy that gave students a step-by-step guide to deriving word meanings from context. Both groups were pretested and posttested with a developed vocabulary acquisition test and the Progressive Achievement Test of reading comprehension. A four-factor ANOVA with repeated measures was used to test the hypotheses. The first study showed no …

Differences In Attitudes About Amphetamine Held By Adolescents Who Do And Do Not Intend To Use The Drug, K. Davies

Theses : Honours

An SEU measure was constructed to test the relationships between adolescents' combined expectations and values of possible outcomes of amphetamine use and intention to use the drug. The structure of the measure was then examined using Principal Components Analysis. Two orthogonal subscales were identified representing desires for the positive outcomes and fears of negative outcomes. Tukey's HSD analysis of pairwise means indicated that the two subscales were differentially effective in distinguishing participants with high, moderate and low levels of intention to use amphetamine. Participants with high levels of intention differed significantly from participants with low or moderate intention in their …

Increasing The Participation Of Girls In Physical Education : The Identification Of Factors Influencing Enjoyment And Nonenjoyment Of Physical Education In A Selected Primary School, Grant R. Collins

Theses : Honours

This study focuses on the issue of girls' participation in physical education. One important aspect of participation is the enjoyment level of students. By identifying why girls enjoy and do not enjoy physical education, appropriate adjustments could be made within physical education to increase the participation level of girls. Fifteen Year 7 students from one class within a metropolitan independent school took part in the study. It was descriptive-analytic in nature and used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. A short questionnaire was used to categorise students into those who enjoyed physical education, those with divided perceptions of enjoyment in …

The Effect Of Metacognition On Learning Outcomes For Tertiary Level Computing Students, Susan Hastings

Theses : Honours

The Technical and Further Education system Australia-wide is in a state of change. There is a push to become more cost effective and to have courses that closely relate to the demands of the work place. As part of the change, courses at TAFE are increasingly being based on a competency-based system, with students being responsible for their own learning. This entails the use of course materials by students which allow them to work at their own pace. There is a perception by educators that this method of learning may suit some students, but that the majority require a more …

A Comparison Of Participation Motives Of Competitive And Non-Competitive Youth Age Swimmers, Shane T. Harris

Theses : Honours

Understanding the participation motives of youth athletes is vital if their needs are to be met and their sport involvement enhanced. The purpose of this study was to examine the participation motives of a squad of competitive and non-competitive, youth-age, male and female swimmers. A qualitative interview technique was employed to identify the participation motives of 12 youth-age swimmers. The interview schedule was based on theories describing participation motivation, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Data was deductively analysed, with statements classified into the motivation categories described by Passer (1981). Consistent with previous studies on participation motives in youth sport, the …

Occupational Stress, Coping Styles, And Social Resources, Wayne L. Hill

Theses : Honours

Researchers in the stress and coping field have developed a variety of "stress and coping" models to explain the interaction between stressors, social resources, coping styles, and distress symptoms (Edwards & Baglioni, 1990). The present study examined three models to explain the relationship between the variables: direct effect, buffering effect and mediating effect. This study examined effective and non-effective coping styles at work: accommodation, change, avoidance, devaluation, and symptom management. Data were collected on 120 white collar workers' state of mental exhaustion, somatic symptoms, role stressors, coping styles, and perceived social support. The utility of the three models was examined …

You Put Your Life On The Line: Young People's Experiences Of Disclosing Sexual Abuse And/Or Sexual Assault, Robin Walshe

Theses : Honours

This research comes as a response to young people's concern about the availability of appropriate services for young people seeking assistance in reclaiming their lives after experiencing sexual abuse and/or sexual assault. In order to understand what young people felt were appropriate services, it was first necessary to understand what happened when they disclosed to someone that they had been sexually abused or sexually assaulted. Qualitative feminist interview research techniques were used to ask seven young women "What happened when you disclosed to someone you had been sexually abused/assaulted?" The information given by the young women revealed that: the pre-disclosure …

Problem Solving Of Children With Intellectual Disabilities: Interrogative Strategies And Solution Time Rates, Sonya Barrett

Theses : Honours

Possible differences in problem solving abilities between children with intellectual disabilities and regular class children were studied. A comparison was made between the children with intellectual disabilities and regular class children of comparable developmental level (mental age). The children with intellectual disabilities were also compared with regular class children of comparable chronological age. Subjects completed a preliminary task to determine mastery of the required skills before attempting an experimental problem solving game. The game required subjects to ask questions in order to achieve a problem solution. Each subject's level of motivation to solve the problem was also measured using a …

The Effect Of A Direct Instruction Motor Development Program On The Catching Performance Of Pre-Primary Children, Matt Osborne

Theses : Honours

The number of pre-school programs and children attending pre-schools has been rapidly increasing in recent years. The emphasis placed on instruction in physical education and the benefits to be derived from such instruction at the pre-school level have not been directly addressed in the literature. This study examined the effects of a six week direct instruction motor development program on the quantitative and qualitative development of the fundamental motor skill of catching. The participants were four and five year old children who attended a government pre-school attached to a metropolitan primary school. Two children of high gross motor ability and …

Exploring Young Children's Knowledge Of Their Social Network, Their Social Competence, And Links To Their Social Behaviour, Natalie C. Leitao

Theses : Honours

The primary focus of this study is to explore young children's knowledge of their social network and their social competence and the links with their social behaviour. The secondary focus is to investigate ways in which young children may be helped to articulate such knowledge. The six participants were pairs of five-year old children selected from three pre-primary classes located in a common school. Each pair comprised a socially able and a less socially able child as selected by their class teacher. Self-reports, dialogue-interviews, video-taped vignettes and dolls were used to help the participants talk about their knowledge of their …

The Influence Of Western Models Of Service Delivery On The Development Of Services For Young Children In Malaysia, Teresa Hutchins

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In the last fifty years, many developing and newly industrialising countries have experienced a rapid expansion of care and education programme for young children. The rapid expansion of these programmes which are often modelled on those from the west, together with new understandings about the nature of children's development, has led to concern that these programmes do not meet the needs of children living in very different social and cultural environments. The 1989 UNESCO review of early childhood care and education programmes in the Asia-Pacific region highlights the need for integrated early childhood care and education programmes and reports that …

The Effects On Memory And Self-Reported Behaviour Of Four Types Of Information About Water Conservation, Brigit A. Cosgrove

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Education campaigns conducted by water management agencies are intended to motivate people to conserve water. However, there has been little research to determine what kind of information best achieves this goal. Four types of information partly based on Stem, Dietz and Kalof's (1993) social-psychological model of environmental value orientations were examined in this study: action information about ways to conserve water; abstract factual information about water and its use; anthropocentric information about how people are affected by water use; and ecocentric information about how the environment is affected by water use. Using cluster sampling techniques 160 participants were selected from …

The Transition From Primary To Secondary School: Self-Regulated Learning And Achievement Motivation, Denise Kirkpatrick

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research investigated changes in students' academic performance during the transition from primary to secondary school. Students' perceptions of their experience during the transition were investigated in an attempt to to provide an explanation for any changes that occured in academic performance.