Autumn 2006

The big picture - in education

Accelerated performance: the way forward

Despite a range of innovative programs, dedicated individuals and significantfunding increases, the academic performance of Aboriginal students in Western Australia has only improved marginally. Robert Somerville explains how the solution lies in a system-response based on accelerated learning, targeted resourcing, quality leadership, quality advice and engagement.

Western Australia has an estimated Aboriginal population of almost 66,000, approximately 29 per cent of whom live in very remote regions and 35 per cent in the Perth greater metropolitan area. The number of Aboriginal students is expected to grow significantly over the next two decades. It is imperative that the present gap in the education performance of Aboriginal students compared with non-Aboriginal students be rapidly closed.

The current situation

Since 2002, the Western Australian Department of Education and Training has introduced a range of innovative and exemplary initiatives to improve the educational performance of Aboriginal students. There are now more Aboriginal people working in the education sector. Schools are better funded and are able to access a range of quality professional development programs. More than 1,000 positions in schools and districts have been created to support Aboriginal students and their teachers. There are a number of schools attaining outstanding results and schools are able to access quality data upon which to base resourcing decisions.

Despite these examples of growth, outstanding practice and achievement, the state-wide aggregate education performance figures for Aboriginal students show only incremental improvement at best. In fact, by the end of Year 7, a majority of the state’s Aboriginal students do not meet minimum education standards as measured by the Western Australian Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Tests. Incremental growth is not enough; we must achieve quantum leaps for all students.

A new approach

Past programs, however well planned and executed, usually only affected the progress of some students, therefore made little impact on overall student outcomes. To this must be added the problem of Aboriginal education being a ‘voluntary’ activity to which only some schools/teachers/principals signed-up. Their endeavours were not always recognised and their achievements often not sustained beyond their respective school tenure.

We can no longer take a deficit approach to Aboriginal education. We need a paradigm change. We must look at what will actually accelerate progress and close the academic performance gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. Instead of a deficit model, we need an aspirational model that looks at the gaps and limitations in the system and changes the focus from failing students to a failing system. Only then will we be in a position to create systemic programs that give schools the power to successfully deal with the needs of all their students.

In Western Australia, this aspirational approach will be based upon five ‘drivers’: accelerated learning, targeted resourcing, quality leadership, effective advice and engagement. This is a shift from the usual literacy, numeracy, retention and participation paradigm, which puts the problem with the child rather than the system. It is within this new aspirational culture that we can expect a system response that meets the needs of every Aboriginal child, not just some of them.

Aboriginal plans are mandatory for every school in Western Australia and the performance agreements of district directors have an expectation that Aboriginal student performance will be improved. This emphasises the significance of the priority and shift in thinking.

Accelerated learning

We are also making systematic efforts to identify best practice in schools and to encourage principals and teachers to adopt the practices of high performing schools. One such model is Djidi Djidi Aboriginal School, a government school located in the City of Bunbury about 200 kilometres south of Perth. It has an enrolment of 150 students, from K–7. Djidi Djidi has based its school philosophy on high expectations, strong parent-school relationships and using data with great effectiveness.

Using this information, the teachers at Djidi Djidi are able to identify student progress and develop individual learning plans to ensure appropriate academic performance. The result is a school with nearly every Aboriginal student above the state academic performance benchmarks. It proves that aspirational thinking, supported by relevant and quality teaching and strong community partnerships, results in accelerated performance.

This year, accelerated learning will be included in workshops for district managers of Aboriginal education and program coordinators. Accelerated learning methodologies will also be included in a new Aboriginal education professional development seminar for principals and deputy principals.

Evidence from the Literacy and Numeracy Nets shows that only one in three Aboriginal students is ready for formal schooling. Therefore, the role of the kindergarten and pre-primary teacher cannot be underestimated or understated. We should invest early to have a major impact in accelerating learning. We are therefore proposing that the Department develop a joint interagency 0–4 early childhood education submission to fund a new education program for this age group.

The focus would be on developmental milestones and include child health, literacy, numeracy and language support in pre-compulsory education. This, it is hoped, will enable Aboriginal children to have a more soundly grounded readiness to learn—emotionally, socially and developmentally—so they will achieve literacy and numeracy skills comparable to their non-Aboriginal peers. It will also enable early treatment for any health issues that may affect their learning.

Targeted resourcing

Targeted resourcing basically means placing funding and resources where they will have the greatest impact. At present, resourcing is largely based upon how many students are in a particular location rather than on performance requirements and expectations. Targeted resourcing is based on a flexible funding model, quality data and agreements with schools and districts that are linked to student performance.

Quality leadership and advice

Data shows that Aboriginal students achieve best in schools where the principal demonstrates quality leadership and has a clear strategic direction. It is the leadership of the principal that drives education in schools through the staff, students and community. Quality leaders establish the expectation that Aboriginal students will achieve high outcomes, and plan accordingly.

There must also be high quality professional development for principals and close cooperation with district directors, who are responsible for evaluating a principal’s performance.

Community engagement

The relationship between a school and its community remains a key factor in the school’s effectiveness. Engaging communities with their local school is complex, especially if teachers have a limited understanding of Aboriginal culture. This is compounded when Aboriginal students and their families lack understanding of how to bridge the gap between Aboriginal childrearing and traditions, and western education timing requirements.

In Western Australia, we are proposing to trial formal School-Community Partnership (SCP) projects in remote schools. SCPs will establish the performance targets for students, and determine the actions teachers should take to assist in achieving those goals. The role of the school and the Department will be to provide cross-cultural training and establish agreements with the community to participate in school governance.

Responsibility

It is the system’s responsibility to become more inclusive, to ensure that all students meet their potential. Teachers, principals and parents are the key to making changes that will allow an acceleration of outcomes. In Western Australia, the Department will provide the policy platform and tools that will add significant value to the roles played by leaders, carers and teachers.

The goal must be to see Aboriginal student performance match the rest of the population. This is the system’s responsibility, and we must not take our eyes off that point until it is achieved.

References

Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage in Western Australia (2005), available at www.dia.wa.gov.au

Indigenous Participation and Achievement Standards Directorate, available at www.eddept.wa.edu.au/abled/

Robert Somerville is the director of Aboriginal Education and Training for Western Australia.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au