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Not Guest Speakers But Peer Tutors: The Role Of Adoptive Parent Organisations In The Western Australian Preparation For Adoptive Parenthood Education Programme, Maureen Anne Roberts Jan 1993

Not Guest Speakers But Peer Tutors: The Role Of Adoptive Parent Organisations In The Western Australian Preparation For Adoptive Parenthood Education Programme, Maureen Anne Roberts

Theses : Honours

This study was undertaken as a partial requirement for a Bachelor of Health Science (Health Education) Honours. It examines the role of two Western Australian adoptive parent organisations, Australia for Children Society (AFC), and the Adoptive Parents Association (APA), as peer tutors within a Preparation for Adoptive Parenthood Education Programme (PAPEP). The sample consisted of one group which attended a workshop held by AFC and one group which attended a workshop by APA as part of the PAPEP. Measurements of interactions between Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) and between PAPs and workshop presenters were made through observations. PAPs' satisfaction with the …


Strategies In Learning Japanese As A Second Language In Secondary School, Sharon Gay Ainsworth Jan 1993

Strategies In Learning Japanese As A Second Language In Secondary School, Sharon Gay Ainsworth

Theses : Honours

Strategies used by learners of Japanese as a second language were examined. A total of 26 students, seven male and seven female students in Year 8 and six male and six female students in Year 11 in secondary education from two single sex schools were surveyed to investigate preferred language learning strategies. The instrument used was the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford 1990). Six language learning strategy categories were used to classify sample responses. Subjects were also interviewed individually to find out what strategies they used in classroom and non-classroom settings. Students maintained a diary for a six week …


The Continuity Of Literacy Development: Kindergarten To Year 1, Lennie Barblett Jan 1993

The Continuity Of Literacy Development: Kindergarten To Year 1, Lennie Barblett

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the continuity of strategies and provisions that teachers use to develop children's literacy in kindergarten and Year 1. In two metropolitan Ministry of Education districts, 27 kindergarten and 25 Year 1 teachers completed a questionnaire concerning issues relating to literacy development in these two educational settings. From this population four teachers were interviewed to investigate areas of interest that arose from the questionnaire. The results showed that kindergarten and Year 1 teachers differed in the selection of strategies and provisions to promote literacy in young children. There was a clear delineation between …


Teaching For Conceptual Change And Conceptual Discrimination With Year 8 Science Students: An Exploratory Study Of The Topic 'Respiration', S. Morgillo Jan 1993

Teaching For Conceptual Change And Conceptual Discrimination With Year 8 Science Students: An Exploratory Study Of The Topic 'Respiration', S. Morgillo

Theses : Honours

Research has shown that despite formal education, secondary and tertiary students hold a host of misconceptions about respiration. This exploratory study investigated whether a four phase conceptual change teaching strategy could overcome conceptual problems typically associated with respiration, in a Year 8 science class from a school in Perth, Western Australia. The strategy consisted of a Conceptual Awareness Phase, an Exposition Phase, a Misconception Awareness Phase and an Application Phase. Two-tier multiple choice test items used in previous studies to identify misconceptions about respiration were also used in this study, together with interviews. The encouraging results suggest that the implemented …


A Study Of The Benefits Of Reflection By Journal Writing In Mathematical Learning And Attitudes In The Primary School, Sally Edmonds Jan 1993

A Study Of The Benefits Of Reflection By Journal Writing In Mathematical Learning And Attitudes In The Primary School, Sally Edmonds

Theses : Honours

This descriptive study examines journal writing for the purpose of identifying aspects of children's mathematical reflective ability. It was hypothesised that encouragement to engage with the process of mathematics by reflective writing would reveal and assist learning, and give children a vehicle through which they could express their attitudes about the mathematics they were learning. The aim of this study was to find answers to the following question: How does the keeping of a mathematical journal reveal children's understandings of the mathematics they are learning? Other questions related to the study were: -What evidence is there from the journals about …


The Effects Of Different Methods Of Cloze Test Construction And Their Relationship With A Standardised Reading Comprehension Test, Trevor Michael Edward Forde Jan 1993

The Effects Of Different Methods Of Cloze Test Construction And Their Relationship With A Standardised Reading Comprehension Test, Trevor Michael Edward Forde

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study is to provide guidelines to classroom teachers for the construction of valid and reliable cloze comprehension tests. Review of the related literature suggested there are many diverse and contradictary opinions as to the most appropriate method of constructing cloze tests. The subjects were 49 Year 5 primary school children from two metropolitan schools. Three different comprehension tests were administered. The Gap Reading Comprehension Test and two Cloze Comprehension Tests consisting of 50 and 100 word deletions, in which the deletions began at either the fifth or sixth word of the second sentence. The Cloze Tests …


Measurement Of Teacher Attitude To Direct Instruction, Beth P. Hands Jan 1993

Measurement Of Teacher Attitude To Direct Instruction, Beth P. Hands

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates teacher attitude towards a teaching innovation, Direct Instruction. In particular, it is concerned with what aspects of this teaching strategy affect a teacher's decision to implement the method and the relationship between experience with Direct Instruction and teacher attitude. A repeated measures, pretest-posttest design was employed to assess participants' attitude before and after viewing a video demonstrating the teaching method, Direct Instruction. The 40 item Attitude towards Direct Instruction (AD I) scale comprised 30 items derived from a questionnaire designed by Proctor (1989) in addition to ten new items created especially for the study. The scoring function …


Using Hypermedia To Improve The Dissemination And Accessibility Of Syllabus Documents With Particular Reference To Primary Mathematics, Alistair B. Campbell Jan 1993

Using Hypermedia To Improve The Dissemination And Accessibility Of Syllabus Documents With Particular Reference To Primary Mathematics, Alistair B. Campbell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The fundamental question that this study set out to investigate was: Can the advantages of hypermedia be extended to curriculum materials that are for the sole use of teachers? To consider this question, three areas needed to be investigated: hypermedia (the medium); teachers (the target) and curriculum documents (the content). Hypermedia has a long history dating back to Bush (1986) who in 1945 imagined his Memex system as building information trails between ideas. However, it was not until the mid 1980s that technology caught up with the theory and hypermedia came of age. The evaluation of hypermedia documents is still …


The Effect Of 'Environmental Manipulation' On Agitation And 24-Hour Sleep In Dementia Sufferers In An Institutional Setting, Ernest A. Matthews Jan 1993

The Effect Of 'Environmental Manipulation' On Agitation And 24-Hour Sleep In Dementia Sufferers In An Institutional Setting, Ernest A. Matthews

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Living in an institutional setting places on residents certain constraints in relation to freedom of choice as to when, where, and how they conduct activities of daily living, such as, sleeping eating, attending to hygiene needs. Studies indicate this loss of control over the environment contributes to loss of self-esteem, leads to stress, and at times precipitates agitation among nursing home residents. Cognitive impairment may render dementia sufferers more vulnerable to loss of control over their control over their environment and result in agitation, which may in turn influence sleep. The study therefore, investigated if ‘environmental manipulation’ as in introducing …


An Evaluation Of A Professional Development Model For Primary School Administrators, Wayne S. Mcgowan Jan 1993

An Evaluation Of A Professional Development Model For Primary School Administrators, Wayne S. Mcgowan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Better Schools advocated a decentralisation in the administrative structure and a devolution of responsibilities within Western Australian education system. One outcome was the establishment of twenty nine school districts in 1987. Since then, these districts have faced the problem of providing for the professional development needs of their primary school principals. In response to this situation different districts have developed different models for the training and development of principals. This research evaluates, as a case study, a particular model developed in one of the districts. To help preserve the anonymity of the district chosen, it is referred to throughout the …


Interaction Of Budget Emphasis, Budgeting Participation And Task Characteristics : A Cross-Cultural Study, Liang C. Low Jan 1993

Interaction Of Budget Emphasis, Budgeting Participation And Task Characteristics : A Cross-Cultural Study, Liang C. Low

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is an empirical examination which links two important areas of management accounting research. The first area relates to the relation between superiors' evaluative styles and the two dependent variables of job related tension and managerial performance. The second area relates to the impact of culture on management accounting system. Two of Hofstede's (1980) dimensions of culture were used in this study. They were power distance and individualism. Two studies, Brownell and Hirst (1986) and Brownell and Dunk (1991), both of which were conducted with samples from a low power distance/high individualism nation were re-examined within the framework suggested …


An Investigation Into Some Of The Factors Having A Bearing On Interviewer Bias In The Western Australian Market Research Industry, Daniel N. Edwards Jan 1993

An Investigation Into Some Of The Factors Having A Bearing On Interviewer Bias In The Western Australian Market Research Industry, Daniel N. Edwards

Theses : Honours

The market research industry, like most industries operating in a highly competitive environment, is faced with a myriad of challenges. One of the foremost challenges is to deliver sound recommendations to clientele based on quality data on the market. One factor having a bearing on data quality is the problem of interviewer bias; interviewers introducing their own source of error into the survey. This dissertation uses a mass-administered, selfreport technique in a study of the interviewing staff of four Western Australian market research firms in an attempt to investigate the factors that constitute interviewer bias. The three broad areas of …


Is Anaphoric Resolution Instruction More Effective Than Existing Instruction At Improving The Reading Comprehension Achievement Of Secondary Students With Poor Reading Comprehension?, Christian Busing Jan 1993

Is Anaphoric Resolution Instruction More Effective Than Existing Instruction At Improving The Reading Comprehension Achievement Of Secondary Students With Poor Reading Comprehension?, Christian Busing

Theses : Honours

This study examined the effect of teaching anaphoric resolution skills on the reading comprehension of Year 10 students with poor reading comprehension. Two direct teaching programmes, an anaphoric resolution programme (A.R.Programme) and a reading comprehension skills programme based on the Unit curriculum objectives of the Ministry of Education of Western Australia (U.C. Programme), were developed and taught to two groups of eleven Year 10 poor reading comprehenders. The two groups were pretested and posttested for anaphoric resolution skill and reading comprehension achievement, and the increases in mean scores were compared for significant differences using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The Anova …


The Place Of Human Services In The Uniting Church In Western Australia : Perceptions Of The Ministers And Some Consideration Of Issues For Service Delivery, Ki-Soo Jang Jan 1993

The Place Of Human Services In The Uniting Church In Western Australia : Perceptions Of The Ministers And Some Consideration Of Issues For Service Delivery, Ki-Soo Jang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis explores the relationship between the provision of human services and the role of the church with special reference to the Uniting Church's role in Western Australia. The church's involvement in human service is examined as an expression of the church's responsibility to practise the religious teachings of compassion and charity. However, such claims as to the church's responsibility were received with degrees of acceptance and resentment by different church denominations. Despite the definite teachings of the Bible about the importance of the church to the world of which it is a part, as this study has explored, they …


Exclusion: Procedures And Provisions In Western Australia With Special Reference To The Role Of [The] Distance Education Centre In The Accommodation Of Excluded Students, Iyleen Vickers Jan 1993

Exclusion: Procedures And Provisions In Western Australia With Special Reference To The Role Of [The] Distance Education Centre In The Accommodation Of Excluded Students, Iyleen Vickers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The problem at the centre of this research study was whether the educational provisions at the Western Australian Distance Education Centre met the special needs of those students who are classified as "at risk" and those who are excluded from Government schools on disciplinary grounds. Contextual data which related to these students, such as off-campus programs were examined also. The bounded case study was chosen as the research mode to investigate the problem. Distance Education Centre constituted the bounded case, and the Referral Program formed the unit of analysis. Data collection techniques included audio taped structured interviews with relevant personnel, …


Adolescent Coping Styles And Response To Stress: A Study Of The Relationship Between The Preferred Coping Styles Of Female Senior High School Students And Their Levels Of Anxiety And Self-Confidence When Facing A Major Academic Stressor, Elizabeth J. Lawson Jan 1993

Adolescent Coping Styles And Response To Stress: A Study Of The Relationship Between The Preferred Coping Styles Of Female Senior High School Students And Their Levels Of Anxiety And Self-Confidence When Facing A Major Academic Stressor, Elizabeth J. Lawson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A growing body of research indicates the importance of coping strategies when an individual responds to environmental demands. Community concern about the maladaptive responses of some adolescents, limited research with this age group, and the development of a new Australian measure of adolescent coping provided the impetus for this study. The study was conducted with 141 female students in their final year of High School. They completed the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS) in March, and measures of anxiety and self-confidence in November, just before major external examinations. Behavioural rating scales were completed by parents and teachers. The adolescent group reported …


Place-Identity And Homelessness : The Restorative Nature Of The Home, Marie Sadkowski Jan 1993

Place-Identity And Homelessness : The Restorative Nature Of The Home, Marie Sadkowski

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research aims to address deficiencies in the Place-Identity literature and establish whether the home is a central and mediating environment within this theory. An exploration of the association between homelessness and Place-Identity provides a vehicle for clarifying the psychological role of the home and in doing so an increased awareness of this social problem is promoted. Korpela's (1989) and Kaplan's (1983) theories on place, accentuating active self-regulatory mechanisms and restorative environments, act as a catalyst and provide a solid foundation for this current research. The extensive literature on the home highlights the different conceptions that abound and the lack …


The Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of A Constructivist Learning Approach Based On Personal Construct Psychology, A. R. Fetherstonhaugh Jan 1993

The Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of A Constructivist Learning Approach Based On Personal Construct Psychology, A. R. Fetherstonhaugh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study involved the development, implementation and evaluation of a constructivist learning model based on Kelly's (1955) Personal Construct Psychology (PCP). The thesis begins with a rationale for the use of PCP and then the instructional approach is derived from this theoretical basis. Following the derivation, examples of learning materials used in the implementation are presented. The second half of the thesis deals with data gathered before, during and after the implementation which occurred in two Year 9 science classes. The classes were part of a city high school in Western Australia.