Known as the Western Melbourne Roundtable, a group of school and university educators worked together for three years during the mid 1990s. The group was established under the umbrella of the Innovative Links Project, a nationally funded project which aimed to develop school-university partnerships focused on innovative practice. In the spirit of professional development and action research they worked collaboratively to improve student learning. Adopting case writing as a strategy for focusing their thinking members of the Roundtable documented their work both in and beyond the classroom. The nature of this work seemed then, as it does now, to be unique in its conception, intention and application. The aim of this study has been to gain a deeper understanding about the work of the Roundtable to see if a model might be developed which would enable the experience to be replicated and developed in diverse learning situations. Following a qualitative analysis of the documentary records, individual and group interviews were conducted to confirm and further explore the emergence of three significant aspects of Roundtable work-dialogue, collaboration and inquiry. A theoretical foundation for the study emerged from the work of three theorists: Jurgen Habermas's theory of communicative action; Anthony Giddens's theory of structuration; and Hannah Arendt's theory of action. Each of these authors has stimulated significant exchange around their ideas and this study seeks to include this dialogue by drawing on the work of Stephen Kemmis; feminist theorists including Jane Braaten and Joan B Landes; Andy Hargreaves; and geographers including Linda McDowell, Neil Smith and Doreen Massey. Seeking connections and distinctions between the qualitative material and the theoretical framework, the research process has revealed an attitude to learning which was inclusive, expressive, interactive and cognitive. As a result of adopting this attitude and creating four democratic spaces for action-contextual, dialogic, collaborative and inquiring-participants in the Roundtable engaged in learning which was connected, intimate, cooperative and creative. By combining these layers of understanding, it has been possible to suggest a new theory for professional development and research which meets the challenge of learning to find the future.

It is widely agreed within educational research that student attitudes to learning and schooling are of critical importance. However it continues to be rare for research to draw on the perspectives of students themselves as valid data. Moreover, students are almost entirely absent from educational policy-making and processes of educational reform. This project employed a collaborative social research methodology. It sought the perspectives of twenty Year 10 students in Melbourne's west, and twenty students of similar age in Havana, Cuba, using written cases and group interviews. The students offered their views on learning and schooling and then collaborated with the researcher to develop interpretative case summaries. The project demonstrates the usefulness of involving students actively in educational research not only from the perspective of improving student attitudes to learning, but also as a critical element of a democratic education capable of fostering an engaged and critical student population. Cuba was chosen as a contrasting context with extensive experience in involving students in educational decision-making. The comparison between the two countries revealed both shared experiences and a range of differences, and illuminated the importance of understanding broader contextual influences on student attitudes and their relationship to the possibilities for reform.

This study investigates the key requirements for the development of a Masters Degree Program in Educational Administration in private higher education institutions in Thailand. The key requirements are concerned with the essential indicators of educational quality management for an effective program. The quality indicators recognise current best practice for educational effectiveness and quality management. The population sample consists of academics holding executive or administrative positions in Masters Degree Programs in Educational Administrations or related fields in state and private universities in Thailand. The research involves a Proactive Form of Evaluation, in which a set of benchmarks appropriate to the practical needs of program designers in educational administration was developed. A mixed methods approach, using both quantitative and qualitative methodology, was applied. The quantitative research involved a three-round modified Delphi survey of nineteen Thai experts in the field of educational administration, all of whom were purposively selected. The Delphi survey identified four best practice and composite indicators and their variables: visionary leadership; learning centred education; organisation and personal learning; and valuing faculty, staff, and partners. A second survey, based on the findings of the initial Delphi survey, verified the key variables amongst the composite indicators. The qualitative research components involved a research review of best practice in the use of composite indicators and their variables, and semistructured interviews. The four composite indicators of best practice, and their associated fifty-eight variables concerned with input, process and output, were validated by triangulation of the results obtained from the initial Delphi survey, the second survey, and the outcomes of the series of semi-structured interviews held at the conclusion of the two surveys. Ultimately, the study produced an Educational Quality Management model for a Masters Degree Program in Educational Administration in private higher education institutions in Thailand.

The changing environment in higher education has lead to a choice of doctoral programs for lifelong learners. From the data derived from interviews with a cohort of students in a professional Doctorate in Education at a Victorian university, the current study identified the students’ perceptions of their own professional development. It found that the extrinsic and intrinsic factors which motivated these students were numerous and often complex, and were as much for personal development such as cognitive interest, enjoyment and love of learning, social stimulation at a professional level, and because of academic pathways as they were for professional development whether for gaining qualifications, skills, credibility benefitting the profession or because of the developments within information and communication technologies. It also found that the students were non-traditional, being close to the middle or end-phase of their careers. The study developed a profile of a typical student from the many similarities exhibited by them. The implications of these findings for the nature of the Doctorate in Education at this university and for the delivery to future groups of students undertaking post-graduate degree are discussed.

In the current climate of educational change and with the implementation of new initiatives within the Victorian Education Department, such as the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) and the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PoLT), educational leaders have begun to reassess the forms of professional learning that teachers and staff members are involved in. This is not isolated to schools as the education industry world wide is developing new outlooks for staff training and development. With researchers such as Cuban, Hargraves and Fullan investigating different forms of professional learning, workplace change and strategy, changes in global professional learning opportunities are evident across a variety of industries. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of which styles and formats of professional learning are the most effective in a local context. Different scenarios of professional learning are described and interrogated and the impact of each practice is considered. The study provides an insight into the different types of professional learning that are available to the teaching staff, allowing for a more diverse range of professional learning practices in one school. The researcher worked with the teaching staff in a school to ascertain which professional learning styles had a greater and more positive impact on curriculum and teaching practices within the learning environment.

Currently, National Governments expect universities to become both more efficient and effective in both teaching and research. However, there appear to be many obstructions to research productivity, that in turn cause low levels of research outcomes. These problems need resolution and elimination in order that universities, through their academic staff can increase their research output. Currently, this is an important issue facing higher education institutions, and the purpose of this research is to focus on the factors that have an influence on the low research productivity of academic lecturers in a public university in Thailand. The conceptual framework for this research was chosen to integrate empirical research findings on faculty role performance and productivity with two existing motivation theories, namely Expectancy Theory and Efficacy Theory. The research methodology uses a qualitative research approach, based on in-depth interviews with eleven representative respondents from a public university that has been given the reference name of ‘The Noble University’. Based on a review of pertinent literature, it appears that there are five important factors that impact on academic research productivity. These are environmental factors, institutional factors, personal career development factors, social contingency factors, and demographic factors. According to the findings of this study, these five important factors can be conveniently divided into three main groupings which have been termed the essential factors, desirable factors, and side-affect factors. Each of these factors, it is claimed, need resolution, in a sequential way, by administrators of the university. This study makes a number of recommendations which, it is believed, will improve both the quality and quantity of research productivity at this university, and, in some instances, more widely across the higher education sector.

The purpose of this research is to identify strategies that school leaders might use to achieve better balance in their lives. This topic is examined in the context of the influences on, and outcomes of, the lack of balance between work and personal life, as well as the impact on school leaders’ performance and well-being. The study examines problematic work/life balance of school leaders as one reason why people do not want to apply for school principal positions and notes that, while that issue has been identified and restated in a number of studies, little evidence exists of the development of responses. This observation prompted the adoption of an alternative paradigm–Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider, 1987)—to the more usual conflict/deficit models, which are common in work/life research, and problem methods often used in research on principalship. This choice of methodology and stance was also influenced by a view that there were gaps in the literature. What is lacking is some affirmative view of the capacity of organisational leaders to achieve a positive work /life balance. The current work/life literature also often fails to examine what people actually do to ensure some harmony between work and other responsibilities. A major focus of this study was on contributing to the literature relating to work/life balance and principal well-being, supply and performance. The current study offers a contribution to the work/life literature by exploring the, to date under-explored, area of work/life enrichment. It is possibly the first study to examine thriving (Spreitzer, 2005a) as a lens for work/life balance. The study also contributes to filling some gaps in the literature in relation to the action of school leadership and the process of combining the leadership role and personal roles. It provides and analyses positive depictions of work/life balance and effective school leadership. This exploratory case study involved locating and hearing the stories of those who were deemed to be successful in their professional lives and in balancing their work and personal lives. Data were gathered in semi-structured interviews with eight school principals and four assistant principals from eight Victorian state schools. From a series of research questions, the main question and the essence of the inquiry can be summarised as follows: How do some principals achieve work/life balance and how might this inform the content/design of a professional development program aimed at principal well-being and retention? Selected generative, enrichment, expansionist work/life theories (Clark, 2000; Singh, 2002; Barnett, 2001; Greenhaus, 2006) inform the analysis of the work and non-work strategies employed by the school leaders interviewed as part of the project. A typology of school leaders is developed to distinguish levels of satisfaction and relative success in achieving work/life balance. The three groups in the typology are Balancers, Strivers and Acceptors. The strategies of the Balancers—those with high satisfaction with work/life balance and low work/life conflict—are found to accord with concepts such as thriving (Spreitzer, 2005 a) and personal mastery (Senge, 1999). A thriving lens is used as the foundational element of a work/life balance professional development program proposal. The study found that the factors that contribute to principals’ difficulties with balancing work and personal life are a complex interweaving of a range of individual, demographic, social, political, and organisational factors. What makes this group (in particular the Balancers) different from the majority of Victorian state school Principal Class Officers, as described in a workload and well-being study (Saulwick, 2004), is found to lie in their capacity in a range of areas. The study finds individual principals’ agency, energy, mastery and efficacy is important to achieving work/life balance for these professionals, and that managing the workload is the fulcrum of that balance. It identifies a range of actions or strategies that appear to be important in effecting a satisfactory balance between work and personal life. The study points to the importance of ensuring that Victorian Department of Education (DoE) systems are improved so that structures and cultures are more supportive of principals. Also indicated is the need to provide positive examples of work/life balance amongst school principals and promote an affirmative projection to guide members of the Principal Class into the future. Outcomes are presented in terms of a taxonomy of personal and organisational strategies that support the work/life balance of school leaders; a framework for a professional development program that emphasises ways to assist school leaders to thrive in the role; and a set of recommendations for the DoE to implement in order to assist school leaders to attain balance between work and their personal lives. This balance, supported by a culture changed through the implementation of the recommendations made, should contribute to greater role satisfaction, increased well-being, better performance of school leaders and improved principal supply.

This study was undertaken to develop a performance-based assessment approach in science learning and to investigate its effects on students' achievement and attitudes toward science as well as the readiness of Saudi primary schools in relation to its implementation. The approach links the assessment methods to cognitive and social constructivist learning theories and science curriculum reforms. Twelve science classes comprising 289 primary school students and six teachers in the city of Riyadh formed the sample for the study. Six classes were randomly selected and were instructed using a performance-based assessment approach. A second cohort of six classes was instructed traditionally as control groups. The same teachers directed both experimental and control groups for nine weeks. Data were collected by different tools involving tests, interviews, and questionnaires. Science tests and Students' Attitudes toward Science Survey were administered as pre- and post-tests to evaluate the control and experimental groups. The Teacher Performance Assessment Questionnaire (TPAQ) was applied as pre- and post-tests for the science teachers' responses to the program. Interviews involving all six teachers and 12 randomly-selected students were conducted at the end of the nine week period. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were applied to the collected data. Quantitative analysis involved both descriptive and inferential analyses using means, standard deviations, and parametric tests; whilst QRS Nvivo was used as the coding method for qualitative analyses. The results of quantitative analysis showed that students in the experimental group had significantly higher scores in the science post-test than the students in the control groups. There was also a significant attitudinal difference towards science between the experimental and control groups in favour of the experimental group. The performance-based assessment procedures were found capable of predicting approximately 23 per cent of variation in the students' final science test scores. Qualitative analysis' results from the teachers' data indicated that they evaluated performance-based assessment approach highly: it gave students the opportunity to be active, and interactive, and greater responsibility toward learning. In addition, the teachers responded well to the experimental program and reported they had received professional development: formulating open ended questions, administering groups, designing experiments and using formative assessments. They considered changes to classroom practices to incorporate these factors from performance-based assessment and give students more opportunity for control over their learning. The result of the paired sample t-test showed no significant improvement on teachers' assessment standards as measured by the TPAQ, whereas the effect size indicated a large change in teachers' performance. Teachers reported some disadvantages of performance-based assessment. Teachers reported that it was time consuming, required extra work, was difficult to assess, and did not fit into the current Saudi school environment. Qualitative analysis of the students' data showed that students from the experimental groups found the performance assessment approach an opportunity for greater control over learning processes, to actively participate in the science class, and importantly, group work encouraged them to work cooperatively. Students reported performance-based assessment was useful, and this study's results confirmed that the processes undertaken supported self-efficacy development.

The aim of this research was to determine how the New Right agenda has impacted on the perceptions about the Health Promoting School (HPS) model and its practice. The case study school – a Catholic secondary school, provided opportunity to reflect upon the daily experience of those in a HPS and how these experiences can be constructed. The methods used included running focus groups - students, teachers, administrators, parents and health agencies, and the generation of narratives and commentaries from key stake holders within the school community. This thesis draws on the work of Dewey, Bourdieu and Apple to position its critical deconstruction of one school community’s experience of activity that can be described as about HPS’s. There were four assumptions that underpinned the thesis. The first two arose from the literature that claimed the universality of the HPS model and the second two were derived from the capacity of the school to develop and evolve a setting for health promotion. The potential for this school as a HPS community to deliver on health-related social justice outcomes is yet to be achieved. The commandeering of health promotion terms and concepts by the New Right generates a metaphysical focus that delivers a view of the HPS that is in variance to the original intent.

By 2006, all schools in Australia had implemented anti-bullying programs under the National Safe School Framework (NSSF). This research focuses on Casual Relief Teachers (CRTs), their reporting of bullying in primary school playgrounds in Victoria, and the impact of anti-bullying programs. While CRTs possessed a personal definition and understanding of bullying, they lacked an understanding of school policy and procedures at the schools in which they were employed. Many CRTs, especially those educated outside Australia, did not have the training or experience needed to identify and address bullying behaviour. The CRTs in many cases did not recognise, or chose not to respond to, non-physical forms of bullying. The schools in the study used a ‘whole school’ approach, though the focus ranged from ‘Zero Tolerance’ to ‘No Blame’ or ‘Method of Shared Concern’. CRTs were normally not informed about the schools’ programs and procedures on bullying, especially with respect to yard duty. In this situation, principals and permanent staff need to look at how they interact with and include CRTs as members of the school community and provide them with clear expectations and training regarding programs being utilised to combat bullying.