Indigenous-Education-Review_DRAFT

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Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory Bruce Wilson These results confirm the general underperformance of Indigenous students in primary school literacy, the association of increasing underperformance with greater remoteness, and the drastic failure of very remote children. Given the significance of early literacy attainment as an indicator of success in schooling, many Indigenous students, and very remote students in particular, are already unlikely to succeed in schooling by Year 3. By Year 5, almost all very remote students and well over half of all Indigenous students are likely to continue to experience failure throughout their schooling. Literacy in the Northern Territory Masters argues that the pattern of NAPLAN results ‘points to a major challenge: to increase levels of school readiness and to close achievement gaps at the earliest possible ages’. He recommends that the system: search for new ‘breakthrough’ strategies to increase the English language skills and school readiness levels of young Indigenous children (Masters, 2011: 40). The current review has found that, while school plans still document approaches to literacy and numeracy, the range of programs in use is vast, and the evidence basis for the use of specific programs is extremely varied. The plethora of approaches described in earlier reports still stands. There is no clear general commitment across the Northern Territory to any common approach to literacy education. There is no policy in place that would require particular evidence‐based approaches to literacy. There is a remarkable absence of coherence and consistency across the system, even in an area such as literacy, which has been such a clear weakness. An examination of School Annual Operating Plans reveals a different approach to literacy in virtually every school. There is no common approach or shared understanding about how to achieve effective literacy with Indigenous students, especially those with no literacy background and little or no English. The review observed what appeared to be some outstanding practice in literacy education including examples in very remote locations. Despite this, the outcomes overall for Indigenous children remain poor, especially in remote and very remote locations. DRAFT The Department has identified First Steps Literacy, Accelerated Literacy, QuickSmart Literacy, Gateways to Literacy and Walking Talking Texts as programs that have been evaluated against the critical features of its Evidence Based Practices Framework (DET, 2011C). None of these programs appears to provide a complete solution and there is no guidance to schools about which programs should be used in specific situations. Further, there is no evidence that this advice has led to preferential use of these programs, and the review has identified a wide range of other programs that schools have taken up. One literacy approach that has been tried in the Territory over a long period is bilingual education (or, more correctly, biliteracy education): the use of first language instruction to access curriculum content and to learn the structures of literacy, as a means of access to English literacy. This review does not support the continuation of biliteracy programs. While there is evidence of the effectiveness of these approaches in some settings, the evidence does not support a continued focus in the Northern Territory. The lack of trained firstlanguage teachers reduces its likely effectiveness and the level of resourcing required for effectiveness means it is not sustainable. The teaching by schools of students’ first languages in oral form is supported by the review, 61
Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory Bruce Wilson but only where it is feasible and appropriate (i.e. where there is an extant, practiced language and where trained teachers are available). This should, however, be regarded as part of the Languages component of the Australian Curriculum, not as part of the general literacy program. It should not occupy time usually given to literacy. The review has also been struck by the extent to which the formal use of EAL/D (or English as a Second Language) approaches has declined in the Territory. There is clearly a history behind this. Despite the fact that a very significant proportion of Indigenous children arrive at school without English and without the foundations of literacy, there is little consistency in EAL/D practice, many teachers with responsibilities in the area are unqualified or underqualified and we found few examples of effective EAL/D professional support for classroom teachers. We note the EAL Early Years Oracy Program (DECS, 2013E), which provides support for intensive oral English language programs for Indigenous students who speak English as an additional language and who are in their first formal year of schooling. The review is concerned that the EAL/D area in the Northern Territory has strayed some distance from its origins, and is now associated with cultural and first language maintenance as much as with the explicit teaching of English to children who arrive at school not speaking English. The absence of a common approach to literacy teaching is matched in the area of literacy assessment. Apart from NAPLAN, the only early years mandatory program is the Assessment of Student Competencies (ASC), conducted in Term 1 of Transition year since 2011, but also recommended for pre‐schools. In 2013, 87% of Transition students were assessed. This program, which is a screening tool rather than an assessment program, covers a wide range of entry behaviours and foundational competencies. For 2014, the screening tool will focus on motor skills, healthy living, literacy and numeracy, but will not provide a thorough diagnostic instrument. The ASC is accompanied by a guide to programming based on the results of the screening tool. While specific early literacy foundations are discussed in the guide along with suggestions for classroom activities, there is no advice about the use of programs or approaches appropriate to specific student data. DRAFT The Territory has developed a Diagnostic Net for Transition to Year 9 (The Net). This is a set of learning continua that ‘provide a roadmap of literacy and numeracy milestones’ (DET, 2011A: 5). The document makes clear that the explicit teaching of phonemic awareness and phonics should be part of a balanced curriculum along with fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. It is explicit about the year level expectations of students across all areas (including both literacy and numeracy expectations). The Net provides a valuable map, though it is neither a curriculum nor an assessment instrument. As Masters notes, its reliance on teacher judgment means that it is unlikely to provide the kind of rigour and consistency needed. He notes that more reliable instruments would be preferable (Masters, 2011: 23). The Net is, however, a useful guide to teachers. What we already know We know how children learn to read, and the elements of effective teaching to achieve literacy for native speakers of English (National Reading Panel, 2000; Snow, Burns & Griffin, 1998; National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). The research consensus is that effective early reading programs focus on five essential elements: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000). There is widespread recognition that both text‐level teaching and sub‐word‐level teaching are essential. These 62
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