Indigenous-Education-Review_DRAFT

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Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory Bruce Wilson Chapter Ten: Wellbeing and behaviour Respondents to the review echoed a constant theme, especially but not only in remote schools: problems associated with student behaviour constitute a barrier to effective teaching and learning. In some cases respondents referred to a lack of staff capacity to deal with these problems. They identified hearing loss, lack of sleep, foetal alcohol syndrome, hyperactivity and trauma‐associated emotional issues as factors. As is often the case in education, while teachers noted both the high levels of behavioural issues and also significant factors that affect a student’s capacity to engage with school, there was less acknowledgment of the link between the two. It is impossible to manage difficult behaviour without understanding the underlying reasons for those behaviours and engaging in positive efforts to improve wellbeing and engagement as critical first steps. The review has identified a number of factors contributing to difficulties in improving wellbeing and managing the behaviour of Indigenous students: matters that schools and the education system cannot control, such as poor physical or mental health of carers, multiple family life stressors, high residential mobility, poor quality of parenting, poor family and community functioning; weak early childhood pre‐literacy and school orientation in children; poor early literacy achievement; inadequate secondary education experiences; low attendance levels creating difficulties in re‐engaging and a sense of alienation and low self‐esteem as a consequence; high levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties; hearing loss and other areas of disability; the absence of a common approach to social and emotional learning and behaviour management across the Territory and of consistent professional development in this area; and a shortage of counsellors and psychologists, especially in remote schools, and their focus on clinical and assessment work, leaving little room to support whole school wellbeing models. DRAFT Learning Lessons Learning Lessons does not expand at length on the issue of engagement, wellbeing and behaviour management. The report does refer to the declining authority of parents over their children (not only in Indigenous families) and the consequent ‘need for programs offered at school to be relevant, interesting, enjoyable and challenging for students’ (Collins, 1999: 28). The report provided a brief commentary on children with special needs, stating that special education in remote communities was an area that required further attention (Collins, 1999: 115). It also noted that behaviour problems in urban schools were disproportionately associated with hearing loss‐affected children (Ibid.: 116) and with overcrowded classrooms (Ibid.: 65). Learning Lessons refers to an impending Student Services Review and recommends that this Review (KPMG, 2000) examines the provision of student services and special education for 91
Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory Bruce Wilson Indigenous students. The report also recommends appropriate provision for significant numbers of students with hearing impediments and other physical disabilities (Collins, 1999: 12 and 116). The KPMG review highlighted disproportionate resources and personnel being devoted to urban schools and a lack of special education teachers in the remotes where the need was highest: A concerted effort at both the school and systemic levels will be required to redress the inequities that some students may encounter in remote communities. (KPMG, 2000: 2). One outcome of this review was the placement of special education teachers and additional resources in remote schools. Wellbeing and behaviour management There is a growing body of evidence to support the notion that children who have well developed social and emotional skills are more able to participate fully in the classroom and maximise their capacity to learn. Similarly, educators understand that learning cannot happen unless there are effective classroom management strategies in place that create an environment in which students can devote their energies to learning. Respondents to the review recognised the disproportionately high level of health and mental health issues in the Aboriginal population. This is consistent with the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey research into Indigenous education, health and wellbeing which states that: Nearly one in four Aboriginal children (24 per cent) are at high risk of clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties. These difficulties are associated with a substantial educational burden (Zubrick et. al. 2006: 503). DRAFT The 2012 AEDI data support this view. In the AEDI domains of Social Competence and Emotional Maturity, respectively 27.1% and 28.7% of Indigenous children in very remote locations in the Northern Territory are developmentally vulnerable. From the first days of their schooling lives, more than three times as many Indigenous children as non‐Indigenous children are vulnerable in these areas. Many respondents to the review held that these issues are largely left undiagnosed and untreated (and therefore not supported by the relevant specialist services). Many staff expressed the view that the majority of their students would be classified as requiring specialist support if they were assessed appropriately and that they rarely received the support that they needed from the specialists in the Department. Schools with their own counsellors, hearing specialists or other support staff were better placed, but those specialists seemed overwhelmed with high caseloads: managing a proactive, preventative model was out of the question. Despite this, many schools have adopted programs designed to address these issues directly. As with many other areas, the review found that there were widely varying approaches to behaviour management. Some schools, but far from all, had a clear whole school approach 92
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Indigenous-Education-Review_DRAFT

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