Digital Commons Network^™

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Preoperative Teaching On The Self Reported Levels Of Anxiety Of Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery, Megan Inglis

Theses : Honours

Over the last twenty years there has been a considerable amount of research conducted into the effects of preoperative teaching on postoperative recovery. While it is well known that preoperative instruction assists patients to recover from their operation, the mechanisms by which this occurs are not clear. One mechanism which may improve postoperative recovery is preoperatively. This research the reduction of anxiety examined the effects of preoperative teaching on preoperative levels of anxiety in patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy or herniorrhaphy. Twenty eight patients had their preoperative anxiety levels measured by a widely used questionnaire known as the State Trait Anxiety …

'Night Duty' : A Study Of Nurses' Attitudes Toward Night Duty, With Implications For Hospital And Nursing Management, Beth Louise Brown

Theses : Honours

Research specifically related to the needs and attitudes of nurses to night duty is in its infancy. Nurses have previously been included in studies related to circadian rhythms, and job satisfaction but only recently have complex aspects of the adaptation to working at night in health care institutions been given consideration. Shift work in general, has been identified as a stressful, occupational health hazard. Nurses cannot be compared to other shift workers. Chronobiological research now confirms that many individuals are unable to adapt to night work. This is in contrast to the historical management view which held the opinion that …

Occupational And Life Stress In Nursing: Is There A Relationship?, Christopher Billam

Theses : Honours

A population of two hundred and twenty nurses involved in direct patient care in a regional hospital were surveyed to assess if a relationship exists between occupational and life stress. A cross sectional survey design was used. The questionnaire contained four distinct categories: demographic information, Nurses' Stress Scale, a Life Events Inventory and a social support scale. A return rate of 49.5% was obtained, and several completed questionnaires were rejected, leaving the data from 1.04 questionnaires to be analysed. The nurses in this population reported low scores tor both occupational and life stress. However, the instrument used to calculate the …

The Implementation Of Design Education In Lower Secondary School Industrial Arts Units, Rod Slater

Theses : Honours

This study identifies 'if' and 'how' design education is incorporated in lower secondary school Industrial Arts units, and determines if teacher training and teachers' perceptions of certain issues, are influential in the use of design education. A stratified random sample (50 teachers in 25 schools) was taken from all government secondary schools in W.A. The participants were surveyed with a postal questionnaire, and a follow-up interview was conducted with a selection of the respondents. There was a return rate of 84%. Data analysis determined the frequency distribution for structured questions and organized the data for non structured items into groups …

The Effect Of An In-Service Lecture On Diabetes On Nurses' Attitudes To Diabetes Patient Education, Jennifer A. Walters

Theses : Honours

Patient education has been shown to be a major factor in improving the compliance and self-care skills of diabetic patients, thereby improving the quality of life for the patient. Nurses have an important role in diabetes patient education. Research has indicated, however, that barriers such as lack of knowledge and negative attitudes may prevent nurses from effectively delivering this care to their patients. The purpose of this experimental study was to determine whether increasing the knowledge of registered nurses through an in-service lecture on diabetes would improve their attitudes towards diabetes education. The conceptual framework for the study proposed that …

Cognitive Learning Outcomes In A Cardiac Nursing Course: A Pilot Study, Amanda J. Whittle

Theses : Honours

This study measured the cognitive learning outcomes of registered nurses who completed a short cardiac nursing course. This course was held in a metropolitan teaching hospital during four weeks in September, 1989. The author grouped the twenty participants into one of two groups according to prior acute cardiac nursing experience; (1) those who had less than six months post-basic cardiac nursing experience; and (2) those who had six months or more post-basic cardiac nursing experience. A pre-course test and post-course test was given to the participants to measure the dependent variable, that is, cognitive knowledge. Using as case-comparative design, the …

The Aesthetic Perceptions And Preferences Of Young Children For Visual Artworks, Jacqueline Kik

Theses : Honours

Literature dealing with aesthetics and young children indicates the importance of developing in children a degree of aesthetic sensitivity and an ability to respond aesthetically to both natural and man made objects. However, directions for developing young children's aesthetic awareness appear to be hampered by the lack of systematic research evidence on the aesthetic response capabilities which five to eight year old children display. Thus, provision of information that would assist art educators and Early Childhood teachers in the preparation of successful classroom experiences remains a priority in this area. The research study reported in this thesis investigated the aesthetic …

An Examination Of The Reasons Why Parents Send Their Daughters To Specific, Independent, Non-Catholic Schools For Their Secondary Education In Western Australia, Lois A. Joll

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examines the reasons why parents send their daughters to specific, independent, non-Catholic Schools for their secondary education in Perth, Western Australia. Initially, through a review of related literature, variables which might influence parental choice of a private school were identified. In order to establish the relevance of these variables, and to identify any other previously unidentified variables which may influence parental selection of a particular independent girls' school, a survey was undertaken of sample groups of parents whose daughters had entered Year 8 in 1989. Further data was obtained through interviews of a small number of parents from …

Learning My Way : Papers From The National Conference On Adult Aboriginal Learning, Barbara Harvey (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

The National Conference 'Learning My Way' has made a significant contribution to the promotion of issues concerning Aboriginal adult learning styles. Staff at the Department of Aboriginal and lntercultural Studies at the Western Australian College of Advanced Education co-ordinated the input. They were responsible for taking ideas beyond the embryonic stage and shaping these into a conference format.

Aboriginal participation was very strong at the conference. It was gratifying to find that Aboriginal people made up seventy percent of the five hundred in attendance. Also it is important to point out, that of the eight five papers presented, seventy three …

Media Issues In Australian-Asian Relationships, Rodney Tiffen

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

The Professional Development Needs Of Newly Appointed Principals: Leadership For School Development, Michael J. Harvey

Research outputs pre 2011

...The professional development needs of newly appointed principals was identified as an important area for policy development and one which would benefit from research. The appointment of a cohort of new principals is a significant moment in the life of an education system. During a period of system-level change this transition is not without risks, both to the careers of promising educators and to the organisational health of the education system. Understanding of the learning experiences of newly appointed principals would provide critical information for the planning and deli very of professional development for both present and future incumbents of …

Previous Computer Experience Of Preservice Teacher Education Students, John King

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The rapid expansion in the use of computers in schools over the last decade has increased the need for preservice teacher education institutions to provide courses which take account of students' previous computer experience. Only limited information is available on the patterns of microcomputer use of secondary school students. No information is known to be available on the previous microcomputer use of students entering tertiary institutions in Australia or overseas, As part of an evaluation of the effectiveness of computer education subjects introduced in the combined Dip.Teach / B.Ed.course offered at lames Cook University, the 1986 to 1988 cohorts of …

Curriculum Evaluation Models : Practical Applications For Teachers, John D. Woods

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The scope and focus of evaluation generally, and of curriculum evaluation in particular, has changed markedly over recent times. With the move towards school-based curriculum development attention has shifted away from measurement and testing alone. More emphasis is now being placed upon a growing number of facets of curriculum development, reflecting the need to collect information and make judgements about all aspects of curriculum activities from planning to implementation. While curriculum theorists and some administrators have realized the significanee of this shift many teachers still appear to feel that curriculum evaluation activities are something which do not directly concern them.

The Discourse Of Teacher Education Policy In Australia., David Battersby, John Retallick

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In Australia, scrutiny of teacher education through Commonwealth and State reports and policy documents has been extensive, especially during the past decade. This attention has paralleled a major thrust for change in teacher education in the United Kingdom and particularly in the United States where the Report of the National Commission for Excellence in Teacher Edueation, the Camegie Report and the Holmes Report have each called for the dramatic upgrading of teacher education. This paper argues that, despite calls for change and innovation in teacher education in Australia, the discourse of policy documents invariably reflects an underlying conservatism or what …

Part-Time Work And The Cult Of Individualism : A Note On The Anticipatory Socialisation Of Intending Teachers, Kerry Winhurst

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A considerable body of research in the sociology of teachers and teaching focuses upon what has come to be known as the "cult of individualism". The individualist pedagogieal style is said to arise from the deeply held conviction of many teachers that professional freedom and autonomy are necessary prerequisites for effective teaching. The concept of teacher individualism is central to a number of studies dealing with such wide~ranging concerns as teacher occupational culture, team teaching, teacher education, and teacher self-concept.

Technology And The Social Context Of Teacher Education, Kerry J. Kennedy

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Following a report from the two Commonwealth education commissions (Report of the Joint Review of Teacher Education, 1986) teacher education in Australia is to undergo yet another national inquiry. It is to be hoped that any such inquiry will focus attention on the broad social context that inevitably influences the delivery of specific teacher education programs. The significance of social influences on teacher education was recognized, to some extent, in the Report of the Quality of Education Review Committee (1985): (teachers must be able) to cater with greater confidence and competence for the educational needs of disadvantaged groups ... (paragraph …

Beyond The Rainbow, Laurence R. Miller

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

We are at the beginning of change in all aspects of our education. In Queensland we could be confronting a new phase in the educational system which will be vastly different from the past. As the 21st century draws closer, so too will we witness more changes in our society and our educational systems. So there is likely to be little resemblance to that which we know in the past.

Dark Deeds In A Sunny Land: Or Blacks And Whites In North-West Australia, J. B. Gribble

Research outputs pre 2011

The frontier of European settlement in the colony of Western Australia a hundred years ago stretched way beyond the south-western corner to the far north, and pastoralists were pushing steadily inland wherever the countryside offered promise of a living to be gained. Only the presence of Aborigines stood between them and the land they sought. On a frontier as far from the colonial capital as this where governmental representatives were few or absent, the newcomers were largely free to deal with the Aboriginal presence in their own way. Whether relations between the original inhabitants and the invaders were mostly peaceful …

Old Bush Schools: Life And Education In The Small Schools Of Western Australia 1893 To 1961, John A. Mckenzie

Research outputs pre 2011

In researching and recording historical and anecdotal comment on the Old Bush Schools of Western Australia, John McKenzie has secured oral elements of our history which could well have been lost forever, and woven them into the recorded facts of past decades. He has produced an entertaining and particularly illuminating picture of the life of the small-school teacher in outback Western Australia during most decades of the last one hundred years...

Some Implications Of The 'Better Schools' Report For School Management In Western Australia, M. J. Harvey

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The mid eighties has seen remarkable change to the policies of the State education system in Western Australia. The election of the State Labor government in early 1983 saw to the build up of a political agenda for system level change in education. The expectation of the Government was that public schools would raise their standards of achievement, be more responsive and be more accountable. Following a comprehensive review of educational policy and practice (Beazley 1984) it was announced that a Functional Review Committee would investigate the structure and operation of the educational bureaucracy. In January 1987 the newly established …

A Programme Of Professional Self-Development For Teachers In New Zealand Technical Institutes, N. Zepke, K. J. Stevens

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Since 1973, a Tutor Training Unit (TTU) has provided professional education for teachers newly appointed to full-time teaching positions within the New Zealand Technical Institute system (the equivalent of Australian TAFE colleges). In a twelve-week course, organized into four discrete blocks, nurses and plumbers, accountants and secretaries, artists and technicians, community developers and computer programmers are together given basic instruction in educational thinking, teaching techniques, teaching aids and evaluation procedures. In an attempt to systematically assess the current and future requirements of Technical Institute teachers, a research programme was designed to identify professional skills which, when mastered, would enable them …

Teacher Attitudes Toward The Mainstreaming Of Exceptional Students: Effects Of The Educational Climate, M. A. Winzer, K. A. Fulmer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In the United States, PL 94-142 is now ten years old, and for a decade school districts have had the legal responsibility to provide for all exceptional children in the 'least restrictive environment.' However, the movement toward integrating exceptional children into regular classrooms is not restricted to the United States. Many countries have been exposed to a vigorous advocacy on.behalf of the handicapped for their right to enjoy an existence as close as possible to normal (Mitchell, 1981).

Perceptions Of The Uses Of Corporal Punishment And Possible Consequesnces If Its Abolition, Alan D. Bowd

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Corporal punishment has been used as a disciplinary procedure in Australian schools for many years despite considerable disagreement among educators concerning its effectiveness (Freeman, 1966: Manning, 1979; Maurer, 1974; Pallas, 1973). The controversy regarding the morality, educational efficacy and psychological consequences of corporal punishment has become an emotive public debate in recent years. In Western Australia, for example, as early as 1972 the Government Secondary Schools Discipline Committee recommended the phasing out of corporal punishment in both secondary and primary schools. However no action was taken and in 1984 the Committee of Inquiry into Education in Western Australia made a …

A Process Approach To The Teaching Of Philosophy And Theory Of Education, Peter Hobson, Tom Moore

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The problems which are associated with the teaching of educational philosophy and theory are well known to those in the field. Issues relating to appropriateness, relevance, content, and course structure raise particular problems for those who teach in this area in the context of pre-service teacher education programmes. This article is an attempt to describe, in personal terms, an approach which evolved over a fifteen year period of teaching educational theory as a compulsory unit in an initial teacher education programme at the University of New England. In our experience it has solved many of the problems initially encountered when …

Knowledge, Thought And Language Across The Curriculum, David Corson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

We know that children's differences in language ability, more than any other observable factor, affect their potential for success in schooling. It is only in the last two or three decades that educationists in general have felt it necessary to state a fact that earlier educationists regarded as too commonplace to warrant stating: that language is the central achievement necessary for success in schooling. It is clear that achievement in schools is highly dependent on the child's ability to 'display' knowledge. This display almost always takes the form of spoken or written language. Child language will often be the first …

Teaching The Philosophy Of Education, Margaret D. Mackie

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In 'Problems in Teaching Philosophy of Education', Australian Journal of Teacher Education, Vol 11, No 1, 1986, M A B Degenhardt pinpoints the 'difficulty' in teaching this subject when he outlines an imaginary lecture on 'Discipline and Punishment'. At the end of this lecture, he says, the students 'will have learned that there is a general agreement on what punishment is, that there are three main theories of punishment ... , that all have strong points '" and that much more will need to be done towards the development of a satisfactory theory of punishment in education' (p.31). He concludes …

What We Don't Know About C.A.I., Patricia Probert, Ross Telfer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Studies of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAl) to date, appear to have concentrated on comparisons of CAl with other modes of instruction; differences in time required for completion of lessons; student personality; student attitudes to CAl; and the number of students who can successfully work together on the one CAl task. It is fair to claim that the most important information is yet to come, for there are many other variables of CAl that need to be researched, as the following questions suggest.

Critical Educational Policy Analysis: A Discussion Of Perspectives, John Grimley

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Education policy is the medium through which society and educational institutions interact. Currently major policy thrusts of devolution and participation are being promoted within the educational community. It becomes essential that these poliCces be analysed and evaluated by educators. This paper supports the role of radical humanist perspective in the development of a critical model of educational policy analysis, and stresses the necessity for teacher educators to expose student teachers to critical and radical perspectives.

Introduction To Thematic Issue: Education Policy And Teacher Education, Bruce Haynes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This thematic issue of the Australian Journal of Teacher Education contains five papers which relate to the theme 'Education Policy and Teacher Education'. The papers relate to two distinct aspects of the theme; education policy studies as part of teacher education courses and the influence of Australian government teacher education policy.

Mathematics And Science In Primary Teacher Education: The Design Of A Project To Encourage Review At The Institutional Level, John M. Owen, Ronald J. Welsh, Neville J. Johnson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Over the past two decades evaluation has been one of the growth industries in education. A major impetus for this development, particularly in the united States of America, has been the mandating of evaluations for major policy initiatives at federal and state levels (House, 1981). One result of such legislation has been that academics and private organisations have been engaged, often on long term assignments, to pass judgements on the worth of interventions designed to improve the quality of education made available in educational systems. Features of this approach to evaluation have been that they are large scale well funded, …