Bob Perry

1
Successful Transition to School for Indigenous
Children

• Bob Perry
• Charles Sturt University

2
Overview

• Introduction
• Childrens 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 childrens 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).

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Childrens Voices about Transition

• What do you do at school?

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Childrens Voices about Transition

• What do you do at school?
• Sit on the chairs in the hall. Red, black and
  yellow Its important. Red, black and yellow.
  Its the Aboriginal flag.

9
Childrens Voices about Transition

• What do you do at school?
• Sit on the chairs in the hall. Red, black and
  yellow Its important. Red, black and yellow.
  Its the Aboriginal flag.
• We all met up in the pre-school and now we are
  all friends.

10
Childrens Voices about Transition

• What do you do at school?
• Sit on the chairs in the hall. Red, black and
  yellow Its important. Red, black and yellow.
  Its 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 dont go to sleep.

11
Childrens Voices about Transition

• What do you do at school?
• Sit on the chairs in the hall. Red, black and
  yellow Its important. Red, black and yellow.
  Its 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 dont go to sleep.
• Well be fighting other kids in class will
  tease me.

12
Childrens Voices about Transition

• What do you do at school?
• Sit on the chairs in the hall. Red, black and
  yellow Its important. Red, black and yellow.
  Its 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 dont go to sleep.
• Well be fighting other kids in class will
  tease me.
• Sit on a seat have a dress with pockets in it.

13
Childrens Voices about Transition

• What do you do at school?
• Sit on the chairs in the hall. Red, black and
  yellow Its important. Red, black and yellow.
  Its 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 dont go to sleep.
• Well 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.

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Guidelines for effective transition to school
programs

• Effective transition to school programs
• establish positive relationships between
  children, parents, families and educators
• facilitate each childs development as a capable
  learner
• differentiate between orientation and
  transition programs
• draw upon dedicated funding and resources
• involve a range of stakeholders

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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.

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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.

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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 childrens 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.

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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.

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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

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Successful Practices

• Capable Learners
• School tours
• Social stories written, illustrated and shared by
  children
• Childrens drawings of expectations about school
  in the Kindergarten room
• White ways of learning

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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

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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

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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

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Successful Practices

• Planning and Evaluation
• Recognising childrens expertise in planning and
  evaluation
• Childrens expectations of school
• Transition teams

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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

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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.
  Theyre gone. They are not stolen but it feels
  that they have gone.
• Respecting children

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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

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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

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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

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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.pd
  f