"Had I been there, which am a silly woman" : dealing with gendered casting in an Australian tertiary setting
- Authors: Durban, Kim
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Fusion journal Vol. , no. 15 (2019), p. 142-153
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Margaret of Anjou's reference to herself as a 'silly woman' in Henry VI is a political ploy to draw attention to her gender, yet indicate her limitless power in the face of male dominance. This paper will map the trajectory of repertoire selection in my 18 years of working as a director and artistic director of actor training in the regional city of Ballarat. I have witnessed a profound shift in the demographic, political and financial realities that shape my practice. Intake numbers have doubled the age of candidates has dropped mental health problems for young actors have increased and budgets have plummeted. After the main struggle to maintain adequate studio time in order to create effective models of actor pedagogy, gender considerations follow. When choosing repertoire for training purposes, issues of equity and the cultural appropriateness of repertoire and teaching tools arise. Linda Walsh Jenkins and Susan Ogden -Malouf suggest 'a feminist critique of theatre shifts the gaze from product to process'. In Ballarat I have programmed female playwrights and directors, double-cast women and men, and staged obscure classical works. I will explore the queries to actor-training orthodoxy inherent in such choices and the challenges faced by actor-trainers working in a #MeToo environment.
- Authors: Durban, Kim
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Fusion journal Vol. , no. 15 (2019), p. 142-153
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Margaret of Anjou's reference to herself as a 'silly woman' in Henry VI is a political ploy to draw attention to her gender, yet indicate her limitless power in the face of male dominance. This paper will map the trajectory of repertoire selection in my 18 years of working as a director and artistic director of actor training in the regional city of Ballarat. I have witnessed a profound shift in the demographic, political and financial realities that shape my practice. Intake numbers have doubled the age of candidates has dropped mental health problems for young actors have increased and budgets have plummeted. After the main struggle to maintain adequate studio time in order to create effective models of actor pedagogy, gender considerations follow. When choosing repertoire for training purposes, issues of equity and the cultural appropriateness of repertoire and teaching tools arise. Linda Walsh Jenkins and Susan Ogden -Malouf suggest 'a feminist critique of theatre shifts the gaze from product to process'. In Ballarat I have programmed female playwrights and directors, double-cast women and men, and staged obscure classical works. I will explore the queries to actor-training orthodoxy inherent in such choices and the challenges faced by actor-trainers working in a #MeToo environment.
'They're funny bloody cattle': encouraging rural men to learn
- Vallance, Soapy, Golding, Barry
- Authors: Vallance, Soapy , Golding, Barry
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 48, no. 2 (Jul 2008), p. 369-384
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Our paper examines and analyses the contexts and organisations in rural and regional communities that informally and effectively encourage men to learn. It is based on a combination of local, rural adult education practice and a suite of studies in Australia and elsewhere of learning in community contexts, most recently into community-based men's sheds. It is underpinned by both experience and research evidence that many rural men tend to have an aversion to formal learning. The intention of our paper and its specific, practical conclusions and recommendations is to focus on and share positive and practical ways, demonstrated through practice and validated through research, of encouraging rural men to learn.
- Description: C1
- Authors: Vallance, Soapy , Golding, Barry
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 48, no. 2 (Jul 2008), p. 369-384
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Our paper examines and analyses the contexts and organisations in rural and regional communities that informally and effectively encourage men to learn. It is based on a combination of local, rural adult education practice and a suite of studies in Australia and elsewhere of learning in community contexts, most recently into community-based men's sheds. It is underpinned by both experience and research evidence that many rural men tend to have an aversion to formal learning. The intention of our paper and its specific, practical conclusions and recommendations is to focus on and share positive and practical ways, demonstrated through practice and validated through research, of encouraging rural men to learn.
- Description: C1
A descriptive study of health, lifestyle and sociodemographic characteristics and their relationship to known dementia risk factors in rural Victorian communities
- Ervin, Kaye, Pallant, Julie, Terry, Daniel, Bourke, Lisa, Pierce, David, Glenister, Kristen
- Authors: Ervin, Kaye , Pallant, Julie , Terry, Daniel , Bourke, Lisa , Pierce, David , Glenister, Kristen
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Aims Medical Science Vol. 2, no. 3 (2015), p. 246-260
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: It is essential to determine the key health risk factors among populations to specifically plan future services and explore interventions that modify risk factors for communities. This aims to reduce risks and delay the onset of chronic conditions, which frequently results in dementia, particularly for small rural communities which experience health workforce shortages, a higher proportion of those in the chronic conditions age group, and reduced access to care. The aim of the study was to determine existing rates of chronic disease, and current lifestyle and sociodemographic factors which may predispose the population to higher risk of dementia. Residents from three shires in rural Victoria, Australia were recruited by random and non-random sampling techniques to complete a survey regarding health perceptions, pre-existing illnesses, health behaviors and social activity in their community. A total of 1474 people completed the survey. Positive factors reported were social participation and low rates of smoking. Negative factors included low rates of physical activity, high rates of obesity and high rates of chronic conditions that indicate significant risk factors for dementia in these communities. Although some factors are modifiable, these communities also have a large population of older residents. This study suggests that community interventions could modify lifestyle risk factors in these rural communities. These lifestyle factors, age of residents and the current chronic conditions are also important for rural service planning to increase preventive actions, and warn of the likely increase in the number of people developing chronic conditions with predispositon to dementia.
- Authors: Ervin, Kaye , Pallant, Julie , Terry, Daniel , Bourke, Lisa , Pierce, David , Glenister, Kristen
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Aims Medical Science Vol. 2, no. 3 (2015), p. 246-260
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: It is essential to determine the key health risk factors among populations to specifically plan future services and explore interventions that modify risk factors for communities. This aims to reduce risks and delay the onset of chronic conditions, which frequently results in dementia, particularly for small rural communities which experience health workforce shortages, a higher proportion of those in the chronic conditions age group, and reduced access to care. The aim of the study was to determine existing rates of chronic disease, and current lifestyle and sociodemographic factors which may predispose the population to higher risk of dementia. Residents from three shires in rural Victoria, Australia were recruited by random and non-random sampling techniques to complete a survey regarding health perceptions, pre-existing illnesses, health behaviors and social activity in their community. A total of 1474 people completed the survey. Positive factors reported were social participation and low rates of smoking. Negative factors included low rates of physical activity, high rates of obesity and high rates of chronic conditions that indicate significant risk factors for dementia in these communities. Although some factors are modifiable, these communities also have a large population of older residents. This study suggests that community interventions could modify lifestyle risk factors in these rural communities. These lifestyle factors, age of residents and the current chronic conditions are also important for rural service planning to increase preventive actions, and warn of the likely increase in the number of people developing chronic conditions with predispositon to dementia.
A profile of men's sheds in Australia: Patterns, purposes, profiles and experiences of participants: Some implications for ACE and VET about engaging older men
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Global VET: Challenges at the global, national and local levels Conference 2006, Wollongong, New South Wales : 19th April, 2006
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper uses literature and survey results to explore several issues associated with the emergence and development of community-based men’s sheds in Australia and their relationship to both community and further education and the training system. It develops a series of questions about these developments and their relationship to the development of men as learners as well as the nature of education and voluntary organisations. The confirms for the first time, using compelling and rigorously collected survey data from participants, the critical value of men’s sheds in community settings in Australia to older men’s well being: particularly to their health, social enjoyment, ongoing learning capacity and ability to contribute to the community. The sheds, relatively recently created, now provide a valuable and critically important place for a wide range of mainly older men within safe, supervised settings in where approximately 150 such sheds are now found in southern Australia. They allow men to regularly meet and happily socialise, mainly with other men with tools, in a safe, familiar, shared workspace in a wide range of communities, situations and organisational types. The men who use men’s sheds respond positively to environments that allow them to feel at home and learn by doing, in practical, group situations with other men. This paper confirms the high potential of men’s sheds, if carefully configured and managed, to include and support men experiencing issues associated with retirement, health, social isolation, aging and significant change.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003002043
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Global VET: Challenges at the global, national and local levels Conference 2006, Wollongong, New South Wales : 19th April, 2006
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper uses literature and survey results to explore several issues associated with the emergence and development of community-based men’s sheds in Australia and their relationship to both community and further education and the training system. It develops a series of questions about these developments and their relationship to the development of men as learners as well as the nature of education and voluntary organisations. The confirms for the first time, using compelling and rigorously collected survey data from participants, the critical value of men’s sheds in community settings in Australia to older men’s well being: particularly to their health, social enjoyment, ongoing learning capacity and ability to contribute to the community. The sheds, relatively recently created, now provide a valuable and critically important place for a wide range of mainly older men within safe, supervised settings in where approximately 150 such sheds are now found in southern Australia. They allow men to regularly meet and happily socialise, mainly with other men with tools, in a safe, familiar, shared workspace in a wide range of communities, situations and organisational types. The men who use men’s sheds respond positively to environments that allow them to feel at home and learn by doing, in practical, group situations with other men. This paper confirms the high potential of men’s sheds, if carefully configured and managed, to include and support men experiencing issues associated with retirement, health, social isolation, aging and significant change.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003002043
A public want and a public duty [manuscript] : The role of the Mechanics' Institute in the cultural, social and educational development of Ballarat from 1851 to 1880
- Authors: Hazelwood, Jennifer
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Mechanics’ Institutes were an integral element of the nineteenth-century British adult education movement, which was itself part of an on-going radicalisation of the working class. Such was the popularity of Mechanics’ Institutes, and so reflective of contemporary British cultural philosophy, that they were copied throughout the British Empire. The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, established in 1859, instilled a powerful, male-gendered British middle-class influence over the cultural, social and educational development of the Ballarat city. The focus of this study is to identify and analyse the significance of the contribution made by the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to the evolving cultural development of the wider Ballarat community, with a particular emphasis on the gender and class dimensions of this influence. This is done within the context of debates about ‘radical fragments’ and ‘egalitarianism’. Utilizing a methodology based on an extensive review of archival records, contemporary newspapers held at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, and previously published research, this study was able to show that, during the period from its inception in 1859 to 1880, the Institute became a focal point for numerous cultural, social and educational activities. As one of the few institutions open to all classes, it was in a position to provide a significant influence over the developing culture of the Ballarat community. The study has also identified the use made of the Institute’s School of Design by women and the contribution of these educational classes to preparing women for employment outside their traditional roles of wives and mothers. The thesis argues that despite some early radical elements, the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute initially espoused liberal egalitarian values. By 1880, however, the Institute was more readily identifiable as reflecting British, male, middle-class values.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Hazelwood, Jennifer
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Mechanics’ Institutes were an integral element of the nineteenth-century British adult education movement, which was itself part of an on-going radicalisation of the working class. Such was the popularity of Mechanics’ Institutes, and so reflective of contemporary British cultural philosophy, that they were copied throughout the British Empire. The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, established in 1859, instilled a powerful, male-gendered British middle-class influence over the cultural, social and educational development of the Ballarat city. The focus of this study is to identify and analyse the significance of the contribution made by the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to the evolving cultural development of the wider Ballarat community, with a particular emphasis on the gender and class dimensions of this influence. This is done within the context of debates about ‘radical fragments’ and ‘egalitarianism’. Utilizing a methodology based on an extensive review of archival records, contemporary newspapers held at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, and previously published research, this study was able to show that, during the period from its inception in 1859 to 1880, the Institute became a focal point for numerous cultural, social and educational activities. As one of the few institutions open to all classes, it was in a position to provide a significant influence over the developing culture of the Ballarat community. The study has also identified the use made of the Institute’s School of Design by women and the contribution of these educational classes to preparing women for employment outside their traditional roles of wives and mothers. The thesis argues that despite some early radical elements, the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute initially espoused liberal egalitarian values. By 1880, however, the Institute was more readily identifiable as reflecting British, male, middle-class values.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
About Face : Implications of research into men's learning preferences in rural towns
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Emerging Futures 2005: recent, responsive and relevant research Conference, Brisbane : 13th -15th April, 2005
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003001327
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Emerging Futures 2005: recent, responsive and relevant research Conference, Brisbane : 13th -15th April, 2005
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003001327
Addressing specific individual learning needs
- Authors: Kuzmich, Karolina
- Date: 1998
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: Master of Education
- Authors: Kuzmich, Karolina
- Date: 1998
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: Master of Education
Adolescents and the extended residential learning program : A case study
- Authors: McDonough, Sharon
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The purpose of this study was to explore, through the use of a case study, the impact of an eight-week residential learning program upon self-concept, learning and understanding of community amongst adolescent participants. The study utilized multiple methods of data collection including interviews, focus groups, observation, the Learning Process Questionnaire and the Self-Description Questionnaire II in order to address the research question.
- Description: Master of Education (Research)
- Authors: McDonough, Sharon
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters
- Full Text:
- Description: The purpose of this study was to explore, through the use of a case study, the impact of an eight-week residential learning program upon self-concept, learning and understanding of community amongst adolescent participants. The study utilized multiple methods of data collection including interviews, focus groups, observation, the Learning Process Questionnaire and the Self-Description Questionnaire II in order to address the research question.
- Description: Master of Education (Research)
An affective pedagogy success story: Sovereign Hill Museum school
- Authors: Zeegers, Margaret
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Technical report
- Full Text: false
- Description: This study will provide us with the tools to better communicate the unique attributes of learning that underpin the success we observe. It will enrich the discussion to include not only the charming insights of students and teachers, but also an intellectually rigorous framework for appreciating the innovation in learning outcomes." -- Foreword by Tim Sullivan : Deputy CEO and Museums director Sovereign Hill, page viii.
- Authors: Zeegers, Margaret
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Technical report
- Full Text: false
- Description: This study will provide us with the tools to better communicate the unique attributes of learning that underpin the success we observe. It will enrich the discussion to include not only the charming insights of students and teachers, but also an intellectually rigorous framework for appreciating the innovation in learning outcomes." -- Foreword by Tim Sullivan : Deputy CEO and Museums director Sovereign Hill, page viii.
Applied aspirations : design and applied art at the Ballarat Technical Art School during the early twentieth century
- Authors: Whetter, Elise
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Applied art and design schools operate at the nexus of art, industry, and education. During the early decades of the twentieth century, the regionally located Ballarat Technical Art School (BTAS) was the leading institution of its kind in Victoria, Australia, amid shifting economic, cultural, and pedagogical conditions. Emerging from a 1907 amalgamation of institutions, and subsequently administrated by the School of Mines Ballarat (SMB), BTAS was equipped with the assets, experience, and historic reputation necessary to surpass its provincial and metropolitan rivals. This micro-historical case-study employs qualitative analysis of primary sources to investigate the aims, outputs, and importance of BTAS, contextualised by the expectations and influences it operated under during the inaugural principalship of artist and educator, Herbert Henry Smith. Smith oversaw the training of designers, craftspeople, artists, and teachers from 1907 until his retirement in early 1940—a period of tumultuous events, fiscal obstacles, and social and cultural debate. The institution was accountable to diverse stakeholders and arbiters of taste, and successive cohorts learned in a contested space between tradition, origination, and modernisation. Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural theory serves to navigate this web of hierarchies, assumptions, and tensions, while secondary sources help contextualise findings. This thesis also discusses the suite of drawing, design and material-based disciplines delivered at BTAS as single subjects, full courses, and supplementary art-trade training. Throughout, featured students provide examples of regionally trained, Australian designer-maker and artist-teacher experiences. BTAS students learned from ambitious and skilled men and women, benefited from strong professional networks, and fostered a notable esprit-de-corps. The school was significant for its contribution to female technical training. The school’s pre-eminent position was modified during the late 1920s, when much art and art-teacher training was re-centred in Melbourne. Yet, the valuable, compelling, and widespread influence of Ballarat Technical Art School graduates resonated for decades.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Whetter, Elise
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Applied art and design schools operate at the nexus of art, industry, and education. During the early decades of the twentieth century, the regionally located Ballarat Technical Art School (BTAS) was the leading institution of its kind in Victoria, Australia, amid shifting economic, cultural, and pedagogical conditions. Emerging from a 1907 amalgamation of institutions, and subsequently administrated by the School of Mines Ballarat (SMB), BTAS was equipped with the assets, experience, and historic reputation necessary to surpass its provincial and metropolitan rivals. This micro-historical case-study employs qualitative analysis of primary sources to investigate the aims, outputs, and importance of BTAS, contextualised by the expectations and influences it operated under during the inaugural principalship of artist and educator, Herbert Henry Smith. Smith oversaw the training of designers, craftspeople, artists, and teachers from 1907 until his retirement in early 1940—a period of tumultuous events, fiscal obstacles, and social and cultural debate. The institution was accountable to diverse stakeholders and arbiters of taste, and successive cohorts learned in a contested space between tradition, origination, and modernisation. Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural theory serves to navigate this web of hierarchies, assumptions, and tensions, while secondary sources help contextualise findings. This thesis also discusses the suite of drawing, design and material-based disciplines delivered at BTAS as single subjects, full courses, and supplementary art-trade training. Throughout, featured students provide examples of regionally trained, Australian designer-maker and artist-teacher experiences. BTAS students learned from ambitious and skilled men and women, benefited from strong professional networks, and fostered a notable esprit-de-corps. The school was significant for its contribution to female technical training. The school’s pre-eminent position was modified during the late 1920s, when much art and art-teacher training was re-centred in Melbourne. Yet, the valuable, compelling, and widespread influence of Ballarat Technical Art School graduates resonated for decades.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Are health and safety representatives more effective at representing their designated work group having completed a Certificate IV course in OHS?
- Merriman, Gavin, Cowley, Stephen
- Authors: Merriman, Gavin , Cowley, Stephen
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Health and Safety Research and Practice Vol. 1, no. 1 (2009), p. 13-18
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Some elected Health and Safety Representatives in Australia choose to undertake a Certificate IV level OHS course. To determine if they are more effective at representing their Designated Work Group as a result, a sample population of Health and Safety Representatives and members of their Designated Work Group were surveyed. The survey participants were also tested in regard to their approach to solving health and safety problems posed in three hypothetical workplace scenarios. The results were compared with the results of the same test undertaken by Health and Safety Representatives that had only completed a 5-day training course. As a result of undertaking a Certificate IV OHS program, Health and Safety Representatives have more confidence in undertaking workplace inspections and the frequency and the quality of those inspections is increased. They seek more information from their employer in regard to workplace hazards and are consulted by management more often and also consult with the members of their Designated Work Group more frequently. There were statistically significant differences between responses to the three hypothetical workplace scenarios given by subjects that had undertaken a Certificate IV course and those that had only completed a 5-day training program. The Certificate IV course group were more likely to apply safe place control principles to problems. Together with increased frequency of inspections and greater consultation, this is likely to lead to more effective representation of the DWG.
- Authors: Merriman, Gavin , Cowley, Stephen
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Health and Safety Research and Practice Vol. 1, no. 1 (2009), p. 13-18
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Some elected Health and Safety Representatives in Australia choose to undertake a Certificate IV level OHS course. To determine if they are more effective at representing their Designated Work Group as a result, a sample population of Health and Safety Representatives and members of their Designated Work Group were surveyed. The survey participants were also tested in regard to their approach to solving health and safety problems posed in three hypothetical workplace scenarios. The results were compared with the results of the same test undertaken by Health and Safety Representatives that had only completed a 5-day training course. As a result of undertaking a Certificate IV OHS program, Health and Safety Representatives have more confidence in undertaking workplace inspections and the frequency and the quality of those inspections is increased. They seek more information from their employer in regard to workplace hazards and are consulted by management more often and also consult with the members of their Designated Work Group more frequently. There were statistically significant differences between responses to the three hypothetical workplace scenarios given by subjects that had undertaken a Certificate IV course and those that had only completed a 5-day training program. The Certificate IV course group were more likely to apply safe place control principles to problems. Together with increased frequency of inspections and greater consultation, this is likely to lead to more effective representation of the DWG.
Are nurse academics technology ready? A mixed methods study of Australian nurse academics’ attitudes to technologies in teaching
- Authors: Browning, Mark
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Technology use in higher education teaching has become widespread and ubiquitous, affecting many areas of teaching and learning (Bond et al., 2020). Nurse education has been impacted by this shift with increasing use of technologies in the classroom (Koch, 2014). Although there has been a large research focus relating to students’ elearning, there has been less focus on the academic and their elearning role, in particular, how academic attitudes influence technology use in teaching (Drysdale et al., 2013; Martin, Polly, et al., 2020). The aim of this study was to explore nurse academics’ attitudes to technology and the influence attitude has on their use of technologies in teaching. There were three objectives: 1) To investigate nurse academics’ attitudes to technology through the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2). 2) To develop an understanding of how and why nurse academics engage with technology through individual interviews. 3) To integrate the quantitative (Objective 1) and qualitative (Objective 2) findings in order to gain a holistic understanding of academics’ use of technologies in teaching. A mixed methods sequential explanatory design consisting of two phases was used to address the aim. The first phase was a survey based on a previously validated, 16 item questionnaire, the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2), which was distributed to Australian nurse academics. The second phase included semi-structured individual interviews focussed on academics’ use and attitudes to technology, incorporating elements from the survey. The Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2) was used in this study for the first time with nurse academics. The phase one findings indicate that nurse academics were technology ready, had higher overall TRI mean score than the general population (Parasuraman & Colby, 2015), but with similar outcomes to previous nurse academic research. Of note was that TRI was significantly associated with frequency of technology use, number of technologies used and self-rated confidence to use technology. The findings revealed three main Technology Readiness groups, representing three attitudes to technology in teaching: Explorers, Sceptics and Hesitators. Explorers were found to be innovative, positive and confident in their use of technology; Sceptics showed aversion to technology, were cautious when considering the impact on pedagogy and concerned about the impact on interpersonal skills; Hesitators showed preference for traditional teaching and distrust and were anxious about technology use. Overall, attitudes were found to be complex, based on experience and the potential impact technology may have on nursing students. The groups identified in this thesis explain behaviours and enable institutes to support academics in their engagement with technology. Recommendations include flexible training to meet the needs of academics, the use of simple and reliable technology across TR groups and adjusting workloads to account for the time-consuming nature of technology. There is also a need for academics to consider their attitudes to technology and the impact this may have on their teaching. This thesis demonstrates that technology engagement is not a binary choice but a complex process based on attitudes and other factors.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Browning, Mark
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Technology use in higher education teaching has become widespread and ubiquitous, affecting many areas of teaching and learning (Bond et al., 2020). Nurse education has been impacted by this shift with increasing use of technologies in the classroom (Koch, 2014). Although there has been a large research focus relating to students’ elearning, there has been less focus on the academic and their elearning role, in particular, how academic attitudes influence technology use in teaching (Drysdale et al., 2013; Martin, Polly, et al., 2020). The aim of this study was to explore nurse academics’ attitudes to technology and the influence attitude has on their use of technologies in teaching. There were three objectives: 1) To investigate nurse academics’ attitudes to technology through the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2). 2) To develop an understanding of how and why nurse academics engage with technology through individual interviews. 3) To integrate the quantitative (Objective 1) and qualitative (Objective 2) findings in order to gain a holistic understanding of academics’ use of technologies in teaching. A mixed methods sequential explanatory design consisting of two phases was used to address the aim. The first phase was a survey based on a previously validated, 16 item questionnaire, the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2), which was distributed to Australian nurse academics. The second phase included semi-structured individual interviews focussed on academics’ use and attitudes to technology, incorporating elements from the survey. The Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2) was used in this study for the first time with nurse academics. The phase one findings indicate that nurse academics were technology ready, had higher overall TRI mean score than the general population (Parasuraman & Colby, 2015), but with similar outcomes to previous nurse academic research. Of note was that TRI was significantly associated with frequency of technology use, number of technologies used and self-rated confidence to use technology. The findings revealed three main Technology Readiness groups, representing three attitudes to technology in teaching: Explorers, Sceptics and Hesitators. Explorers were found to be innovative, positive and confident in their use of technology; Sceptics showed aversion to technology, were cautious when considering the impact on pedagogy and concerned about the impact on interpersonal skills; Hesitators showed preference for traditional teaching and distrust and were anxious about technology use. Overall, attitudes were found to be complex, based on experience and the potential impact technology may have on nursing students. The groups identified in this thesis explain behaviours and enable institutes to support academics in their engagement with technology. Recommendations include flexible training to meet the needs of academics, the use of simple and reliable technology across TR groups and adjusting workloads to account for the time-consuming nature of technology. There is also a need for academics to consider their attitudes to technology and the impact this may have on their teaching. This thesis demonstrates that technology engagement is not a binary choice but a complex process based on attitudes and other factors.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Are schools of education failing the tertiary mathematics sector?
- Mays, Heather, Yearwood, John
- Authors: Mays, Heather , Yearwood, John
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 2003 International Symposium on Information Technology, Las Vegas, USA : 28th April, 2003
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In the 1990s, two major issues emerged globally for tertiary mathematics educators: declining standards in the mathematical proficiency of students at tertiary-entry level and the advocates for the incorporation of IT into the processes of teaching and learning. Addressing these issues required significant reform of both curriculum content and classroom practice to ensure that the technology was used appropriately and effectively. These reforms were largely implemented by staff from tertiary Schools of Mathematics. Rather than leading the reform, the Education community lagged behind and in some instances has taken research into the use of IT in Mathematics Education in a questionable direction. In this paper, we outline what we contend has been a failure on the behalf of the Education community to tackle and address problems experienced by mathematics educators (particularly at the tertiary level) and make some suggestions for the directions of future research in Mathematics Education.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003000464
- Authors: Mays, Heather , Yearwood, John
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 2003 International Symposium on Information Technology, Las Vegas, USA : 28th April, 2003
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In the 1990s, two major issues emerged globally for tertiary mathematics educators: declining standards in the mathematical proficiency of students at tertiary-entry level and the advocates for the incorporation of IT into the processes of teaching and learning. Addressing these issues required significant reform of both curriculum content and classroom practice to ensure that the technology was used appropriately and effectively. These reforms were largely implemented by staff from tertiary Schools of Mathematics. Rather than leading the reform, the Education community lagged behind and in some instances has taken research into the use of IT in Mathematics Education in a questionable direction. In this paper, we outline what we contend has been a failure on the behalf of the Education community to tackle and address problems experienced by mathematics educators (particularly at the tertiary level) and make some suggestions for the directions of future research in Mathematics Education.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003000464
Aspects of educational delivery within Sino-foreign educational alliances: Is this the real key to success?
- Authors: Willis, Mike
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Marketing for Higher Education Vol. 18, no. 2 (2008), p. 186-215
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The topic of educational alliances undertaken between Sino-foreign universities remains a contentious and much debated matter. This is an area of considerable and often very busy activity with a high rate of failure and frustration-yet, also one of reward, mutual satisfaction, and achievement. This paper evaluates a key aspect of these alliances often overlooked in research: educational delivery activities and projects that form the heart and core of alliances. The paper notes that the development and delivery of a range of programs beyond just degree or part degree courses but of research, seminar, and ancillary activities, lies at the very core of a successful alliances, particularly if these activities can be undertaken in a manner that melds two very different cultural and educational worlds, and in a way that can contribute to the Chinese students' sense of well-being and ability to take part in the globalization of the emerging Chinese market economy. © 2008 by The Haworth Press.
- Authors: Willis, Mike
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Marketing for Higher Education Vol. 18, no. 2 (2008), p. 186-215
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The topic of educational alliances undertaken between Sino-foreign universities remains a contentious and much debated matter. This is an area of considerable and often very busy activity with a high rate of failure and frustration-yet, also one of reward, mutual satisfaction, and achievement. This paper evaluates a key aspect of these alliances often overlooked in research: educational delivery activities and projects that form the heart and core of alliances. The paper notes that the development and delivery of a range of programs beyond just degree or part degree courses but of research, seminar, and ancillary activities, lies at the very core of a successful alliances, particularly if these activities can be undertaken in a manner that melds two very different cultural and educational worlds, and in a way that can contribute to the Chinese students' sense of well-being and ability to take part in the globalization of the emerging Chinese market economy. © 2008 by The Haworth Press.
- Wellard, Sally, Bethune, Elizabeth, Heggen, Kristin
- Authors: Wellard, Sally , Bethune, Elizabeth , Heggen, Kristin
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nurse Education Today Vol. 27, no. 1 (2007), p. 68-72
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In Australia and Norway final examinations to determine eligibility for registration as a nurse were discontinued during the period when nurse education moved into the higher education sector. In response to recent calls for the reintroduction of final examinations we explore the range of knowledge needs for the practice of nursing. These various forms of knowledge demand different forms of mediation and acquisition as well as assessment. There are numerous problems identified in the literature about the shortcomings of examinations as the foundation of assessing clinically based professions. There is a need to develop systems of appropriate assessment to ensure that graduates of nursing demonstrate adequate knowledge and competence to enter their profession. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003002546
Assessment of, as and for learning : the challenges of assessment terminology
- Cameron, Monica, McLachlan, Claire, Rawlins, Peter, McLaughlin, Tara
- Authors: Cameron, Monica , McLachlan, Claire , Rawlins, Peter , McLaughlin, Tara
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Early education Vol. 64, no. 64 (2018), p. 18-23
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Assessment, teaching and learning are intertwined concepts and are at the heart of quality teaching (Absolum, Flockton, Hattie, Hipkins and Reid, 2009 Ministry of Education (MoE), 2011). With its shifts in assessment-related content, the revision of Te Whariki (MoE, 2017), provides timely opportunity to explore early childhood teachers' understandings and practices related to assessment (McLachlan, 2018).
- Authors: Cameron, Monica , McLachlan, Claire , Rawlins, Peter , McLaughlin, Tara
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Early education Vol. 64, no. 64 (2018), p. 18-23
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Assessment, teaching and learning are intertwined concepts and are at the heart of quality teaching (Absolum, Flockton, Hattie, Hipkins and Reid, 2009 Ministry of Education (MoE), 2011). With its shifts in assessment-related content, the revision of Te Whariki (MoE, 2017), provides timely opportunity to explore early childhood teachers' understandings and practices related to assessment (McLachlan, 2018).
At last count : Engineering undergraduates in 21st Century Australia
- Authors: Dobson, Ian
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education Vol. 10, no. 4 (2013), p. 253-257
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The number of enrolments in undergraduate programmes in engineering has grown at more than the national average this century. The main areas of enrolment growth in Australian higher education have been of women and overseas students, and the latter group has been particularly relevant in the case in engineering. The analysis undertaken for this article is based on statistical data from the ministry responsible for Australia's tertiary education. However, women remain underrepresented in engineering programmes, and there is a risk that the high proportion of overseas students means that Australia is exporting engineering talent at a cost to the development of its own knowledge-intensive labour force. © 2012 WIETE.
- Description: 2003010825
- Authors: Dobson, Ian
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education Vol. 10, no. 4 (2013), p. 253-257
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The number of enrolments in undergraduate programmes in engineering has grown at more than the national average this century. The main areas of enrolment growth in Australian higher education have been of women and overseas students, and the latter group has been particularly relevant in the case in engineering. The analysis undertaken for this article is based on statistical data from the ministry responsible for Australia's tertiary education. However, women remain underrepresented in engineering programmes, and there is a risk that the high proportion of overseas students means that Australia is exporting engineering talent at a cost to the development of its own knowledge-intensive labour force. © 2012 WIETE.
- Description: 2003010825
Audit education in a socialist oriented market economy – the case of Vietnam
- Dang, Ky
- Authors: Dang, Ky
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The objective of the research project is to contribute to the understanding of the auditing profession in Vietnam. In particular, it provides information on the challenges facing auditors in an emerging economy where economic transformation is in progress and where auditing, as a profession, is under development. Auditors operate in an environment of conflicting priorities where they must maintain independence and objectivity in discharging their responsibilities to stakeholders and society. In Vietnam, the audit profession only came into existence in 1986 when the country embarked on its new economic model. Whilst studies have been conducted on the status of current accounting practice in Vietnam, studies regarding the audit profession have been limited. In this research project an examination of the issues affecting audit quality in Vietnam are investigated and suggestions for changes to address the deficiencies are made. In particular, the project focuses on the relevance and appropriateness of the education of auditors. A national survey of accountants, auditors and accounting academics in Vietnam was undertaken. The survey results indicate that in Vietnam there are deficiencies in audit practices over and above those commonly observed in other countries. These deficiencies are the result of the unique history of Vietnam, the current stage of economic development and the education system for auditors. From an auditing perspective, the slow adaptation of the education system to the new economic environment is having negative effects on accounting graduates and their employment prospects. Although inadequate training was identified as the single most important factor affecting audit quality, the ineffective enforcement regime was also a contributing factor. This research project indicates that there is a need for an overhaul of the current education system in Vietnam and for universities to develop an accounting and auditing curriculum that meets the needs of employers while complying with government’s education objectives and international standards of auditing and accounting.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Dang, Ky
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: The objective of the research project is to contribute to the understanding of the auditing profession in Vietnam. In particular, it provides information on the challenges facing auditors in an emerging economy where economic transformation is in progress and where auditing, as a profession, is under development. Auditors operate in an environment of conflicting priorities where they must maintain independence and objectivity in discharging their responsibilities to stakeholders and society. In Vietnam, the audit profession only came into existence in 1986 when the country embarked on its new economic model. Whilst studies have been conducted on the status of current accounting practice in Vietnam, studies regarding the audit profession have been limited. In this research project an examination of the issues affecting audit quality in Vietnam are investigated and suggestions for changes to address the deficiencies are made. In particular, the project focuses on the relevance and appropriateness of the education of auditors. A national survey of accountants, auditors and accounting academics in Vietnam was undertaken. The survey results indicate that in Vietnam there are deficiencies in audit practices over and above those commonly observed in other countries. These deficiencies are the result of the unique history of Vietnam, the current stage of economic development and the education system for auditors. From an auditing perspective, the slow adaptation of the education system to the new economic environment is having negative effects on accounting graduates and their employment prospects. Although inadequate training was identified as the single most important factor affecting audit quality, the ineffective enforcement regime was also a contributing factor. This research project indicates that there is a need for an overhaul of the current education system in Vietnam and for universities to develop an accounting and auditing curriculum that meets the needs of employers while complying with government’s education objectives and international standards of auditing and accounting.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Broadening the concept of school: how a re-configuration of school must be inclusive of students who are "put at" a disadvantage
- Authors: Peters, Edward (Keith)
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis critically examines how students enrolled in state-funded schools can be ‘put at’ a disadvantage. I do this through examining two techniques of exclusion that stimulate student disconnection from school: first, the ways in which standards-based and performativity-driven learning outcomes are implemented to shape how student success is determined. Secondly, I examine how discourses around power control curriculum and student identity instil monological learning structures that normalises standards-based learning outcomes. Challenging this, I allow the voices of my co-researchers, the students in my thesis, to speak back to confront these school-based policies that allow disconnection to occur. Examining school policy and student voice at the point where they intersect allowed me to undertake an evaluation of how schools adversely affect students, and what students say they want from their experience of schooling. The final theme I develop is based on student and agency worker voice and what they say school-based learning should become. Relational learning and learning that develops students ethically emerged as fundamental strengths of what enriching learning transactions should look like. I argue that creating relational learning spaces develop challenging environments that can lead students to ethically understand their identity within complex social and cultural lifestyles. I argue that the ways in which schools are organised to administer time and space must be radically overhauled if this is to be achieved.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Peters, Edward (Keith)
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis critically examines how students enrolled in state-funded schools can be ‘put at’ a disadvantage. I do this through examining two techniques of exclusion that stimulate student disconnection from school: first, the ways in which standards-based and performativity-driven learning outcomes are implemented to shape how student success is determined. Secondly, I examine how discourses around power control curriculum and student identity instil monological learning structures that normalises standards-based learning outcomes. Challenging this, I allow the voices of my co-researchers, the students in my thesis, to speak back to confront these school-based policies that allow disconnection to occur. Examining school policy and student voice at the point where they intersect allowed me to undertake an evaluation of how schools adversely affect students, and what students say they want from their experience of schooling. The final theme I develop is based on student and agency worker voice and what they say school-based learning should become. Relational learning and learning that develops students ethically emerged as fundamental strengths of what enriching learning transactions should look like. I argue that creating relational learning spaces develop challenging environments that can lead students to ethically understand their identity within complex social and cultural lifestyles. I argue that the ways in which schools are organised to administer time and space must be radically overhauled if this is to be achieved.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Building social capital through the delivery of outdoor education at Victorian government schools
- Authors: Keeble, Tony
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis describes an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research project that investigated the changes to student social capital indicators resulting from an outdoor educational program, Future Maker, delivered to Victorian government school students. A systematic review of literature found minimal evidence of research relating to the change to social capital indicators as a result of programs that deliver outdoor education curriculum. The initial chapters of this thesis explore research on outdoor residential schools and the development of the Future Maker program as an alternative form of outdoor education curriculum design. Quantitative data were gathered from 287 students in the form of the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire (LEQ), over a 12-month period. Students completed the LEQ on three separate occasions: Day 1 of the program, Day 12 of the program, and 6 months after the program. Furthermore, qualitative data were gathered using a semistructured interview process. Twenty-eight students and seven teachers were randomly selected from participating schools to partake in the interviews. The final sections of the thesis present and discuss the findings from the quantitative and qualitative data that provided sufficient evidence that showed a significant increase in effect size for the social capital indicators of communication, relationships, group processing, networking and leadership. Furthermore, the research indicated that the domestic chores undertaken by students on an outdoor education program contributed to how social capital is learnt in an outdoor educational context. Moreover, the research positions outdoor education as a subject with content and pedagogy rather than a discipline and argues that outdoor education as a standalone subject has been sitting in plain sight. Finally, it concluded that a purpose-designed outdoor education program, which is built using a framework for curriculum development, can develop positive indicators for social capital.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Keeble, Tony
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis describes an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research project that investigated the changes to student social capital indicators resulting from an outdoor educational program, Future Maker, delivered to Victorian government school students. A systematic review of literature found minimal evidence of research relating to the change to social capital indicators as a result of programs that deliver outdoor education curriculum. The initial chapters of this thesis explore research on outdoor residential schools and the development of the Future Maker program as an alternative form of outdoor education curriculum design. Quantitative data were gathered from 287 students in the form of the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire (LEQ), over a 12-month period. Students completed the LEQ on three separate occasions: Day 1 of the program, Day 12 of the program, and 6 months after the program. Furthermore, qualitative data were gathered using a semistructured interview process. Twenty-eight students and seven teachers were randomly selected from participating schools to partake in the interviews. The final sections of the thesis present and discuss the findings from the quantitative and qualitative data that provided sufficient evidence that showed a significant increase in effect size for the social capital indicators of communication, relationships, group processing, networking and leadership. Furthermore, the research indicated that the domestic chores undertaken by students on an outdoor education program contributed to how social capital is learnt in an outdoor educational context. Moreover, the research positions outdoor education as a subject with content and pedagogy rather than a discipline and argues that outdoor education as a standalone subject has been sitting in plain sight. Finally, it concluded that a purpose-designed outdoor education program, which is built using a framework for curriculum development, can develop positive indicators for social capital.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy