The basic purpose of this study is to analyse in general terms Schools Commission policy and planning in regard to the development of library resources and services for Australian primary schools in both the government and non-government education systems. The core of the study is a survey of the provision and needs of primary school libraries in the Australian Capital Territory, based on the Schools Commission Guidelines for library services in primary schools. The survey is not an end in itself, but is a means of appraisal of the school libraries program of the Australian government as viewed at the grass roots level in one particular area. The report falls into two sections. Section I is an introductory section which gives firstly an overview of the work of the Federal government in the development of school libraries and services between 1968 and 1975. The introductory section also analyses the development of the Schools Commission guideline standards for primary school libraries, and explains the role of the standards in relation to both the 'needs' criterion of the Commission's educational program and the equitable distribution of government funds. The standards are not absolutes in terms of precise structural specifications to be applied in all circumstances, but rather an affirmation of possibility in relation to a given ambit. It is in Section II that the data from the survey of the primary school libraries in the Australian Capital Territory is analysed, and some comparisons are made with the Monash University study of provision and needs in primary school libraries carried out in 1975. The objectives of the ACT survey are not, however, oriented simply to a factual statement of provision and needs, but also to highlighting the instrinsic and recurring administrative problems associated with the provision of library resources services in schools. Issues raised by the survey relate to differentiated staffing patterns, obsolescence of materials, centralised versus decentralised collections, tolerable loss rate for books, custodial attitudes of teacher-librarians, teacher attitudes to the library, production and use of audiovisual materials by teachers and students, community use of school libraries, identification of needs by individual schools, availability of central support services for selection and processing of materials, funding for resource provision. In regard to conclusions the report does not attempt to offer anything but tentative suggestions, because of the range of variables in most cases, which could not be eliminated or controlled in a survey of this. type. However, some factors do emerge which could be the basis for more detailed analysis, such as the nature of obsolescence in regard to school library materials, and the relationship between types of library service and the 'open' or traditional1 structure of the school program. There is one factor which the survey does show quite clearly, namely the gap that exists between policy decisions taken at the national level and the implementation of that policy at the local level.

In 1976, following the recommendations of the Campbell Report, school-based course development and assessment replaced the New South Wales Higher School Certificate courses and public examinations. Under the auspices of the A.C.T. Schools Authority, the A.C.T. Accrediting Agency took control of administering the new system. Nine years after the system was introduced, the benefits of the new system were very clear in the area of English curriculum at Years 11 and 12 level. To a considerable degree, the hopes of the Campbell Report have been fulfilled in terms of providing students with greater freedom of choice and flexibility in the selection of options in an English course composed of a number of term or term equivalent units. Assessment instruments have become much more wide-ranging. Teacher/student relationships have become less authoritarian. Teaching strategies and learning approaches have generally made students more active participants in the learning process. The field study drew heavily on English course documents in the senior secondary colleges, presenting an overview of the workings of the English curriculum. Because courses are being continually reaccredited, it was necessary to set the curriculum overview at a particular time, in 1984. As the A.C.T. is a small education system in Australian terms, it was possible to gain some concept of the whole picture, although 428 term units is not an inconsiderable number. The field study, because of its significant data base, poses more questions than it answers. It does, to a degree, present "what is", or rather "what was" in the 1984 English curriculum at Years 11 and 12 level in A.C.T. colleges. And it points directions for further research.

My thesis research concerns Thomas Charles George Weston (1866-1935). Its principal focus is his landscape vision for Australia's national capital in its founding days and his innovative horticultural and arboricultural work in that vision's execution. Between 1913 and 1926 his work involved reversing, by afforestation planting and conservation measures, the existing process of degradation of the site's landscape. He also achieved for the new city a densely planted landscape using indigenous and exotic trees and shrubs. Weston's pioneering work made a significant contribution to Canberra's contemporary 'city in the landscape' image. Part of my research is about understanding the context of Weston's earlier professional experiences in Britain and New South Wales in the period 1878 to 1912. A brief insight into his personal life and career shows how the people he worked for, the skills he acquired, and the type of landscapes he worked in shaped his approach to his landscape activity at Canberra. Of particular note are the valuable influences of David Thomson and Joseph Maiden, respected figures in botany and horticulture in Britain and Australia respectively. My research on Weston's achievements in Canberra demonstrates his technical and professional thoroughness. I have documented all his work on a project-by-project basis to provide accurate reference material for on-going professional practice and research. His afforestation and conservation work from 1913 onwards and his urban planting in the crucial 1921 to 1926 period reflects the depth of his training and skills and understanding of landscape. Analyses of disputes between Weston and others including Walter Burley Griffin demonstrate the soundness of his professional judgment. I have concluded that Charles Weston had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve, the necessary skills and experience to achieve that vision and a thorough understanding of the national capital site. He also possessed the necessary personal qualities to achieve his vision which responded sensitively to the aspirations of Australians for their national capital. Largely because of Weston Canberra will remain a highly significant step in the development of Australian landscape architecture.

This study traces many of the highlights which occurred during the first decade of the history of the School Library Association in Canberra and District (SLACAD). The roots of this association lie deep in the history of school libraries and teacherlibrarianship in Australia. Many SLACAD members belonged to other state school library associations and to the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) confederation since the establishment of these associations in the 1960's. These teacher-librarians have been dedicated in their attempts to further the cause of school libraries and their teacher-librarianship profession. The decade covered by this study embraces the greatest period of expansion in the development of school libraries seen in Australian history. During this decade the A.C.T. established an independent education system and it took many years for the A.C.T. Schools Authority administration to finalise its organisation. SLACAD members were anxious that school libraries in the A.C.T. should keep pace with school libraries in other Australian states and this study documents the constant efforts of its members to obtain improvements in school librarianship. Teacher-librarians in the A.C.T. have continued to maintain a close liaison with ASLA and many A.C.T. teacher-librarians have held executive office in ASLA. SLACAD has hosted seminars and conferences and this study documents numerous submissions and reports which were a necessary feature of the expanding A.C.T. school library association milieu.

This study researched two major aspects of the primary school principalship in the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory viz., (1) How current trends in educational governance have affected the role of the principal, and (2) Assessment and selection procedures used for promotion to the principalship in the present educational environment. The context of the study has been outlined by presenting a brief historical and organisational overview of public education in both Territories, along with an examination of the literature on recent trends and issues in educational governance and promotion procedures. The research methodology used to examine the questions posed in this study is qualitative or descriptive in nature. The data was collected through the use of a semistructured interview technique and represents the ideas, opinions and perceptions of a specially targeted group of principals and aspiring principals from both education systems. The findings demonstrated that many aspects of the role of the primary principalship in the N.T. and A.C.T. are changing, due to a new set of values in educational policymaking and increased political control. There was a high degree of similarity between respondents in each Territory in regard to how the role is being reshaped. It was also found that the level of support provided by both systems to assist principals in coping with the changes has been inadequate and that the changes have led to a degree of conflict and new job-related pressures for most primary school principals. It was concluded that assessment and selection procedures should be rigorous and demanding, commensurate with the significance of the position. In this regard both educational systems need to improve present procedures by addressing perceived weaknesses. To this end assessment centres may have a role to play. Finally, further implications of the conclusions are addressed in terms of the necessity for thorough preparation and training of aspirants to the principalship to enhance their chance of selection and help them cope with the new expectations and demands of the position. This responsibility should be shared between the aspirant, professional associations and the employing education department.

A Home Economics Curriculum Framework was developed in 1984 in the A.C.T and implementation commenced in 1985. The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation process in order to identify areas of concern and difficulties encountered. The study is set in the context of the establishment of School Based Curriculum Development in the A.C.T Education System and the program of Curriculum Review and Renewal set up in 1983. The initiation and development of the Home Economics Curriculum Framework within this context was explored. A case study was undertaken covering the period 1985-1987 involving six A.C.T High Schools which first implemented the Home Economics Framework. Fullan's model of implementation was used as a focus for the study and both qualitative and quantitative data techniques were applied.

This two year, topic-oriented ethnography documents teacher perceptions of cultural and institutional practices relating to sexual harassment in 12 co-educational, government ACT high schools. Participants include over one hundred and forty teachers, seventy eight of whom have contributed formal interviews. Through analysis and triangulation of ethnographic interviews, participant observation data and school and Departmental documents, the study identifies cultural and institutional practices which, according to teacher perceptions, contribute to: � encouraging sexual harassment; � discouraging reports of sexual harassment; and � discouraging implementation of sexual harassment policy. Emerging cultural and institutional practices include blame attribution, silencing and gender construction which contribute to the marginalisation of some female teachers (in terms of their career); some female students (in terms of their education) and some male students who are perceived to be "gay" (in terms of their friendship groups). The usefulness, limitations and capacity to explain sexual harassment of a range of theoretical approaches are discussed. These approaches include Attribution, Role, Reproduction and Feminist theories. It is argued that, although accounting for the majority of sexual harassment, these theories are limited in their ability to fully account for: a) all kinds of sexual harassment practised in ACT high schools; b) the relationship between sexual harassment and other kinds of harassment in ACT high schools; and c) the extent to which some women teachers appear to support the practice of sexual harassment. Emerging Poststructuralist Feminism is proposed as a potentially useful theoretical framework for explaining and responding to sexual harassment in ACT high schools. It is hoped that this study will contribute to informing the decision making of those responsible for developing and/or implementing sexual harassment policy in ACT high schools, including teachers, school counsellors, principals, and administrators.

This study sought to investigate young children's understandings of the science concept forces. A government preschool in the A.C.T. was the setting for the study. The research methodology consisted of pre and post interviews conducted before and after a teaching sequence using an interactive approach to teaching science (Biddulph and Osbome 1984). Interviews were audio taped, work samples were kept and lessons and discussions were audio taped during the teaching sequence. This study examined three factors associated with young children's understandings of the science concept forces. First, it documented young children's understandings prior to any formal teaching in this area. It was found that most children did hold views about the areas of forces such as pushes and pulls, inertia, friction and gravity. Some of these views are generally recognised by the scientific community as being scientifically correct answers. Second, this study sought to reveal if these prior views were changed or reached a higher conceptual level after the experience of a three week interactive teaching sequence on forces. It was found that in all cases changes in language indicating higher level understandings, the use of scientific terms and more detailed responses indicated that it was possible and relevant at the early childhood level to teach the concepts of forces. A third aspect of this study sought to identify teaching strategies which would effectively teach forces to very young children. It became clear in this study that as young children already have views about the concepts of forces it is possible to build on these views with correct scientific knowledge and thus empower the young child in an area of science which research has indicated may cause problems for older learners. It is therefore proposed that early childhood is a crucial time for teaching correct science concepts in the area of forces. This thesis has shown that young children, particularly those 4-5 years old, have already formed views of forces, some scientifically correct and it is proposed that building on this existing knowledge will empower the child in later learning in the areas of physics and mechanics.

The present study attempted to measure the overlap of tasks being performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three in special libraries located in Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities in the ACT. Overlap was also measured between the two groups in libraries with six or more staff, since size of library could have affected the results; and between graduates (those employees with university or college of advanced education degrees or graduate diplomas in library and information science), and nongraduates (those without such qualifications). To measure the overlap, a task list questionnaire was devised based on task lists utilised in other research studies or which had been the outcome of professional workshops. Work level guidelines and position classification standards developed by pertinent Australian employing authorities and the Library Association of Australia were also used. Results suggested that there may be considerable overlap in work being performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three in the nominated libraries. Of the eight functional areas of library work into which the task list questionnaire was divided, only two areas, Reference, and Current Awareness and User Services, resulted in proportions of the groups tested being assigned the tasks in significantly different proportions. For the six other functional areas, representing 125 of the 160 tasks Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three performed the same tasks in similar proportions. Testing for size of library and qualifications of respondents made very little difference to these results. Conclusions drawn from the present study are limited because the questionnaire ignored the level of importance and the time occupied in completing these tasks. Other constraints occurred in relation to conclusions which could be made. The questionnaire methodology as utilised by the present study is more likely to evoke responses to what is there; and it does not identify what should be done or how well tasks are performed. The study is limited to special libraries within Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities and is confined to three levels of staff only, Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three. Despite these limitations, it seems clear that the levels of staff included in the present study are often assigned tasks on the basis of what tasks have to be done, rather than with regard to matching level of task to level of position within the boundaries of the work level guidelines; and this situation is also true of the larger libraries with six or more staff. These results have implications for those involved in educating professional librarians and library technicians, for the interpretation given by the profession to the meaning of professionalism and for staff relations between librarians and library technicians. Debate by the profession concerning the roles of librarians and library technicians is an issue demanding urgent attention.

This study focuses on mental health care and the civil rights of both the mentally ill and the mentally retarded (i.e. the mentally disordered), citizens of the Australian Capital Territory. The study begins by describing the historical background which has affected current mental health care; the timespan stretches from the nineteenth century when both the mentally ill and the mentally retarded were institutionalised in the asylum, to the present time, with the preferred community centred therapy and 'normalisation' of the mentally disordered. It is explained that current mental health theories recommend that the role of the psychiatric hospital (formerly asylum), should be that of a crisis intervention centre only. The effects of the carefully framed Lunacy Acts of the 19th century are explored in relation to civil rights, as well as the roles played by doctors and lawyers in asylum care. The development of physical treatments, the emergence of psychiatry as a discipline, the catalytic effect of World War II and then the discovery of psychoactive drug therapy culminated in the writing of the Mental Health Acts of the 1950's. The subsequent shift of power from lawyers to doctors in the implementing of these Acts is explained in relation to the civil rights of affected individuals as is the effect of tensions which still exist between these two professions. Current mental health care within the ACT is described, and potential which exists for infringement of the civil rights of the mentally ill and the mentally retarded is highlighted. Recent and current frameworks for mental health care are critiqued, and it is argued that improvement could be made to the latter by developing a mental health model, in which the need for monitoring civil rights is stressed. Against this background, an analysis is made of the ACT Mental Health Ordinance (1981). The need for the new Ordinance is explained, and the Ordinance is then examined in relation to its effect upon mental health care in the ACT, and upon civil rights. In conclusion, a summary is made of the findings of the study, and inferences are drawn for the future of mental health care and for civil rights of the mentally disordered in the ACT.