Secondary Teaching Studentships and Their Effects on the Lives of Female

‘how lucky my generation was’: Teaching studentships in Victoria 1950–78 Submitted by Marilyn Bowler, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts preliminary, Dip. Ed. A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts History Program School of Historical and Cultural Studies Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences La Trobe University Bundoora, Victoria 3086 Australia October 2012 Dedication I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents, Lillian Bowler and Robert Smith, who encouraged their working class daughter to go as far as she could with her education. And to my husband, Ron Leslie, my heartfelt thanks, for all the meals prepared and the housework undertaken over the four years I was researching and writing. Above all, thanks for your constructive criticism, your constant support and your unswerving belief that I could complete this thesis and that it was a project worth undertaking. Acknowledgements I would like to thank all those former studentship holders who happily completed surveys, generously answered interview questions, patiently provided additional information by email, and shared memories and souvenirs of their tertiary years and their later careers with me. As a researcher, I could not have had a more welcoming and helpful group of subjects. I would also like to acknowledge my supervisors, Professors Richard Broome, Marilyn Lake, Diane Kirkby and Katie Holmes, whose inspiration, guidance and feedback helped clarify my aims, place my research within its historical context and structure my arguments. And whose encouragement, particularly Richard Broome’s, enabled me to keep going. Page 2 of 270 A personal note My own narrative parallels those that many of the studentship holders related in this thesis. I attended Monash University between 1965 and 1968 on a teaching studentship. During that time, I was a member of the Monash Labor Club and involved in student politics to a minor degree. I taught in Victorian government secondary schools from 1969 to 1986 and was an active member of the Victorian Secondary Teachers Association, before leaving to work for state and local governments and as a self-employed writer, editor and trainer/teacher. Page 3 of 270 Table of contents Introduction 12 1. Overview 12 2. Methodology 15 Surveys 15 Interviews 17 Other primary sources 18 Oral history issues 19 Oral history issues and studentship holder interviews 23 Issues raised by the interview process 27 Secondary sources 35 Chapter 1: Post-war educational, social and political changes 38 1. Educational changes 38 Secondary education 38 The Ramsay report 1949 41 Union, media and political views on the Ramsay report and on Victorian education 45 Tertiary education 50 2. Social and political changes in Australia in the second half of the 20th century 54 Chapter 2: Leaving school; leaving home 63 1. An overview of teaching studentships 63 2. Previous research about trainee teacher socio-economic backgrounds 64 Socio-economic backgrounds of those surveyed for this thesis 68 Male-female socio-economic backgrounds 70 3. Educational backgrounds 72 4. Perceived ability to undertake tertiary studies 73 5. Male and female participation in teaching training 76 6. Place of origin 81 7. Teachers hostels 82 Chapter 3: Tertiary years—academic studies and broadening horizons 90 1. Expanding horizons 91 2. Beyond formal studies 95 3. Intellectual interests or teacher training? 99 4. Difficulties at university 101 5. Differences between universities and teachers colleges 106 Page 4 of 270 Chapter 4: Student teacher attitudes to social and political activism 121 1. Political activism at university 121 1950s 123 1960 to early 1970s 131 Early 1970s to early 1980s 148 2. Political activism at teachers colleges 155 3. Social attitude changes 160 Chapter 5: School teaching careers 164 1. Fulfilling the bond or a lifelong career? 164 2. Teacher career longevity 168 3. Experience of teaching 177 4. Teacher unionism 183 5. Sexism and discrimination 195 Chapter 6: Beyond teaching careers 202 1. Social and cultural mobility 203 2. Effects of receiving a studentship 211 Work 217 Relationships 220 3. Those who can teach, can do anything: an analysis of post-teaching 221 careers Conclusion 229 Appendices 236 Appendix 1: Surveys 236 Appendix 2: Interview questions and prompts 255 Appendix 3: Numbers of male-female secondary studentship holders entering training 257 Bibliography 258 Page 5 of 270 Summary In 1950, secondary teaching studentships were reintroduced in Victoria. This thesis studies the effects of receiving a teaching studentship on recipients’ lives—either at university or at other teacher training venues. From the ranks of former studentship holders, 168 were surveyed and 34 were interviewed. Studentship recipients were mainly from working and lower middle class backgrounds. Women, and those from migrant and rural origins, were more highly represented than they were in the general university population. Contributors to this thesis saw studentships as enabling them to undertake tertiary studies that would otherwise have been impossible or difficult. The availability of cheaper hostel accommodation was seen by country students as vital. Former trainee teachers perceived their tertiary studies as having broadened their lives academically, intellectually, socially and culturally. Neither university nor teachers college1 training was without difficulty, for trainees who were often the first members of their families to go beyond secondary schooling. Though student teachers were amongst university activists, the majority of those interviewed and surveyed were neither radicals nor student leaders. However, they did see themselves as having become more liberal and left-wing than their parents or siblings as a result of their tertiary experiences. Though previous researchers suggested that being bonded to become teachers could result in high attrition rates and in a lack of commitment, those interviewed for this thesis had lengthy teaching careers and were enthusiastic about their ability to make a difference in their students’ lives. Interviewees were also active teacher unionists who saw their actions as motivated by idealism. Graduate teachers, especially males, were more likely to be able to find careers beyond school teaching. By their own accounts, teaching allowed them to become more socially mobile and affluent, 1 Throughout this thesis, I have used ‘teachers college’, ‘teachers hostel’, ‘girls school’ and ‘three years service’, following the rule that the apostrophe is dropped when the compound noun is descriptive rather than possessive. (Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Canberra, 2002, p. 87.) Page 6 of 270 though they tended to measure this in terms of the opportunities it gave them, rather than in material possessions. Page 7 of 270 Statement of authorship Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or part from a thesis submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis. The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. Research procedures reported in this thesis were approved by the Human Ethics Committee. Signature: Date: Abbreviations ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation (previously Company) B.Ed. Bachelor of Education Dip. Ed. Diploma of Education FLN Front de Libération Nationale HECS Higher Education Contribution Scheme HOD Head of Department HSC Higher School Certificate MLA Member for the Legislative Assembly MLC Member for the Legislative Council NLF National Liberation Front OSCW Open Sub-Committee on Women’s Issues (VSTA) para. Paragraph Phys. Ed. Physical Education SATC Secondary Art Teachers Certificate STC Secondary Teachers College SRC Students Representative Council TAFE Institute of Technical and Further Education TITC Trained Infant Teacher’s Certificate TPTC Trained Primary Teacher’s Certificate TSTC Trained Secondary Teacher’s Certificate TTAV Technical Teachers Association of Victoria VWLLFA Victorian Women’s Liberation and Lesbian Feminist Archives VSMPA Victorian Secondary Masters Professional Association VSTA Victorian Secondary Teachers Association VTU Victorian Teachers Union U3A University of the Third Age WAP White Australia Policy WEL Women’s Electoral Lobby Page 9 of 270 List of tables Chapter 1 Table 1: Teacher numbers 1950 41 Table 2: Teacher numbers 1977–78 50 Table 3: University undergraduate numbers at Victorian universities 1950–85 52 Chapter 2 Table 4: Estimated fathers’ income of Australian university students by percentages 66 Table 5: Fathers’ occupations of those surveyed 69 Table 6: Female undergraduates as percentage of the total Victorian undergraduate population 79 Table 7: Female studentship numbers and percentages 80 Table 8: Women as a percentage of Victorian undergraduates and studentship holders 80 Table 9: Importance of hostels to studentship holders 84 Chapter 5 Table 10: Drop-out rates for students by field of study 166 Table 11: Attrition rates for teaching students 166 ***** Page 10 of 270 Figures Chapter 5 Figure 1: Years teaching in government schools 171 Figure 2: Total years teaching in secondary schools 172 Page 11 of 270 Introduction Overview From the 1950s onwards, Victoria’s school population soared, resulting in overcrowded

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