Rahman, Norshariani Abd (2016). Knowledge, Internal, and Environmental Factors on Environmental Care Behaviour among Aboriginal Students in Malaysia. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, v11 n12 p5349-5366. This study determined the contribution of predictor factors (i.e. knowledge about the environment as well as internal and environmental factors) on environmental care behaviour among aboriginal students. The knowledge about the environment that was investigated in this research includes environmental knowledge and environmental action knowledge. The internal factors include elements of attitude, personal responsibility, and beliefs, while the elements of environment factors are social influences, information resources, and environmental management facilities. In addition, this study used an environmental knowledge test and questionnaire as research instruments. A total of 445 aboriginal students from the Malaysian state of Pahang were involved in this research. The research data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The research findings showed that the predictor factors (knowledge, attitude, personal responsibility, beliefs, social influences, information… [PDF]

Hindle, Rawiri; Hynds, Anne S.; Meyer, Luanna H.; Penetito, Wally; Savage, Catherine; Sleeter, Christine (2016). The Impact of Teacher Professional Development to Reposition Pedagogy for Indigenous Students in Mainstream Schools. Teacher Educator, v51 n3 p230-249. There is a dearth of empirical evidence that examines the impact of teacher professional development for culturally responsive pedagogies, particularly on Indigenous student achievement and teacher practices. Te Kotahitanga was a large-scale professional development initiative for culturally responsive practices for secondary teachers in New Zealand. To study its impact, we used a mixed-methods research approach to gather and analyze data on student achievement outcomes, classroom practices, and perceptions of teachers and students. While results suggested positive changes associated with the program, findings also highlighted ongoing challenges associated with transforming practice for Indigenous Maori students. Specific challenges of analysis are highlighted, along with recommendations for further research and development work in secondary schools…. [Direct]

Fleming, Michele J.; Grace, Diana M. (2016). Agents of Aspiration: The (Often Unintended) Benefits to University Students Working in Outreach Programmes. Educational Research, v58 n3 p300-318. Background: Universities in many countries increasingly deliver outreach programmes to raise aspirations and encourage participation in higher education. At the University of Canberra in Australia, these programmes target schools that have been identified as having a large number of students from rural/regional, financially disadvantaged and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds–groups that continue to be underrepresented in higher education. Involved in the delivery of these programmes are current university students–at the University of Canberra termed "Aspiration Agents"–many of whom come from similar backgrounds to the students with whom they work. Although not the focus of the outreach programmes, the Aspiration Agents themselves also derive benefits from the experience. Purpose: This research aimed to explore the reasons why students choose to become Aspiration Agents, and the perceived benefits of the mentoring/ambassador role. Sample, Design and… [Direct]

Dupuis, Jenny Kay; Ferguson, Kristen (2016). Fostering Remembrance and Reconciliation through an Arts-Based Response. in education, v22 n1 p127-147 Spr. This paper presents the results of study about an urban high school in Ontario that performed a stage play that portrayed the legacy of the Indian residential schools in Canada. We wanted to know the impact this arts-based response had on teachers and students. From the data that we obtained from focus groups, we identify four learning outcomes of the legacy project: reflection on knowledge and identity; fact-finding through the processes of respecting memory; using the arts to remember; and broadening perspectives: remembrance (memory), reconciliation, and memorialization. Our research can assist educators and researchers to implement an arts-based model that honours and respects residential school survivors and their families…. [PDF] [Direct]

Nuangchalerm, Prasart (2016). Local Service Learning in Teacher Preparation Program. Online Submission, Journal of Education and Learning v10 n1 p8-14. The local knowledge is simply integrated in education and learning process. This study aims to promote local knowledge in school through service learning. The learning process is employed herbal plants to reinforce students learn how to sustain local knowledge with modern life and 21st century classroom. Participants consisted of 42 pre-service teachers, 11 in-service teachers, and 50 secondary students. Findings revealed that service learning significantly promoted public mind, self-efficacy, learning satisfaction, and learning process in local knowledge…. [PDF]

Bensaid, Benaouda; Ladjal, Tarek (2017). Desert-Based Muslim Religious Education: Mahdara as a Model. Religious Education, v112 n5 p529-541. As one of the oldest surviving educational religious models in the history of Muslim education, Mahdara remains a poorly studied desert-based religious institution of traditional learning. In its Bedouin context, the Mahdara produced religious scholars no less competent in the mastery of religious Islamic sciences than graduates of other reputable Islamic learning institutions. This article explores the historical development of the Mahdara, its academic program, social system, and contribution to the Mauritanian community while highlighting the major problems modernity poses to it in its struggle to preserve its sociohistorical position in society…. [Direct]

Carmos, Mafalda, Ed. (2022). Education and New Developments 2022 — Volume 2. Online Submission This book contains the full text of papers and posters presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2022), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS). Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the human being, in the way one thinks, feels and acts. One of the most important contributions resides in what and how we learn through the improvement of educational processes, both in formal and informal settings. The International Conference seeks to provide some answers and explore the processes, actions, challenges and outcomes of learning, teaching and human development. The goal is to offer a worldwide connection between teachers, students, researchers and lecturers, from a wide range of academic fields, interested in exploring and giving their contribution in educational issues. We take pride in having been able to connect and… [PDF]

Carroll, Karanja Keita; Engel-Di Mauro, Salvatore (2014). An African-Centred Approach to Land Education. Environmental Education Research, v20 n1 p70-81. Approaches to environmental education which are engaging with place and critical pedagogy have not yet broadly engaged with the African world and insights from Africana Studies and Geography. An African-centred approach facilitates people's reconnection to places and ecosystems in ways that do not reduce places to objects of conquest and things to be exploited for profitability and individual gain. Such an approach offers effective critiques of settler coloniser perspectives on the environment and deeper understandings of the relationship between worldview and ecologically sensitised education. Through examples from Africana Studies and Geography, this article provides an introduction to how an African-centred approach can contribute to the development of a Land Education perspective and improve college-level environmental education…. [Direct]

Keddie, Amanda; Niesche, Richard (2014). Issues of Indigenous Representation: White Advocacy and the Complexities of Ethical Leadership. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v27 n4 p509-526. This paper explores the tensions and complexities for two principals as they work towards equity and improved social and educational outcomes for their Indigenous students. Drawing on Foucault's fourfold ethical frame and poststructuralist notions of the subject, this paper presents the different ways the white female principals of Indigenous schools are formed as subjects. We illustrate how the multiplicities of their subject formation are influenced by the historicity and contextual factors of the schools and communities. These factors play a significant part in how these principals work as advocates and differently experience and negotiate the tensions around representation of and for Indigenous schools and communities. In realising equity goals for Indigenous students, the paper draws on Foucault's work to illustrate the imperative of school leaders' cognisance of, and capacity to work with, these factors…. [Direct]

Heller, Monica (2014). Commentary. International Journal of Multilingualism, v11 n4 p471-474. The subject of multilingualism in institutions has long been a central interest in sociolinguistics, and it is worth asking why. The answer lies in the role of institutions in the modern nation state, a point made over and over again by Michel Foucault. Institutions control access to all the resources a state can distribute; it distributes them according to criteria which make the distinction between the deserving, included citizen, and the undeserving, excluded other. In the face of persistent diversity, and of conditions which make it harder and harder to erase or unify it, institutions created in the era of industrial capitalism and the modern nation state are having a hard time figuring out how to sustain their legitimacy, but at the same time, are wedded to their structures, their processes, and their values. Whether by marginalising bilingual bodies, or relegating "other" languages (languages of the other?) to spaces where nothing authoritative can happen through the… [Direct]

Jorgensen, Robyn (2014). Social Theories of Learning: A Need for a New Paradigm in Mathematics Education. Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) (37th, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2014). This paper is theoretical in orientation and explores the limitations of the current field of mathematics education which has been dominated by social theories of learning. It is proposed that the field is approaching its limits for these theories and there is a need for shift that moves from the idiosyncratic possibilities of subjective meaning making and identity formation to a more profound position of "knowledge making." There have been few, if any, advances in equity target group performance so questions are posed as to the viability of social theories for changing the status quo. If equity target groups are to be successful, then success needs to be more aligned with knowledge-making processes…. [PDF]

Trudgett, Michelle (2014). Supervision Provided to Indigenous Australian Doctoral Students: A Black and White Issue. Higher Education Research and Development, v33 n5 p1035-1048. The number of Indigenous Australians completing doctoral qualifications is disparately below their non-Indigenous contemporaries. Whilst there has been a steady increase in Indigenous completions in recent years, significant work remains to redress the imbalance. Supervision has been identified as a primary influencer of the likely success of Indigenous doctoral students, yet very little research has been undertaken in this area. This paper examines the experiences of 11 Indigenous Australians who hold a doctoral qualification. It also provides the experiences of five non-Indigenous supervisors who were an integral part of the supervision team of one of the successful doctoral graduates. A best-practice framework for supervision is offered as a guide for how supervisors, universities and national bodies can contribute to building the number of doctoral qualified Indigenous Australians…. [Direct]

Othman, Azam; Ruslan, Norbaiduri (2020). Intercultural Communication Experiences among Students and Teachers: Implication to In-Service Teacher Professional Development. Journal for Multicultural Education, v14 n3-4 p223-238. Purpose: This paper aims to present the qualitative findings on students' and teachers' experiences in communicating and interacting with students and teachers from different ethnic backgrounds in the Malaysian vision schools initiative. Design/methodology/approach: Face-to-face interviews were conducted involving 15 informants comprising of three headteachers, three teachers and nine students. The interviews centred on the informants' experiences and views living and experiencing the reality of the vision schools which is comprising three major races; Malays, Chinese and Indians; which is represented by the three school types which are a national school, Chinese vernacular and Indian vernacular schools. Findings: The interview data revealed that the intercultural communication in the vision schools had triggered intercultural understanding and awareness of cultural diversity in the schools. However, the interview data with experienced teachers showed some drawbacks of the… [Direct]

(2020). Good Practice Note: Improving Retention and Completion of Students in Australian Higher Education. Australian Government Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Good practice notes offer practical advice and examples of good practice to guide operations in regard to specific, higher education issues. The good practice notes are intended to support and promote the quality assurance approaches of providers. This Good Practice Note identifies examples of good practice in Australian higher education providers in relation to increasing the retention and completion of students in their courses of study. Work undertaken by the Higher Education Standards Panel (HESP) in 2017, which included a long time-series analysis of retention in the Australian higher education system, showed that while national retention rates fell between 2011 and 2014, the 2014 rate was similar to the sector rate in 2005. Poor retention has an impact at both the institutional and individual student levels in terms of waste of resources and effort. Students who discontinue undergraduate studies frequently incur student debt. These students often consider that they have gained… [PDF]

Ahmad, Athman Kyaruzi; Gj√∏tterud, Sigrid; Krogh, Erling (2016). Dialogue Conferences and Empowerment: Transforming Primary Education in Tanzania through Cooperation. Educational Action Research, v24 n2 p300-316. In this article we present and discuss experiences developed through a dialogue conference which we organised as part of a three-year participatory action research project related to primary education and agricultural education in Tanzania. We explore how dialogue conference as a research method can fill a gap between traditional ways of mutual problem-solving in Tanzania and research. Talking and sharing ideas is important for problem-solving, but the research demonstrated the need for a concrete base for the dialogue. After direct exposition to the local school practice, participants became more responsible and responsive to their environment. The participants agreed upon an action plan and distributed the responsibilities to implement the plan between themselves. The results show that the method opened up for uniting cooperative learning and research among participants and enabled the democratisation of knowledge creation and sharing. We argue that taking cultural conditions and… [Direct]

Hall, Lisa (2015). What Are the Key Ingredients for an Effective and Successful Tertiary Enabling Program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students? An Evaluation of the Evolution of One Program. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, v55 n2 p244-266 Jul. Tertiary enabling programs have become an increasingly important part of the post-secondary schooling landscape. In recognition of the need for increased access for certain under-represented groups within the university population, enabling, bridging or foundational programs are offered by a large number of universities in Australia as alternative entry pathways. This paper explores the outcomes of an enabling program being offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults who are arguably one of the most under-represented groups within the university system in Australia. It explores, in two parts, the combination of factors that are resulting in these positive outcomes. Part one explores the "data story" of the course and the factors that support retention and completion. Part two explores the "stories of transformation" as told by the students themselves, providing insider accounts of richness and depth about the things that truly enable success in a… [PDF]

Howard, Patrick (2007). The Pedagogy of Place: Reinterpreting Ecological Education through the Language Arts. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, v1 n2 p109-126 Apr. The impetus for this article was research I conducted while living with children on the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, during the culmination of decades of blatant disregard for the marine ecosystem. At the heart of the social and ecological devastation happening in Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador communities are matters of environmental justice and ecological rights. The research project was born of a belief that education, in its present form, may be an obstacle to a new understanding of our place in the living world. The project proposes to see bioregional literature as a way to re-vision what it means to dwell in place. This article records the "disruption" in children's lives characterized as a deep-felt "homelessness" in response to the out-migration brought about by environmental degradation. It is hoped that the inquiry is part of a future direction in curriculum studies that is driven by an understanding of the principles of ecology. (Contains 1… [Direct]

Ankiewicz, Piet; Cronje, Annelize; de Beer, Josef (2015). The Development and Use of an Instrument to Investigate Science Teachers' Views on Indigenous Knowledge. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, v19 n3 p319-332. Science teachers in South Africa and globally experience difficulties with the integration of indigenous knowledge into their science lessons–a requirement of many science curricula. One of the reasons for this may relate to the views teachers hold about indigenous knowledge. Such views can form a barrier against successful inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the science classroom. It was, therefore, deemed useful to investigate teachers' views on indigenous knowledge. This article reports on the development of a theoretical framework, and a questionnaire derived from it, to investigate teachers' views on indigenous knowledge. The researchers were informed by the framework developed by Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, Bell and Schwartz regarding the nature of science (NOS) and their views-on-the-NOS questionnaire. A qualitative study was done to develop and validate the views-on-the-nature-of-indigenous-knowledge instrument (VNOIK). The findings indicate that the VNOIK instrument is… [Direct]

Jawawi, Rosmawijah; Laxman, Kumar; Salleh, Hajah Sallimah Haji Mohammed (2015). A Delphi Survey on Citizenship Education in Asean Countries: Findings for Brunei. Journal on Educational Psychology, v8 n4 p38-52 Feb-Apr. The aim of the Delphi Survey was to elucidate Bruneian Education experts' responses to five questions regarding their knowledge and understanding of the charateristics of citizenship education viz. Environment, Coexistence, Culture, Social Justice and Equity, Democracy, Sustainable Development, Interdependence, Foreign Language, Social Welfare, Human Rights, ASEAN History and Culture, and Common Social Problems of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations ) Countries. A Delphi Survey questionnaire was given to the education experts at two different times. The education experts were primary and secondary teachers, University lecturers and other education experts. There were 386 participants in the first round survey, and 101 participants in the second round survey. The results shows that in the first part of the survey, most of the education experts' thought about their achievements of the characteristics for knowledge and understanding, skills and understanding, and values and… [PDF]

Campbell, Joseph; Romich, Eric (2015). Residents' Perceptions toward Utility-Scale Wind Farm Development. Journal of Extension, v53 n6 Article 6RIB2 Dec. Increased development of wind farms in the U.S. has fostered debates surrounding the siting and support for the projects. Prior research demonstrates the importance of understanding the attitudes and opinions of community members when developing projects. This article reviews a case study of an Ohio community that integrated a local survey to measure local knowledge, support, attitudes, and opinions of community residents on a proposed wind farm into the local conversation and decision-making. Ultimately the survey results informed local programming needs and an outreach and engagement strategy and provided elected officials data to guide informed decision making on the project…. [PDF]

Sharkawy, Azza (2015). Envisioning a Career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Some Challenges and Possibilities. Cultural Studies of Science Education, v10 n3 p657-664 Sep. In "How High School Students Envision Their STEM Career Pathways", Lin Zhang and Michael Barnett attempt to shed light on the problem of underrepresented students (e.g., Aboriginals, Hispanics, African Americans, urban, females) in STEM higher education and related careers by exploring, in general terms, five high school students' career visions and the experiences that influenced their career visions. In this paper, I attempt to extend the authors' discussions on the underrepresentation of minority students in STEM higher education by highlighting some of the factors that begin to influence youths' career decisions long before they reach the high school level and are required to make specific career choices. I also draw on Glen Aikenhead's "Sci Edu," 27, 1-52 (1996) notion of border crossing and research by Victoria Costa "Sci Edu," 79, 313-333 (1995) to reflect on the significance of the relationship between students' cultural worlds and the cultural… [Direct]

McGloin, Colleen (2015). Corporate Speak and "Collateral Recruitment": Surfing the Student Body. Review of Education, Pedagogy & Cultural Studies, v37 n4 p345-358. Academic practice is scrutinized and regulated with such "Corporate speak" terms as "performance indicators," "benchmarking," "service providers" and "clients." As part of a field where ideological shifts continue to apply marketized frames of reference as neoliberalism tightens its grip, new terms and phrases are commonplace. These terms however acquire new and different meanings through appropriation, expropriation, or recycling of terms whose origins refer to other contexts, events, or histories. Like old songs, these re appropriated terms undergo a remix giving them a new "sound" so that often, recognition of previous tones disappears as they are excised from any former, less harmonious connotations. The genesis of this article is a solicitation to the author to be "profiled" in a faculty humanities brochure as part of "recruitment collateral." The request was made on the basis of previous research… [Direct]

Boon, Helen J.; Llewellyn, Linda (2015). Culturally Appropriate Behaviour Support for Australian Indigenous Students: What Does the Literature Show?. Australian Association for Research in Education, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) (Freemantle, Western Australia, Nov 29-Dec 3, 2015). Teacher responses to Indigenous student behaviour, when couched in cultural mismatch and lack of cultural understanding, can lead to overrepresentation of Indigenous students in negative indicators associated with student behaviour. To better understand appropriate strategies to support the behaviour of Australian Indigenous students a review of the published peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed literature was undertaken. The review revealed a number of themes which underpin appropriate Indigenous student behavior support: an understanding of Self and the Other and power relations without a deficit paradigm; particular personal qualities of the teacher and the ability to create effective relationships with Indigenous students. In addition, for classroom behaviour support to be successful teachers should also know or be willing to learn: the culture and characteristics of students, their learning strengths, successful pedagogy for Indigenous students and proactive behaviour support… [PDF]

Rudolph, Norma (2017). Hierarchies of Knowledge, Incommensurabilities and Silences in South African ECD Policy: Whose Knowledge Counts?. Journal of Pedagogy, v8 n1 p77-98 Aug. Policy for young children in South Africa is now receiving high-level government support through the ANC's renewed commitment to redress poverty and inequity and creating "a better life for all" as promised before the 1994 election. In this article, I explore the power relations, knowledge hierarchies and discourses of childhood, family and society in National Curriculum Framework (NCF) as it relates to children's everyday contexts. I throw light on how the curriculum's discourses relate to the diverse South African settings, child rearing practices and world-views, and how they interact with normative discourses of South African policy and global early childhood frameworks. The NCF acknowledges indigenous and local knowledges and suggests that the content should be adapted to local contexts. I argue that the good intentions of these documents to address inequities are undermined by the uncritical acceptance of global taken-for-granted discourses, such as narrow notions of… [Direct]

Kanu, Yatta (2007). Increasing School Success Among Aboriginal Students: Culturally Responsive Curriculum or Macrostructural Variables Affecting Schooling?. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, v1 n1 p21-41 Jan. Aspects of Aboriginal cultural knowledge/perspectives were integrated into the Grade 9 social studies curriculum of a high school in a western Canadian city to appraise the impact on academic achievement, class attendance, and school retention among specific groups of Aboriginal students. The results suggest cautious optimism about increasing academic achievement among these students by integrating Aboriginal perspectives. Significantly, however, the study suggests that culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy alone cannot provide a functional and effective agenda in reversing achievement trends among Aboriginal students. A holistic and comprehensive approach that also takes into account larger social, economic, and political variables affecting schooling may provide a more meaningful and lasting intervention. (Contains 2 footnotes.)… [Direct]

Stuart, Margaret (2016). Out of Place: Economic Imperialisms in Early Childhood Education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, v48 n2 p138-149. New Zealand has received world-wide accolades for its Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum, Te Whariki. This paper explores the tension between economic imperialism, and a curriculum acknowledged as visionary. The foundational ideas of Te Whariki emanate from sociocultural and anti-racist pedagogies. However, its implementation is hampered by the overarching policy discourse of Human Capital Theory (HCT), with its instrumental emphasis on economic outcomes. While Te Whariki offers local cultural and educational possibilities, HCT is presented by those espousing economic disciplines, as having universal application. These tensions, largely unacknowledged and unexplored, place ECE teachers in positions of difficulty. While trying to meet aspirational curriculum goals in their daily practices, teachers' attempts are constrained by supranational economic discourses. I ask how Edward Said's (1999, "Out of place: A memoir," New York, Knopf) concept of contrapuntal readings… [Direct]

Tocker, Kimai (2015). The Origins of Kura Kaupapa Maori. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, v50 n1 p23-38 Apr. Kura kaupapa Maori provide a unique primary school education system that immerses children in Maori language and culture. Interviews with founding members from the first Auckland kura give a critical sense of the aspirations that guided them in their struggle to set up the kura kaupapa Maori initiative. The desire to provide suitable schooling for their children, educated in a pre-school Maori immersion environment, led to a political and legal battle to provide an education validating traditional Maori knowledge. The narratives inform of the hardship endured in the setting up of kura kaupapa Maori without government assistance, and clarify the political strategies employed to establish kura. The restructuring of New Zealand's Education Department opened a space for the development of kura kaupapa Maori, leading to legislation in 1989 and formal recognition in 1999 of the Te Aho Matua document, the guiding philosophy for the majority of kura today…. [Direct]

Boon, Helen J.; Lewthwaite, Brian E. (2016). Signatures of Quality Teaching for Indigenous Students. Australian Educational Researcher, v43 n4 p453-471 Sep. This paper presents findings from the validation of a survey instrument constructed in response to what Indigenous parents/carers and students believe constitutes culturally responsive pedagogies that positively influence Indigenous student learning. Characteristics of culturally responsive pedagogies established through interviews with Australian Indigenous parents, community members and students generated themes which were distilled into survey items by a team of Indigenous and other educators. The instrument was then put on trial with 141 teachers for statistical validation. Analyses employing the Rasch model confirmed that the instrument measured a unidimensional latent trait: culturally responsive pedagogy. Seven subscales, content validities of which were determined by a panel of experts, were also confirmed. Results highlighted differences between primary and secondary teachers' self-reported practice, and important facets of teacher pedagogy in the two different school… [Direct]

Cortina, Jose Luis (2013). Supporting Indigenous Students' Understanding of the Numeration System of Their First Language. Mathematics Education Research Journal, v25 n1 p23-42 Mar. Results from a project conducted in Mexico are discussed, in which a group of 17 indigenous teachers analyzed the numeration systems of their first language. The main goal of the project is to develop resources that help teachers in supporting students' understanding of the systems. In the first phase of the project, the central organizing ideas of 14 numeration systems were specified. Each system belonged to a different Mesoamerican language. Three aspects of the systems were identified that would have to be accounted for in instructional design. They include using 20 as a multiplicative base. Examples are presented of the instructional resources that indigenous teachers could use to help their students understand the quantitative rationales of the systems…. [Direct]

Berman, Ye'Elah; Faulkner, Joanne; Pepper, Vivienne; Styles, Irene; Wildy, Helen (2014). Australian Indigenous Students' Performance on the PIPS-BLA Reading and Mathematics Scales: 2011-2013. International Research in Early Childhood Education, v5 n1 p103-123. The assessment of literacy and numeracy skills of students as they enter school for the first time is not yet established nation-wide in Australia. However, a large proportion of primary schools have chosen to assess their starting students on the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools-Baseline Assessment (PIPS-BLA). This series of three studies aimed to establish whether (a) items in the Reading and Mathematics scales of the PIPS-BLA function differently for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students; (b) easier items developed for both scales are able to target Indigenous low-scoring students more reliably; and (c) factors such as gender, age, geolocation and ESL status are related to high and low levels of performance. The samples consisted of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students from metropolitan, regional and remote areas in Western Australia starting school in the years 2007 to 2013. The Rasch model was used to examine the operation of items. Both scales showed very little… [PDF]