SSPR launches Abracadabra! - Department of Education

Volume 2 | December 2007New perspectiveon IndigenousgamblingIt was four o’clock on a Thursdayafternoon. I was sitting under one of thesmallest trees in the community, itsshade just touching each of the fivewomen I was sitting with. Around us athrong of kids danced in the dust. Thewomen were playing cards, but the realinterest was in the gossip about ahilarious love affair that had beendeveloping between one of the women’sdaughters and a man from anothercommunity. I sat, trying to watch whatwas happening in the game, but theirharsh dissection of the hapless man’sattempt at courtship was far moreinteresting. Later that evening the samewomen asked me to another game.When I arrived, it was clearly different tothe last. Now on a well lit veranda, therewere people gathered around,anticipation in the air. There were nobabies, no children at all, and gone wasthe jocularity of the afternoon’s lovestory. Even though the women wereplaying the same game, theirconcentration on the cards at hand hadstilted their conversation…These are the reflections of MarisaPaterson, a PhD student with theSchool for Social and Policy Research,who is researching the impacts ofgambling on remote Indigenouscommunities. This story was part of heraward-winning student presentation tothe National Association for GamblingStudies (NAGS) conference in Cairnslast month.Continued page 2...SSPR launches Abracadabra!School kids test Abracadabra! at LudmillaPrimary School.A unique early childhood interventionproject being undertaken in NorthernTerritory schools from 2008 will look toaddress education outcomes forAboriginal people in early childhoodyears.Abracadabra! is a software programthat will be tested in a project led by theSchool for Social and Policy Research,and funded by the Telstra Foundation.Co-director of the School, AssociateProfessor Tess Lea said that despitespecific attempts to improve literacyoutcomes in four to eight-year-oldIndigenous children in recent years,statistics indicated there was still asignificant proportion that were failing tolearn basic reading skills.‘This project aims to give thesestudents a boost using a computerprogram that has had proven successwith disadvantaged children in Canada.We hope that with rigorous testing andresearch we can have the sameoutcomes here in Australia,’ she said.Gia Deleveaux from Concordia Universityexplains how Abracadabra worksOriginally designed by ConcordiaUniversity in Canada, Abracadabra! is aproven interactive web-based softwareprogram that engages children andimproves base literacy skills—includinglistening and reading comprehension,letter-sound knowledge and phonologicalblending.Telstra Foundation Director andTelstra Country Wide Group ManagingDirector, Geoff Booth said the TelstraFoundation was committed to connectingchildren and young people to theircommunities, and literacy skills were akey part of achieving this aim.‘This grant, which is one of the largestgiven by the Telstra Foundation,demonstrates our commitment to have asignificant impact on socially andgeographically isolated children. The useof this innovative software has beenproven to assist children in similarsituations, and we’re absolutely thrilled tobe part of such important work,’ Mr Boothsaid.Continued page 3...

Volume 2 | December 2007Upcoming events> Spatial investigations of gamblingaccessibility—recent progressand future challengesA seminar by Visiting Scholar DrBruce DoranDate: 7 December 2007Further details:www.cdu.edu.au/sspr/seminars.htmlRecent publications> McGee, T., Lin, G., Marton, A.,Wang, M., Wu, J. (2007). China'sUrban Space: Development undermarket socialism. Routledge;London & New York> Wu, J., Garnett, S., Barnes, T.(2007). Beyond an energy deal:Impacts of the Sino-Australiauranium agreement, Energy Policy> Young, M., Barnes, T., Stevens, M.,Paterson, M., & Morris, M. (2007).The changing landscape ofIndigenous gambling in NorthernAustralia: current knowledge and future directions. InternationalGambling Studies, 7(3), 309-325.> Wilson, T., & Barnes, T. (2007).Continuing challenges in attemptingto measure the size and changingsize of Australia's Indigenouspopulation. People and Place, 15(3),12-21.Recent conferences> Our gambling research teamattended the National Associationfor Gambling Studies (NAGS)conference in Cairns, 14-16November> Philippa Cotter attended aDepartment of Health and AgeingRemote and Indigenous Aged Careworkshop in Canberra> Elizabeth Creed co-presented withDr Tom Wilson at the AustralianQualitative Research Conference 13of November in Melbourne> Claire Bartlett and Susan Emmettpresented three papers on theevaluation of the NationalAccelerated Literacy Program at theAustralian Association for Researchin Education Annual Conference 25-29 November at FremantleNew perspective on Indigenous gamblingLeft: (left to right) Dr Martin Young, Marisa Paterson, Matthew Stevens, Mal FlackRight: Marisa accepts her awardcontinued from page 1Her work, which represents the mostcomprehensive anthropological studyundertaken into Australian Aboriginalperceptions of gambling, has revealed thatsocial structures and gaming rules createdwithin the community dictate gamblingbehaviour. These rules are in place despiteAboriginal card games falling outside ofmainstream government regulation andindustry commercialisation.‘Current research into Aboriginalgambling neglects the existing internalregulatory systems in remote area gambling,and the harm minimisation strategies thatare employed, not by governmentbureaucrats, but by the players themselves,’she says.‘Gambling patterns are based on familyties and ties to country,’ she says,‘Generally, only certain language or familygroups play together. Groups withtraditionally tense relationships rarely playtogether, nor do mother-in-laws and son-inlaws.’Another form of regulation occurs withinthe games themselves. Marisa has foundthat players take a no-tolerance approach toalcohol, drugs, or cheating, contrary toclichéd representations of Aboriginalcommunities.‘As with any regulatory system, theserules are constantly being challenged anddisputed. However, breaches of the systemare met with consequences, which includetemporarily banning players. Significantbreaches can bring shame on a family, oreven an entire language group,’ she said.Marisa’s research asserts thatunderstanding these existing structuresshould be a crucial starting point in anykkkkkanalysis of remote area Aboriginalgambling.‘If harm minimisation strategiesare going to be relevant and reducethe potential harmful effects ofgambling, they need to draw from theexisting internal regulation already inplace in the community,’ she says.Her research is also examiningAboriginal gambling in urban areas,where early analysis suggests similarsocial regulations apply, though theyare adapted to an urban socialsetting.PhD supervisor and leader of theSchool’s gambling research program,Dr Martin Young, is thrilled byMarisa’s work.‘This is very original research. Notonly is this the first detailed researchinto Aboriginal remote area gambling,but it is challenging the way we allshould respond to it,’ he says.Marisa’s PhD will contribute to theSchool’s larger gambling researchproject, which was recently awardedfunding of $1.4 million over threeyears from the Northern TerritoryGovernment’s Community BenefitFund.Marisa says she hopes herresearch will provide insight into thepositive and negative impacts thatgam bling has on Aboriginalcommunities in the Northern Territory.Her PhD is due for completion in2009.Information about the School’sgambling research program isavailable at www.cdu.edu.au/sspr/gambling.htm

Volume 2 | December 2007Abracadabra!..continued from page 1The research team will pilot thesoftware during the first two yearsa nd m ak e t he n e c essar yadjustments to ensure it is suitablefor early learners in the NT,including Indigenous students. Theteam will implement, evaluate,refine, test, and conduct smallscaleexperiments in a number ofschools, gradually scaling up theproject over three years as thep r o g r am d em o ns t r a tes i t seffectiveness.The project complements ane x i s t i n g i n t e r v e n t i o n , t h eAccelerated Literacy program, andwill involve the Northern TerritoryDepartment of Employment,Education and Training, and theMenzies School of HealthResearch, supervised by theoriginal design team fromConcordia University in Canada.‘The project has been designedto draw on the collective expertiseo f p r o j e c t m em b e r s , o u rexperiences in the implementationof the Accelerated Literacyprogram, and the compellingevidence of the effectiveness of theAbracadabra! software, albeit in adifferent context,’ Dr Lea said.‘Whilst the generous support ofthe Telstra Foundation has beenpivotal in getting this project off theground, we are seeking additionalsupport to enable the program tobenefit more children across theTerritory,’ she said.For more information on theproject, go towww.cdu.edu.au/sspr/Abracadabra.htm.Keeping Northern Territorynurses and midwivesFrom left to right: Midwife Kristin Volkmer, Registered Nurse JoannaMorrison, and SSPR researcher Helen WalshFor the first time, researchers at the Schoolfor Social and Policy Research are seeking touncover the causes and costs of the endemicturnover of nurses and midwives in theNorthern Territory, which is thought to place asignificant burden on the jurisdiction’s healthsystem.With an eye to improving retention andrecruitment, the project, supported by theNorthern Territory Department of Health andCommunity Services, is researching whynurses and midwives come to, stay in andleave the Territory.Project coordinator, Professor StephenGarnett, hopes the results will lead to bettergovernment policy.‘We hope nurses and midwives all overthe Territory take part in the study, whichcould bring significant benefits to theirprofession,’ said Professor Garnett. ‘From theresponses, we will identify what motivates thenurses and midwives to work for extendedperiods in the Territory and makerecommendations on policies to improverecruitment and retention.’The School’s research team has alreadyconducted over 100 interviews to gatherinformation. This has helped frame relevantquestions for a survey sent to over 5000nurses, midwives, managers and educators.According to Research Fellow Dr KateGolebiowska, the initial interviews gaveinteresting insights into the life of a Territorynurse.‘In the NT, a remote area nurse can spendmore time driving dirt roads than inclinics,’ she said. ‘Some live incommunities where there is no hospitalor doctor and are the first point of callfor medical emergencies. Others workin regional health centres and getopportunities they wouldn’t get downsouth, like treating people with tropicaldiseases. But no one has studied whatactually makes them come or leave,and what it costs the health system.’Some of the key issues identifiedthrough the interviews as reasons formaking a life in the Territory includethe laid-back lifestyle, job opportunitiesand closeness to Asia. Distance fromfamily, partner’s careers and burn-outwere often given as reasons forleaving.The 15-minute survey will create amuch more accurate picture of theseissues. The project encourages allregistered nurses and midwives toparticipate in the survey, which closesat the end of January. It can also becompleted online at www.cdu.edu.au/sspr/mobilityproject.htm. R e s u l t swill be published early in 2008.The nursing mobility project is part ofCDU’s research on the wider Territorypopulation. To learn more about theTerritory’s unique population, go towww.cdu.edu.au/sspr/researchthemes.htm.

Volume 2 | December 2007Spatial investigation of Territory gamblingVisiting Scholar Dr Bruce Doran brings new skills to the School’s gambling research team.Understanding the relationship between gamblingbehaviour patterns and access to gambling venues is acomplex but crucial task in informing gambling policyDr Bruce Doran, visiting scholar from AustralianNational University, and expert in Geographic InformationSystems (GIS), will assist the School’s gambling researchteam map this relationship by investigating spatial aspectsof Territory gambling.‘Knowing where gamblers come from, when theygamble and where is essential knowledge for policymakers. The better we can understand this information, thebetter we can identify the issues that contribute to problemgambling,’ Dr Doran said.This information will be presented in reports, graphs,and three-dimensional maps. While GIS research haspreviously been used to understand gambling in Canberraand Victoria, applying it to the Territory context will presentdifferent challenges.‘There are not many urban centres in the Territory,and gambling in remote areas often falls outside ofmainstream regulation,’ project leader, Dr Martin Youngsaid. ‘So building information that is Territory specific isessential for policy makers here.’This research will contribute to the project’s goals tounderstand Indigenous perspectives on gambling,general gambling patterns in the Territory, and howTerritory regulation systems compare to otherjurisdictions.Dr Bruce Doran will be with the School inDecember. He will hold a public seminar on Friday 7about recent advances and future challenges of spatialinvestigations of gambling accessibility in Australia.Further details, including the abstract for Dr Doran’spresentation, are available atwww.cdu.edu.au/sspr/seminars.htmlAccelerated literacy path tackles profoundissuesThis is the introduction of Associate Professor Tess Lea’s article which appeared inthe Weekend Australian on 3 November. The full article can be read online atwww.cdu.edu.au/ssprNearly a decade after I reported on the desperate state of schools across the NorthernTerritory with the late Bob Collins, there has been a considerable shift in the focus onIndigenous education. The National Accelerated Literacy Program (NALP) represents botha sign of that shift and a case study in why sustaining reform is so hard.Accelerated Literacy (AL) is a method of teaching students to read that works for all children, including Indigenousstudents. After successful pilots of the program (known then as Scaffolding Literacy TM ) between 1998 and 2003, theNT Department of Employment, Education and Training with Charles Darwin University, have undertaken to deliver ALto 100 schools by the end of 2008. Concurrently, the program is also being delivered in Western Australia, SouthAustralia, New South Wales and at Shalom Christian College in Queensland.A key task during the early implementation of NALP was to disentangle the method’s claims for effect from thepersuasive sales pitch that necessarily accompanies any program seeking further development funds. Typical of mosteducation programs in Australia, it was not premised on gold standards of experimental research; nor had it beenreplicated by fourth parties outside the supervision of its originators. In other words, it did not meet the criteria that aretheoretically required to scale up a successful education innovation. So why the decision to upscale so quickly?..Contributions and feedback always welcome. Please forward correspondence to:School for Social and Policy ResearchSecond Floor, Building 3908 8946 6965sspr@cdu.edu.auwww.cdu.edu.au/sspr