'Changing mindsets' is about how teachers are engaging with ‘visual literacy’ — the practices involved in understanding and creating visual texts. The concept of ‘visual literacy’, like other ‘new’ literacies, has arisen in response to changing communication practices in developed, capitalist societies like Australia. This study addresses the ways in which teachers in primary schools are engaging with the visual literacy initiative in the context of the new arts syllabus (Years 1-10) in Queensland. Using a broadly poststructural approach, this thesis explored the changing mindsets implied by this curriculum initiative from three perspectives. The concept of ‘preservation of self’ (Nias, 1987, 1993) was used to examine the personal dimension of change; the concept of ‘trendy theory’ (Goodson, 1988, 1994, 1997) addressed the social and political agendas that drive curriculum reform; while the concept of ‘multimodality’ (Kress, 2000a, 2000b, 2003a, 2003b) drew attention to the cultural values ascribed to different modes of communication. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 primary teachers from 11 government schools in a regional centre in 2002. The discourse analysis method was used to analyse the data resulting from these interviews. The data showed that the official discourses featured in the new arts syllabus did not match the discourses used by practising teachers. Although there was some recognition of the significance of the visual mode, most teachers in this study were not aware of ‘visual literacy’. Significantly, the agency exercised by teachers in curriculum reform was shaped not only by their personal identities, but also by the levels of support that they experienced in their working environments. These findings have crucial implications for policy-makers in implementing curriculum change, particularly in the context of the new arts syllabus.

What students should learn in school and therefore also what teachers should teach is an important issue worldwide. Mathematics teaching (and teaching in other subjects) is often regulated by some form of governing text in a written curriculum communcating a set of standards. Another common mean through which policy is communicated is assessments, which for example can convey policy by communicating desirable outcomes in student learning. A common problem with regulating what teachers do through policy means is that it often is difficult to achieve intended changes. This study investigates the impact of a national reform in Sweden initiated in 1994, introducing mathematical competency goals by communicating them through the national curriculum and national assessments. The study is based on analysis of data obtained from the Swedish Schools Inspectorate (SSI), which conducted a quality review of upper secondary school mathematics teaching. During this quality review, the SSI collected data on a representative sample of 145 upper secondary mathematics teachers through interviews, observations, and surveys. This was done in 2009 and 2010, which means that the reform from a time perspective has had ample time to exert influence on teachers. In the study the data obtained from the SSI was analyzed in order to answer two questions:  have teachers changed their beliefs about the goals of upper secondary school mathematics in line with the intentions of the reform, and why have, or have they not, changed their beliefs about the goals of upper secondary school mathematics in line with the intentions of the reform? In research on teachers’ reception of policy messages, similar to the one introduced in Sweden, it has been found that a common response to these messages is that teachers are positive to the message. However, although positive, teachers have often been found to only adopt superficial properties of the reform while still maintaining a highly traditional view of teaching and the goals of teaching, not consistent with the intentions of the reform. Therefore, the questions in this study were examined by using a model that can explain why teachers, when confronted with a reform message, change their beliefs in profound or superficial ways, or not at all. Through analysis of the SSI-data, measures on constructs of the model were obtained, and with statistical means it was examined whether the model can account for the changes in teachers’ beliefs about the goals of upper secondary school mathematics. The results of the study suggest that the Swedish reform has had a relatively small impact, and that the model can give an explanation to why some Swedish upper secondary teachers of mathematics have changed their beliefs in line with the reform, some have changed them in superficial ways, and some have not changed them in any discernable way. Whether teachers perceive the reform as entailing an important and non-trivial change for them seems to be of utmost importance. The results of this study suggest that if teachers do not perceive this, they will not process the message deeply, which by the results of this study suggest that there is little chance for them to change their beliefs in a profound way. If they however do perceive the message as entailing an important and non-trivial change, this study suggests that chances are greater that teachers will change their beliefs in line with the reform. Teachers’ interest in the subject and their perceptions of the usefulness of the documents communicating the message are then in this study suggested to be important factors influencing whether teachers will process the reform message systematically, which in turn heavily influences whether they will change their beliefs in a profound way. One practical implication, suggested by this study is that when policy communicates a new and non-trivial message with the intention of influencing teachers, it is important that the message is communicated clearly. Such clarity makes it more difficult for a teacher to superficially interpret the message as being in accordance with the teacher’s earlier beliefs, and thus not entail any need for change. However, to attain such clarity of a complex message is not an easy task to accomplish.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: James Ryan.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 223-231).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2003. / "A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy" Bibliography : leaves 198-218.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2756.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 301-308). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1995. / Includes tables. Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: William G. Anderson. Dissertation Committee: Joseph Weir. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-218).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 301-308). Also available on the Internet.