Education Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

A School-Based Initiative : An Opportunity To Better Understand The Practicum, Jeff Northfield

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Each year since 1987 a group of 16-20 Dip. Ed. students at Monash University has been placed in three or four schools for an extended ten week experience. As a member of the staff at Monash, I have spent half-time in the schools during this practicum supervising student teachers, arranging school experience activities and conducting seminars for student teachers and school staff. In 1993 I had a half-time teaching allotment in one of the schools so that my classroom also became a source of common experiences for follow-up discussion. This paper outlines the restructuring of the traditional preservice program that …

Learning To Teach, Teaching To Learn, William Louden

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Clandinin, D., Davies, A, Hogan, P and Kennard, B. (1993)( Eds). Learning to teach, teaching to leam. New York: Teachers College Press. 238 pages.

Dow, G. (1979). Leaming to teach: Teaching to learn. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 262 pages.

Preservice Intern Teaching : A P-12 Approach In The University Of Melbourne Bachelor Of Teaching Degree For Graduates, Jocelyn Grant

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The report of the consultancy on future directions of the Institute of Education at the University of Melbourne (September 1992) recommended the replacement of concurrent undergraduate courses with a two year course in education for graduates in which the student spends an extensive period in schools. However, forms of school based teacher education had been practised for twenty years. This commitment to the role of schools in teacher education in the Diploma in Education, Bachelor of Education (Secondary) and Bachelor of Education (Primary) courses was a major factor in the development of the Bachelor of Teaching degree which will be …

Promoting Reflection During Practice Teaching In An Australian University : Clarifying The Rhetoric And The Reality, Ross Brooker, Thomas A. O'Donoghue

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper focuses on the promotion of reflectivity during practice teaching amongst student teachers at a university in Australia. By way of background, current criticisms of what is termed the "technocratic" approach to teacher education are outlined and the emphasis which is placed on the development of the "reflective teacher" as a counterforce to this approach is considered. It is then argued that the "technocratic" position and the "reflective teacher" position need not necessarily be viewed as being in conflict. Rather, the contention is that they are both satisfactorily accommodated within Van Manen's (1977) "theory of reflectivity". For the study …

Reflective Practice In Teacher Education, John Smyth

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper I want to raise four issues: Why the interest in reflective approaches, now? What is to be gained from this approach? What are some of the advantages? What are the drawbacks? The basic argument of the paper is that the notion of "reflective practice" has generally had a positive history and connotation in schools, and that it is worth persisting with, but unless we develop some touchstone principles to guide us as to what it means to act reflectively, there is a distinct danger that a constructive and useful approach will be "at risk" as good ideas …

"I Wasn't Aware, Until I Was Aware" : Teaching Gender Equity To Second Year Education Students, Lesley Newhouse-Maiden, Susan Cullen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study sought to ascertain the success of a preservice unit in which one module focussed on developing 'gender fair' attitudes in education students. The subjects of the study were students in their second year of a Bachelor of Education degree studying the 'Social Justice and Equity in Schools' unit. Collaborative action research methods were used to collect data over a three month period. It was found that 85% of students attempted to use gender fair approaches and material when observed on teaching practice. While the outcome of pre-service teacher education was positive, it was acknowledged that there was always …

Clio And The Curriculum: History And The True Professional, Thomas A. O'Donoghue

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

For many years the history of education had a prominent place as a subject in courses for the education and training of teachers. At least three major aspects are discernible in the history programmes in question: the ideas of the ideologues of the subject, the history of institutions nourishing them, and a narrative study of education systems with the focus on Acts and "Great Men". One of the foci in each case was the curriculum. By the late 1960s the subject was so firmly entrenched in courses that Simon (1969: 91) could argue as follows: "There is no need to …

Book Reviews, John R. Godfrey, Barry Down, Edmund Z. Mazibuko, Russell Waugh, John Woods

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Musgrave, P.W. (1992). From Humanity to Utility: Melbourne University and Public Examinations 1856-1964. Hawthorn: ACER. 340 pages.

Batten, M, Marland, P. & Khamis, M. (1993). Knowing How to Teach Well: Teachers Reflect on Their Classroom Practice. Hawthorn: ACER Research Monograph, 84 pages.

Griffin, P. (1991). Monitoring School Achievements. Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press. 76 pages.

Izard, J. (1991). Assessment of Learning in the Classroom. Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press. 62 pages.

Ormell, C. (1991). Behavioural Objectives in the Classroom. Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press. 73 pages.

Owens, A. (1991). Assessment in Specific Circumstances. Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press. 46 pages. …

Contents Page, And, Introduction By Rod Chadbourne, Guest Editor, Rod Chadbourne

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In 1992, the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) released a policy document titled: "Teacher Education: A discussion paper." Among other thought provoking points, it presented Australian teacher educators as relatively old and lacking current teaching experience in schools. According to the discussion paper, 81 % of teacher educators are over 38 years old, 37% are over 48, only 20% taught in schools during the 1980's, and more than 50% were school teachers before 1973 (pp 11- 12). Further, consistent with their "obsolescent teaching experience" (p.12), teacher educators "simply pass on the theory of teaching" (p.17) and many …

Back To The Future: The De-Professionalisation Of Initial Teacher Education In England And Wales, Peter Gilroy

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In many ways this paper reads like a report from an educational battlefield. From the 1980s those involved with initial teacher education in England and Wales can be seen as dealing with sporadic sniping at their work, followed by more substantial skirmishes, culminating in the 1990s with fUll-blooded assaults. This paper begins by describing the position being attacked, identifies the first intimations of aggression, then focuses upon the battering inflicted, in the 1990s upon initial teacher education. The analysis which follows indicates that, savage though it has been, the attack on initial teacher education is in some ways only a …

School-Based Teacher Education In The United States : An Uneven Evolution, Mary K. Ducharme, Edward R. Ducharme

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

What does school-based teacher education mean in the United States? Certainly, it does not mean that funding, decision-making and management of programs are the province of individual school districts; in the United States, teacher education is firmly ensconced in higher education. The overwhelming majority of teachers are prepared in colleges and universities, licensed by individual states, and employed by local school districts. Law, tradition, and funding suggest that this general pattern will not change soon. While teacher education is located primarily in higher education institutions, school-based teacher education exists. It exists in many forms, ranging from student teaching and other …

Partners In Teacher Education : A Programme In Alberta, Glenda Campbell-Evans

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A persistent quest for improvement and change seems to be characteristic of Western education. New ways of thinking, doing and knowing occupy the time and energy of educators at all levels. Educators concerned with the pre service education of teachers plan and deliver programmes which vary from institution to institution. In Canada, some teacher education courses are school-based, some are traditional, some are developed from a school-university partnership model and some follow a discipline based degree. This article presents a descriptive account of the Teaching Partnership programme; a school based teacher education initiative implemented in September 1993 in Alberta, Canada. …

School Experience : A Collaborative Partnership, William Young

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper describes a number of special features of the school based internship program which has been developed at the University of New England (Northern Rivers). Arrangements are described for interns' time spent in classrooms, collaborative teaching strategies which underpin these placements, the security which supports interns' practice, and approaches to integrate their practice with university studies. Processes of appraisal of interns' development are explained, and the potential of mentoring for their teachers' professional development is examined.

Makitab System Of Small Group Learning Interaction Analysis : A Manual For Researchers And Coders, Leonard King, Kevin Barry, Carmel Maloney, Collette Tayler

Research outputs pre 2011

The MAKITAB system of small-group learning interaction analysis has been developed over a 4 year period. When data were gathered late in 1989 on the verbal interaction of Grade 5 students participating in small-group cooperative learning, we were faced with the problem of having to develop an appropriate analysis system. An initial system was created using inductive approaches. Following further data gathering across other grade levels and subject areas, the system has undergone successive refinements. The final instrument, as presented in this manual, has reached a state of consistency that enables coding of most verbal eventualities as they occur in …

Evaluation Of The Provision For A University Health Service As Part Of The Quality Assurance Process, Rob Chandler, Barry Sheridan

Research outputs pre 2011

Universities within Australia are facing increasing demands to demonstrate quality in both product and process by ensuing that their aims are met efficiently and effectively. As part of the quality assurance process for Edith Cowan University, a multi-campus institution, an evaluation was undertaken to monitor the effectiveness of the University health service and its significance within the University community. Responses from both staff and students to a survey conducted during August 1993 on behalf of the Department of Medical and Health Services indicate a high level of support for this service. This Report provides an overview of the evaluation study …

Expert And Novice Teachers Compared : A Comparison Of Their Roles And Functions With Implications For Teacher Education, Peter Cole

Research outputs pre 2011

What is the nature of expertise and what characterizes expert performance? What features of cognition and problem solving are typically associated with a highly proficient performance? At one level the answers to these questions are obvious. By definition, expert performers are highly knowledgeable of their subject disciplines and capable of very competent performances in their particular fields of endeavour. The expert in the present context refers to those with knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge. This definition excludes the ivory tower stereotype: that is, the person with theoretical knowledge without practical or applied knowledge. But the definitional parameters …

Towards The Measurement Of The Perception Of The Responsibilities Of The Primary School Deputy Principal, Michael James Harvey, Barry Sheridan

Research outputs pre 2011

The deputy principalship remains one of the least understood roles in the schools of contemporary education systems. Research which contributes to theory building about the deputy principalship has been hampered by the lack of survey instruments with known psychometric properties. This paper reports an exploratory study which uses latent trait theory to construct a variable which describes and conceptualises practitioner perspectives of the deputy principalship in the self managing school. The logic of constructing the variable is explained in terms of the requirements of the measurement model employed. A sample of 403 deputy principals, 179 principals and 138 teachers in …

Developing A Measure Of Student Literacy Competencies At A Tertiary Level Using Rasch Measurement, Barry Sheridan, Les Puhl

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper reports an Australian investigation into concerns about student writing at University level and the construction of an objective measure of literacy. The English Skills Assessment (ESA) test, involving multiple choice items, and an essay, marked according to specified criteria, was administered to newly enrolled students (N = 495) in a University's Education programme. Analyses reveal inconsistencies between subtests of the ESA test, but the written test shows more promise. While some association is observed between the two measures, comparable subtests (such as spelling, punctuation, sentence structure) do not appear to be measuring the same thing.

A Report Of An Evaluation Of The Women In Leadership Program Edith Cowan University, Sandra Milligan, Lyn Genoni

Research outputs pre 2011

In the early 1950s Australia had only a handful of universities in Australia serving a student body of less than 50 000. Of every 100 who went to school fewer than five went on to university. Now Australia's 40 or more universities make up a mass system which takes in more than a fifth of the age group. There are more than half a million university students.

This remarkable growth has been accompanied by considerable turbulence within the universities. Along with massive expansion, universities have experienced staff shortages, criticisms of teaching quality and research priorities, demands for greater public accountability, …

Let's Decode: Inservice Manual, P. J. Formentin

Research outputs pre 2011

This manual contains inservice material that was prepared for a research project that came to be known as Let's Decode. My motive for publishing the material in this form is to make it available to other teachers who may wish to apply the same principles and procedures in their own classrooms. Typically, they will be teachers who are concerned about children experiencing difficulty learning to read, and teachers responsible for students with special education needs. I am confident that regular classroom teachers will also find the material valuable for all children in the early stages of learning to read. My …

Pastoral Care : The First Ten Years Of Chaplaincy In Western Australian Government Secondary Schools, Richard G. Berlach, Brian E.R. Thornber

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

School Systems In Transition: The Future Of Government School Education In Australia, Max Angus

Research outputs pre 2011

Since the mid-eighties state governments have initiated the restructuring of the public school systems in order to improve their effectiveness and efficiency. However, after controversial beginnings, the commitment to the principles underpinning the reforms has weakened. The reality lags far behind the loosely-applied rhetoric of devolution, accountability and productivity. While in this disabling transitional state, schools are now subjected to a new wave of change propelled by the economic restructuring agenda of the Commonwealth Government. Extraordinary expectations are being set for schools as a consequence of policies designed to connect the outcomes of education more closely to the requirements of …

Regulating School Discipline Problems: An Evaluation Of The Carnarvon Primary School Discipline Policy: Final Research Report, Paul Omaji

Research outputs pre 2011

Schools in Australia and their surrounding communities have become gravely concerned about student behaviour problems. It is now commonly perceived that the violent component of this behaviour is on the increase. In one study, Omaji (1992a) showed that it is unwise for governments not to pay constructive attention to such perception and, also, that research and schools themselves have a critical role to play in dealing with student violence. In another study Omaji (1993) showed that options that schools have for managing or preventing the discipline problems or violence range from discipline policy, through pastoral counselling to the development of …

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 …

Word Reading Strategies: A Replication And Follow Up Intervention, Andrew Davoll

Theses : Honours

The first stage of this study involved a replication of the cluster analysts procedures used by Freebody and Byrne (1988) to classify Year 2 readers according to their word reading strategies based on lists of irregular and pseudowords. A four-cluster-solution produced three groups similar to those reported by Freebody and Byrne (1988), and a fourth group which could not be classified using their criteria. A three-cluster-solution produced a more parsimonious interpretation, with these groups meeting the criteria for "LB" (low on both Irregular and pseudowords), "HB" (high on both), and "Phoenician" readers (average or above on pseudoword, low on irregular …

Identifying Language Learners At Risk: Pre-Primary Into Year 1, Deidre Jordan

Theses : Honours

Some children in schools in Western Australia may be at risk of developing learning or behavioural difficulties because they have a difficulty in language learning which is uncomplicated by any other obvious cause. Local research by Zubrick (1984) has revealed that, even at the Pre-primary and Year 1 level, such children are perceived to be less academically able than their peers. In an effort to improve identification rates for these children, Zubrick (1984) interviewed parents of children referred for speech therapy, and parents of children not referred for speech therapy, to determine the extent to which they felt that some …

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 …