This study examines the development and consequences of a crisis in a government primary school in the Australian Capital Territory. The A.C.T. system is founded upon participation in policy development at the school level - problems when they arise are usually resolved at the local level. A challenge to the school's policy is described, as is the reaction of the Board. The consequences flowing from the mechanism used to resolve the conflict are discussed in terms of the particular school and the system generally. The tensions inherent in a participatory approach to policy development at the school level are examined. The constructive as well as destructive elements are discussed.

Since its inception the A.C.T. Schools Authority has implemented a number of changes in attempts to meet its aim to provide high quality programmes for children. In the case of enrolment policy the decision to change to continuous enrolment was made in many schools less on educational grounds than as a result of economic and political pressures. However, any policy which has an impact on children's learning in schools must be examined in the light of its educational implications. This study attempts to do this. It attempts to assess the policy on educational grounds with a particular focus on the programmes offered to individual children and the day to day problems encountered by teachers who attempt to implement the policy.

This study examines the articulated vision of a new Catholic primary school in order to describe and assess its developing organisational culture. The following questions provide the major focus of the study: I How and to what extent does the Vision Statement describe the developing Catholic school culture at St Clare of Assisi Primary School? 2. What are the common beliefs and values underlying the Vision Statement at St Clare of Assisi Primary School? A review of the literature reveals that many educational researchers stress the importance of schools developing a strong, coordinated, cohesive and positive culture. The need for this culture to be based on a clearly articulated vision, embodying shared values and beliefs is also indicated and this provides the rationale for the study. A number of frameworks for school culture are examined and adapted to develop a conceptual framework for the study. The resulting Model for Developing Catholic School Culture provides a structure which enables collected data to be sorted and analysed, so that the research questions can be addressed. This study utilises the methodology of ethnographic research. Data collection strategies include participant observation, interviews, surveys, and other sources including school records and documents, photographs, artefacts and memorabilia. The findings are organised under five headings, each of which represents a belief articulated in the school's Vision Statement. These beliefs are examined to see how they are enacted verbally, visually and behaviourally by the school community Conclusions are drawn as to the relevance of the Vision Statement to the school community Other significant values and beliefs evident from an examination of the data are also identified The study concludes that the Vision Statement effectively describes the developing culture of the school for there is congruence between its beliefs and actions. What emerges of particular significance from this study is the importance of a school community articulating a shared vision. A school's Vision Statement serves a dual purpose It is the filter which allows the shared beliefs and values of the school community to be articulated, while at the same time serving as a scaffold for checking if these shared beliefs and values are being enacted by the community.

The study attempts to investigate discipline policies and practices in primary schools since the abolition of corporal punishment. The purposes of the study were to find out who is involved in the formulation of a policy; how this procedure takes place from the initial stages to fruition; the contents of a completed policy document and to canvass opinions of teachers and students about their school policy. Information was obtained from twenty-two completed questionnaires received from public primary schools in the Belconnen region of the ACT and a more detailed case study of three of these schools. A search of the literature revealed a number of key elements of a whole school discipline policy. These included: formulation of policy; recognition of appropriate student behaviour; rules and consequences; policy procedures; responsibility for policy implementation; the abolition of corporal punishment. The study showed that there is a growing awareness of the democratic decision-making process within classrooms and that schools are producing comprehensive discipline policies, many of which are now more accurately titled 'Management of Student Behaviour'. Schools are encouraging appropriate behaviour from the students, endeavouring to develop student self-discipline and self-esteem, and are using agreed logical consequences when rule violations occur. The case study concludes with comments on the ACT Schools Authority Discussion Paper 'Policy and Procedures for the Management of Student Behaviour in ACT Public Schools' issued during 1988.

This field study was based on experiences as a teacher and parent in an alternative, progressive early childhood school: The Co-Operative School, O'Connor, ACT. The data for the study was recorded during 1978, 1979, 1980; the first three years of the school's existence as a Government school. The development and educational progress of fourteen girls and boys, aged from five to eight years in 1978, was followed. The philosophy, policies , organization, curriculum content, teaching strategies and general milieu of the school were examined. The aim of the study was to analyse the philosophy of the school, as set out in the constitution, and to see how it related to curriculum and teaching strategies. Issues of freedom and choice within a compulsory school environment were examined in relation to the stated aims of the school: the underlying reason for this examination was the problem caused by the gap which existed between philosophy and practice, which caused the experiences of the children in the school, to often be at variance with stated aims. The developmental needs of children in the early childhood age group, and the personal variables they brought to the learning situation, were related to the school environment. Social learning theory was utilised, as a perspective from which to provide a unified conceptual basis, for planned interventions in teaching and learning. The importance of modelling, self-expectation, feelings of self-efficacy and competency, were related to the community, the curriculum content, and teaching strategies of the school. Decision-making strategies were examined for their relevance to consensus-based processes and a co-operative style of community management. Consideration was given to the provision of a cohesive environment, in which adult members of the community could participate freely in autonomous learning experiences with children. The area of conflict resolution and the incidence of aggressive behaviour in the school were explored, and techniques for successful negotiation of differences were suggested. Areas of the curriculum which have traditionally been difficult for alternative schools to implement to the satisfaction of all community members were examined. Areas such as: goal-setting and m o t i v a t i o n of children; basic skills in early childhood; transition to mainstream education; the effect of emergent lifestyle values; the provision of equal opportunity for girls and boys; and the importance of co-operative learning strategies. The study ends with reflections on the place of alternative, progressive schools in the 1980s, and the need for such schools to exist to provide an educational choice for parents and children in the future.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the way in which courses in psychology were developed and introduced to the curriculum of secondary colleges in the Australian Capital Territory. It is a case study in curriculum change viewed from the perspective of a participant-observer. Briefly the study attempts to analyse the process of curriculum change within a sociological framework. The second section deals with the history behind, and subsequent introduction of similar courses in Tasmania, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and their significance to the curriculum innovation under study. The third section deals with the background to the case study, the context in which the project was undertaken and the factors which gave rise to it. Emphasis is given to the negotiations which must go on in reconciling the differing perspectives of those groups directly involved in the change process. The process of accreditation and the influence this had on the structure of the courses is also examined. The problems inherent in developing and establishing a curriculum innovation are dealt with in considerable depth. Finally the process of curriculum change is analysed in the context of the currently available research literature on models and strategies for change in education. Implications are drawn for future studies in this field. Hopefully this report will contribute to the various theoretical models and strategies of change to be found in curriculum theory.

The purpose of this study was to examine some of the interrelationships between innovation in nursing education, professional attitudes and wastage from nursing. Five groups of students who participated in innovative nurse education courses in A.C.T. hospitals in the 1970's were surveyed by a self administered questionnaire which gathered biographical data as well as attitudinal information. Their responses were compared with those of students who had undertaken a traditional nursing course at an A.C.T. hospital in the same period. The findings of this study suggested that the instrument used may provide a better measure of satisfaction with nursing than of professional attitudes. One of the unexpected findings from the survey which suggested the need for further study was that many of those who had undertaken further nursing study indicating apparent commitment to continuing education in a chosen career would not encourage others to enter nursing. Another was that those who indicated greater career choice commitment may in fact be those who felt unable to obtain alternative employment. It was found that innovation in hospital based nurse education courses attracted different people and produced graduates with different attitudes to professional issues,who followed different career pathways compared to graduates of traditional nurse education courses. Innovative courses appear to have attracted older and better qualified entrants and to have increased the likelihood of graduates being promoted. Respondents from the innovative courses showed increased interest in continuing education and Professional Association activity than their control group colleagues. They were more frustated with the traditional role of the nurse as the selfless, dedicated worker and were less commited to their career choice, overall these findings perhaps indicated a level of dissatisfaction with nursing higher in the innovative course graduates than in the control group. These findings may support Brief's contention (1976) that expectations raised during the educational process, if not fulfilled, will lead to wastage. wastage from nursing was intimately linked with dissatisfaction with work conditions in nursing. Those who had permanently left nursing had more frequently left for work related reasons and undertaken non-nursing study than those who had left and returned or who had never left. Those who left for work related reasons were less likley to return and less likely to choose nursing again if given the chance than those who left for other reasons. Findings about the institutionalisation of innovation in nursing education were difficult to identify with certainty, since time lapse alone could explain many of the findings. Attitudes to the Professional Association were more favourabe in respondents from the later intakes into the innovative courses than from the earlier. Given the recent increases in industrial activity in nursing, this finding is consistent with time lapse. Later intakes also demonstrated greater commitment to continuing education than earlier. This too can probably be explained by the greater availability of such facilities in more recent times. In a period of shortages of nurses prepared to work in the health care facilities of Australia, and of changes in the educational preparation of nurses, the findings of this study relating to attitudes and wastage should be used as the basis for future workforce planning.

The study reviewed the provision of childbirth and parenting education in the ACT for indicators of effectiveness and needs. Users (n = 207) and providers (n = 7) were surveyed for information on educational and administrative aspects of the service. An original design questionnaire was based on the PRECEDE framework (predisposing, reinforcing and enabling factors in educational diagnosis and evaluation) and the social model of health. Items were drawn from the relevant literature, concerning individual, social and service delivery elements of the health fields concept interpreted for pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. Individual factors were related to Maslow's hierarchy and the valuing approach to health education. The provider survey covered information on organisational elements, comprising inputs, processes, products, outputs and outcomes of childbirth education. The study comprised a literature review, cross-sectional non-experimental surveys of users and providers, and a needs assessment combining information from each of the three sources. Descriptive statistical techniques, analysis of variance and valuing analysis were used to extract information on effectiveness indicators and needs from the user data. Comparisons were made between present and past users, and between women of different ages, experience of pregnancy and preferences for public or private methods of education for childbirth. No evidence was found of individual differences in the women's attitudes, beliefs and values that could be attributed to education. However, users expressed strong approval and positive views of the service and its providers. The level of personal health skills, confidence and emotional preparatiqn they achieved through childbirth and parenting education did not fully meet their expectations. The survey also found that the organisation of childbirth and parenting education has not developed professionally like other health services. Service goals and objectives are ill-defined; planning and coordinating are inadequate for an integrated maternal health care system. The service's main resources are its highly motivated and dedicated teachers and clients. Several recommendations are made for educational and administrative measures to enhance service effectiveness within present organisational constraints, based on the needs identified by the study.

Youth unemployment and environmental degradation are two critical issues facing Australia today. This action research study concerns learning and teaching with participants in a government labour market program which was established to address these two issues. The study was based on three cycles of action research with six groups of participants. The main objective of the research evolved to consider whether critical thinking and action learning can enhance self-concept and environmental education for unemployed young people. The research provides a positive response to this problem, although certain limitations are noted. Conclusions are drawn in five areas. Three of these are from the first cycle of action research. These relate to environmental attitudes, knowledge and action; approaches to environmental education and learning; and the impact of unemployment, peer pressure and mass culture. Two conclusions are drawn from the second cycle of action research. These relate to the integration of action learning and critical thinking strategies into the learning and teaching; and the individual participants' life history and prior knowledge and experience of environmental issues. Recommendations are made concerning professional development and support for staff working in the area, and the planning and implementation of programs. The major recommendation is for the integration, where appropriate, of integrated critical thinking and action learning strategies, through all aspects of the training and project work. This recommendation draws on evidence from a number of areas where these approaches are shown to be beneficial. These include the potential for emancipation and improved selfconcept, and the contribution to environmental education.

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