Why only one in three?: the complex reasons for low indigenous school retention

Abstract

The problem of Indigenous retention to Year 12Low retention of Indigenous students at the senior secondary level has long been recognised in Australia as a significant problem, with profound implications in a range of social arenas.Rigorous evidence-based analyses of why and how Indigenous rates remain so low are rare.This monograph emerged from research commissioned by the Office of Indigenous Policy in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.The research findings were presented to the meeting of the Ministerial Council for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in Alice Springs in September 1999.This monograph provides a review and analysis of Indigenous retention rates, drawing on the outputs of rigorous empirical research, national data and State-level case studies tracing some of the possible factorsincluding literacy, numeracy and attendance -that influence the rates at which Indigenous young people leave school before reaching Year 12.The aim of the monograph is to generate informed discussion of policy options and interventions, by addressing six key research questions. What are the discernable variations or patterns in Indigenous school retention rates and what are the possible explanations? VIII o WHY ONLY ONE IN THREE ? THE COMPLEX REASONS FOR LOW INDIGENOUS SCHOOL RETENTION• Nationally, non-Indigenous apparent retention rates have declined since 1994 but now appear to be holding steady.Indigenous rates, on the other hand, dipped sharply to a low point in 1996 and as of 1998 had only just returned to 1994 levels.It would be very difficult to sustain an argument that Indigenous rates have improved over the course of the past five years; it is impossible to refer to these changes as a trend.• There are relatively lower apparent retention rates in rural areas and in schools with high proportions of Indigenous students. X o WHY ONLY ONE IN THREE ? THE COMPLEX REASONS FOR LOW INDIGENOUS SCHOOL RETENTION• Keeping in mind its rural/remote bias, the National School English Literacy Survey found that Indigenous students were more likely to speak a language other than English, move between schools, have much higher absentee rates, do less homework, watch more television, and be less likely to read books at home than students in the main sample.• Case study data from the New South Wales Basic Skills Test scores for 1994 to 1997 showed gains in literacy for Year 3 and 5 Indigenous students which kept pace with non-Indigenous students.Overall, however, Indigenous students remained well behind all students including those from non-English-speaking backgrounds.• Case study data from New South Wales show that literacy achievement is lower in rural areas and higher in urban metropolitan ones and the effect appears more marked for Indigenous students.In addition, there is evidence that overall literacy performance is lower in schools with a higher concentration of Indigenous students.• Case study data from Queensland showed that Year 6 Indigenous students increased mean scores in every aspect of literacy between 1995 and 1997 but, like New South Wales students, they remained far below all other students, including those from non-English-speaking backgrounds.• Other data from Queensland showed that Indigenous students achieved reading and viewing scores only three-quarters of the scores of non-Indigenous students, while Indigenous students in schools with the high concentrations of Indigenous students were likely to achieve scores only half as high as non-Indigenous students.• Though Indigenous literacy scores on every survey and test remain very low, there is no evidence of rigorous, systematic, empirical evaluations of Indigenous literacy programs.• Research shows that children with hearing, nutritional or other health problems are more likely to experience slow literacy development.• Research on factors affecting literacy shows that a range of 'pre-reading' literacy skills and knowledge are predictive of later academic success, and that children from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, whose parents have low literacy skills or who lack appropriate home literacy experiences, are far more likely to fall behind other students. Recommendation 5Commonwealth, State and Territory governments must address and resolve the inequity of secondary education access for rural Indigenous populations.

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