Meeting Kids at the School Gate - The Literacy and Numeracy Practices of a Remote Indigenous Community

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Elsa

Qualitative research examines transition experiences of seven Indigenous students moving from Year 7 at a remote community school to Year 8 in an urban high school. The study documents literacy and numeracy practices valued across home, community school, and urban contexts, identifying continuities and discontinuities. Observations, document analyses, and interviews show literate and numerate practices embedded in community activities, while distinct knowledge valuations and school curriculum priorities shape learners’ identities and effectiveness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Study focus

Data collection and activities

Key findings: knowledge and practices

Context and educational setting

Implications and recommendations

Meeting Kids at the School Gate: The Literacy and Numeracy Practices of a Remote Indigenous Community Jennifer Rennie Monash University Abstract This paper reports on a qualitative study which generated detailed case study information about the transition experiences of seven Indigenous students as they moved from Year 7 in their community school to Year 8 in their new urban highschool context (Rennie, Wallace, Falk & Wignell 2004) . In particular the study aimed to document the literacy and numeracy practices valued in the home community, community school and urban high school and highlight any continuities and discontinuities between the various contexts. Data were collected using observations, document analyses and interviews. Students in the study participated in a number of different activities ‘outside of school’ in their home communities including hunting, art, ceremony, cooking, sport and play. There was evidence of literate and numerate practices embedded throughout these activities. The data also showed there were distinct differences in the kinds of knowledge valued in each context investigated. Cultural knowledge was valued in the home community whereas curriculum knowledge was valued in the school community. The students also built other bodies of knowledge through their participation in community activities. These were reflected in the school curriculum and included scientific knowledge, art knowledge, sport and recreational knowledge and work and domestic knowledge. This paper discusses the community literate and numerate practices, and highlights the continuities and discontinuities with the literate and numerate practices that are valued and privilegedin the school curriculum. The curriculum in the Northern Territory has undergone sustained review and reform over recent years (Collins 1999, Ramsey 2004) . The need to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is echoed strongly in the recommendations from these reviews. According to Ramsey (2004), in 2001, the The Australian Educational Researcher, Volume 33, Number 3, December 2006 •123 JENNIFER RENNIE Northern Territory had the largest proportion of students attending schools in remote areas in the country. Forty-four percent of all students attended remote schools compared to the national average of less than 5% . However, in the same year only 21% of these remote students attained the Year 5 reading benchmark. Similarly, students enrolled in regional Northern Territory schools fared worse than their urban counterparts. The Northern Territory is an area characterised by a tropical north, desert south, vast distances and a diverse culture. According to the Department of Employment Education and Training (2002), there were 85 schools that serviced rural and remote areas of the Northern Territory. Sixty-two of these schools were relatively small primary schools with one to five teachers. Three were Area Schools that provided formal education to Year 10 and a small number were trialing the delivery of secondary education to Year 12. Generally these schools in remote locations did not provide any formal secondary education and most students were required to leave their home communities to attend urban boarding schools in order to access secondary education (DEET 2002) . The majority of children in these schools were of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent and the retention rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in high school according to Collins (1999) and Ramsey (2004) were significantly lower than that of non-Indigenous children. Problems associated with providing ‘good’ education to children living in remote areas of Australia are not unique to the Northern Territory. According to Barcan (1965) this has been an ongoing problem since settlement (Reid, Edwards, Power 2004) . This paper reports on aspects of an extensive study (Rennie, Wallace et al. 2004), which investigated the

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study?

The study examines how seven Indigenous students experience transitions from Year 7 in a remote community school to Year 8 in an urban high school, focusing on valued literacy and numeracy practices across contexts.

How was data collected for the research?

Data were collected through observations, document analyses, and interviews, alongside evidence from students’ activities outside school in their home communities.

What differences were found between knowledge valued at home and in schools?

Cultural knowledge was valued in the home community, while curriculum knowledge was valued in the school community, with students also building additional bodies of knowledge through community participation.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Elsa