Indigenous and rural students: double whammy or golden opportunity? Evidence from South Australia and around the world

Abstract

This session presents and discusses results of analyses aimed at providing insights from largescale assessments in literacy, numeracy and science into the differences in student- and school-level factors related to the performance of Aboriginal students and students in rural and remote areas when compared with the performance of other students. Evidence examined in the analyses includes data from international testing programs, namely the Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS: Year 4, reading performance), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA; 15-year-old students’ mathematics and science performance) and longitudinal data in literacy and numeracy from three cohorts of students from Year 3 to Year 7 in South Australian government schools (SiMERR-SA). The analyses address questions such as: What factors are related to performance in literacy and numeracy? Is the picture for Aboriginal and rural students in Australia different from that for Indigenous and rural students in other countries? How does living in a rural and remote community relate to changes in student outcomes over time? What is the situation in rural and remote (South) Australia when compared with metropolitan Australia (Adelaide)? Professor John Halsey and Professor Lester- Irabinna Rigney will discuss and comment on the results presented by Dr I Gusti Ngurah Darmawan, Dr Carol Aldous and Dr Petra Lietz. This will be followed by a Q&A format, moderated by Petra Lietz, in which the audience has the opportunity to ask questions of presenters and discussants. This session will be held in cooperation with the South Australian Institute for Educational Research (SAIER). The Institutes for Educational Research were formed in the late 1920s as supports for and promotion of ACER and the Institute in SA is still very active (see www.saier.org.au).