AARE
Australian Association for Research in Education

  AARE Conference 1993 - Abstracts  

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The 1993 AARE Abstracts have been converted to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) to allow better utilisation of the internet's power as a medium of communication. This means that you can search all the abstracts by tapping [CTRL][F] and searching for any words you choose.

Most of the abstracts below have a link "Paper" to the relevant paper. Not all papers were presented, and some were not submitted for publication. Some papers were submitted without an abstract. If you can't find the paper you seek, try the alphabetical list.

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ALAVC93.001

Christine Alavi and Don Margetson, Griffith University.

Facilitative tutoring: How can it be understood and improved?

Empirical evidence, gained from group discussions with both staff and students, points to the need for effective analyses of the facilitative tutoring situation required in problem-based learning. The research problem centres on the need for models which are sufficiently detailed, general, and usable to provide the necessary help in understanding facilitative tutoring and assisting its development. This paper describes the evidence and discusses a relevant model. The model enables interactions between the tutor, student, and public knowledge to be described in terms consistent with the cooperative, questing, critical, reflective, self-evaluative, and knowledge-rich nature of effective problem-based learning.

Ken Alexander, Edith Cowan University.

Replacement program models for secondary physical education.

In physical education's essay journal, Quest, Lawrence Locke recently reported that, the nature of problems facing physical education programs in schools is such that "neither improving instruction nor upgrading the present curriculum will suffice". He argues that only a replacement of the dominant program model (read multiactivity model in the Australian context) "can save a place for physical education in secondary schools". This symposium has, as its theme, the program options available to secondary school physical educators prepared to consider, what Andrew Sparkes has called "real change", and the implications of such options for professional preparation programs and research in schools.

ANDRC93.003

Cheryl Andrews, Griffith University.

Teachers' Work

This paper reports the work-in-progress on teachers'work as a labour process. It focuses on what teachers do, and situates teachers' work within the corporatist framework of the Queensland Education Department, determining the extent teachers' work supports education department policy. Data was collected through teacher diaries, teacher interviews, and participant observation in classrooms. By cross referencing Wexler and Grabiner's (1986) periodisation model of corporatism and Foucault's (1983) analytic approach to power relations, the resulting grid is useful in establishing the extent of corporatism of the Education Department; the concurrent discourses which inform teachers' work; and the extent that corporatist approaches are a part of teachers' modus operandi.

ANGUM93.288

Max Angus, Edith Cowan University.

Politics, the national agenda, and school-level change.

The turbulent industrial relations environment in education in the late nineteen-eighties created a climate where neither `top-down' reforms mandated by governments not `bottom-up' reforms initiated by schools and teachers could proceed far without the agreement of state and federal governments and teachers' unions. The National Schools Project, a large-scale action research project jointly sponsored by a coalition of teachers' employers and unions, emerged in this environment. This paper describes the politics and practice of the National Schools Project, and evaluates its effectiveness in carrying forward the National agenda for work organisation reform in schools.

Jennifer Archer, University of Newcastle.

The motivational climate of a university course: Measuring climate and enhancing students' motivation to learn.

Approximately 400 students in a first year university course in child and adolescent development responded to a questionnaire in the middle of the year and responded to the questionnaire again at the end of the year. Students' responses were used to develop scales measuring their perception of the motivational climate of the course. The theoretical basis of the scales was achievement goal theory (mastery goal orientation, performance goal orientation). The structure of the course was modified during the second semester (assignments to be re-submitted following feedback from lecturers) in an attempt to enhance students' motivation to learn.

ASPLT93.005

Tania Aspland, Christine Proudford and Ian Macpherson, Queensland University of Technology.

Teachers' curriculum decision-making practices at the classroom level: Implications for curriculum policy formulation at the system level.

The study reported in this paper is set within the context of senior schooling policy and initiatives of the Queensland State Education Department. A pilot study of teachers' perceptions of curriculum policy change in senior schooling in Queensland was conducted in 1992. The study found a degree of congruence between system values and teacher values, but there was a discernible perception on the part of teachers that policy had little meaning for them in practical terms. This perception raises questions about the nature of the decisions which teachers make in response to curriculum policy change and the processes by which these decisions are made. The study reported here attempts to address these questions as a sequel to the pilot study. The paper contends that addressing questions like these provides a basis for making recommendations to systems and schools about collaborative decision-making structures for curriculum policy change.

ATHAJ93.006

James Athanasou, University of Technology, Sydney and Ray Cooksey, University of New England.

Ability of high school pupils to estimate vocational interests: Some influences of demographic factors and context - preliminary report.

This study examines the influence of demographic factors such as age, sex, and school setting on self-estimate ability. The subjects (N=1814) in this study were administered an interest inventory (Vocational Interest Survey) and a self-rating scale (Work Interest Survey). Similarity between self-estimate and measured interest profiles was assessed using the correlation betweeen individual's profiles and the squared Euclidean distance (D2), and its components (elevation, scatter and shape by scatter). There were significant differences between boys and girls on profile parameters of elevation, the overall distance between profiles and self-estimate ability. Girls, on the whole, were better able to estimate the pattern of measured interests (0.62), compared to boys (0.55), but the magnitude of this difference between these coefficients (i.e., 0.07) was very small. Age differences between four age groups (14, 15, 16, and those over 16 years) were small. The mean correlation at 14 years was 0.64 compared with 0.57 at 16 years and 0.4 for those over 16 years. Differences between single-sex schools, and co-educational schools were the third factor considered. Girls' schools had the highest correlation between the VIS and WIS profiles (0.63), followed by co-educational schools (0.58) and boys' schools had the lowest profile correlation (0.55). The inference from the results of these three analyses of the total sample is that the type of person most likely to make good self-estimates of interest patterns is likely to be younger, female, and attending a single-sex school. Results were interpreted in terms of the effects of social and situational effects on educational and psychological measurements of interests.

ATWEB93.007

Bill Atweh and Tom Cooper, Queensland University of Technology.

Students Researching Students: An Equity Project and a Methodology for Research.

The Students Researching Students project at the Faculty of Education at QUT is in its second year of operation. In 1992 a group of grade 11 and 12 students from a high school in a very low socio-economic suburb of Brisbane participated in an equity project that aimed at increasing the awareness of these students of university study as an achievable option and investigating the factors that affect the aspiration and participation of students from the school in higher education. The project was based on the following principles and beliefs i) students are well situated to gather information about their cohorts aspirations and attitudes, ii) a research activity should benefit the people it studies, and iii) an effective strategy for increasing participation at higher education is to bridge the gap between the culture of the students and the culture of the university. The students were given a short university based training session on research techniques. The students, in collaboration with a teacher from the school and university staff, designed a study on students from their community, conducted the study, analysed the data and wrote the final report that included specific recommendations. In its second year of its operation, the project took form of an action research based around the recommendations from the first year, and was also extended to another school. The success of the project was assessed by the information it produced and the difference it resulted in the behaviour of the students. This paper reports on the outcome of the first year and presents a preliminary analysis of the results of the second year.

Nado Aveling, Diana Frylinck and Betty Walsh, Murdoch University.

New technologies, new structures: Video conferencing as a teaching tool.

Isolation from tutors as well as peers has long been a problem for students studying at a distance. Educational technologies, hailed as the method of choice by which distance can be minimised, are often under-utilised for a number of reasons. Video conferencing is a relatively new medium in distance education which, to date, does not appear to be used to its full potential as an instructional tool and little is known about the effects technologies other than print, are likely to have on student learning. When using videoconferencing as a communication tool in an educational environment new teaching/learning strategies need to be developed. This paper is a description of, and reflection on a research project which implemented videoconferenced tutorials for internal and external students enrolled in teacher education programs. The research was carried out over a six month period, during which descriptive material was gathered. Further data was collected through questionnaires eliciting demographic, as well as attitudinal responses. These were administered to all participating students before and after they had exposure to videoconfenced tutorials.

Ruby Avotri, Murdoch University.

Teachers' perception of inquiry teaching in Ghanaian secondary schools.

The new education system in Ghana recommends the use of inquiry method of teaching and learning. This method, it is anticipated, will give students greater participation in the planning, teaching and learning processes. It will also help them develop problem-solving skills and enhance their learning outcomes. This paper reports on the preliminary results obtained in a study on teachers who teach social studies in secondary schools in Ghana. It reports on their perception of social studies, the practice of inquiry teaching and the possible problems they encounter.

Ray Barker and Allyson Holbrook, The University of Newcastle.

Meeting the demand for vocational courses: An examination of the influences bearing on the development of Engineering Technician Training in NSW in the 1950s-1960s.

Whereas the relationship between technical education and apprenticeship in NSW was an extremely problematic one for a host of political and economic reasons, the development of technician training provides a sharp and illuminating contrast. This paper raises some interesting questions about the training debate today through its examination of the factors, among them the roles of government and professional associations, that influenced the development of Engineering Technician Training in NSW in the 1950s - 1960s. Technical educators were quick to grasp the need for courses that provided for a new range of workplace classifications which tended to fall outside the province or sphere of concern of tradesmen or the professional engineer. One of the major factors stimulating the interest in, and growth of, the provision of such courses was the strength of demand by the youths themselves. The restrictions attached to apprenticeships meant that many adolescents rejected them out of hand, while older youths were excluded because of the upper age limit. Either way technician training constituted an attractive option. To what extent did the Technical Education sector exercise power over training for industry? With respect to apprenticeship training, technical educators were essentially marginalised by the power struggles that centred around the recruitment of apprentices, and by the increasingly complicated framework of industrial legislation. In the area of technician training the technical education sector took a leadership role in the development of such training and faced little opposition in doing so. The reasons for the contrast are explored in depth in the paper.

BARNG93.013

Graham Barnsley, University of Technology, Sydney.

Practical experience with gifted students: An innovative program for trainee teachers.

It is now widely accepted that primary teachers should be provided with experience teaching gifted and talented children in preservice or inservice courses. Most training institutions can provide only very limited access to gifted and talented children and student teachers receive little or no contact with such pupils.

This paper will describe a highly successful mentoring program conducted at the University of Technology, Sydney which matches selected final year trainee teachers with gifted primary students, thus providing trainees with the opportunity to work with gifted children, and the pupils with mentoring which would otherwise not be available. The program has been in operation for six years and its results over this period will be reported.

BARNG93.014

Graham Barnsley, University of Technology, Sydney.

Providing for marked individual differences in the mainstream.

This presentation will report on the trialling of a teaching approach, based on problem solving, which aims to encourage development of increased skills and understandings in problem solving and in the areas of language and mathematics. The approach makes use of enrichment topics which are intrinsically interesting to children, and allows a variety of different ability levels, including the gifted and talented, to be extended in the mainstream. The various discipline strands are integrated to form a developmental sequence providing a high level of active pupil involvement and motivation. The sequence provides a high level of investigative learning but also opportunities for creativity and expression.

BARTL93.342

Leo Bartlett, University of Central Queensland, John Knight and Bob Lingard, The University of Queensland.

After the AEC: The future of a national agenda.

Initially the paper will canvass the background to collaboration between the States and the Commonwealth towards the development of a national agenda for education and training. The broader structural context post 1987 will be reviewed including the metapolicy status granted economic restructuring; the reconstitution of public administration; and the related focus on the inefficiencies inherent in the dual jurisdictional workings of federalism. More specifically, discussion will centre on the July AEC/MOVEET meeting and the significance of the decisions taken there for the December meeting which will decide future intergovernmental structures and relationships in education/training and thus the future of a national educational agenda. Amongst other things, the analysis will consider the mediation of this agenda by the changing party political persuasions of the various State players. The discussion relates to an ongoing ARC funded project on the AEC, 1987-1993.

BATTM93.015

Margaret Batten, Australian Council for Educational Research.

The early years of teaching in primary and secondary schools.

In order to ensure a first class teaching force, attention must be given to procedures of recruitment, training, reward and support so that the teaching profession can attract and retain good teachers and provide the means to enhance their performance during their years of professional service. A study recently undertaken at ACER chose to focus on teachers of two to five years experience because these teachers were well placed to provide pertinent information on all these areas. The 1200 teachers were located in primary and secondary government and non-government schools in Victoria, Queensland and the ACT. The analysis of the survey data showed consistent differences in the views and experiences of primary and secondary teachers.

Richard Berlach, Edith Cowan University.

Distinguishing between proficient and non-proficient problem-solving strategies in student teachers.

In an attempt to ascertain whether teacher education students differ in their problem-solving style, second year school-leaver and mature-age students (N=50) were asked to read and respond to three classroom-oriented problem-solving vignettes. Criteria for inclusion into the category of proficient or non-proficient were established from available expert/novice and master-teacher literature and responses were coded using NUDIST 2.3 software. Results indicated that expertise needed to be defined in terms other than merely experience. A cognitive processing model based on schemata differentiation is proposed to explain the difference in problem-solving style. Implications for pre-service Education courses are considered.

Bob Bessant, LaTrobe University.

Corporate practices and their penetration of university administration and government.

The paper will examine a selected number of pre-Dawkins universities where there have been significant changes in recent years in the organisation and government of their academic and general administrative affairs. It will be based on interviews with staff in the institutions and material supplied by the institutions.

The paper will discuss why these changes have occurred (more or less at the same time) and how they have affected the ability of academic staff to influence academic and general university affairs.

The emphasis will be on examining those elements of change which show evidence of the influence of the practices of the corporate sector on university staff and university government and administration, e.g. corporate management, performance indicators, market forces, performance management, corporate status and reward practices, quality control and product orientation.

BIGGJ93.018

John Biggs, University of Hong Kong.

Asian learners through Western eyes: An astigmatic paradox.

Asian students from Confucian-heritage cultures (CHCs) have been criticised for their commitment to a rote-biased or "surface" approach to learning. The environments in which they are taught are perceived as encouraging just such an approach; these environments are also ones that Western research would categorise as academically unhealthy. Such descriptions are by now stereotypes. Yet CHC students generally have a more "academic" approach to learning (low surface, high deep) than Australians, and their academic performance in international comparisons is consistently higher than that of students from most Western countries. It is suggested that these hard data are correct; if there is any paradox it is because of Western misperceptions, both of CHC students' approaches to learning, and of the environments in which they are taught. Some implications for handling international students in Australia are discussed.

Jill Blackmore, Deakin University.

Colonising discourses: devolution and its implication for equity.

Devolution has become the ready administrative solution for the crisis of the state, particularly as it relates to education, for both economic and ideological reasons. The colonising tendencies of this universalising discourse are evident in its hegemony in informing the restructuring of education and the state globally. This paper, in drawing from studies and trends in England, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Sweden and Sri Lanka, argues that the universalising claims of this discourse are ahistorical as well as being internally contradictory. The discourse on the one hand appeals to post-fordist notions of changing work relations (e.g.autonomy, flexibility, adaptability, customisation of service at the local level, team work), capable of addressing equity, yet emulates the worst management practices of Fordism (hierarchy, surveillance, individualisation,competition) It appeals in the Australian, English and New Zealand contexts to the market and small strong states whereas in Sri Lanka it is claimed devolution will encourage greater participation and thereby alleviate student unrest. By contrast, the Swedish model must be contextualised within a well developed democratic view of citizenship education, but one which now is increasingly being linked to economic factors and crisis of the state. By conclusion, the paper considers the implications of the trends for both equity and education. The paper draws upon feminist / postmodernist theories of the state and economics.

BONDT93.019

Trevor G Bond, James Cook University of North Queensland.

Empirical research and Piagetian theory: Quantitative approaches applied to qualitative theory.

Recently, Piagetian theory has not fared well in English speaking countries in spite of an obvious honeymoon period in the sixties. This, it is argued, is because US, UK and Australian psychologists habitually approached research questions from an empiricist perspective dominated by the prevailing views of standard science and of behavioural science grounded in stimulus-response explanations. Currently, researchers are more sensitive to the continental epistemology explicitly addressed by the Piagetian oeuvre and empirical research in the area of formal operational thought has sought to make educational differences for adolescent learners. Empirical research involving the application of analytical methods based on Item Response Theory substantiates the validity of key Piagetian concepts, reveals long term learning gains in the UK based CASE project and provides far more sensitive and defensible ways of assessing cognitive development and learning potential in three projects in North Queensland.

Sid Bourke and Max Smith, The University of Newcastle.

Some relationships between teacher characteristics, subject taught and teaching practices in secondary schooling.

A survey of 285 secondary teachers in the Hunter Region of NSW provided data on teacher background and characteristics including their perceptions of work-related stress, workload and satisfaction. Subsequently the English, Mathematics and Social Science lessons of 71 of these teachers were observed and the nature of specific classroom contextual variables and teaching practices were recorded. Subject taught was found to be related to teacher characteristics and teaching practices. A multivariate model was developed and tested in an attempt to explicate key relationships.

Sid Bourke and Hedy Fairbairn, The University of Newcastle.

Measuring secondary teachers' views of homework.

Homework is a school tradition such that teaching/learning models of schooling which ignore homework are incomplete. Factor and reliability analyses were used to develop four scales measuring different aspects of teachers' views about homework, at both the junior and senior secondary levels. The successful scales were concerned with the importance of the following: Outcomes of homework, Structure of homework, Feedback to students, and Parental involvement. Although not strong, teacher responses were positive to all four aspects with the clearest support for the importance of Outcomes of homework. Teacher background and characteristics and year level taught were associated with some attitudes.

Jennifer Bowes, University of Sydney, Pamela Warton, Macquarie University, Denise Chalmers, Edith Cowan University, Jeanette Lawrence and Jenny Todd, University of Melbourne.

Development of responsibility: Household tasks, homework, and planning family activities.

The development of responsibility in children is a relatively neglected field of research. Responsibility is generally conceived in such global terms that early research has found few links between participation in such activities as household work and children's developing sense of responsibility. The symposium will bring together three research papers which have defined responsibility in a more precise form and have examined how responsibility operates in a number of "real-life" activities familiar to children; work around the house, and planning a family activity.

The first and third papers (Bowes, Chalmers & Lawrence) are concerned with the bases on which tasks are distributed; these include age, gender and generation. They also address why some tasks are felt to be the responsibility of one person while others are able to be redistributed. The second paper (Warton) examines another interpretation of responsibility, namely self-regulation. Using homework as an area in which children are expected to be self-regulating at an early age, the paper will examine the extent to which children need help from others before becoming self-regulating.

Jennifer Bowes, University of Sydney.

Children's responsibility for work around the house.

The paper will present results from three studies concerned with parents' and children's perceptions of who has responsibility for a range of household tasks. The focus will be on two kinds of responsibility: causal responsibility (the person who created the problem should fix it) and continuing responsibility (the extent to which responsibility is still felt after a job has been delegated). Reasons for perceived responsibility for tasks were examined. Expressed reasons included competence, preference and availability, and evidence was found for generation and gender influences. Implications will be drawn about exploring further children's developing sense of responsibility and links to prosocial behaviour.

BRADL93.299

Laurie Brady, University of Technology Sydney.

Peer assistance: On site professional development for principals.

There has been an increasing emphasis in recent years on professional development for all members of the educational community. Fundamental changes in the role of the principal, brought about by a devolution of responsibility to schools, has created the need for new knowledge and skills, thereby underlining the importance of professional development.This paper reports on a study jointly funded by the University of Technology Sydney and the NSW Department of School Education to examine the professional development needs of principals, and the perceived quality of existing professional development programs. All principals in one administrative region for schooling in NSW were surveyed in relation to their preferred objectives, preferred content areas, and preferred modes of delivery for professional development. Analysis of the data related these preferences to the personal/professional attributes of age, gender, qualifications, type of school and experience.

The results indicated the perceived need of principals for professional development in areas related to leadership and management; a view of professional development as the provision of skills that are task-related; a strong support for the school as a forum for professional development; and numerous significant differences with the most salient attributes being gender and age.Discovering the need for on-site or school-based professional development programs, a peer assistance program was developed involving the pairing of principals to work together for two consecutive days on previously identified areas of common concern. Analysis involved rating scales, interview and observation of interaction. The approach was highly rated by principals who claimed that it is an outstanding model; that it is non-threatening and helps to overcome isolation.

Future implementation of the approach will have to closely monitor individual needs to ensure optimum professional development. Systematic implementation should resist the temptation to use the outstanding principal only as a mentor for less experienced principals, to the detriment of his/her professional development needs.

BRANJ93.300

Jillian Brannock, Queensland University of Technology.

Leading from behind : The response of school principals to gender equity.

This paper reports on findings gained from an investigation into teacher attitudes and practices with relation to gender differentiation in schools and classrooms. The researcher undertook field work in 14 Brisbane schools, government and non-government, primary and secondary. Data collection techniques included interviews with principals, written surveys of teachers, and classroom observation.

The focus of this paper will be the attitudes of Principals, and how the declared ethos of each of their schools translates into active policies and programs to encourage gender equity. Few of the Principals indicated strong support for schools taking affirmative action in support of gender equity, and indeed there was marked reluctance to accept that schools should even be attempting to challenge sexism and sex stereotyping. Of those who supported gender equity programs, the majority admitted that no such programs operated at their own school. In the light of recent literature on the transformative and ethical nature of leadership, it is suggested that the gap between rhetoric and reality is a large one, and needs to be addressed within inservice programs targetted for Principals.

Neil Brown, University of New South Wales.

Children's developing beliefs about art as a basis for sequencing content in art education.

This paper posits developmental principles for the differentiation, selection and presentation of content in visual arts education for groups between K and 12. It introduces the broad principle of representational autonomy which, it argues provides the basis upon which, at varying ages children's undisputedly differing capacity to understand and act in the visual arts can be explained. The notion of representational autonomy in the visual arts is first worked philosophically through Davidson's concept of propositional attitudes and Perner's theory of representation, and subsequently justified by reference to the results of a pilot study based on the network analysis of children's theory of art. The results suggest unambiguous differences in the autonomy with which children at different stages are able to relate key concepts about art in the network.

BUNNR93.083

Rosalie Bunn, The University of Newcastle.

Powerful practices: Schooling and the production of inscribed and resisting bodies.

Using empirical evidence, this paper explores the veracity of Foucault's conception of power for the educational setting. In institutions which make conformity compelling, it is evident that for both teachers and students, Foucault's elaboration of power as circulatory, productive, as well as repressive and existing in action, would seem to have potential for highlighting aspects of schooling not previously documented. The study on which this paper is based, demonstrates that both teachers and students engage in a range of micro-practices in which they not only exercise power in relation to those around them, and in relation to themselves, but they also resist. While schools have traditionally been seen as institutions which regulate minds, this paper points to the subtle mechanisms of power which permeate pedagogy at the bodily level.

BURKC93.301

Clarrie Burke, Brigid Limerick, John Cawte and Roger Slee, Queensland University of Technology.

Devolution in the Queensland state education system: A review and evaluation.

This paper presents a review and evaluation of the effectiveness of the policy of devolution of responsibility within the Queensland State School system, as perceived by key stakeholders at all levels - including community members and school non-teaching staff. The study reports findings on: the extent to which the various stakeholders perceive themselves to be involvedin decision-making in their particular roles; in which areas of decision-making these stakeholders participate; stakeholders' perceptions of the outcomes of being involved in decision-making; and whether stakeholders perceive a gap between the rhetoric of devolution policy and the actuality of implementation. The major findings of the study indicate widespread dissatisfaction with particular aspects of the Education Department's devolution policy in practice, but also present a picture of substantial change and achievement. A major problem area between devolution policy and its practical effect relates to significantly increased workloads and the demands on the time of all members of the school community. Teachers expressed concern at increased workloads, reduced face-to-face teaching time, and stress. Community members were concerned about their lack of skills in consultation, negotiation and consensus management. The resounding message is that essential knowledge about the origins, philosophy and infrastructure of devolution in the Queensland State school system is seriously lacking. Whilst the study reveals widespread disquiet, it also reports optimism and a positive reception for organisational change at all levels. The Report is in many senses a `work in progress', which provides a rich resource to inform future progress as well as to evaluate past performance.

Jude Butcher, Australian Catholic University, and Michael Prosser, University of Sydney.

Identifying teacher and student thinking from qualitative analyses of open-ended written responses.

The main purpose of this presentation is to outline a method for identifying and analysing teacher and student experiences of teaching and learning from qualitative analyses of short written statements. Methods such as interviewing and transcript analysis are appropriate for the more intensive phase of research projects, but are there complementary means of collecting and analysing such data for the more extensive phase of such projects? The intended audience for this presentation would be researchers interested in collecting and analysing data about teacher and student thinking in the extensive phase in which a large number of participants are involved.The theoretical framework for this work is that of phenomenography. It describes people's experiences of various aspects of their world from their perspective. The categories identified describe both the structure and meaning of the expressed experiences.

Perce Butterworth, NSW Vocational Education and Training Agency.

Approaches to re-forming the VET system.

Examines approaches used by the Australian vocational education and training (VET) systems to re-form their structures, functions and operations in response to the formation of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA).

Contrasts the approaches and details the major problems encountered. (Done mainly through interviews with key personnel in each State.)

Discusses the efficiency and effectiveness of arrangements with respect to the implementation of the National Reform Agenda in the VET Sector.

Reflects on the "achievability" of ANTA's goals and objectives, given the divergence in structures and functions across the Australian VET system.

Concludes by posing a series of answers to the question "What will they mean for future vocational education and training in Australia?"

Research Methodology:

Review of literature, publications and legislation.

Identification of major issues/themes.

Preparation of questionnaire.

Via telephone and fax talk to key personnel in each State and ANTA.

Compilation/write-up of results/findings.

Trevor Cairney, University of Western Sydney,and Lynne Munsie, NSW Department of School Education.

Involving parents in the literacy activities of secondary school children: An evaluation of the effective partners in secondary literacy learning project.

Parent involvement is seen as a necessity by the majority of teachers and educators. However, many attempts to involve parents are limited (Bruner, 1980) and 'tokenistic' (Cairney & Munsie, 1992). Far too often efforts to involve parents are on the school's terms, and lead to little long-term benefits for parents or their children. This paper will provide a description of an ambitious parent education program that sought to provide parents with access to a range of literacy practices, while at the same time enabling teachers to attain an increased understanding of home literacy practices.

In the session we will describe the program that was developed, and outline the results of an evaluation of the program's implementation in a disadvantaged community using a group of 25 parents and their 55 children. A variety of qualitative methods were used to evaluate the program's impact, including interviews, observation, surveys and document analysis. These data confirmed that the program offered parents new knowledge about schooling, literacy and learning; that students grew in confidence and performance; and that the program had positive benefits for teachers and the school.

CAIRT93.260

Trevor Cairney, University of Western Sydney.

Assessment in mathematics.

This paper looks at assessment in mathematics and how it may be improved. The basis for improvement is taken to be those aspects of assessment which are the most important and the most amenable to change, namely, the item content, the form of response required, the interpretation of responses, and the interaction between these first three factors. Examples from recent innovative attempts to create improved assessments, with respect to each of these factors, is presented. Whilst not all of the changeable factors are addressed by each assessment tool, the interaction between the innovative and conventional factors does provide better information, which is the fundamental purpose of all assessment.

CARTD93.295

David Carter and Sheena Carter, The University of Notre Dame.

Adolescent understanding of key variables affecting receptivity to health curricula.

Adolescents comprise a substantial proportion of the `at risk' population for sexually transmissible diseases (STD's) and AIDS.They are potentially amenable to the curricular influences of the high school in promoting lifestyle choices. In so doing curricula may have to cater for the different meanings attributed to sexuality and sexual relationships by boys and girls, in which receptivity to curriculum implementation predisposes individuals towards the adoption of a lifestyle conducive to healthy sexual behaviour.

In this study an instrument was constructed to measure key constitutive variables of receptivity in the dimensions of `understandings' and `affects'. It was administered to a sample of high school students (N=533). Reliability coefficients were calculated for each of the instrument scales after they had been reduced using factor analytic procedures. Data were subjected to ANOVA, with sex and school as the dependent variables and eight instrument variables as the independent variables. It was found that as the amount of sexuality education increased the more receptive were adolescents to its content and processes.

Rod Chadbourne, Edith Cowan University, and Robin Clarke, Secondary School Principal.

The NSP and the Case of a Large Secondary School.

Last year, (1992) the authors conducted a formative review of the NSP in a large secondary school. They found that although the project challenged the culture it led to virtually no change in the work organisation of the school, a somewhat surprising result considering the school's reputation for innovation. This paper revisits the school during the second year of the NSP, outlines what headway has been made, and identifies factors affecting the process. In doing so, it examines how aspects of the culture and structure of a secondary school create opportunities for, and impose constraints on, adopting the NSP model of educational reform.

Rod Chadbourne, Edith Cowan University, and Margaret Hodgkin,

Open Learning School Coordinator. The work organisation of an alternative non-government school.

KIDS is an open learning school with 120 students (5 - 18 years) six full time teachers and a range of specialist staff. It has been operating for 19 years and is spread across three campuses in the Perth metropolitan area. As an alternative non-government school, KIDS has been able to develop a pattern of work organisation that incorporates many of the innovations advocated by Dean Ashenden. Doing so, however, has involved some sacrifice. This paper examines the enduring initiative at KIDS in terms of the rationale underlying the National Schools Project and the cost involved in cutting loose from the traditional mould.

Denise Chalmers, Richard Fuller and Denise Kirkpatrick, Edith Cowan University.

Everyone wants an A -but will they even get a C?

This paper reports an investigation into 1st year university students' learning goals, perceptions and study strategies, and follows changes that occurred over the course of a year. The assumption that adult learners adopt a relatively stable approach to their study, regardless of the context, is not supported by recent research. Students adopt different approaches according to their individual learning goals, perceptions of the learning task, knowledge and use of a variety of learning strategies. These have also been shown to vary according to different subject content or unit types and to change within a unit over the course of a semester. A study which traces the changes in students' goals, perceptions and study strategies over their three year undergraduate course is being conducted at Edith Cowan University. An intervention was also conducted with a group of students who were taught tertiary level learning skills and strategies in the context of their regular coursework over one semester. Results from the first year of the study are reported and the effects of the intervention on students' goals, perceptions and learning strategies are explored in the context of student change.

CHALD93.263

Denise Chalmers, Edith Cowan University and Jeanette Lawrence and Jenny Todd, University of Melbourne.

Planning a family activity: Distributing responsibilities for tasks.

This paper explores the underlying role-boundness and division of specific tasks for a pleasant, co-operative event. Year 9 adolescents and adults in their middle and later years were asked to plan an unexpected party for a teenager, and allocate party chores to up to four helpers, comprised of family members and a friend. The allocation of different chores to adolescents and adults in this specific situation provides a window on their perceptions of roles and of the appropriateness of tasks that can be assigned to others.

Findings from two separate party planning exercises revealed that adolescents and adults had clear understandings of what could and could not be delegated according to perceptions of the roles of the different helpers across ages and genders. Parents took up traditional responsibilities but did not involve themselves in the planning aspects of the party. Adolescents also excluded parents from assisting them with their plans, and from the party preparation. All had strict ideas about what a non-family friend could be asked to do. Findings are interpreted in relation to concepts of roles and responsibility.

Lorna K S Chan, The University of Newcastle.

Combined strategy and attributional training for poor readers

This paper reports on a study examining the effects of combined strategy and attributional training for poor readers through small-group intervention in a specific reading task context. Four Year 7 classes, consisting of 40 poor readers and 56 average readers, participated in the study. Students were randomly allocated to one of four instructional types involving different combinations of strategy instruction and attributional training. Instruction was provided in small groups of 6 to 8 students over nine one-hour sessions. Results confirm that strategy instruction and attributional training were particularly beneficial for poor readers.

Paul Chandler, University of New South Wales.

Using cognitive principles to improve instructional procedures.

Recent cognitive research indicates that many commonly used instructional techniques are inadequate as they overload limited working memory and interfere with the two primary components of learning, namely, schema acquisition and automation. For example, data are available indicating that instructional formats which unnecessarily split attention between referring sources of information or contain additional redundant sources of information seriously interfere with the learning process (Chandler & Sweller, 1991; 1992; Sweller, Chandler, Tierney & Cooper, 1990). Several short term experiments and long term field studies in both educational and industrial settings have shown that alternative, cognitively based instructional packages designed to reduce the burden on working memory are superior to traditional techniques used by educators for generations. This paper explores the conditions under which these alternative instructional techniques are likely to be most beneficial. It suggests that when information has a high intellectual component, then the instructional format becomes critical and cognitively based instruction is highly effective. Where the intrinsic nature of the information imposes fewer intellectual demands, then the format of instruction is not as important (Sweller & Chandler, in press). A number of studies which support these hypotheses using computer based materials and other technical based equipment are discussed.

Shu-Hui Chang, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Taiwan.

Inter-subtest branching in computerized adaptive testing.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate several inter-subtest branching methods used in computerized adaptive testing procedures. Computerized adaptive testing is a significant application of Item Response Theory (IRT) models. Inter-subtest branching is used to resolve a practical problem encounter in multicontent achievement tests. One problem most researchers encounter is the issue of dimensionality. Unidimensionality is a basic assumption of most IRT models. Because achievement tests usually consist of multiple subtests, the application of the IRT models to these tests is inevitably problematic. Therefore, instead of applying an IRT model to a multicontent achievement test, separate ability estimations in each subtest are obtained by applying the model to each subtest separately.

The inter-subtest branching used in the present investigation was based on multiple correlation to decide the order of presentation of the subtests for use of multiple regression with the preceding subtests to predict the initial trait level for the current subtest. Three branching methods were compared in the present study. These include: (1) branching based on multiple correlation of raw scores -- the higher the correlation, the earlier the subtest is administered; (2) branching based on multiple correlation of raw scores -- the lower the correlation, the earlier the subtest is administered; and (3) branching based on random order. Finally, no-branching was the fourth method and the baseline for comparison.

The present study was based on simulation data. One thousand simulees were used for item calibration, and 200 simulees were used for the CAT procedures. There were four subtests, and each subtest had 100 items. The inter-correlation among the four subtests ranged from low to high (.14 to .69). The comparisons made among the four methods did not reveal distinct differences in terms of test length. Only small differences were observed. As expected, method 4 performed the worst. Method 1 yielded better results than the other competing methods, particularly at a later stage when the third and the fourth subtests were administered. However, the differences among the four methods were not large enough to make a practical distinction. It was suggested that systematically varying the number of subtests and the magnitude of correlations among subtests are two factors that need to be investigated systematically in future research.

Anne Chapman, Murdoch University.

School mathematics as a social practice.

This paper investigates the relationship between language and learning in school mathematics. It works from the premise that there is a recent trend in perspectives on the study of language and mathematics towards a concern with the social, interactive nature of meaning and learning. The notion of `social construction' of meanings is problematized, making a case for the centrality of language in classroom mathematics teaching and learning. School mathematics is positioned as a social practice which engages the closely related dimensions of context, culture and language. It is argued that mathematical meanings are constructed at least in part through specific language practices and formations.

Mei-Hung Chiu and Hwa-Wen Fu, National Taiwan Normal University.

Problem-solving in stereochemistry.

This study focused on understanding how students solve problems in stereochemistry (i.e., decide what type of isomer a compound is). In particular, how students solve problems with different presentations of problems (e.g., 2-D and 3-D representations on papers, and real molecular models), and the ideosyncratics of students' problem-solving strategies.

Subjects were individually interviewed by the first researcher using a thinking-aloud method. With this method subjects were given tasks and asked to describe how they are solving the task. The data consist of a transcript of each interview and written work the subject produced. All interviews were tape-recorded and videotaped for later transcription and analysis.

The finding suggests that on average, the successful students outperformed the unsuccessful students in all four types of questions (namely Fischer projection, chemical formula, 3-D representation in a paper, and real molecular models). The biggest difference between the successful students and unsuccessful students was on Type I which required the students to decide what type of isomer a compound is from a planary representation (2-D). The big difference on their performance indicated that the more successful students are able to transform a 2-D representation to a more useful representation for making a decision. The smallest difference was on Type IV which provided the students with concrete models for solving problems. This finding suggests that most students were benefitial from receiving a 3-D models. One explanation is that it might reduce the students' cognitive load on visualizing the moleculars from a 2-D perspective.

Mei-Hung Chiu, Shueh-Chin Weng and Ing-Shyan Chern, National Taiwan Normal University.

Children's concepts about stars.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star....." We all have experiences watching the sky to look for twinkle stars. However, have we ever known how much we know about stars? This study intended to understand what concepts about stars elementary students have. In particular, if there are differences between the third graders who have not learned the topic and the fifth graders who have been taught in a science class.

Sixteen Subjects were drawn from the third and the fifth grades (8 students of each level) of a local elementary school in Taipei, Taiwan. They were individually interviewed by the researchers using an open-ended questionnaire. The questions are designed to examine how much students know about characteristics of stars and relationships among stars, moon, earth, and sun. The data consist of a transcript of each interview and written work the subject produced. All interviews were tape-recorded for later transcription and analysis.

The findings suggest that the students' concepts and explanations of a phenomena of stars are inconsistent even those fifth graders who have been taught in a formal science class. In general, the students have limited knowledge about the history of the whole universe. Their explanations and understandings are based on incomplete and piecemeal scientific knowledge and their daily experiences. Also, they are heavily influenced by media, such as story books, pictures, and videotapes, etc. Even though these resources provide them with some imagination for the universal world, misconceptions or alternative concepts are occurred simultaneously without carefully investigated. More detailed analyses will be provided later.

CHOIW93.038

Won Sik Choi, Chungnam National University, South Korea.

Relationship between instruction on major programming languages and improvement in problem-solving performance.

Results from a semester-long study investigating the relationship between instruction on the major programming languages and improvement in problem-solving performance will be presented.

Key Descriptor Words:1.Programming 2.Problem-Solving 3.Pascal 4.FORTRAN 5.BASIC

The major purposes of this study were: (a) to determine if learning to program a computer in either Pascal, FORTRAN, or BASIC improves the problem-solving skills of students, who are at the formal operational stage, when compared to a control group ofstudents also at the formal operational stage, and (b) to determine if learning to program a computer in one specific language (either Pascal, FORTRAN or BASIC) is more effective than learning to program a computer in the others in the development of problem-solving abilities.

Results indicated that learning to program in Pascal, FORTRAN, or BASIC does significantly improve the problem-solving abilities of formal operational stage students, as measured by the instrument used, when compared to a group receiving no programming instruction. However, there was no significant difference in problem-solving performance among three experimental groups.

Margaret Clyde, The University of Melbourne.

Centre-based caregivers' perceprions of their role.

The Australian society of the 1990's requires that many young children are cared for outside their home and away from their primary caregivers. This situation has led to an increasing emphasis on the roles of centre-based child care workers, and their perceptions of their role.

It has been assumed that most caregivers develop their various skills as part of an ongoing process of personal and professional growth. Katz's (1977) staged model of survival, consolidation, renewal and maturity is one such popular model, while Vander Ven (1990) has attributed certain personal and professional characteristics of these various stages. This study involving caregivers in eighty-seven centres in Victoria attempted to compare the perceptions and characteristics from nearly three hundred Australian centre-based caregivers with similar data from the U.S.A.

COLLC93.040

Cherry Collins, Murdoch University.

The primary school curriculum in Western Australia. An historical study.

This paper will be a work-in-progress report on a research project exploring some of the historical parameters of the primary school curriculum in Western Australia. Curriculum documents are being treated as important cultural sites which reveal fundamental cultural assumptions as they attempt to create a new generation of properly acculturated Western Australians. In particular, the research project sees the school curriculum as quintessentially Modernist, that is, as tied to assumptions about knowledge, persons and society valorised and promoted in the Enlightenment project. It is using questions from various strands of post-Enlightenment scholarship to make these Modernist assumptions visible. The research is exploring the curriculum at a number of separate historical points, rather than creating a narrative to explain change. The paper will (probably) report on the 1890s, the first world war period, the work from the late 20s leading to the 1936 curriculum, and the curriculum of the 1950s.

Kennece Coombe, Barry Cocklin, John Retallick, Susan Clancy, Charles Sturt University.

Women principals in rural contexts.

In 1992, the initial outcomes of a Delphi study which focussed upon a group of women principals was discussed at this conference. The paper now gives a more complete account of the outcomes of the study. The research sought to elaborate the ways in which women Principals in rural New South Wales perceive, conceptualise, and enact educational leadership and school management. The elements of school administration identified by the principals were gathered into thirteen categories. These will be elaborated and discussed, with a particular focus upon the outcomes of the research which allowed the participants to rank their administrative tasks.

Merolyn Coombs and Hilary Yerbury, University of Technology Sydney.

Standards of quality in information service and product design: A case study using peer assessment.

The purpose of this project was to help students learn in an innovative way about the concept of quality as an aspect of good professional practice. Peer assessment gave students two opportunities to demonstrate their learning: in the skill with which they performed exercises in information analysis and knowledge representation, and in the understanding shown when they assessed their peer's work according to accepted international standards in information and documentation. The outcomes were not as we expected as the students did not demonstrate higher levels of understanding of quality. However, the students themselves perceived that they had learned considerably from providing feedback for peers and understanding another's view of the concept.

Dianne Loughhead Cooper, James Cook University of North Queensland.

Teaching: The health consequences for women primary school teachers in Queensland public education.

The occupational health of teachers has been investigated in other disciplinary fields in Canada and the US. However, the matter of women teacher's health as a constitutive aspect of schooling and the education of children has been overlooked by Australian educational research. This paper draws on qualitative data from a study in progress of women primary school teachers teaching in State Government primary schools in North Queensland. It examines the relationship between primary school teaching and the health of women teachers and discusses factors in their work which influence and cause health disabling conditions. It also provides a preliminary description of some teachers' strategies for the prevention of occupational health problems and stress, and their strategies for coping with difficult working and physical conditions, family, gender politics and domestic work.

Adrianne Kinnear and Judith Cousins, Edith Cowan University.

Children as reflectors of the reluctant teacher's classroom.

Reluctant female primary teachers expressed increased confidence and perceived self competence with teaching science over the course of a year when given support and resources. We have asked the question: To what extent are the teachers' perceptions reflected in their children's work and comments? An analysis of the children's workbooks and questionnaires reveals some interesting comparisons between teachers' perceptions of success and children's output.

Rhonda Craven, University of New South Wales.

Teaching the teachers Aboriginal Studies and Torres Strait Islander Studies: A national priority !

Many non-indigenous teachers experience difficulty teaching Aboriginal Studies and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Due to lack of training, most teachers lack content knowledge and have no confidence that they will be able to `get it right'. Of those teacher educators who are aware of the need for Aboriginal Studies and Torres Strait Islander Studies in teacher education, many have the same difficulties as teachers. Some other teacher educators, and some institutions, are not aware of the need for Aboriginal Studies and Torres Strait Islander Studies in preservice teacher education. To address these problems the University of New South Wales with Commonwealth funding is developing a compulsory teacher-oriented Aboriginal Studies and Torres Strait Islander Studies subject for student primary teachers as a national pilot. This subject is being developed in full consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, education authorities and professional associations. All materials developed for this subject will be made available nationally. This consultative paper will outline the draft structure of the subject and participants comments will be invited.

Rhonda Craven, University of New South Wales.

Enhancing self-concept: Preliminary findings of a large-scale longitudinal ARC study.

The enhancement of self-concept is widely valued as a desirable educational goal, and is frequently postulated as a mediating variable that facilitates the attainment of other desired outcomes such as improved academic achievement. Few enhancement studies have produced positive results due to methodological weaknesses. The present large-scale study capitalises on promising features of previous small-scale enhancement studies by:

1. incorporating recent developments in self-concept theory and measurement,