This thesis develops a multi-faceted picture of competency based training and the impact it is having on vocational education. The thesis is a personal attempt to act agentically by deconstructing the discourse of vocational education within which I am positioned in my working life. It is an attempt to push back the boundaries of the discourse and to explore and create spaces for contestation. In order to do this I undertake three different readings of a set of texts. The texts come from two sources. The first is a set of documents identified in the Framework for the Implementation of Competency Based Training and which represent the official government position on competency based training. The second is a set of interviews I undertook with teachers at the Canberra Institute of Technology regarding their views about competency based training. Details of the texts are provided in Section 2 of the thesis. The body of the thesis is a set of three readings of these texts. The particular view of 'reading' used in the thesis is a post structuralist one. Each of the readings brings into play the understanding of the texts created within a particular discourse. I draw on the work of Michel Foucault for the understanding of discourse used in the thesis. The first reading is from within the discourse. It is a reading which seeks to understand competency based training in its own terms, and in relation to the critical debates within the literature of vocational education. I argue in this reading that competency based training emerges as a grand but flawed vision for the future of vocational education. The second reading takes the viewpoint of the work of Michel Foucault, and in particular his book Discipline and Punish. It uses the metaphor of the panopticon to explore the nature of power/knowledge within competency based training and the regime of truth which it brings into being. The final reading is from a feminist post structuralist position. I argue in this reading that the discourse of competency based training is phallocentric. I explore the liberatory claims of the discourse and conclude that the claims are limited because they do not challenge the fundamental and powerful dualisms through which competency based training is constituted. Finally in the conclusion I briefly explore whether I have achieved the aim of the thesis. I question what it means to act agentically and whether the type of thesis I have undertaken constructs the possibility of doing so.

The provision of work experience opportunities for students at the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) is an important feature in promoting the practical application of theory learned in the classroom. At the outset of this study, the variety and scope of work experience programs at CIT was not known and there were no apparent efforts to co-ordinate this activity. The effectiveness of these programs was not known, and there were no strategies in place to measure their worth. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe work experience programs, to analyse existing evaluation methods and to propose a Model of Evaluation appropriate to the maximum number of programs. The review of related literature resulted in the selection of Stake's comprehensive Countenance Model (1967), chosen for its consideration of the complexities of purpose and the wide variety of experiences which students may encounter. A significant part of the application of Stake's Model was the development of an Evaluation Kit for Work Experience Co- Ordinators at CIT and the subsequent trial on the Work Placement subject of the Certificate in Travel course in the School of Tourism and Hospitality. Stake's Countenance Model of Evaluation appears to embody an appropriate structure to measure the worth of programs. Recommendations for future directions include the wider trial of the Kit in a greater number of programs to further establish its usefulness to decision-makers, and the need to remain alert to emerging issues and trends in work experience practice in Australia.

This study in curriculum development and innovation concerns the Human Development and Christian Values (H.D.C.V.) project in the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn. How to enable Catholic schools to be more committed to the development of the whole student was the task faced by the Catholic Education Office and the core work group. 1976-1979 saw the development of H.D.C.V. Guidelines to form the basis for designing school-based curricula, together with some initial implementation of H.D.C.V. within the schools. This curriculum differs from other human development programs in that life issues are explored from a particular philosophical background - that of the Catholic - rather than being completely open-ended in approach. In this sense the project is innovatory. The basic principles and processes in the H.D.C.V. Guidelines are identified and illuminated by describing the project and its preliminary events, justifying the project in terms of Church and modern educational criteria, examining the curriculum design, reflecting on early implementation in a sample school, and by discussing the problems and strengths of the curriculum. In summary, the study serves to underline the difficulty and enormity of implementing such a curriculum in many of the existing school structures and climates. The variables affecting the success: of the project are complex and many. The vital role of teachers and parents and the call for an appropriately supportive climate within the school are highlighted. Strong and clear guidance in the development of school-based curricula with processes clearly defined also emerge as key issues for the attention of both the change agent and the client.

Ideas for this research were conceived following a discussion I had with the Director of the Canberra Marriage Counseling Service (CMCS) in 1979. Three aims of the research were identified. Firstly, to collect information about the counseling received by clients at the CMCS, from their points of view. Secondly, to collect information about the premature termination of some clients from marriage counseling interviews at the CMCS. Thirdly, to discuss other research findings in the light of this research and so provide a structure from which future research could be conducted. Clients were interviewed according to a questionnaire which I designed. Before the study began, a pilot study was conducted with a small group of clients, primarily, to assess the adequacy of the questionnaire. Clients who were involved in the study itself, all completed initial interviews with new counselors between and including the first day of February and the last day of March, in 1981. I interviewed all clients by telephone, who were usually at home between eight and nine o'clock, on Monday to Thursday evenings inclusive. Clients were asked questions about the counseling process, from the time that they presented with precipitating problems to the time that they considered returning to the CMCS or recommending its services -. to others. Raw data was collected on the following topics: clients' precipitating problems, expectations, motivation to attend counseling, rapport with their counselors, experiences during the counseling process, premature termination and counseling outcomes. Results were compiled by cross-correlating the raw data to obtain a composite picture of clients' counseling experiences. Many statistically significant findings were obtained and numerous recommendations have been made on the basis of the findings. Further research is recommended in three areas. Firstly, a study similar to this one should be conducted on a national scale to ascertain general standards of marriage counseling across Australia. Secondly, a series of experimental studies should be conducted on a number of specific issues raised in this research. Thirdly, case studies of individual clients should be conducted by CMCS counselors which would enable them to easily incorporate research work into their training and supervision programmes.

The purpose of this research was to discover the extent to which practising registered nurses in the ACT undertake physical assessment. It was also organized to discover the perceived reasons why, in appropriate instances, it was not undertaken and the extent to which certain variables may have influenced its practice or non-practice. It was directed also at discovering the extent to which the practising registered nurse would be prepared to undertake workshops on the subject, so that, if appropriate, a core of registered nurses could be provided to act as the role-models and to create the necessary learning environment in the ACT hospitals and agencies where most of the Canberra College's graduates would find employment. Since the first undergraduate course in nursing was introduced in the tertiary sector, nurse academics have placed significant emphasis on the teaching of the nursing process. It is within the first phase of this process, the assessment phase, that the physical assessment of the patient/client is conducted. Discussions with practising registered nurses and observations, led to some uncertainty as to the extent to which physical assessment was actually being used. A review of the literature showed that no investigation of the matter had been reported in the Australian literature. It was, therefore, proposed to make good this deficiency and to resolve any uncertainty about the extent of use of physical assessment in the ACT. This study was restricted to registered nurses in the ACT where all beginning nurses are educated at the CCAE with a curriculum which includes a comprehensive study of physical assessment. Even so, it is recognized that such studies will only reach a beginning level of competency. In order to ensure that the graduates of these courses extend their competency in physical assessment they need to be able to use these skills in every day nursing practice. This research, therefore, was conducted using a questionnaire which incorporated questions about the use of 36 physical assessment skills. The survey, on a onetime participation basis, was conducted for all registered nurses rostered on a fortnightly period in April 1987. A 66.7% response rate was achieved. The responses were analyzed and the findings, results and recommendations are included in the appropriate sections of this thesis.

The present study attempted to answer two questions: do academic library users have a distinctive and useful input to make to library strategic planning? If they do, what mechanisms will permit them to participate effectively in this planning process? To address these questions research was carried out in two stages at a single institutional site, the Canberra College of Advanced Education. The first of these utilised a structured group discussion process, Nominal Group Technique (NGT). This was used both as an indicator of user planning priorities and as a pilot research technique contributing to the design of a subsequent survey. This survey obtained a response rate of over 90 percent from a sample of 379. The study attempted to establish that academic staff and students do have a worthwhile input to make to planning by testing for congruence between the rankings of library planning priorities of these user groups and the rankings of planning priorities of Library staff. No strong positive correlations were established between the priorities of student groups and Library staff, although in the survey the priorities of academic staff and Library staff were found to be related. These results suggest users do have a worthwhile input to make to library strategic planning. Other tests for congruence were also applied between and within respondent groups, because if a group was found to have different priorities there would be a prima facie case for consulting members of that group as part of the planning process. Both mechanisms used in the present study were considered successful. User surveys have been employed for planning in previous studies with a future-oriented component. However, it appears that this may have been the first formally reported application of NGT to library management. Experience in the present study suggests it is a highly suitable technique for situations such as strategic planning, where generation of ideas or comment on priorities is required. However, an attempt to establish congruence between the results obtained using NGT and those obtained from the survey yielded inconclusive results. It is believed that major changes in the institutional environment were principally responsible for this, although a methodological limitation may also have contributed. The study concludes with suggestions for further research.

Australia is a suburban nation. Today, with increasing concern regarding the sustainability of cities, an appreciation of the complexities of Australian suburbia is critical to the debate about urban futures. As a built environment and a cultural phenomenon, the Australian suburbs have inspired considerable scholarly literature. Yet to date, such scholarly work has largely overlooked the changing environmental values and visions of those shaping and residing within suburban landscapes, and the practices through which such values and visions are materialised in the processes of suburban development. Focusing on the post-war suburban landscapes of Canberra and Perth, this thesis centralises the environmental, political and economic forces that have shaped human action to construct suburban spaces, paying particular attention to the extent to which individual understandings and visions of 'environment' have determined the shape and nature of suburban development. Specifically, it examines how those operating within Australia’s suburbs, including planners, developers, builders, landscape designers and residents have imagined the 'environment', and how such imaginaries have shifted in response to varying spatial, temporal and ideological contexts. Tracing the shifting nature of environmental concern throughout the mid-to-late twentieth century, it argues that despite the somewhat unsustainable nature of Australia's suburban landscapes, the planning and development of such landscapes has long been influenced by and has responded to differing understandings of 'environment', which themselves are the product of changing social, political and economic concerns. In doing so, this thesis challenges a number of perceptions concerning Australian suburbs, environmental awareness and sustainability. In particular, it contests the assumption that environmental concern for Australia's suburban development emerged with the urban consolidation debates of the 1980s and 1990s, and analyses a range of environmental sensibilities not often acknowledged in current histories of Australian environmentalism. By examining, for example, how the deterministic and economic concerns of differing planning bodies, along with the aesthetic and ecological concerns of various planners, are intertwined with the housing and domestic lifestyle preferences of suburban homeowners, this history brings to the fore the often conflicting environmental ideas and practices that arise in the course of suburban development, and provides a more nuanced history of the diversity of environmental sensibilities. In sum, this thesis enhances our understandings of the changing nature of environmental concern and illuminates the complex, still largely misunderstood, environmental ideas and practices that arise in the processes of suburban development.

This thesis describes a qualitative action research process undertaken ‘in the field’ over approximately eight years of the development of an alternative paradigm for music education. This new paradigm evolved from a simple, practical approach that was not, in the first instance, designed to be transformational, but which quickly showed itself to have potential for providing a different model for conceptualising musical engagement. ¶ It is argued that the standard and widely accepted approach to music education has aspects that does not encourage on-going music making. This study conceptualises that ‘traditional’ Western approach in terms of a ‘virtuosic mountain’ that prioritises and rewards technical achievement. The concept of the virtuosic mountain is developed in terms of three ‘P’s’: Perfection, Practice and Performance. The concept was developed by not just reviewing current literature but also by analysing that literature in light of the developing new paradigm as a means of comparing and contrasting the approaches. ¶ Called ‘The Music Education Program’, this new paradigm is based on a practical approach to the sharing of music making beyond institutional boundaries like the school gate. Children do not ‘perform’ in the community but seek to engage others in making music with them without reference to age, disability or skill level. The focus is on the social outcomes that derive from music making rather than the improvement of skills, which develop as a natural part of community engagement. In this respect, the approach has roots in community enculturation processes that are no longer prominent in Western society. ¶ The new paradigm is presented with a contrasting set of ‘three I’s’: Intent, Identity and Involvement, which are designed to illustrate how the community ‘outreach’ of the Music Education Program provides a model for consciously reconceptualising our approach to music education through re-visiting what might be regarded as ‘old’ practices in a ‘new’ guise. The three ‘I’s’ are illustrated through a series of critical incidents that highlight the necessary change in theoretical underpinnings that the practical application of the Program demands. This includes a particular focus on the Intent behind our music making, rather than the ‘quality’ in terms of technomusical outcomes; stress on the individual and group choices that develop musical Identity; and demonstration of the ways in which this paradigm may contribute to voluntary, rather than enforced, Involvement. ¶ The critical incident data is supplemented by some survey and evaluation data which supports the view that the social component of musical engagement provides an alternate focus to musical development than does an achievement paradigm. The range of data collected shows that classroom teachers can take a significant role in the encouragement of music making in the primary school without relying solely on the expertise of those with specific musical training; and that overcoming negative attitudes and experiences can transform not only the teacher’s relationship with music but produce a positive effect on her students. ¶ The model described here has evolved through a longitudinal process that constantly maintains the centrality of the practical operation of the program. In so doing, it moves away from theoretical constructs that often do not seem to relate directly to practitioners but, at the same time, it avoids prescriptive methodology. Theory is elucidated through practice in a way that encourages teachers to develop their own practices that are consistent with underlying principles. This model is transformative in nature, having first a transformative effect on the principal researcher and thence on those teachers engaging in professional development with the Program. ¶ Since the Music Education Program does not yet have students who have exited the school system, this study does not attempt to claim success in the long-term in terms of promoting ongoing engagement through life. Data suggest, however, that it has had an impact in encouraging teachers to reconnect with music making and enables them to share that music making with their students, thereby helping to develop more school-based musical engagement that is also affecting the broader community in the Australian Capital Territory.

For various reasons, existing methods for the assessment of aquatic pollution do not always adequately address the way in which contaminants affect receiving environments and their component ecosystems. The main advantage of biological assessment over the measurements of physical and chemical aspects of water quality is that biota provide an integrated response to all prevailing influences in their environment. Biological assessment protocols have been developed for a range of test organisms, from bacteria to mammals using measurement from molecular biomarkers to indicators at the population or community level of organisation. Macroinvertebrates in particular have been popular for ecological assessment of habitat and water quality because they are small and straight forward to sample and identify using relatively simple and inexpensive equipment and readily available taxonomic keys. However, various biological assessment techniques also have their limitations. Field-based assessment of biological communities does not provide direct evidence to determine underlying causal relationships, while laboratory or mesocosm toxicity tests are criticised for their limited ability to extrapolate to natural field conditions. To help bridge the gap, this thesis aims to investigate the efficacy of using caged macroinvertebrates in situ to assess the ecological condition of aquatic environments, and whether a causal relationship can be established when macroinvertebrates are deployed in situ at sites known to have impaired water quality. Endpoints employed in this thesis include survival, measurements of morphology (as a surrogate for growth) and condition and, for trials assessing sites that receive mine drainage, the tissue concentration of certain trace metals. Development of an in situ approach to water quality monitoring and assessment will potentially provide methods for use by resource managers, community groups and aquatic researchers that are less expensive and faster to run than existing methods and will complement other approaches employed in the assessment of water quality. In situ testing of water quality using macroinvertebrates requires the collection, handling, caging, deployment and retrieval of test organisms at sites of suspected pollutant impact. As such procedural factors may affect test organisms and potentially confound their responses, it is important to consider and understand as many of these factors as possible. Aquatic macroinvertebrates held in finer mesh cages had larger heads than in coarser mesh cages. This was likely due to increased substrate available for growth of epilithon and periphyton on which the caged organisms could graze. Caging density had no effect on amphipod mortality over the trial period, however, individuals held at higher densities increased in size (as indicated by longer dorsal lengths) more than those held at lower or intermediate densities. Temporary storage of test organisms in laboratory aquaria may facilitate the collection of abundances required for in situ trials, however, tanked individuals were smaller and had lower biomasses than individuals collected and deployed immediately. While this is likely to result from differences in feeding during the storage period, it is also possible that tank storage and the ?double handling? deleteriously affected them, or reduced their tolerance. The effects of transplanting macroinvertebrates between sites varied considerably depending on the characteristics of "source" and "transplant" sites. Certain taxa suffered marked mortality within 24 hours even at their source site, indicating an adverse effect of the caging itself, or perhaps via the change in food, shelter or microclimate which could potentially render them unsuitable as test organisms in caging studies. Other taxa did not differ in survival or body size when relocated between sites, with some evidence of increased growth at sites dissimilar from their source site. In general, organisms relocated to sites that are "similar" to their source environment performed less well at the transplant site. However, organisms transplanted to "dissimilar" sites were found to be bigger than those caged and deployed back to the source site. When employed to assess known pollution scenarios in and around Canberra, macroinvertebrate responses were, in some instances, able to be linked to specific environmental parameters or combinations thereof. In Case Study 1, findings varied in relation to the response endpoint being examined, and between test species, although concentrations of metals were significantly higher in tissue of macroinvertebrates deployed at the impact site downstream of the abandoned Captains Flat mine and increased with time exposed. In Case Study 2, freshwater shrimp suffered significant mortality within 24 hours of deployment at the impact sites, with larger individuals more susceptible at sites receiving urban stormwater runoff. While various biological effects were most closely correlated with ammonia concentrations at the site, different body size endpoints were affected in opposite ways. In Case Study 3, body size endpoints for one test organism varied consistently with respect to site and time factors, but none of the changes could be linked to any of the environmental data collected. Response variables for a different test species also indicated significant effects arising from both deployment site and time, however, each endpoint responded in a different way to the treatment factors, and aligned with different combinations of environmental data. In general, linking of macroinvertebrate responses with environmental data was difficult because of the high variability in the environmental data. However, it was further complicated by the mismatch in the level of replication between the two datasets. As a consequence of this, the macroinvertebrate data had to be collapsed to a lower level for comparison with the environmental data, resulting in a loss of natural variability and analytical power. Since only the strongest treatment effects, which could be detected above the background "noise", were detected and modelled against the environmental data, it is possible that other "cause" and "effect" relationships may have been overlooked. From these results, it is clear that many macroinvertebrate taxa are suitable for use as bioindicators in in situ trials, but that criteria used for selection of test species should definitely include more than just impact-sensitivity and abundance. However, there are several aspects associated with the experimental set up of field-based protocols involving caged macroinvertebrates that may limit their usefulness as a rapid and reliable bioassessment tool, and need to be considered when designing and undertaking these kinds of trials. It is also apparent that choice of endpoint can greatly influence conclusions, with detection of treatment effects reported in this thesis varying greatly depending on which morphological endpoint was examined. This study clearly demonstrated that there may be significant difficulties in establishing causal relationships between environmental data and biotic responses of macroinvertebrates deployed under field conditions. However, it has also shown that deployment of caged macroinvertebrates in situ may assist in the determination of biological effects arising from impaired water quality, which can then serve as the basis for more focussed laboratory or mesocosm studies in which environmental conditions can be more readily controlled or monitored.

There are many recognised forms of teacher professional development ranging from simply reflecting on a lesson recently taught to enrolling in a formal course at university. This study set out to examine the perceived effectiveness of one mode of professional development, a spaced learning activity(SLA). The SLA was selected for a number of reasons. Firstly, current government economic and industrial policy includes an emphasis on the training and retraining of the Australian workforce as an economic necessity. Within this policy, teacher professional development is considered to improve the quality of teaching and to raise professionalism. Secondly, the literature in the area suggests that professional development activities have the potential to improve the quality of teaching by enhancing teachers' knowledge and skills. Thirdly, an SLA appeared to incorporate many characteristics of effective professional development which are identified in the literature, for example, allowing time for critical reflection and for internalising concepts. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of an SLA as a training strategy and in enhancing teachers' knowledge, beliefs, classroom practice and students' learning outcomes and also to identify characteristics of an SLA which assisted and inhibited its effectiveness. Perceived costs and benefits of participation to the individual teacher were also evaluated.. The study was carried out at Marist College, Canberra , a Y7-12 single sex secondary school with an enrolment of approximately 1100 boys. The study involved twenty five teachers who participated voluntarily in a pilot collegial group programme at the school during 1993. The term "collegial group" is used for a small group of professionals who meet on a regular basis to learn together and to support one another in their on-going professional development. Adie (1988:4) explains that collegial groups are designed to assist in supporting, learning, problem solving, planning and performing. The twenty five volunteers were divided into three groups. Each group determined its own 'focus1 and met on an average of five occasions over six months, for meetings ranging from two to four hours. The foci selected by each group were: Increasing student motivation Increasing student responsibility for learning. Excellence in Teaching course. Meetings usually provided an opportunity for individual feedback on teaching changes tried, some input on the focus area, discussion of its practicality and a commitment to try something new and to report back at the next meeting. Some groups also included discussion of specific teaching and learning 'problems', where the group would offer solutions. A variety of data collection techniques were employed in the study. A questionnaire was conducted before the programme commenced to ascertain participants' expectations and concerns about the programme and anticipated effects of participation on their teaching knowledge, beliefs and practice and on their students' learning outcomes. A questionnaire was also administered at the end of the programme. The post-study questionnaire sought participants' perceptions about how well their expectations for the programme had been met, any differences participation had made to their teaching knowledge, beliefs and practice, and to their students' learning outcomes and whether these differences constituted improvements. Further questions covered: the benefits and costs to individuals of participation in the programme; the benefits participants perceived that other non-participatory colleagues could derive from a future programme; and the perceived value of the activity as a mode of professional development. The questionnaire also included a table covering organisational factors of the programme and elicited participants' responses about the degree to which each assisted and inhibited progress. In addition to the questionnaires, structured interviews were conducted with the participants after the completion of the programme asking similar questions about their perceptions of its success. Analysis of a variety of data collected through pre and post-programme questionnaires as well as interviews clearly indicates that this mode of delivery was perceived by the participants to be an effective form of professional development from the perspective of changing teaching knowledge, beliefs and practice, and as a refocussing or confirming activity by providing stimulus to an individual's professional development. Further data collected support the organisational characteristics of this SLA and provide some suggestions for changes. Finally, the findings clearly show that the benefits to individuals of participation are perceived to outweigh the costs, further supporting the effectiveness of this mode of professional development.