This article summarises a comprehensive literature review of school readiness for Australian Indigenous children (McTurk, Nutton, Lea, Robinson & Carapetis, 2008). It considers definitions and evidence for the effectiveness of approaches to assessment of school readiness; the review includes English language literature on the school readiness of the Australian Indigenous population, along with supporting evidence from the international literature on comparable indigenous populations. Significant examples of 'grey literature' from government and non-government organisations' websites are cited to supplement peer-reviewed academic research. defining school readiness of Australian indigenous children The term 'school readiness' is often misunderstood because of a tendency to confuse readiness to learn (having the cognitive capacity to undertake learning of specific material) with readiness for school (the ability to make the transition to school-based learning, to meet school requirements and to assimilate curriculum) (Kagan & Rigby, 2003). The prerequisites for schooling also include social skills: the capacity to follow directions, knowing not to be disruptive in class and how to be sensitive to others (Arnold, Bartlett,

Background With the pending implementation of the Closing the Gap 2020 recommendations, there is an urgent need to better understand the contributing factors of, and pathways to positive educational outcomes for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. This deeper understanding is particularly important in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, in which the majority of Aboriginal children lived in remote communities and have language backgrounds other than English (i.e. 75%). Methods This study linked the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to the attendance data (i.e. government preschool and primary schools) and Year 3 National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the pathway from self-regulation and executive function (SR-EF) at age 5 to early academic achievement (i.e. Year 3 reading/numeracy at age 8) for 3,199 NT children. Result The study confirms the expected importance of SR-EF for all children but suggests the different pathways for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. For non-Aboriginal children, there was a significant indirect effect of SR-EF (β = 0.38, p<0.001) on early academic achievement, mediated by early literacy/numeracy skills (at age 5). For Aboriginal children, there were significant indirect effects of SR-EF (β = 0.19, p<0.001) and preschool attendance (β = 0.20, p<0.001), mediated by early literacy/numeracy skills and early primary school attendance (i.e. Transition Years to Year 2 (age 5–7)). Conclusion This study highlights the need for further investigation and development of culturally, linguistically and contextually responsive programs and policies to support SR-EF skills in the current Australian education context. There is a pressing need to better understand how current policies and programs enhance children and their families’ sense of safety and support to nurture these skills. This study also confirms the critical importance of school attendance for improved educational outcomes of Aboriginal children. However, the factors contributing to non-attendance are complex, hence the solutions require multi-sectoral collaboration in place-based design for effective implementation.

This paper unearths how primary school children experience and can complement the Australian HPE curriculum within three unique school ground equipment scenarios that include an 'empty', 'loose parts' and a 'traditional' school ground context. Using direct observation, 490 scans were undertaken of the school grounds over five days. Field note observations recorded children's HPE learning experiences according to the curriculum, and predominant physical activity types and intensities were recorded. Implementing a variety of school ground equipment provisions was revealed to be important compared to the 'empty' school ground context for primary school children to meet HPE curriculum objectives.

Rural, regional and remote (RRR) communities and industries in Australia cannot currently produce or attract the workforce needed to survive, making skills and qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) increasingly important. Yet student engagement in STEM education in RRR schools remains low, with limited numbers of young people either moving into further STEM education post-secondary, or accessing readily available STEM-related jobs in RRR areas. Currently many rural children and young people are not exposed to, nor recognize the diverse ways in which STEM knowledge is required and used in their world. We propose that if young people are to increasingly engage with STEM and continue onto STEM-related careers, they must be able to see connections between their “school” learning of STEM and the STEM knowledge that is enacted in rural work and life. We also suggest that for this to change, there should be increased visibility of “place-based” knowledges, including Aboriginal STEM knowledges, in RRR communities to promote enhanced student engagement with STEM. In this paper we explore these ideas by drawing on Foucault and Bourdieu understandings to develop a methodological framework – the Place-based STEM- alignment Framework for the purposes of exposing alternate STEM knowledges. We argue that the nuanced and critical methodological approach applied in the development of the Place-based STEM-alignment Framework, is necessary in order to generate this analytical tool and provide data that will allow us the scope to “reset” current understandings of STEM knowledges. The framework design provides us with the methodological vehicle to identify possible reasons for the invisibility of STEM knowledge and practices in the local fabric of RRR communities and to examine enablers and/or barriers to engagement in STEM learning. The framework must be a practical tool for use in the field, one that can be used in RRR communities to engage, children and young people, in STEM, in a way that is meaningful and that aligns with their everyday experience of RRR life. Finally, the framework has to work to enable alternative perspectives to be exposed that will advance methodological considerations of STEM.

The school playground is recognised broadly in the literature as a crucial setting for children to develop social behaviours by engaging in a diverse range of physical and social activities. In this study, we examined children's social interactions in two distinctly different primary school playgroundsa school playground with fixed equipment, and a school playground with moveable play equipment. The aim of this research was to explore how primary school children's social behaviours in schoolyard activities vary in two different playground contexts. Through field notes and observation scheduling, descriptions of the range of children's social behaviours in the two school playgrounds emerged. This study provides some insights into how the development of schoolchildren's social and emotional well-being can be supported, or hindered, by the physical design of playgrounds made available to children.