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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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.

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.