Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 30 of 35
Full-Text Articles in Education
Factors That Influence The Decisions Parents Make When Choosing A Secondary School For Their Children, Rosemary Cahill
Factors That Influence The Decisions Parents Make When Choosing A Secondary School For Their Children, Rosemary Cahill
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
The impetus for this portfolio is the accelerating drift of Australian school students from state-run, free government schools to fee-paying independent and/or Catholic schools within the non-government sector. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data show that between 1996 and 2006, student enrolments in non-government schools grew by 21.5% compared with 1.2% in government schools (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2007). In this portfolio, a sociological lens reflective of the pragmatic paradigm is applied to the question of school choice in order to understand parents' thinking behind the choices they are making and, moving forward, how the funding and governance of …
The Graduate-Mentor Project In Visual Arts Education: Mentoring Within The Western Australian Curriculum Framework: A Study Of The Impact Of Mentoring On Beginning-Teachers' Perception Of Their Success In Visual Literacy Education During The First Year, Lisa F. Paris
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
Western Australian tertiary graduates who enter the visual arts education profession are often well acquainted with the theoretical underpinnings of the Western Australian Curriculum Framework. This knowledge base, in combination with their own visual arts training, typically enables them to enter teaching theoretically well equipped to support students in the development of arts ideas and studio works. The important outcome areas of visual arts history and visual arts criticism often present major challenges for graduates. In the absence of significant post-university support and more importantly, within the context of limited preservice training where visual conceptual understandings and studio skills repertoires …
Suburbia : A Postmodern Artistic Investigation And An Examination Of How Postmodern Approaches Can Be Effectively Adopted In The Context Of The New Western Australian Post-Compulsory Visual Arts Course Of Study, Lisa Young
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
In 2007, Western Australia art educators will be required to teach a new post-compulsory visual arts curriculum. This course written in a postmodern context, will need a paradigm shift in approach. As a visual arts educator and a visual artist working in a contemporary context what are valid and effective methods of creatively investigating the postmodern world? How can postmodern themes be taught and strategies employed effectively and with integrity in a visual arts curriculum? What are effective and valid approaches to teaching visual arts in the context of the post-complusory Visual Arts Course of Study?
Student Beliefs About Learning In Religion And Science In Catholic Schools, Philip F. Cox
Student Beliefs About Learning In Religion And Science In Catholic Schools, Philip F. Cox
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
The focus of this study is the impact of student perception of the validity of content on student learning. It is proposed that, if the content of a subject is perceived by students as being different to the content of another subject, a result of this perceived difference is that students will treat their learning in these subjects differently. To test this proposal, student beliefs about items from the content of the religious education course are compared with student responses to items of content of their science course. A sample of 1418, year 11 students from nine co-educational Catholic secondary …
Cultural Hybridity And Visual Practice: Towards A Transformative-Repair Multicultural Pedagogy For Visual Arts Education, Kim Le
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
This research project examines how transitional multiculturalism, cultural hybridity and transformative-repair are practiced by a professional artist-researcher and novice artists. Transitional multiculturalism and cultural hybridity are examined through a series of artworks by a Vietnamese-born artist-researcher. This series of artwork, which reflects 35 years of creating art in both Vietnamese and Australia, demonstrate a personal engagement with issues of cultural diversity, upbringing, and related aesthetic studies. The intention of this exhibition is to chart the characteristics of the artist's expression, which is culturally hybridised. This part of the study aims to identify those artistic conventions associated with specific visual traditions …
Aquatic Programmes And Swimming Activities In Health And Physical Education : A Case For Differentiation, P. R. Whipp
Aquatic Programmes And Swimming Activities In Health And Physical Education : A Case For Differentiation, P. R. Whipp
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
This research study provides a 'snap-shot' of the current status of teaching aquatic programmes in Western Australian secondary schools. This study also encapsulates the thoughts and feelings of the teachers and the students engaged in these programmes, scrutinises the outcomes of existing programmes and advances practical recommendations to address the problems identified. The study was conducted within a contemporary context where little innovation in aquatic education has accompanied the Australian and state-wide curriculum development based on outcomes-focused education. The research was underpinned by a conceptual framework which conforms to the principles of constructivist learning (Kirk & Macdonald, 1998; Wittrock, 1978; …
Nigerian Science Teachers' Beliefs About Effective Science Teaching, Their Pedagogical Content Knowledge, And How These Influence Science Teaching, Morris A. Benjamin
Nigerian Science Teachers' Beliefs About Effective Science Teaching, Their Pedagogical Content Knowledge, And How These Influence Science Teaching, Morris A. Benjamin
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
This study investigated Nigerian junior secondary science teachers' beliefs about effective science teaching, their pedagogical content knowledge and how these influence their classroom teaching behaviour. The research is underpinned by a conceptual framework, which establishes a strong relationship between teachers' beliefs about teaching, teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and classroom teaching practices. The study was carried out in two phases. The first phase involved a survey of all junior secondary science teachers (N=70) from the 30 secondary schools in two Local Education Districts of Lagos State, Nigeria. The second phase involved in-depth case studies of three science teachers who were purposively …
Nature Of Talk And Interaction In The Singapore History Classroom, Pamela Chellappah Thuraisingam
Nature Of Talk And Interaction In The Singapore History Classroom, Pamela Chellappah Thuraisingam
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
History is a complex subject. It is more propositional than procedural in nature (Nichol, 1984), and involves adductive thinking (Booth, 1983), where historical evidence and facts are 'teased out' and a convincing account of the past is then reconstructed through speculation, imagination and empathy (Nichol, 1984; Booth, 1983). The teaching and learning of history should not just be the transmission of knowledge, but rather it should involve a process whereby students and teachers interact in order to analyze evidence, raise questions and hypotheses, synthesize facts, and communicate their ideas, understand others' viewpoints, consider values, reflect and engage in moral reasoning …
Secondary Students Beliefs About, Understandings Of, And Intentions To Act Regarding The Greenhouse Effect, Premnadh M. Kurup
Secondary Students Beliefs About, Understandings Of, And Intentions To Act Regarding The Greenhouse Effect, Premnadh M. Kurup
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
The greenhouse effect (GHE) is a concern to everyone on this planet. To understand the GHE, students and citizens need an understanding of the chemical processes underlying this environmental phenomenon. Citizens need to be scientifically literate in relation to this phenomenon in order to participate in democratic decision-making and to take appropriate actions in their daily lives. As the GHE is a global issue it will require collective and individual actions to prepare for the likely climatic changes and to reduce the further impact of the GHE. This study focused on high school students' beliefs about, understandings of the GHE …
Drama Teaching: Understanding What We Do, Valerie Johnson
Drama Teaching: Understanding What We Do, Valerie Johnson
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
Drama teaching in secondary schools in Western Australia has become an increasingly complex discipline in recent years. This study has considered the work of Drama teachers from the point of view of those practising the discipline, using a phenomenological methodology which allowed the voices of the participants to be heard directly. In the discussion, consideration is given to the way in which these teachers practice the dynamic which is drama, are influenced by the art form of theatre, and deliver the school subject, Drama.
The Use Of Scaffolding To Improve Student Learning With Interactive Multimedia Programs In Chemistry, Brian T. Grimes
The Use Of Scaffolding To Improve Student Learning With Interactive Multimedia Programs In Chemistry, Brian T. Grimes
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
The process of balancing and interpreting chemical equations involves the consideration of an abstract, non-observable phenomenon coupled with multi-level representation. Students find it conceptually demanding to visualise the particulate level of matter and hence experience difficulty in balancing chemical equations with understanding. Interactive multimedia with dynamic computer graphics can provide students with accurate, concrete representations of the particulate nature of matter. Such tools, when coupled with appropriate implementation strategies, have the potential to improve learning about chemical reactions. The study investigated the use of scaffolding techniques to enhance and direct student learning when using an interactive multimedia software (IMM) program, …
Students' Needs And Attitudes: Efl Education In Japanese High Schools, Michelle Perche
Students' Needs And Attitudes: Efl Education In Japanese High Schools, Michelle Perche
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
Much of the literature on EFL education in Japan describes a system that is fraught with problems. Over the last decade the Japanese Education Ministry (Monbusho) has introduced a number of reforms and introduced some new EFL courses into Japanese schools. The stated aim of the new courses has been to focus on the development of students' communicative abilities in English. However, the effectiveness of these reforms has been questioned particularly at the senior high school level. According to a number of commentators, difficulties occur because of a back wash effect of the university entrance examinations. Others criticise the teachers …
A Socio-Historical Study Of The Construction Of Knowledge In Secondary Media Education In Western Australia - Whose Knowledge?, Robyn Quin
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
This thesis investigates the history of the construction of knowledge in the school subject media studies using the Western Australian experience as the case for the study. It seeks to explain why the subject media studies looks and sounds the way it does today through the production of a genealogy of the subject. The problems addressed are first, why was this subject introduced into the curriculum in the 1970s. Secondly, how has the knowledge in the subject been defined and contested, how and why has it changed in the course of the subject’s history. Thirdly, which knowledge attains the status …
Aboriginal Students Perceptions Of The Effect Of Vocational Education And Training On Post School Experiences, Steven J. Florisson
Aboriginal Students Perceptions Of The Effect Of Vocational Education And Training On Post School Experiences, Steven J. Florisson
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
Over the past decade there have been dramatic and unprecedented changes in post compulsory education, with an increase of over 40% for year 12 retention rates to 76.6% in 1992 and huge expansion of year 11 and 12 vocational education and training programs. However, for Aboriginal past compulsory age students, the picture is very different. In 1993 the year 12 Aboriginal retention rate was only 24.48% or 982 students (Australia wide), and by 1996 only 10% of the indigenous 15 and older population had any post school qualification, compared to 35% of the total population. Only 34% of West Australian …
Developing A Post Compulsory Evidence-Based Alcohol Education Curriculum That Is Relevant To Students And Acceptable To Teachers, Fiona Farringdon
Developing A Post Compulsory Evidence-Based Alcohol Education Curriculum That Is Relevant To Students And Acceptable To Teachers, Fiona Farringdon
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
The aim of this study was to develop a post compulsory, alcohol education curriculum that would be perceived as relevant by students and acceptable to teachers. The study had its conceptual basis in harm minimisation that has considerable justification in terms of what school-based alcohol education can realistically achieve. A harm minimisation approach is supported by parental attitudes, teachers, young people and government policy. To ensure the curriculum was developed in the Western Australian education context it has been linked to the Western Australian Curriculum Framework and adheres to the principles that underpin the framework. Furthermore, this study draws on …
Assessing Moral Reasoning Development Through Values Education Within A Western Australian Independent School, Kelvin Fairclough
Assessing Moral Reasoning Development Through Values Education Within A Western Australian Independent School, Kelvin Fairclough
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
The relationship between Values Education and corresponding moral reasoning development has been explored within a group of forty-six year eight students (twelve and thirteen years old). Participants were tested with a Sociomoral Reflection Objective Measure instrument to index their moral reasoning stage development (reported as a Moral Maturity Score). Randomly dividing the group into two equal proportions they were assigned to an Experimental or Control group. The Experimental group was presented with Values Education through exposure to age relevant moral dilemmas which envelope a societal value drawn from the Core Shared Values (Curriculum Council of Western Australia, 1998). Within each …
Secondary Students' Skills Of Measuring Liquid Volume And Understanding Of Uncertainty Of Data, Wayne M. Keady
Secondary Students' Skills Of Measuring Liquid Volume And Understanding Of Uncertainty Of Data, Wayne M. Keady
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
This research is a detailed study of students' skills of measuring liquid volume, the decisions they make when planning to collect data and whilst collecting data, and the extent to which they understand the uncertainty associated with the data they collected. These skills and understandings are at the heart of scientific literacy (Duggan & Gall, 1996a). The introduction of the Working Scientifically strand in the Australian national curriculum framework and profile of learning outcome statements for science (Australian Education Council, 1994) illustrates the increased emphasis placed in curriculum documents on investigation skills and scientific literacy. The profile of outcome statements …
Notions Of Justice Through Drama, Elvira Sammut
Notions Of Justice Through Drama, Elvira Sammut
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
This paper explores and describes the lived-experience of a group of 16-year-old girls in a drama class designed to heighten awareness of values of social justice. The students involved are experienced drama students, with a good knowledge of the theory of role-play and play-making, as well as, sound dramatic skills and techniques. The lived-experience provided the source for the research study that used film as a medium to inculcate notions of justice and equity in the classroom through self-devised drama. Phenomenological research was conducted with a group of seventeen Year II drama students. The students took part in a series …
Development And Evaluation Of A Scaffolding Guide To Help Lower Secondary Science Students Use The Internet To Search For, Select And Organise Information For The Construction Of Personal Text, Andrea Tunks
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a scaffolding guide to help lower secondary students use the internet to search for and organise information for the construction of personal text. An intact Year 10 science class participated in the study. Data were collected using the scaffolding guide completed by students, work samples, a questionnaire designed to elicit from students their perceptions about the research guide, observational notes made by the researcher and debriefing interviews conducted with the teacher and with a group of students. The study identified the skills needed by students to search for and select …
The Response Of Secondary Students From Non-English Speaking Backgrounds To A Visual Arts Course, Jean O. Aitken
The Response Of Secondary Students From Non-English Speaking Backgrounds To A Visual Arts Course, Jean O. Aitken
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
Interest in multiculturalism has been expressed by educators for a number of years. Much of the literature concerning multiculturalism in visual arts education calls for the adoption of a culturally inclusive curricula in order to meet the needs of all students. In his consideration of conceptions of curriculum, Eisner (1988) made reference to a preferred body of knowledge which often excludes students from minority groups within society. Many Australian schools are experiencing increases in enrolments of students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB). These students may themselves be immigrants or the children of one or both parents born in another country. …
Science Laboratory Investigations In Year 9: Instruction And Assessment, Pamela J. Garnett
Science Laboratory Investigations In Year 9: Instruction And Assessment, Pamela J. Garnett
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
The purpose of this research was to develop, implement and evaluate science investigation work based on a cognitive apprenticeship model of instruction and 'linked' to different assessment procedures. Data were gathered to evaluate the effects of the instruction and approaches to assessment on teachers and students, and on the development of students' investigation competency. Year 9 students performed six science investigations in which they examined a relationship between variables. Groups of three students worked together to choose the independent variable, plan their investigation, collect and analyse their data, and to evaluate their findings. The cognitive apprenticeship model of instruction included …
The Nature And Provision Of Instruction In Summary Writing For Students From Years 7-9, D. A. Bergin
The Nature And Provision Of Instruction In Summary Writing For Students From Years 7-9, D. A. Bergin
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
As students progress through our education system they are increasingly asked to independently comprehend and compose informational material to show evidence of their ability to use and learn from texts. One skill which facilitates students' abilities to learn from texts is summarizing. Research into summarizing suggests it is a complex skill needing explicit and systematic instruction. However, materials to which teachers turn to for advice on strategies and instruction do not always reflect the findings of research. This being the case, this study set out to investigate what teachers understood about the nature of summarizing and the extent to which …
Extending And Exploring Students' Problem Solving Via Problem Posing, Elena N. Stoyanova
Extending And Exploring Students' Problem Solving Via Problem Posing, Elena N. Stoyanova
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
Despite the fact that problem posing has been recommended as a useful mathematical activity in the curriculum documents of several countries, research about the types of problem-posing situations in which students could be involved, and about the effects of these problem-posing activities on students' mathematical performance is limited. The application of problem posing in school mathematics has been hindered by the absence of a framework which links problem posing, problem solving and mathematics curricula
Multiple Readings In Multiple Choice Reading Tests: A Study Of Year 11 Students' Reading Practices Of A Multiple Choice Reading Test, Rosemary Naughton
Multiple Readings In Multiple Choice Reading Tests: A Study Of Year 11 Students' Reading Practices Of A Multiple Choice Reading Test, Rosemary Naughton
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
This study examines students’ responses to the questions in a multiple choice reading test. An analysis of the processes students used to negotiate meaning revealed the roles played by cognitive strategies and cultural framing in shaping students' responses to multiple choice questions. A descriptive/analytical study methodology was conducted with a group of forty eight Year II students in the final term of the school year. These students represented four mixed sex ability groupings and a range of socio-economic backgrounds. Think-Out-Loud protocols were used in an interview situation. Students responded to thirty four questions from three passages selected from multiple choice …
The Mediation Of Teaching Through Central Curriculum Controls: Four Case Studies Of History Teaching In Year 12 In Western Australia, Edmund Z. Mazibuko
The Mediation Of Teaching Through Central Curriculum Controls: Four Case Studies Of History Teaching In Year 12 In Western Australia, Edmund Z. Mazibuko
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
The work of scholars on pedagogical content knowledge has drawn attention to the importance of mastery of subject matter. Good teachers are able to make clever transitions between their knowledge of content and their pedagogy. The examples of these transitions in the literature usually assume that teachers have a large measure of control over the content: lessons are exploratory and concerned with understanding the deeper meanings and fundamental concepts that underpin the discipline base. The reality of most classrooms is otherwise; teachers are guided by syllabus statements, textbooks and end of year examinations. Sequence and pace of instruction are often …
Language Attitudes In Relation To Language Functions: An Investigation Of The Attitudes Of The Botswana Cambridge 'O' Level Senior Certificate (Cosc) Students, Joel M. Magogwe
Theses: Doctorates and Masters
This research study attempts to assess the language attitudes among Botswana Cambridge '0' level Senior Certificate (COSC) students in relation to the official functions of Setswana and English. The study assumes that: (1) there is a general positive attitude towards English and Setswana and that allows for bilingualism; (2) the students are instrumentally motivated to learn English because of the socio-economic gains associated with it; (3) the students are integratively motivated symbol of nationhood to learn Setswana because Setswana is a and attitudes among L2 learners political independence; (4) in Botswana arc influenced language by the functions the language is …
Strategies In Learning Japanese As A Second Language In Secondary School, Sharon Gay Ainsworth
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 …
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 …
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 …
Sex-Related Differences In Autonomous Learning Behaviours And Mathematics Achievement, Laura Beahan
Sex-Related Differences In Autonomous Learning Behaviours And Mathematics Achievement, Laura Beahan
Theses : Honours
The autonomous learning behaviour model proposed by Fennema and Peterson (1985a, 1985b) hypothesises that sex- related differences in mathematics are a result of sex-related differences in autonomous learning behaviours. Autonomous learning behaviours include choosing to engage in high-level tasks, preferring to work independently on such tasks and persisting at them. The purpose of this study was to investigate sex-related differences in autonomous learning behaviours and to determine any relationship between the presence of these behaviours and achievement in mathematics. Twelve students studying the Year 1 unit "Foundations of Mathematics" were selected for the study, including two males and two females …