Did DI do it? The impact of a programme designed to improve literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote schools
Abstract Over the 10 years of ‘Closing the Gap’, several interventions designed to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have been trialled. In 2014 the Australian Government announced the ‘Flexible Literacy for Remote Primary Schools Programme’ (FLFRPSP) which was des...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit, The University of Queensland
2020-01-01
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| Series: | The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education |
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| Online Access: | https://ajie.atsis.uq.edu.au/ajie/article/view/270 |
| _version_ | 1828076003646242816 |
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| author | John Guenther Samuel Osborne |
| author_facet | John Guenther Samuel Osborne |
| author_sort | John Guenther |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract
Over the 10 years of ‘Closing the Gap’, several interventions designed to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have been trialled. In 2014 the Australian Government announced the ‘Flexible Literacy for Remote Primary Schools Programme’ (FLFRPSP) which was designed primarily to improve the literacy outcomes of students in remote schools with mostly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The programme, using Direct Instruction (DI) or Explicit Direct Instruction, was extended to 2019 with more than $30 million invested. By 2017, 34 remote schools were participating in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. This paper analyses My School data for 25 ‘very remote’ FLFRPSP schools with more than 80% Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students. It considers Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN reading results and attendance rates for participating and non-participating primary schools in the 3 years before the programme's implementation and compares them with results since. Findings show that, compared to very remote schools without FLFRPSP, the programme has not improved students' literacy abilities and results. Attendance rates for intervention schools have declined faster than for non-intervention schools. The paper questions the ethics of policy implementation and the role of evidence as a tool for accountability.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:07:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-438b4abb119948ca9a6588c74f0ed2c3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2049-7784 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:07:13Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit, The University of Queensland |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-438b4abb119948ca9a6588c74f0ed2c32023-01-03T02:47:00ZengAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit, The University of QueenslandThe Australian Journal of Indigenous Education2049-77842020-01-0149210.1017/jie.2019.28Did DI do it? The impact of a programme designed to improve literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote schoolsJohn Guenther0Samuel Osborne1Batchelor InstituteUniversity of South AustraliaAbstract Over the 10 years of ‘Closing the Gap’, several interventions designed to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have been trialled. In 2014 the Australian Government announced the ‘Flexible Literacy for Remote Primary Schools Programme’ (FLFRPSP) which was designed primarily to improve the literacy outcomes of students in remote schools with mostly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The programme, using Direct Instruction (DI) or Explicit Direct Instruction, was extended to 2019 with more than $30 million invested. By 2017, 34 remote schools were participating in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. This paper analyses My School data for 25 ‘very remote’ FLFRPSP schools with more than 80% Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students. It considers Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN reading results and attendance rates for participating and non-participating primary schools in the 3 years before the programme's implementation and compares them with results since. Findings show that, compared to very remote schools without FLFRPSP, the programme has not improved students' literacy abilities and results. Attendance rates for intervention schools have declined faster than for non-intervention schools. The paper questions the ethics of policy implementation and the role of evidence as a tool for accountability. https://ajie.atsis.uq.edu.au/ajie/article/view/270Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educationdirect instructionliteracy outcomespolicy interventionsremote education |
| spellingShingle | John Guenther Samuel Osborne Did DI do it? The impact of a programme designed to improve literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote schools The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education direct instruction literacy outcomes policy interventions remote education |
| title | Did DI do it? The impact of a programme designed to improve literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote schools |
| title_full | Did DI do it? The impact of a programme designed to improve literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote schools |
| title_fullStr | Did DI do it? The impact of a programme designed to improve literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote schools |
| title_full_unstemmed | Did DI do it? The impact of a programme designed to improve literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote schools |
| title_short | Did DI do it? The impact of a programme designed to improve literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote schools |
| title_sort | did di do it the impact of a programme designed to improve literacy for aboriginal and torres strait islander students in remote schools |
| topic | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education direct instruction literacy outcomes policy interventions remote education |
| url | https://ajie.atsis.uq.edu.au/ajie/article/view/270 |
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