832 research outputs found
Engaging Adult Piano Students Through Transformative Pedagogical Approaches
No full textAs the number of adults seeking to learn the piano increases, so too does the need for piano teachers to understand how to better facilitate their learning. This research offers detailed pedagogical insights into understanding and meeting the learning needs of six adult piano students through the author’s practitioner-based study. It investigates the use of transformative pedagogical strategies aimed at engaging adult students in all areas of their learning. The main themes explored are relevance and repertoire selection, lesson interactions and home practice.
Using self-direction and experiential learning as the theoretical framework for this study, the author uncovers skill sets and mindsets associated with engagement in the contexts of adult piano students’ one-to-one piano lessons and home practice. The experiential learning cycle encompasses the metacognitive and cognitive skills associated with deliberate piano practice and self-direction. These include planning and implementing appropriate practice strategies, observing and reflecting on outcomes and adapting approaches to tasks accordingly. Developing and utilising these skills, however, is dependent on mindset factors that students bring to their learning. These include expectations, self-efficacy levels, epistemological beliefs, goal orientations and attributions. This nine-month study explores how these mindsets impacted students’ learning and how altering the author’s teaching strategies contributed to fostering mindsets conducive to student engagement.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Queensland ConservatoriumArts, Education and LawFull Tex
The Right to Social Security in Pilipino Law: Legality, Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability and Adaptability
No full textThis thesis argues that the Philippines is yet to fulfil its international social security obligations. Based on the criteria of legality, availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability (LAAAA), a socio-legal research assessment tool that is developed in this thesis, detects that more than 58 per cent of Filipinos have no legal right to social security. Expressed differently, more than half of the Philippine population have no access to the provision of social security in the Philippines. It is argued that corruption is a significant factor that limits the Philippines compliance with its international obligations.
There are three sections to this thesis. The first section of the thesis analyses whether the Philippines has internalised its social security obligations through an examination of the policies and programs which prevent and ameliorate poverty in its domestic legal order. This part examines how poverty is identified and measured in the Philippines, the composition of its social security system, and how its system compares with that of other Asian nations. It establishes that the Pilipino provision of social security is composed of three elements: social insurance, social assistance, and sub-systems of welfare assistance, but these do not alleviate or prevent poverty. The cash rate for social assistance is insufficient. This section identifies that the family is considered the primary institution of the Pilipino social security.
The second section examines how the human right to social security was established by many nations, including the Philippines, following World War II. It traces the development of internationalisation and looks at varying opinions regarding the interpretation of what constitutes the right to social security. This part also contains a discussion about the Philippines’ obligations established under the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the 1952 International Labour Organization Convention 102 on the Minimum Standards of Social Security and the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. This part establishes that the Philippines has international obligations concerning the right to social security that it took an active part in establishing.
Having identified the Philippines’ obligations under international law, the LAAAA assessment tool is used to measure the Philippines’ level of compliance concerning its international obligations regarding the right to social security. LAAAA has been developed from the four standards of availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) to measure the fulfilment of the other rights enumerated by the ICESCR. The additional standard, legality, has been added to assess whether the Philippines has complied with its treaty obligations. The assessment tool shows that, in practice, the Philippines has not achieved the goals of its international obligations. The standard of legality indicates that the Philippines has implemented more welfare programs based on contributory rather than non-contributory legislation. Overall, the use of the assessment tool has detected that the Pilipino provision of social security contains selective welfare programs, policies and legislations that limit the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability of the system. Thus, the provision of social security in Pilipino law has not responded appropriately to the needs of its people.
The final section of the thesis provides explanations for the high number of Filipinos without adequate social security. It argues that corruption has been a significant drain on public resources, thus limiting their availability for other purposes, including social security. Focusing on the period 1965-2016, it finds that there was an endemic culture of corruption arising from patron-client relations between public officials, the economic and political elites, and the poor. This section establishes the ways in which public corruption has impeded the design and implementation of welfare programs that complied with the intended spirit of the nation’s international obligations.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Griffith Law SchoolArts, Education and LawFull Tex
An Exploration of Two Entrepreneurship Education Programs Delivered to Secondary School Students and Their Impact on Student Self-Efficacy
No full textIn recent years, there has been significant global growth in the use of entrepreneurship education (EE), predominantly in higher education. Producing entrepreneurs and developing entrepreneurial capabilities is now considered an economic priority and teaching high-impact entrepreneurship has become an important role for universities (Office of the Chief Scientist, 2015). It has been argued that EE should begin as early as possible (World Economic Forum, 2009) and that reshaping education and training policies will help narrow the widening skills students require in an ever-evolving global economy (World Economic Forum, 2016, p. 24). EE programs can assist students in developing the crucial enterprise skills that 21st-century employers are seeking, including creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork (FYA, 2016; Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority [QCAA], 2015). There is thus a need for more Australian studies investigating EE at the secondary school level. Australia currently has no widely implemented entrepreneurship programs offered by schools. There are, however, a small number of national programs run by external providers and implemented in schools, including the Club Kidpreneur Challenge, aimed at upper primary students (Club Kidpreneur Foundation, 2017) and the secondary-themed 20 Boss Program offered to Year 10 students, an in-class, teacher-delivered approach designed by FYA. The second case is the GLO@Logan Entrepreneurial Innovation Challenge, a 3-day initiative conducted by Griffith University at its Logan campus for Year 9 students. Exciting avenues for the development of secondary school EE programs arise from the findings presented in this thesis. As a study positioned within the secondary school context, this thesis has implications for teaching, learning, and research as it demonstrates that student self-efficacy and learning outcomes can be improved through EE via the integration of pedagogical approaches such as PBL. Past literature suggests PBL helps reduce classroom hierarchical barriers, resulting in students taking ownership of their learning (Huq & Gilbert, 2017). Given that students’ value of entrepreneurship increased following both case studies, it could be argued that exposure to EE – no matter the duration of the program – can have a positive impact on students’ knowledge and attitudes. Additionally, students were more confident in presenting to others and managing budgets after partaking in $20 Boss.
Given the importance of EE, and particularly 21st-century enterprise skills more generally, it is clear that there is a need for the informed design of EE programs, within and outside of school. The application of this research serves as a pilot study for wider research into EE approaches at a secondary school level. Importantly, this thesis makes recommendations about what salient elements of the EE programs examined can be advanced as essential elements of future EE programs at the secondary school level. In advancing these salient elements of EE programs, this thesis serves as a stepping stone in reshaping the secondary curriculum to help prepare the next generation for the 21st-century workforce and beyond.Thesis (Masters)Master of Education and Professional Studies Research (MEdProfStRes)School Educ & Professional StArts, Education and LawFull Tex
Playing the Changes: An Expanded View of Higher Music Education through the Use of Collaborative Learning and Teaching
No full textIn Australia, higher music education faces challenging times— university reform has ushered in an era of public accountability and budget cuts; the sector has become portfolio career-focussed and a university education must prepare students for uncertain futures. Within higher music education, collaborative learning has been identified as one way to address these types of challenges. There has recently been increased interest in the use of collaborative learning in a variety of higher music education contexts. To date, however, collaborative learning for music practice or performance in higher music education remains little used and under-researched.
Situated within a practitioner inquiry framework, this study employed narrative approaches to discover participants’ experiences of collaborative learning in first year music practice courses at the University of Southern Queensland, a regional Australian university. The participants in this study were students who completed the first year music practice courses in 2014 and the teacher/researcher. Preliminary research during 2012 and a pilot study in 2013 shaped the focus and design of the study. Data were collected from students’ essays, journals and short answer questionnaires. Teacher’s data took the form of a teacher/researcher diary. Thematic analysis of students’ essays and journals established the ways in which collaborative learning built students’ individual and collective agency. Narrative analysis of the entire data set was undertaken to develop a robust picture of the value created through learning music practice collaboratively.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Queensland Conservatorium of MusicArts, Education and LawFull Tex
Making the Grade: Theorising Musical Performance Assessment
No full textThis thesis is a theoretical work that explores approaches for conceptualising and interpreting musical performance assessment practices in higher education contexts. Musical performance assessment is characteristic of higher music education, and the principal form of assessment associated with tertiary musical performance training. Although educational assessment is a ubiquitous feature of higher education around the world, it has remained a contested realm of practice for decades, reflecting competing purposes, approaches, and philosophies. Despite much theoretical advancement having been made over recent decades, assessment practices themselves have been slow to change. This is especially true in higher music education contexts where traditional approaches continue to be valorised. This situation has prompted calls for new ways of viewing assessment, which is what this research is about.
This thesis describes an explorative, qualitative research project that sought to investigate meaningful ways of conceptualising musical performance assessment practices. Three main questions guided the research, each reflecting a different facet of assessment practices. 1. How can bases for achievement in musical performance work be meaningfully conceptualised? 2. How can bases of legitimation for assessment participants be meaningfully conceptualised? 3. How can bases of legitimation for assessment practices in higher music education be meaningfully conceptualised? The emphasis on legitimation in these questions reflects the theoretical positions that frame the research, including the adoption of Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), which is a sociological framework for studying social practices.
The questions are underpinned by a basic view of assessment as a sociallysituated practice, characterised by multiple overlapping systems of legitimation. In exploring these questions, the aim was to develop useful conceptual resources for viewing assessment practices by explicitly connecting theoretical concepts with data. In this, the intention was to produce theoretical ideas that could actually relate to musical performance assessment practices.
To anchor this process, data were purposefully collected from a range of sources, including the academic literature, interviews with assessment participants (n=26) including both assessors and students involved in Australian higher music education, and the body of publicly available documentation that governs assessment practices in this sector. The data were analysed using a multi-strategy qualitative methodology, and the exploration of intersections between the data and concepts from LCT was the main approach by which the research questions were explored.
The research has several main outcomes. The conceptual framework developed in the first part of the thesis provides a package of perspectives and resources for studying and theorising musical performance assessment practices. It situates musical performance assessment in higher education as an object of study and outlines a set of theoretical ideas than can be used to make sense of assessment practices. The latter part of the thesis develops responses to the research questions and offers theoretical resources for conceptualising various aspects of musical performance assessment practices. The main focus is on translating between concepts from LCT and aspects of substantive musical performance assessment practices. As part of this process, the later chapters of the thesis describe theoretical approaches for 1) conceptualising underlying characteristics of criteria for musical performance assessment, 2) for conceptualising how the attributes of assessment participants matter in terms of their ability to successfully participate in practices, and 3) for conceptualising and interpreting the legitimation of assessment practices themselves.
Ultimately, these outcomes are starting points. Although the work described in this thesis is deliberately oriented toward the world of practice, it is nonetheless primarily theoretical, and so its main contribution is to offer points of departure for further research and/or the development of approaches for use in substantive contexts.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Queensland ConservatoriumArts, Education and LawFull Tex
Playing the Changes: An Expanded View of Higher Music Education through the Use of Collaborative Learning and Teaching
No full textIn Australia, higher music education faces challenging times— university reform has ushered in an era of public accountability and budget cuts; the sector has become portfolio career-focussed and a university education must prepare students for uncertain futures. Within higher music education, collaborative learning has been identified as one way to address these types of challenges. There has recently been increased interest in the use of collaborative learning in a variety of higher music education contexts. To date, however, collaborative learning for music practice or performance in higher music education remains little used and under-researched.
Situated within a practitioner inquiry framework, this study employed narrative approaches to discover participants’ experiences of collaborative learning in first year music practice courses at the University of Southern Queensland, a regional Australian university. The participants in this study were students who completed the first year music practice courses in 2014 and the teacher/researcher. Preliminary research during 2012 and a pilot study in 2013 shaped the focus and design of the study. Data were collected from students’ essays, journals and short answer questionnaires. Teacher’s data took the form of a teacher/researcher diary. Thematic analysis of students’ essays and journals established the ways in which collaborative learning built students’ individual and collective agency. Narrative analysis of the entire data set was undertaken to develop a robust picture of the value created through learning music practice collaboratively.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Queensland Conservatorium of MusicArts, Education and LawFull Tex
Fostering the Development of Expressive Performance Skills: A Gestural Approach within the Reflective, One-to-One Piano Studio
No full textThis study reflects on my professional practice in the one-to-one piano teaching studio through the analysis of four case studies at a pre-tertiary music school attached to a major Australian university. Each research participant’s weekly lessons were recorded over a calendar year (30–40 lessons per student). Recordings of the 130–140 lessons were viewed retrospectively, with synopses, observations and reflections diarised. A reflective journal of lessons with the initial six case studies was kept throughout the 12-month period of data collection, and two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with the research participants and their parents. Two additional cases provided pilot material. The research hopes to identify strategies that fostered the development of the research participants’ expressive performance skills. It also describes the kind of learning environment(s) that may encourage expressive sensibility in pianists of late elementary and early intermediate levels. Specifically, this research seeks confirmation that the working knowledge of tone production, articulation and phrasing through the adoption of expressive gesture can help young students learn to intrinsically link how they move at the piano with how they sound. The aim was that research participants would learn, with support and guidance, to expressively characterise their pieces, but still have the ability to build their own transferable knowledge base that could be applied to multi-genred repertoire in the future. The thematic analysis of my Reflective Journal, the lesson synopses and 12 semi-structured research interviews all provide rich and complex representations of the central research question: In what ways could expressive gesture be used to foster the expressive performance skills of late elementary and early intermediate level pre-tertiary pianists? The data indicates that this may not be appropriate as a single teaching approach with every individual; rather, it will need modification, especially where motor skill, kinaesthetic awareness, technique, practice habits and learning how to learn may be of greater priority. More widely, the study also demonstrates the need to think beyond a one-size-fits-all approach in one-to-one studio teaching, a context that has historically been quick to defend pedagogical lineage, thereby leading to a sometimes exclusive adoption of the teach-as-taught approach within a master–apprentice framework. Although generalisations are problematic, this project serves as a reminder that while the long-standing pedagogies of expressive gesture and physical movement are useful in improving a student’s sense of expressive playing, there is a need for increased awareness of the unique profile that each student presents. To seek pedagogy that is individualised in its very broadest sense is one of the greatest potential assets of the one-to-one context. The research provides a window into what is happening in the lives of the students, demonstrates how they grow with the research aims in their own way and time, and articulates their’s and their parent’s perception of the effectiveness of expressive gesture and ‘whole body’ playing. The project bridges theory and practice, providing adjunct methods for expressive performance instruction that may be of use to other piano pedagogues. The process provided an opportunity for me to reflect on my teaching in a real and sustained way. It has helped to continue the process of my teaching transformation, and provides a detailed look into the one-to-one environment, a context that is not well represented in the research literature. From my own perspective, the research journey has afforded an opportunity to be reminded of what it is like to be in the role of the less experienced learner, and has influenced the type of pedagogy that I employ in my everyday practice.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Arts, Education and LawFull Tex
A Literature Scan of the Effectiveness of Electronic Monitoring with Community-Supervised Offenders
No full textToward the goal of reducing prison demand, the Queensland Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Criminal Justice System Reform Framework has been tasked with exploring options for the expansion of electronic monitoring beyond the cohorts to which it is currently applied. The Department of Premier and Cabinet has contracted Deloitte to execute this work. As part of their project approach, Deloitte has partnered with the Griffith Criminology Institute to describe the available research evidence related to electronic monitoring. This report describes the results of that literature scan.Full Tex
What does the word ‘Europe’ make you think of? Conceptualisations of Europe in a local context
No full textThe present article investigates the construction of the sense of belonging toward Europe in the public sphere, employing a case-study conducted in Italy. The author argues that different conceptualisations of Europe are related to diverse “uses” of the media, familiarity with international cultural resources and participation in the transnational public sphere and civil society. These variables affect the construction of Europeans' sense of belonging
Correction: Yagüe, P., et al. Goals and Challenges in Bacterial Phosphoproteomics. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20, 5678
No full textThe authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [1]:The author name “Gemma Fernánez-García” should be “Gemma Fernández-García” [...
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