Successful Transition to School for Indigenous Children

1. Successful Transition to School for Indigenous Children Bob Perry Charles Sturt University

2. Overview • Introduction • Children’s voices about transition • Guidelines for effective transition to school programs • Successful transition to school for Indigenous children • Overview of project • Findings from the project • Examples of successful practices • Is there any more to be done?

3. Introduction Transition to school is understood as a process of relationship building supported by a range of activities or experiences. Transition is something that is experienced, rather than something that happens to the child and family. The concept of transition as a process requires that the approaches, timeframe and participants all need to be flexible.

4. Introduction Effective transition programs have the potential to build on children’s competencies, extend their social supports and relationships, and promote ongoing school success. They also have the potential to help children, their families and communities, to feel comfortable, valued and successful in school and to assist educators as they develop positive learning environments for children starting school.

5. Introduction Kindergarten is a context in which children make important conclusions about school as a place where they want to be and about themselves as learners vis-a-vis schools. If no other objectives are accomplished, it is essential that the transition to school occur in such a way that children and families have a positive view of the school and that children have a feeling of perceived competence as learners.

6. Introduction One of the most effective ways to support Aboriginal children into the formal school setting is through transition programs which prepare children for Kindergarten(NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc and NSW Department of Education, 2004, p. 64).

7. Children’s Voices about Transition What do you do at school?

8. Children’s Voices about Transition What do you do at school? • Sit on the chairs [in the hall]. Red, black and yellow… It’s important. Red, black and yellow. It’s the Aboriginal flag.

9. Children’s Voices about Transition What do you do at school? • Sit on the chairs [in the hall]. Red, black and yellow… It’s important. Red, black and yellow. It’s the Aboriginal flag. • We all met up in the pre-school and now we are all friends.

10. Children’s Voices about Transition What do you do at school? • Sit on the chairs [in the hall]. Red, black and yellow… It’s important. Red, black and yellow. It’s the Aboriginal flag. • We all met up in the pre-school and now we are all friends. • You play with your friends. Walk around …nothing, run … you don’t go to sleep.

11. Children’s Voices about Transition What do you do at school? • Sit on the chairs [in the hall]. Red, black and yellow… It’s important. Red, black and yellow. It’s the Aboriginal flag. • We all met up in the pre-school and now we are all friends. • You play with your friends. Walk around …nothing, run … you don’t go to sleep. • We’ll be fighting … other kids in class will tease me.

12. Children’s Voices about Transition What do you do at school? • Sit on the chairs [in the hall]. Red, black and yellow… It’s important. Red, black and yellow. It’s the Aboriginal flag. • We all met up in the pre-school and now we are all friends. • You play with your friends. Walk around …nothing, run … you don’t go to sleep. • We’ll be fighting … other kids in class will tease me. • Sit on a seat – have a dress with pockets in it.

13. Children’s Voices about Transition What do you do at school? • Sit on the chairs [in the hall]. Red, black and yellow… It’s important. Red, black and yellow. It’s the Aboriginal flag. • We all met up in the pre-school and now we are all friends. • You play with your friends. Walk around …nothing, run … you don’t go to sleep. • We’ll be fighting … other kids in class will tease me. • Sit on a seat – have a dress with pockets in it. • You play. When the bell rings you go inside and do class. When the bell rings again you have to go home.

14. Guidelines for effective transition to school programs Effective transition to school programs: • establish positive relationships between children, parents, families and educators; • facilitate each child’s development as a capable learner; • differentiate between ‘orientation’ and ‘transition’ programs; • draw upon dedicated funding and resources; • involve a range of stakeholders;

15. Guidelines for effective transition to school programs Effective transition to school programs: • are well-planned and effectively evaluated; • are flexible and responsive; • are based on mutual trust and respect; • rely on reciprocal communication among participants; • take into account the context of community, families and children.

16. Successful transition programs from prior-to-school to school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children Project was conducted from 2004-2006 in 15 sites across NSW. Fundamentally, the project aimed to: • identify sites where successful transition to school programs for Indigenous Australian communities are operating; and • identify the reasons for success, and strategies for successful transition to school for Indigenous Australian children.

17. Findings Programs supporting a successful transition to school for Indigenous children have the following characteristics: • a) High quality programs and experiences that, among other things: • actively involve children and families; • develop positive, respectful relationships among all involved; • facilitate the development of children’s skills, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy; • engage children and families in a meaningful, relevant and challenging curriculum, signalling the importance of high expectations; • promote a positive sense of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity within the school; • promote the general wellbeing of children and families.

18. Findings Programs supporting a successful transition to school for Indigenous children have the following characteristics: • Active involvement of a wide range of stakeholders in the various stages of planning, implementation and evaluation; • Specific focus on relationship building across and between different stakeholders. • Recognition of strengths that exist within the community. • Recognition of the complexity of transition and • Need for the program to be flexible and meaningful to all stakeholders.

19. Successful Practices Relationships • Strategies for linking with community and families • Sharing educators’ expertise • Buddies • Welcoming ritual • Summer holiday letters • Support from Indigenous staff and respected Indigenous community members • Supported playgroups

20. Successful Practices Capable Learners • School tours • Social stories written, illustrated and shared by children • Children’s drawings of expectations about school in the Kindergarten room • “White ways” of learning

21. Successful Practices Orientation / Transition • After some 12 years of research and implementation of practices around transition to school, many networks of school, prior-to-school settings, families and communities have moved beyond short, school-dominated orientation programs and have reaped the benefit

22. Successful Practices Funding • Some transition programs are funded through prioritisation of scarce global funds; some through special programs such as Schools in Partnership, PSFP, PASP, Families NSW; some through community (particularly Council) sponsorship; some through allocation of parent group fund raising • Joint programs in communities • Waiving of fees for meals at preschool

23. Successful Practices Stakeholders • Linking with families and communities • Importance of Indigenous staff such as AEOs, AEWs in schools and Indigenous staff in prior-to-school settings • Recognition of successful Indigenous children in both preschool and school • Modelling through images of successful Aboriginal adults – not just sports people • Schools as Community Centres • Spending time with the Principal

24. Successful Practices Planning and Evaluation • Recognising children’s expertise in planning and evaluation • Children’s expectations of school • Transition teams

25. Successful Practices Flexibility and Responsiveness • Connecting people and services • Variety of times and venues for transition programs • Child care • Transition to school picnics – separate Indigenous picnic or not? • Stakeholder input into meetings

26. Successful Practices Trust and Respect • Culturally appropriate resources • “Their room” • Emotional aspects of transition to school You bring the kids to school and they take them from you. The kids will never be the same again. They’re gone. They are not stolen but it feels that they have gone. • Respecting children

27. Successful Practices Reciprocal Communication • Not always Indigenous specific programs • Community visibility • School Expos in the streets, clubs, etc • School-community communication • Prior-to-school and school communication

28. Successful Practices Contextual nature of transition programs • Transition is a process of building relationships • Relationships take time to build • Different processes are needed in different contexts • No two transition to school programs will be identical • However, there are lots of ideas and activities that can be used and adapted

29. Is there any more to be done? In spite of excellent progress, there is still more to be done. Challenges include: • Family involvement • Communication • Transcience • Transport • Funding • Involvement of all stakeholders • Planning and evaluation • Curriculum • Resources • Indigenous children with disabilities • Simplistic solutions

30. Reference Dockett, S., Perry, B., Mason, T., Simpson, T., Howard, P., Whitton, D., Gilbert, S., Pearce, S., Sanagavarapu, P., Skattebol, J., & Woodrow, C. (2007). Getting it together: Successful transition programs from prior-to-school to school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Canberra: MCEETYA. Available on-line: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/ATSI_Successful_Transition_programs_Report_Dec_2007.pdf