Thesis (M.Ed.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-116). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11875

For this PhD programme I will submit three projects and an overview as follows: 1. One book-length collection of original poems written during the period 1990-1997. Circular Breathing was published by Dangaroo Press in September 1997 and received a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. 2. One book-length collection of original short stories, Why I've Always Loved Fishmongers, written or revised from earlier versions during the period 1989-1999. Not yet published in book form but many of the stories have appeared in literary journals or have been broadcast on radio. 3. A folio of Open College of the Arts 2 distance learning creative writing courses and tutorial support systems. Starting To Write, The Experience Of Poetry, Storylines and the Advanced writing courses cover academic levels 1- 3 of undergraduate study and were accredited by the University of Glamorgan in 1996, becoming the first accredited undergraduate distance learning creative writing courses in the UK.Designed and written by me, these courses launched by OCA and accredited during the period 1989-1997, represent a significant contribution to this field of study. During this same period I also edited distance learning courses in autobiographical writing, Lifelines and creative reading, Reading Between The Lines, to which this study will make reference. 4. An overview, Messages In Bottles, which will deal with how these projects informed each other; how my own experience of writing related to the creation of a new suite of distance learning writing courses; how that, in turn, led to the creation of a learning network which gave support to writers and students and evolved a methodology of response to new work which itself mirrored the creative process. The poet Paul Celan described his poems as 'messages in bottles', raising important issues about human isolation and communication, about how literature is able to move through time and space to find its readership. Further issues about meaning, intention and understanding are raised by the metaphor and these too find a parallel in an educational process mediated through distance learning. Writing as a creative practitioner and teaching as an educational one creates a continuum between creative and pedagogic expression. In the distance learning context, written feedback on students' work often reflects issues in the tutor's own writing and itself has form and structure just like any work of literature. The reflexive nature of writing and teaching find a correlation in the writing and learning process that a student undergoes. The continuum which exists between the roles of writer, writing tutor and student writer connects closely with the formative process by which writers attempt to move through the arc from creative artist to objective reader in each new piece of work. Central to the understanding and development of these relationships are the critical perspectives created by acts of disclosure through the teaching and learning process; these may be developed from personal disclosure in an educational context to a wider sense of audience and the possibilities of publication. The use of a learning journal produces a text which parallels and comments upon the creative process. This, together with the tutorial report and the emergent creative work form a vibrant Virtual workshop' and a powerful educational process. These ideas will be explored with special reference to distance learning, taking in issues of:- The strategic development of learners into 'autonomous' writers- The role of professional artists as tutors, writers as artists and teachers, students as learners and apprentice writers- The development of tutor/student relationships into writer-to-writer relationships- Language function in creative and educational writing - the expression of human experience in pedagogic development- The continuum of writing into reading: how writers become readers of their own texts, how readers become actors in what they read - Learning through time and space: the processes of tuition through distance learning and written media - Frameworks for assessment and self-criticism, the function of the learning journal and the reflective process- Writing development and disclosure: how tutorial responses move the student's work towards the public domain- How distance learning developments relate to the author's other educational workshop experience, drawing from and contributing to it through a working model of the imagination- How educational and creative work find common objectives through experiential learning linked to the exploration of new literary forms in performance, broadcast and installation. This overview will develop from my own experience as a professional poet,short story writer, workshop leader, creative writing coursebook author and distance learning tutor, ft will draw upon the experience of OCA tutors as writers and educators and upon the experience of students as learners in the tutorial relationship and as apprentice writers. It will also make reference to other literature in the field and access the archive of tutorial reports and student correspondence which exists at OCA.

Thesis (Ph. D. )--University of Technology Sydney, 2008.

published_or_final_version / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Interest in foreign language, in particular English, education in China has grown considerably in the past three decades, not only in terms of linguistic aspects, but also, more recently, its cultural dimension. The recent syllabuses for non-English and English majors have placed emphasis, to varying extents, on the development of students’ cultural knowledge and/or intercultural communicative competence. The purpose of the research reported in this dissertation is to provide a panoramic picture and a characterisation of the conceptions of culture and its role in English language teaching and learning in China. The research was designed as two discrete, but related, studies: a survey of academic publications; and a field study. The survey aimed at providing a systematic account of the main themes and emphases of writings about culture teaching and intercultural communication studies. Its aim was to discover the research interests, beliefs about culture and the role of culture in foreign language, mainly English, education, and culture teaching techniques. The field study employed semi-structured interviews and non-participant classroom observations to investigate Chinese university EFL teachers’ conceptions of culture and beliefs about culture teaching, and their instructional practices in the classroom. The findings from the studies indicate that the writers and the teachers shared a similar, fairly circumscribed, range of conceptions about culture and culture teaching. Culture is viewed principally as one’s way of life; the role of teaching culture in language learning as presenting factual information relating to products, practices and perspectives. Culture teaching is regarded as important and necessary in foreign language teaching, and its goal as the development of knowledge about cultures and awareness of other cultures. The main culture teaching techniques used in education are introduction, comparison and culture, and student projects Nonetheless, teachers were found to have little acquaintance with culture theory and to lack pedagogical training in culture teaching. They rely predominantly on their own, personal and largely limited, knowledge about and experience of other cultures and tend to focus on the development of students’ language proficiency without sustained cultural input. Despite the rapidly expanding scholarly literature on these topics, it appears to have very limited influence on actual foreign language teaching in universities. On the basis of these findings, a tentative model for cultural education in FLT in China is proposed, comprising (1) developing teachers’ beliefs about and knowledge of culture and culture learning; (2) strengthening comparative cultural studies and cultural pedagogically-oriented research, especially by teachers themselves; (3) developing expertise in culture-related pedagogical practice; (4) extending opportunities for both teachers and learners to gain immersion experiences in other cultures.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 260-277).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-63).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

The settlement of the Nunavut land claim in 1993 followed closely by the enactment of the Nunavut territorial legislation in 1999 were significant historical events for all aboriginal peoples in Canada. The newly formed public government made a commitment to have Inuit traditional knowledge, language, and culture as the foundation of "all we do". This commitment provides the starting point for the present study, which explores how the role of Inuit language and culture is constructed within the curricula and practices of Nunavut schooling. / Data were generated from dialogue with Nunavut teachers and with authors of the Inuuqatigiit curriculum. In order to interpret the interview texts, a discourse analysis was undertaken using James Gee's ideas of situated meanings, cultural models, and discourses at work within them in relation to the Nunavut schooling context. This analysis was informed by a critical review of government and academic texts related to northern education policy. / Thesis (PhDEducation)--University of South Australia, 2006.

This research examines the relative customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction (CS/D) of international post-graduate students from Asia with the university as a study destination. The investigation is guided by the main research question: Are there differences in the level of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction between international postgraduate students from Asia studying in Victorian universities? A conceptual model of post-choice satisfaction is developed and tested to support the analysis of four groups of students from China, India, Indonesia and Thailand studying in five universities in Victoria: Deakin University, La Trobe University, Swinburne University of Technology, the University of Melbourne and Victoria University of Technology. The research comprised two interrelated studies: a qualitative investigation, and a quantitative study. The qualitative study included a literature review and an exploratory study, which consisted of focus groups and depth interviews, and the development of the preliminary model of post-choice satisfaction. The analysis of this stage resulted in the identification of 36 variables influencing post-choice satisfaction of students, which were operationalised in a survey questionnaire based on the seminal expectancy disconfirmation paradigm and the SERVQUAL instrument. A final model of post-choice satisfaction was developed following the preliminary analysis of the qualitative data, and tested at the quantitative stage of the study. During this stage, the total variables included in the model were reduced to 26 variables within four composite constructs that were used to measure CS/D supplemented by the testing of eleven hypotheses using multiple techniques. The results showed that there were differences in the level of satisfaction between student groups and universities. In terms of the overall satisfaction, there were significant differences in the number of satisfied students, with students from India recording the lowest satisfaction levels followed by students from Thailand, Indonesia and China. The tests of significance indicated that education standards and facilities (UNISAT1) customer value and study outcomes (UNISAT3), and image, prestige and recognition (UNISAT4), were the most dominant factors in influencing post-choice satisfaction among student groups. Among the classificatory variables, age and semester were the most significant in explaining the variances in the satisfaction levels of students. High student expectations, the strength of student-lecturer relationship, the perceived role of lecturers, university bureaucracy, lack of student friendly policies, passive complaining behaviour and the lack of opportunities for industry experience were among the key findings of the study, which were directly related to the student satisfaction formation process. The thesis makes a contribution to knowledge by developing a conceptual model of post-choice satisfaction, cross national comparison of post-choice decision making behaviour of international postgraduate students, the use of triangulation methodology to ensure rigour in research and particularly the use of ratio scores in addition to weighted average gap scores to measure satisfaction. At a practical level, the major findings of this research provide greater insight into the post-choice decision-making process of postgraduate international students, which would enable Australian universities to devise appropriate strategies to enhance their attractiveness and competitiveness in a highly globalised industry. Several limitations of the research are identified and suggestions for future research including more longitudinal studies to improve the validity of the research and the findings are presented.