Dancing between diversity and consistency: refining assessment in postgraduate degrees in dance

Guidelines for best practice in Australian Doctoral and Masters by Research Examination, encompassing the two primary modes of investigation, written and multi-modal theses, their distinctiveness and their potential interplay.

Curriculum history of business computing in Victorian tertiary institutions from 1960-1985

Fifty years ago there were no stored-program electronic computers in the world. Even thirty years ago a computer was something that few organisations could afford, and few people could use. Suddenly, in the 1960s and 70s, everything changed and computers began to become accessible. Today* the need for education in Business Computing is generally acknowledged, with each of Victoria's seven universities offering courses of this type. What happened to promote the extremely rapid adoption of such courses is the subject of this thesis. I will argue that although Computer Science began in Australia's universities of the 1950s, courses in Business Computing commenced in the 1960s due to the requirement of the Commonwealth Government for computing professionals to fulfil its growing administrative needs. The Commonwealth developed Programmer-in-Training courses were later devolved to the new Colleges of Advanced Education. The movement of several key figures from the Commonwealth Public Service to take up positions in Victorian CAEs was significant, and the courses they subsequently developed became the model for many future courses in Business Computing. The reluctance of the universities to become involved in what they saw as little more than vocational training, opened the way for the CAEs to develop this curriculum area.

Comparison of the work of psychologists in rural and urban settings : implications for professional training

To compare the work practices and training needs of rural and urban psychologists, 774 surveys were sent to psychologists throughout Australia. The psychologists were selected from the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Directory of Psychologists, 1992- 1993. A total of 86 rural psychologists and 282 urban psychologists responded to the survey. The survey comprised of four sections with questions asking respondents their demographic and employment background, past and current training activities, work experience, and relations with community. Results showed that the decision to practice and remain in a rural area was influenced by psychologists’ childhood experience and professional training in a rural setting, A substantial proportion of rural psychologists (28%) had been working in rural practice for five years or less. These rural psychologists were identified as a group that had a demographic and training profile more similar to urban psychologists than their rural colleagues. The employment conditions and training background of rural and urban psychologists were similar, though rural psychologists were more likely to be working in private practice and have undertaken their studies in a rural setting. Rural and urban psychologists rated their undergraduate and postgraduate training in psychology as only somewhat adequate. Training in rural health and community issues received the lowest ratings from both groups of psychologists. The work practices of rural and urban psychologists were also similar. There were some differences in the demographic profile of the client groups seen by the two groups. Rural psychologists reported the type of relations with their communities that are conducive to rural practice. The main evidence of this was that rural psychologists were collaborating with the natural helpers of their communities, and expressed willingness to formally train natural helpers to assist in the provision of psychological services. There were several conclusions drawn from this study. The first conclusion was that rural psychologists with urban demographic and training backgrounds are a group that is likely to migrate from rural practice to urban practice, Secondly, training needs to be specialised for rural practice if there is to be an improvement in the number of psychologists practicing in rural settings. Thirdly, rural psychologists were conducting the type of relations with their communities that are important to the requirements of rural practice.

"-we are not competing with bigger papers - we are doing a different job" : a study of country Australian news values

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E-learning in the university : some constructionist perspectives

This title brings together stories of research and practice concerning online learning across a large, disparate and evolving university. In different ways, contributors explore the extent to which emerging technologies engage with issues of identity, and of community. In doing so, each contributes to a broader conversation about whether we are experiencing a change in the very nature of learning, and in how we see ourselves, as both teachers and learners. The text is intended for academics and students who share an interest in exploring both the possibilities and limitations of e-learning in post-compulsory contexts.

On representation and construction in a tectonic design studio

The study compares the roles of representation and construction in enhancing students' learning in a tectonic design studio by investigating issues of representational media use in the conception, development and communication of design processes and relating these to real-scale construction as a means of understanding tectonic design.

Learning and teaching about disability

This thesis examined in-service education as a context for teachers and students to recognise and challenge ableism. It identified conditions that either promote consciousness of discrimination or maintain ableist beliefs and practices. The studies expose the role of ableism in constructing inequality, and highlight the change process individuals can experience.

From play to poetics

An expedient approach towards organizing ideas and drafting at the sentence-level, play with phrase structures in the Vygotskyan tradition demonstrates the often unexploited possibilities afforded to composition students through creative experiential learning; circumvents prescriptive pedagogies; and makes explicit a student's tacit awareness of standard grammars and more valued rhetorical conventions.

Valuing practical experience

The nature, consequences and benefits of practice-based learning in architecture are explored nationally / transnationally from both student and practitioner perspectives. The findings suggest that the strengths of learning in practice contexts should be utilised and better integrated with formal learning at university for Australian architectural education in the 21st century.

Enhancing student learning in a first year business program

The central purpose of this study was to investigate whether specific teaching and learning activities, such as concept mapping and reconceptualising the assessment criteria, could improve student learning outcomes in a first year Business program. The rationale for designing such strategies was based on a preliminary study, which examined the specific characteristics of the student cohort, and relevant literature. Overall, findings of this research suggest that these measures can improve student learning outcomes on a written task and further lighlighted the importance of engaging the student within the learning process.

Student construction of a knowledge-based system as an actor network

The study contributes to the educational computing discourse in two ways. It extends our understandings of the way students use and understand the building of small knowledge-based systems, and provides a novel and holistic way of investigating the use of information technology in classrooms.

Optimal models for the provision of postgraduate programmes in TESOL for tertiary teachers of English in a developing country

Investigates the major theoretical and practical issues related to distance education and English language teacher retraining. Suggests a number of models for the provision of Australian postgraduate programmes in TESOL for the upgrading of the teaching qualifications of Vietnamese tertiary teachers of English.

A escolha da profissão docente: perfil dos alunos do curso de Pedagogia da UNESP/Bauru no ano de 2011

Several aspects interfere when it comes to choose a career. Some of which are family and cultural influence; and even lack of opportunities. Such aspects were greatly taken into consideration for defining the subject of this research which is to analyze the reasoning Pedagogy students from UNESP (Universidade Estadual Paulista – University of São Paulo State) used when choosing their academic career, and to assess the students’ profile who were taking this course in 2011 as well as the influence of students’ socioeconomic conditions. An empiric approach with a qualitative survey was chosen to develop this research which was conducted with a questionnaire appliance and with a semi-structured interview with randomly selected students. A theoretical study about the specifics of the academic career and a fully comprehension of the legal / regulatory aspects of this profession in Brazil were also conducted. The survey results showed that most students were women, supporting the fact that this career has become a female profession. Characteristics such as vocation and mission, presented on literatures as the specifics of this profession were clearly seen in the survey results. Several students went to public schools and are labeled into the classes C and D in social economical status; furthermore almost 50% had not chosen Pedagogy as a first choice for a major. However, most of the students do not think that their social economical status had influence in their choice. Nevertheless some students claimed that their options were not their first wish and their choice was made by the easier possibility of entering and concluding the course besides the prompt need of these professionals after graduating in the job market. The students’ education background were also discussed in the research... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)