Literacy in Australia, your kids, and what YOU can do to help

April 28, 2014

Literacy in Australia, your kids, and what YOU can do to help

Literacy involves more than simply reading and writing - it's about being able to understand the world we live in. That's why it's so important, explains Linda Drummond.

Table of Content

What is literacy?
What is the state of literacy in Australia?
Literacy and children in Australia
Literacy in Tasmania and the implications for Australia
Literacy and the Australian Curriculum
How can literacy be improved?
What can parents and carers do to improve their child's literacy development?
How parents can work with schools to improve their child's literacy
How to encourage children to read
Indigenous literacy in Australia

What is literacy?

Literacy is defined as “… the ability to read and write and use written information and to write appropriately in a range of contexts”. It is a group of skills that help us think, speak, listen and relate [1]. Literacy is more than simply reading and writing – it’s about effective communication and the ability to make sense of the world [2].

What is the state of literacy in Australia?

In October 2013, the Australian Bureau of Statistics published the results of a survey conducted in association with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on literacy in the developed world. In this study, Australia came out fourth of all surveyed countries for literacy. The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIACC) was conducted between November 2011 and March 2012, measuring literacy, numeracy and computer skills in 24 countries. It will be repeated in 2021 [3].

More than 16,000 Australians between the ages of 15 and 74 took part in this study. The results revealed that approximately 7.3 million Australians had literacy levels at one or two. That’s 44 percent of the population. There was little difference between literacy levels of men and women, but a higher proportion of people out of the workforce had level one literacy.

Level one represents the lowest level of literacy requirements, with people possessing these skills defined as having very limited or restricted proficiencies [4].

Literacy and children in Australia

There are few recent studies on literacy skills in children in Australia aside from NAPLAN testing in Australian schools, which is designed to compare results of Australian school children to a national mean standard [5]. However, there are a range of programs designed to improve literacy skills in Australian children.

NAPLAN is a national assessment program measuring 10 bands on a scale to allow students, teachers and parents to monitor progress and compare results both individually and across schools. The second lowest band is the National Minimum Standard, demonstrating the basic literacy and numeracy required to participate in that school year.

NAPLAN results are released in two stages: a summary report and final reports broken down by gender, Indigenous status, language background, parental occupation and education and location [6].

Controversies around NAPLAN include the accusation that schools are teaching children to pass the tests, not concentrating on teaching skills. A recent national survey [7]found that 80 percent of teachers felt that test preparation put pressure on an already crowed curriculum, and that teachers may be narrowing the curriculum in order to test children [8].

However, there is also an argument that NAPLAN provides no more pressure than other basic skills reporting that’s been in place since 1989, starting in NSW and quickly spreading through other states and territories. Advocates say that NAPLAN testing helps reassure parents and alert them to any problems, enabling them to have informed discussions with teachers [9].

One of these is “Let’s Read”, a program to encourage reading, rhymes, songs and stories with children from birth [10].

When children perform poorly in literacy assessments

At-risk children are often identified by a range of factors that are outside their control. These include [11]:

socioeconomic status
educational levels of parents
where they live
cultural identification
school they attend.

Children in disadvantaged communities often start school at a level that’s behind their peers, and once at school the gap isn’t closing. So a range of charity-based programs are in place to help address these issues. Programs instituted by The Smith Family include: Let’s Count, Let’s Read, Student2Student and Learning Clubs. The Australian Children’s Literary Board [12]aims to instil a love of reading and writing in Australian children. Bright Kids has been set up to inspire children with learning difficulties to take part in writing competitions, supply information kits to teachers and educate parents [13].

Literacy in Tasmania and the implications for Australia

News reports in early 2014 created alarm when they described the dire state of literacy in Tasmania, where half of adults are incapable of reading and writing and where children are demonstrating intergenerational levels of poor literacy [14]. The Tasmanian Government is attempting to address the issue through the Tasmanian Adult Literacy Action Plan, establishing an Adult Literacy Investment Fund and instituting support networks [15].

In fact, the results in Tasmania are echoed across the states and territories, with studies finding that results are often dependent on the geographical location of respondents. For example, in South Australia 47 percent of participants were found to have scored in the lowest two levels on literacy levels [16].

Literacy and the Australian Curriculum

Literacy shouldn’t just be applied to the English curriculum, but needs to be spread across all learning areas. Explicit teaching of literacy occurs in English, but it is strengthened, made more specific, and extended into other learning activities when children engage in learning activities that have significant literacy demands. This includes [17]:

teachers identifying the general levels of expected language and literacy skills for subjects they’re teaching
planning how to teach specific language and literacy knowledge skills that are essential to a student’s understanding of a learning content area.

In NSW, the literacy continuum K-10 is in place to identify the literacy skills and understandings that children need if they are to achieve literacy success. It defines key markers of student outcomes over the years, and applies to all learning areas [18]. The Australian Curriculum is currently under review, with a report due at the end of July 2014. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, an independent body, say that “work on the national curriculum is never completed, it will always be a work in progress, so ACARA will be open to whatever advice the reviewers provide [19].

How can literacy be improved?

The Smarter Schools National Partnership for Literacy and Numeracy was set up in 2008 to work on three key areas [20]:

the quality of teaching of literacy and numeracy
stronger school leadership
effectively using student performance information to identify where students need support.

This program also contributed to the Council of Australian Government’s target to halve the gap for Indigenous students in reading, writing and numeracy within 10 years.

However, the bulk of this program concluded in 2013, and the current Australian curriculum is presently under review by the Federal Government [21].

In June 2010, a strategy and methodology for the SSNP National Evaluation was set. The results were to appear on the Smarter Schools website, however, the site now defaults to a Freedom Of Information page with information restricted to pdf summaries [22]. The PDF does note that ‘significant reform at the national, state and local school community levels” have been achieved.

What can parents and carers do to improve their child's literacy development?

There is a great deal of research that shows a child’s motivation and achievement improve with the involvement in their education of parents and carers. Here are some of the things parents and carers can do to help improve a child’s literacy development [23]:

lead by example by reading or writing in front of your child in a range of forms
encourage your child to read by finding items of interest to them
have plenty of books on offer in the house, appropriate for your child’s reading level
read stories together
don’t limit reading to just books – for example, allow your child to read from the menu and choose their meal when you’re in a café or restaurant
encourage your child to write
give your child time to spend on the computer
ask your child to decorate and write on cards for birthdays and other occasions.

How parents can work with schools to improve their child's literacy

Parents can help support their child’s learning even before they start school. There are a range of activities that parents can share with children to help them learn. These include [24]:

keeping paper and pencils handy
reading every day with your child
making scrapbooks for holidays or special events
playing word games and doing puzzles and crosswords
writing notes to each other.

A recent international study of maths, reading and science assessments found that achievement in Australia is slipping – with 14 percent failing to meet the minimum standards in reading. Noise and disruption in the classroom was identified as one key factor [25].

If children have low literacy levels, early intervention can help [26]:.

Just 10 minutes of listening to them read can help, but it’s important to choose books that are at or just slightly below their reading level to help boost their confidence. If there are more than a few words on the page that they can’t read, the level is too high.

Choose larger sized fonts – photocopying and enlarging the text can help.
The child can also use a ruler or piece of paper to keep track of the words on the page.
Key word or frequently used word lists can help – Google these and hang them around the house, helping them to feel more confident in their reading.
Help them learn how to summarise by highlighting key words and phrases – they can then read over this and turn it into a summary.
Talking books can also be a massive benefit
Let older children read to younger readers – they’ll like being seen as a leader

How to encourage children to read

Parents can help by helping their children learn to love reading – not just to see it as a chore. Some tips to help include [27]:

read aloud to your child when they’re young, and continue to do so even when they’re old enough to read by themselves
visit the library to find books of particular interest to your child – choose widely, look at non-fiction, comics and other forms of text
save a shelf of a bookshelf especially for your child
books aren’t the only texts – street signs, labels and cereal boxes are chances to teach your child about reading.

Indigenous literacy in Australia

There is an enormous gap in the literacy rates of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia, particularly those living in remote regions. To address this gap, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is working to provide books and literacy resources to over 200 remote Indigenous communities. Development of English literacy skills is important for life skills and opportunities for Indigenous youth, which is why it’s being addressed with the Close The Gap movement [28].

Between 40 and 60 percent of Indigenous children in remote or rural Australia are achieving below the minimum standard for reading in year three. The reasons are varied, but Indigenous homes tend to have fewer books, computers and educational resouces [29]. There are a range of programs designed to close the gap, including the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation, which provides weekly one-on-one tutoring. Providing books and literacy supplies to children and funding educational scholarships are also modes to address this issue [30].

There is a three-pronged approach to addressing the imbalances in Indigenous literacy. This includes promoting [31]:

cultural literacy – connecting people to their culture and traditional language
practical literacy – improving the skills needed for daily life
English literacy – boosting the skills required for English reading, writing, speaking and listening.