Start early to boost Indigenous student services
Child health expert Fiona Stanley says effective action to break the cycle of disadvantage for Aboriginal children must begin well before they start formal schooling.
Professor Stanley, who heads Perth's The Kids for Child Health Research, said most interventions were a case of too little, too late.
"The evidence is overwhelming that by the time most Aboriginal children start school, they are already behind the eight-ball," she said.
"We can't just address the crises without asking how we can prevent many of these problems from starting - and most will agree that education is a critical factor.
"Aboriginal communities want sustainable, long term improvements and that means putting resources into early child development so we can make sure they're ready for school and that schools are geared up and ready for Aboriginal children."
Professor Stanley was speaking at the launch of the Indigenous Australian Early Development Index (I-AEDI) which is being developed by the Kulunga Research Network at The Kids for Child Health Research with the Centre for Developmental Health (Curtin University)
The project is receiving vital funding from Shell Australia and the Federal Government's Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).
The I-AEDI project is adapting the highly successful Australian Early Development Index to ensure it takes into account cultural differences in child development.
The Index is a teacher-completed checklist of over 100 questions, which measure five key areas of development as children enter their first year of school:
- physical health and wellbeing;
- social competence;
- emotional maturity;
- language and cognitive skills; and
- communication skills and general knowledge.
Shell Chairman Russell Caplan said the company was pleased to be involved in a project that will provide such powerful information to communities and policy makers.
"The I-AEDI is a tool that will show where the focus needs to be - what the vulnerabilities are for children in that community and then what services there needs to be in place to address those vulnerabilities," Mr Caplan said.
"Through our support of the AEDI, we've already seen many Australian communities improve resources for early child development and our hope is that this project will make sure that the process is as useful and valid for Aboriginal communities and families."
Kulunga Research Network Manager Colleen Hayward said the Index would set a benchmark against which the effectiveness of strategies and interventions could be measured.
"The official WA data shows very limited improvement in educational outcomes for Aboriginal children over the past 30 years - at some point, there has to be an accountability for that failure," Associate Professor Hayward said.
"The I-AEDI will enable communities and schools to monitor how their children are doing at this critical stage in their learning career. This will mean that preventive action can be based on solid evidence as to what the local needs are and what strategies will be most effective."
Associate Professor Hayward said in addition to helping teachers have a better understanding of Indigenous children's learning needs the project would also help in educating parents about the skills children need to be ready for school.
"There is a perception in many Aboriginal families that schools will teach the children what they need to know - but in reality, children need to be exposed to a range of learning opportunities much earlier for developing their pre-literacy and fine motor skills," she said.
"We know from our WA Aboriginal Child Health Survey that children who participated in kindergarten or other early learning programs had better long term educational and behavioural outcomes, so I'm optimistic that properly targeted support will deliver real improvements for communities."
The first stage of the I-AEDI project will start this year.
The I-AEDI study is being conducted as part of the national AEDI program managed by the Centre by Community Child Health in partnership with The Kids for Child Health Research.
"The I-AEDI study will ensure the highly successful AEDI takes into account Aboriginal cultural differences in child development," explains Professor Frank Oberklaid, Director Centre for Community Child Health.
Shell Australia and FaHCSIA have been key funders of the AEDI since 2004.
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