Developing Early Reading Skills In Young Aboriginal Children Through Listening Activities
Abstract
The mastery of beginning reading skills by Aboriginal students is still an area of ongoing concern. The discussion paper released as part of the National Review of Education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people (1994) points to 45% of Aboriginal students having significantly lower levels of achievement in literacy and numeracy than other Australian students despite the intervention programs that have been developed and implemented. The Review also recommends that to improve this situation an emphasis needs to be placed on literacy programs “which identify difficulties as early as possible and which deliver special assistance to improve and maintain literacy achievements at the earliest possible time”(1994). The purpose of this article is to provide an example of one such program that has been developed around new research into the area of early reading development and used successfully with young Aboriginal students.
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