Education, University of Wollongong, 2011
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University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2011 The tyranny of distance Elaine Mary Dunn University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Dunn, Elaine Mary, The tyranny of distance, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, 2011. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3391 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact Manager Repository Services: [email protected]. i THE TYRANNY OF DISTANCE A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (EDUCATION) from UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG by Elaine Mary Dunn Faculty of Education 2011 ii CERTIFICATION I, Elaine M. Dunn, declare that this thesis, submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. (signature) …………….. date iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 The School – As it was then 1 1.2 Australian Education in Context 2 1.3 Defining the Rural School 6 1.4 Purpose of the Study 7 1.5 Research Questions 8 1.6 The Theoretical Framework 8 1.7 Methodology 10 1.8 Research – Overview 11 1.9 Design of the Research Process 12 1.10 Structure of the Thesis 17 CHAPTER 2 – MY EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY 20 2.1 Personal history – A motley host of memories 20 2.1.1 Growing up in a rural household 21 2.1.2 Correspondence education 23 2.1.3 Beyond the curriculum – Farm life and responsibilities 24 2.1.4 Senior study – Beyond the Intermediate Certificate 25 2.1.5 What next – Teacher training? 26 2.1.6 The rural school 27 2.2 From a Teaching Perspective – in rural regions 27 2.2.1 Accommodation 27 2.2.2 Tumut Central School 28 2.2.3 The students 30 2.2.4 The staff 31 2.2.5 Social activities 32 2.2.6 Married life and a career 34 2.2.7 The right to work 35 iv 2.2.8 Moving on 35 2.2.9 Why conduct such a study? 37 CHAPTER 3 – HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 39 3.1 Introduction 39 3.1.1 Rural education – As it was 39 3.1.2 Overview of early history 40 3.1.3 Pressures for change 42 3.1.4 The Public Instruction Act 43 3.1.5 A new era 44 3.1.6 World War I 45 3.1.6 The Depression and its influence 45 3.2 Post World War II 46 3.2.1 What of immigration? 47 3.2.2 The school curriculum – what to teach and how? 48 3.2.3 Primary schools – classifications 50 3.2.4 Statistics tell a story 52 3.2.5 What is rural education? 52 3.2.6 The child in the rural setting 54 3.2.7 Teacher training – accommodation – staffing 55 3.3 Rural Society and Culture 57 3.3.1 The myth 57 3.3.2 The culture 58 3.3.3 ‘Countrymindedness’ 59 3.3.4 Class stratification 59 3.3.5 Land settlement 60 3.3.6 Critical summary 63 3.3.7 Conclusion 64 v CHAPTER 4 – PUBLIC EDUCATION – Response to the Challenges of Rural Education 66 4.1 Introduction 66 4.1.1 Background – Attitudes to education 66 4.1.2 A crisis in education 68 4.2 Addressing Issues in Rural Education 69 4.2.1 The rise of the Correspondence School 69 4.2.2 Rural Education – The Small School 71 4.2.2.1 School equipment 73 4.2.2.2 Curriculum and time-table organisation 73 4.2.2.3 Daily class preparation 76 4.2.2.4 The Day Book 76 4.2.3 Perceptions of Rural Schooling 79 4.2.3.1 The administration of schools 79 4.2.3.2 Teachers 80 4.2.3.3 Report on teacher 80 4.2.3.4 Status – female teachers 84 4.2.3.5 Sewing teachers 84 4.2.3.6 Summary 85 4.3 Case Studies of Small Public Schools 86 4.3.1 Tuppal School 88 4.3.2 Warragoon School 88 4.3.3 Woodbury School 89 4.3.4 Boonanga 90 4.3.5 School experiences – Children and teachers in the 1950s and 1960s 92 4.3.6 Life in the Small School – Children have their memories 92 4.3.7 Student stories 94 4.3.8 Teacher stories 95 4.3.9 An inspector’s story 96 4.3.10 Childhood memories of the classroom 97 4.3.11 Sporting events were always popular 99 4.3.12 To be a teacher 100 vi 4.3.13 The inspectoral process 104 4.3.14 Elaine’s stories 106 CHAPTER 5 – THE METHOD 108 5.1 Introduction 108 5.2 Choosing a Methodology 110 5.3 Phenomenography 111 5.4 Narrative enquiry 113 5.5 Why study Small Schools? 116 5.6 Research design 119 5.6.1 The texts 119 5.7 Participants 121 5.8 Teacher participants 122 5.9 Student and Parent participants 123 5.10 Process 125 5.11 Record-keeping 127 5.12 Analysis 128 5.13 Summary 129 CHAPTER 6 – STUDENT STORIES 130 6.1 Student Stories – from Subjects of the Study 130 6.1.1 Introducing the students 135 6.1.2 Sewing teachers’ memories 137 6.1.3 Sewing was for girls 139 6.2 Early Memories of School 140 6.2.1 Class management 140 6.2.2 Teaching strategies 143 6.2.3 Student memories – The Curriculum 145 6.2.4 General comments and summary 148 vii CHAPTER 7 – TEACHER STORIES 152 7.1 An Introduction to Teaching 152 7.2 Introducing the Teachers 154 7.3 First appointments 158 7.4 Early memories 164 7.5 The School within the Local Community 171 7.6 The Curriculum and its Application 180 7.7 Collegiality and ‘the Fellowship of the Ring’ 187 7.8 Commitment to Country Service 189 7.9 Summary – comparison of stories in the study with those from other literature 192 7.9.1 School accommodation 192 7.9.2 Communications 193 7.9.3 Community 194 7.9.4 Resources 195 7.9.5 Discipline 195 7.9.6 Summary 197 CHAPTER 8 – CONCLUSION 198 8.1 Education 198 8.2 The Education Department - Challenges 199 8.3 Challenges and Advantages - Teachers 200 8.4 The Curriculum 202 8.5 Blackfriars Correspondence System 203 8.6 Challenges and Advantages for the Children 204 8.7 Looking Ahead: Lessons for the Future 205 Appendices 209 References 213 viii LIST OF TABLES Page 1.1 The Social, Historical and Political context in Rural Education and the inter-connections. 12 4.1 The times in minutes to be allocated to each class in each subject in a teaching week. 74 4.2 Example of the weekly Time Table relevant to a small school, and showing the organization of lessons. 75 4.3 Example of a Day Book recording the specific lessons and their daily content. 77-78 5.1 Ex-teachers participating. 122 5.2 Participating parents, with dates, names and time frame. 123 5.3 Time line – for teacher interviews. 126 5.4 Dates and times of interviews with parents. 126 6.1 Table indicating the voices of students – their likes, dislikes and challenges. 132-133 7.1 Table indicating the voices of teachers and their responses to the rural life-style. 156-157 ix LIST OF FIGURES Page 1.1 Theoretical framework: Phenomenology. 10 2.1 The typical structure of the one teacher school. 20 2.2 Rural Education, 1950-1960. 21 2.3 My farm animals and me. 22 2.4 The ‘new’ Infant’s Department at Tumut, built to relieve the congestion at the site of the Tumut Central School. 29 2.5 The Cycle of lessons and instructions to students at Blackfriars Correspondence School. 38 4.1 The usual ground plan of a small rural school building. 72 4.2 Preparing the blackboard for the day’s work. 76 4.3 Example of an Inspectoral report on teacher. 81 4.4 Appraisal Report on school. 83 4.5 Going for a school picnic – Elimsdale, 1924. 91 4.6 The children at the Tuppal School, 1968. 91 4.7 The Black Horse. 94 5.1 The steps followed to establish a working relationship with parents and teachers. 121 5.2 The process as explained to parents and teachers. 125 6. 1 Children with their ponies leaving their school in the afternoon. 130 7.1 The appointment telegram forwarded to teachers was brief, giving the teacher’s name, Serial Number, position on staff and school placement, to be effective on a specific date. 153 x ABBREVIATIONS D.I. District Inspector (Supervisor of schools and Departmental teachers) P. and C. Parents and Citizens Association T.I.C. Teacher-in-Charge DET Department of Education and Training G.A. General Activity Class (A class that was formed for children whose intellectual ability was measured by standard Intelligence Tests and who proved to be below an average of 85 %.) Blackfriars Blackfriars Correspondence School (Provided Distance Education lessons for children unable to attend a normal school.) xi ABSTRACT How brief is a working life, yet rich and sufficient when one teaches -A. Steele, Talkabout, 3/2007. This research explores the culture of the people living in isolated and remote rural regions in NSW, in the 1950s and 1960s, the educational needs of isolated students, and the challenges faced by young teachers in bringing education to children in these isolated regions.