- Title
- Student acquisition of social skills through teacher modelling
- Creator
- Tocknell, Carol
- Date
- 2015
- Type
- Text; Thesis
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/75649
- Identifier
- vital:7416
- Abstract
- Doctor of Philosophy; Using the perspective of school leaders, teachers and students, this research questions whether Victorian Government schools provide opportunities, in the form of explicit teacher modelling, for the development of student social skills and social competence. The essence of this study was to determine whether students feel they can thrive at school and whether they believe there are opportunities for them to succeed. Two Victorian Government secondary schools were involved in the study and eight male and ten female students aged 12–14 years volunteered to be interviewed over the course of their first year in secondary school. Teachers and principals at the schools were also interviewed. The research found that students do not identify teachers as role models for social skills. However, school leaders believe that teachers are behaviour role models for students. Students and teachers were found to place value on positive teacher–student relationships. The variance of social-skills instruction in secondary schools and classrooms points to significant differences between intent and practice of such instruction within schools. It seems there are considerable differences in the perception of the Australian Curriculum‘s Personal and social capability domain within schools and between individual teachers‘ classrooms. This limits opportunity for students to develop social skills, as there appears to be no strategic whole-school social–emotional curriculum plan, few resources to implement such plans and no professional development for teachers in this area. This research describes the opportunities that are available for secondary students at Victorian Government schools to develop social skills and social competence. The research contributes to, and informs teacher pedagogy and contributes to knowledge on the value placed on social competence by students, teachers and school leaders. It also provides insight into the importance that students place on teacher interpersonal skills, the subsequent engagement of students with teachers and their sense of connectedness and belonging to their school.
- Publisher
- Federation University Australia
- Rights
- Open Access
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- Student social skills; Teacher modelling; Social competence; Victorian government schools
- Full Text
- Thesis Supervisor
- Marks, Genee
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