Dr Helen Raduntz (PhD), University of South Australia, A contemporary Marxian critique of trends in education and teachers' work in an era of major structural change.

The study involves an investigation into: 1) why there is currently a trend towards restructuring education to conform to the requirements of the capitalist market economy; 2) what are the factors influencing the trend; and 3) what is the likely outcome for education and teachers' work if the trend persists. The trend towards education's marketisation is problematic from the standpoint of issues of equity and social development. From a historical developmental standpoint and on the basis that the restructuring of education cannot be understood without reference to changes occurring in the capitalist economy, a Marxian critique had to be developed for the task not only of discovering the nature of the dynamics operating within that economy which appear to be driving education towards marketisation but also of tracing this developmental tendency and its rationale. Drawing on Marx's foundational analysis of capital and updating it in accord with contemporary developments the critique reveals that in its history and driven by the imperative to accumulate and expand capital, it can be shown that capitalism thrives and survives on constant technological and structural change and the economic crises it engenders. The degree of severity of the current crisis, however, which derives from a surplus of capital which cannot find investment opportunities, has driven capitalism to extend its regime of market regulation globally and to open even services like education to marketisation and international competition as a means of ensuring that the needs of private capital accumulation are met. On this account it is likely that education and teachers' work will be subjugated to the same conditions operating in commodity production and exchange with almost total disregard for equity in education on which social development depends. A grasp of the dynamics involved, however, provides the basis for effective and participatory decision-making and intervention.

Dr Pam Twee (PhD), University of western Sydney, Literacy learning of adolescent students with intellectual disabilities: A case study inquiry.

This study explores the learning, and specifically literacy learning, of intellectually disabled adolescent students. Factors that have influenced this learning throughout the adolescent's education are identified. It was undertaken to address a gap in the practical and theoretical knowledge of literacy in the field of mild and moderate intellectual disabilities. Although there has been extensive research into literacy and disability independently, there has been little that specifically combines the two. Nineteen case studies of the literacy development of adolescent students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities were developed through observations in their classrooms and of related activities, interviews, questionnaires, analysis of work samples and research into the personal and educational histories of the students. The results of the study show that there were three main influences on literacy development for these students. These were the unique nature of the learner, home and family factors and the impact of school on the literacy learning of these students from their early learning and through their years of formal education. Within these categories, specific influences on the adolescent's literacy development were revealed, providing teachers and others involved with the care and welfare of such students with valuable information on which to base appropriate learning experiences. This study adds to current research on the learning of adolescent students with intellectual disabilities by looking specifically at literacy development and using qualitative approaches to search within and beyond the classroom for issues which affect their learning. It examines literacy learning in the light of the whole person and focuses on factors which influence the literacy learning of disabled adolescents. Practitioners in education and in the care of disabled children can use the study's findings to build a framework of knowledge to develop appropriate educational placements, programs and support for learning by drawing on significant aspects of the child's personal, social and educational development.

Dr Arna Wesley (EdD), Macquarie University, Teachers' response to mandated curriculum reform in technology education.

This thesis presents a study that investigates teachers' response to mandated curriculum reform in technology education, using the New South Wales Design and Technology Syllabus Years 7-10 as the example. It explores the relationship between teachers' attitudes and concerns and their implementation behaviours. Using teachers of Year 8 Design and Technology in Sydney metropolitan high schools as the population for the study, a screening survey categorised the teachers into those who supported the reform and those who did not. Three teachers from the supportive group and three teachers from the non-supportive group became the sample for a case study that included a detailed questionnaire, interview and site visit. This case study provided the opportunity to conceptualise the issues that surround curriculum reform. These issues were then presented to a second group of teachers for validation. The case study tells the story of six teachers who felt little sense of ownership of the reform and who grappled with the challenges of making changes to their previously valued teaching methodologies. This story is set in an environment where two faculties with distinct gender delineation and differing cultures were asked to merge in the implementation of the new syllabus, posing a unique set of demands. The finding that mandated change is unlikely to be endorsed and implemented unless the participants are fully involved is not new. However this specific case provides a clear message that if reform requires a shift in pedagogy, teacher commitment becomes more central to the implementation. It found that those teachers who not only had knowledge about the reform but had experienced the pedagogy through their own learning had a better understanding of the change and were more likely to respond positively to the implementation. As most syllabi move to a 'process' approach to learning these findings provide a foundation for further research.

Dr Mark Witham (PhD), James Cook University, A Fair Go: Cutting The Cake and Closing Schools

Cutting cakes refers to the art of resource allocation, closing schools is the real focus of this research and 'A Fair Go' is used to summarise the economic rationale for resource allocation and school closure policies. The conceptual framework has two main foci: cost-effectiveness analysis and vertical equity or 'fairness'. The implicit policy for allocating resources to schools was examined using multiple regression analysis. This was compared with how four metropolitan and four country South Australian schools allocated resources themselves using a detailed costing methodology. There is evidence that resource allocation policies were not cost-effective and that the systemic allocations to year levels did not accord with school practice. The misallocation of resources to senior secondary years was inefficient and created inequities between country and metropolitan students. There was a significant variation in the resources allocated to individual students with the vast majority of metropolitan students allocated between $3,000 and $10,000 each with relatively little variation. Country students had a much greater range with a significant number of students allocated more than $10,000 and up to $41,000. Cost effectiveness analysis was used to evaluate the hypothetical closure of eight case-study schools. This included quantifying the implicit valuation of students' travel time. If the value of students' time were taken into account closing the country schools would represent a net cost to society. Metropolitan schools, by contrast, were likely to yield net benefits to society from closure. School closure decision making was found to depend on the recurrent resource allocation policy in place. This means that schools should not be closed for the purpose of cost-savings, without full consideration of the alternative of changing the resource allocation policy.