Learning to be literate

Abstract

It is well-known that Aboriginal levels of literacy are below Australian norms. The reasons for this situation are complex and involve such factors as historico-political issues, social disadvantage, cultural difference and racism. Attempts at all levels to improve literacy competencies have met with indifferent success in terms of the Aboriginal population as a whole. Literacy experience in early childhood is judged by the research to be crucial for later literacy competence. Little is known, however, about the nature of Aboriginal reading and writing skills in general let alone the emergent knowledge of young Aboriginal children and their experience of literacy events. This study examined the literacy development of a cohort of Aboriginal pre-school children over a period of more than five years. In an eighteen month period beginning in the middle of their pre-school year the children's emergent literacy knowledge was determined. Story knowledge, print knowledge, book handling knowledge, reading and writing knowledge were examined in the light of current research. Four years later, when the children were in middle primary school, their literacy development was assessed again using both standardised and non-standardised measures. Using a multi-method approach, the group data were analysed statistically via Rasch Analysis and other methods. The performances of five children were also written up individually as case studies. Thus both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were used.