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Anne Ndaba
Anne Ndaba has over 20 years experience as an Adult Basic Education teacher. She has worked primarily with Aboriginal students and students from non-English speaking backgrounds. She has a passionate interest in empowering people through education, especially Aboriginal youth and adults who have been disadvantaged by their lack of literacy skills.
Anne is currently a Masters Honours candidate at the Centre for Positive Psychology and Education. Her research project is designed to address the inequity in education provision to Aboriginal youth.
Thesis Title
Innovative Approaches to Literacy: A Multimedia Tool to Engage Aboriginal Youth in Learning Basic Reading and Writing.
Supervisors
Professor Rhonda Craven, Dr Marjorie Seaton & Dr Danielle Tracey
Abstract
Indigenous students are increasingly falling behind non-Indigenous students in their literacy skills. Results from the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) found that 38% of Indigenous students in Australia were below level 2 in reading literacy compared to 12% of non-Indigenous students. This unacceptable gap in literacy levels is currently the focus of government concern and although the Australian government is implementing a range of interventions at the primary and secondary school level there is an urgent need to assist Aboriginal youth who have left school without the basics of reading and writing. The aim of this research project is to test the impact of an interactive CD-ROM designed to improve the literacy levels of young Aboriginal adults upon reading achievement, reading motivation, and reading self-concept. The educational content of the CD-ROM will be based on well-established findings on the successful use of explicit teaching methods including instruction in phonetic awareness, syllable breakdown, word families, sight words, vowels, and sound blends. The interactive program will incorporate Aboriginal humour and expressions through use of animation, graphics, sound recordings, and video clips. The CD-ROM will be trialed with groups of young Aboriginal adult students in NSW Juvenile Justice Centres, TAFE Colleges, and Community Education settings. Findings from these groups will be compared with a wait list control group. Qualitative and quantitative analysis will be conducted over 3 time intervals to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.
