The intention of this study is to examine the role of art, craft, and design education in primary and secondary curricula, to outline from a personal viewpoint what is actually happening in the ACT system of education, to suggest reasons for what is happening, and to make recommendations for improving art, craft, and design education in ACT schools. The study begins by exploring definitional problems, and examines a range of views on the nature of art and design before establishing the definitions upon which the ideological framework of the study is based. The relationship between art, craft, and design is discussed, including what they have in common and where they are essentially and significantly different. It is argued that there are major misconceptions about the nature of art, craft, and design and their role in education at primary and secondary level, and there are perceptual barriers which inhibit the ability of educators and the community to overcome these misconceptions. They include: The failure of the majority of art, craft, and design educators, at all levels, both to define their terms and to develop and articulate a defensible philosophy which demonstrates the importance of these areas of education to our community and to our culture and The failure of the majority of educators outside these specialist areas but in positions which require them to make or influence decisions which shape the educational experiences, values, and future lives of children in their care, to inform themselves about the role of art, craft, and design in education, or to seek and act on informed advice. Supported by visual material, a justification for art, craft, and design in the curricula of schools is based on ways in which we learn to understand the world by interpreting information obtained through the senses, forming concepts, and expressing and communicating ideas, thoughts, and feelings in various forms of communication including visual representations. The way we interpret information is influenced by our environment, learning, and experiences. The study outlines the structure of the ACT system of education, and discusses possibilities and limitations for art, craft, and design education in schools within this context. Uninformed perceptions are identified as a major barrier to change. A proposal for long term in-service in art, craft, and design education for primary and secondary teachers is discussed. The proposal is based on a holistic approach, with courses grouped as related but independent units, each capable of further division into modules. When developed the in-service proposal was a response to perceived needs at both primary and secondary levels of education, current educational values, existing economic restraints, and existing resources. The progress of the proposal is traced from its inception in 1977 to its demise in 1983. The study concludes by reflecting on major issues, proposing the need for informed and powerful leadership, and offering a wide range of recommendations for future action.

In 1980, the A.C.T. Schools' Authority through the curriculum development section together with its curriculum consultants, helped to initiate and develop a pilot programme In relation to Year 6 students about to proceed to Year 7. This programme was made possible by the co-operative participation of both primary and secondary schools, their principals and staffs. The programme aimed at building bridges between primary and secondary schools, between primary and secondary teachers and between the curriculum of primary and secondary schools. This study began, as has been said,.where a Pilot Programme introduced by the A.C.T. Schools' Authority, by its Curriculum Development Section, left off. It aimed to explore further the nature of the 'day to day' reality experienced by some Year 6 students in the Australian Capital Territory. In addition, it aimed to explore and gain insights into the process of transition by following up those students who had been part of the sample in Year 6. It includes individual perceptions of the process. In designing research instruments and investigating the process of transition, certain theoretical concepts drawn from both psychology and sociology were used to crystallise the observations made. In addition, earlier studies concerning transition were assessed as well as those in related areas. In the process of this field study, many observations were made, some contradictory, and generally the field study seems to have raised as many questions as it has answered. As might have been expected, any study dealing with human reaction is complex-more so when there are different types of institutions to be considered. Nonetheless it is only apparently inconclusive enquiries like this which will add to the store of knowledge and allow assumptions to be replaced by more precise data.

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This decade has seen an increasing awareness by the Commonwealth Schools Commission, the ACT Schools Authority, educators and members of the community of students who are gifted in a diversity of areas. A number of programs designed to meet the special needs of gifted students have been developed in some primary schools in the A.C.T. and it is timely that the attitudes of principals, teachers and parents were assessed. To assess the attitudes of the three populations (principals, teachers and parents) toward general attitudes about gifted students, key aspects of planning and organisation of gifted programs, classroom teachers and their knowledge and need of assistance in gifted education; and to explore whether the three populations held different attitudes toward gifted students and the provision of specific programs to meet their special needs, the Field Study candidate developed and administered a questionnaire to members of the A.C.T. Association for Gifted and Talented Children, together with principals, teachers and parents in nineprimary schools in the A.C.T. The results of the questionnaire indicated that all three groups agreed with the proposition that every child was entitled to an educational program that would assist the child to develop to his / her fullest potential. Appropriate extension programs should be run for gifted students in the local primary school, with the involvement of the resource teacher and the assistance of personnel and locations outside of the local school when it was appropriate. Some reservations were expressed toward the level of parent participation in the identification procedure, program planning and program evaluation, and classroom teachers were seen to require assistance in the areas of identification, program planning and the evaluation of programs designed to meet the special needs of gifted students. The Field Study concludes that local A.C.T. primary schools could meet the special needs of gifted students. This could be achieved by principals, teachers and members of the School Board developing and implementing special educational programs by utilising Special Project funding, additional staff and professional development opportunities which are currently available in limited amounts through the ACT Schools Authority and the Commonwealth Schools Commission.

The aim of the Field Study described in this Report was to examine the nature of primary-secondary transition as perceived by students themselves. Twelve students from four A.C.T. primary schools were interviewed prior to their entry to one or other of two high schools, and subsequent interviews were conducted at intervals during the students' first six months in high school. Further information was obtained from interviews with their parents and from formal and informal assessments made by their primary and secondary teachers. To place the trends revealed in the interviews in a wider context, surveys were administered at the beginning and end of the six months' period to all Year 7 students in both high schools. A major emphasis of the Study was an investigation of how students cope with new tasks, social and academic, at a time when there is a potentially stressful conjunction of early adolescence and major educational transition. Such coping is conceptualised as the individual matching his resources against the demands made by a new situation. The initial appraisal by students of the new situation was a general perception of high school as either benign or threatening. The more differentiated, or secondary, appraisal was influenced by further information and experiences; and re-appraisal was characterised, after a further lapse of time, by either a reinforcement or reversal of original perceptions. It was found that upon moving to the more complex institutional setting of high school some students had difficulty in adjusting to a more formal organisation and a more demanding curriculum. The students' response to high school included such coping strategies as hostility, withdrawal or active striving to meet the challenge of a new school. Some students who showed a marked inability to cope with one or more of the tasks, social or academic, of high school were deemed to have experienced adaptive failure. A key factor in adjustment to high school, and one that was at least as important as academic achievement, was that of interpersonal relationships. Success in relating to both teachers and peers was found to be a crucial factor for students, whether bright or less bright, and it was found that students of limited academic achievement could find compensation if they perceived their "person environment" as benign.

The study described in this report attempted to investigate the area of classroom discipline in the primary school. In particular the objectives were to ascertain the factors which influences teachers' knowledge of discipline procedures and the factors which influence teachers' implementation of discipline procedures. The study first examined discipline policies and practices in Australian schools generally and in Australian Capital Territory government schools in particular. A review of the literature indicated that the area of discipline in the classroom is one which seems to be increasingly important in the range of presage variables under investigation by researchers. Information was obtained from sixty completed questionnaires from primary teachers in eight primary schools. Respondents indicated that they taught over the full range of primary school years/grades. Results suggested that senior management in the schools appeared to have a relatively unimportant role in influencing classroom teachers' discipline programmes. The results indicated that the in-school influences which were perceived as the most influential on both teachers' knowledge of discipline procedures and on teachers' current discipline procedures were a) those connected with pupils and b) factors about the personal preference of teachers. The out-of-school influences which were perceived as the most influential on both teachers' knowledge of discipline and on teachers' current discipline procedures were a) those connected with professional development and b) factors about the intuitions and reactions of teachers. Results in general suggested that some primary teachers may be depending or) outdated information regarding school and classroom discipline programmes. These findings could have important ramifications for teacher training agencies regarding the allocation of resources to the area of school discipline programmes.

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The aim of this study was to identify the significant influences that effect the way beginning teachers in the A.C.T. incorporate music into their primary classrooms. Twenty-eight teachers from 23 different schools were interviewed in this study. These teachers were chosen on the basis that they were beginning teachers (teachers who were in their first, second or third year of teaching) and had graduated from the University of Canberra from 1988 to 1990. The teachers were interviewed over a 7 week period in Term 4 of 1990. The interview schedule incorporated aspects of a questionnaire and an interview employing both closed and open-ended questions. The study found that although 71% of the teachers taught some music in their classrooms, no teacher actually taught the whole music curriculum (as defined by the A.C.T. Curriculum Guidelines, 1990). Singing, listening and moving were taught by most teachers but areas of the music curriculum such as playing, reading and writing, improvisation and composition were rarely included. These results were influenced by factors such as the musical background of the teachers, preservice courses, the school music curriculum, whether or not teacher's colleagues taught music and the school's utilisation of the music specialist. For example, teachers who taught music were more likely to come from a school that had a music curriculum rather than from a school that did not. This study has implications for the development and implementation of primary school music curricula, the reassessment of future preservice and inservice programs, the utilisation of human resources within primary schools and the development of more positive attitudes towards music in schools and society in general.

This study focuses on how the HIV and Aids pandemic affects educators in primary schools and how these educators need to be supported to cope more resiliently with the challenges posed by the HIV/Aids pandemic. This study needed to understand how primary school educators experienced the impact of the HIV/Aids pandemic, both professionally and personally. Educators in general are personally affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic emotionally, physically, spiritually and socially. Affected educators are professionally affected by the HIV/Aids, when they are burdened by a large numbers of orphans in their classes, absenteeism of learners and colleagues, poor performance of both educators and learners, high workload and multiple roles they have to perform. The impacts, both personal and professional, are mostly negative. However, to date no study has focused on the impacts of the pandemic on primary school educators. In this study, a phenomenological design was followed. Interviews were conducted with a carefully recruited sample of participants (i.e. primary school educators affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic either in their families or by having orphans in their classes) in the Vaal Triangle area. The researcher recruited participants by means of snowball sampling. Fifteen affected educators participated in this study. Primary school educators interviewed, noted poor emotional, spiritual, physical and social health. They also reported that they do not cope with their duties as educators effectively. Affected primary school educators are in need of comprehensive support to deal with the HIV/Aids pandemic related stressors from the DoE, SMT's, colleagues and the community at large. Affected educators noted that they need to be supported, by means of team work with colleagues and the community; medical support; amongst others HIV education for learners, educators and parents and practical support and counselling for dealing with difficulties created by the HIV/Aids pandemic. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

In this thesis, it is aimed to make a study on Primary Schools of Rum Minority in Istanbul, and in light of this study, to define general principles for conservation studies on these schools. Rum Minority had an important part in social and cultural life in Istanbul and in late 19th Century, their impact in the city increased with their financial power, especially in Beyoglu. Increase in number of schools they built also occurred in the same timeline. Schools built in and after this term by Rum Minority were built as important public buildings of a minority group and possess strong authenticity, technical-artistic, socio-cultural and economical values. In order to decide which values, problems and potentials these buildings bear, a site survey study is done for this thesis. Primary Schools of Rum Minority in Istanbul are among strongest solid evidences of cultural diversity in Istanbul, and Turkey. While conserving these cultural assets, considering all their values, problems, and potentialities is vital. In addition to conservation studies, interpretation and presentation are also necessary steps for reintegration of these buildings to the city. This thesis performs as an effort made to document features and current state of these schools, decide their value, problems, and potentials / and defining general conservation principles for them.