Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Aboriginal communities of Jigalong and Punmu to see how the introduction of the instructional technique known as direct instruction or DI was working. I am pleased to report that it is working a treat. The teachers and aides tell us that the level of engagement by the majority of children is well beyond what they have experienced in the past. They were concerned at the outset that they might not even get the kids to sit on their chairs long enough, but the kids have embraced this structured teaching and, after just seven weeks, are making real progress.

I have the honour to chair the Martu Education Advisory Committee, which has been set up by the Western Desert Lands Aboriginal Corporation, WDLAC, under the leadership of Brian Samson, to advise on how educational outcomes can be improved. The Martu leadership had been very concerned that their kids were not getting a decent education and were missing out on the opportunity to participate in the broader economy. Brian Samson, in an inspiring speech at Jigalong, said that he had actually not even been into the school in his community for 20 years, so angered was he by the failure of the system to educate their children. But we are turning this about.

We started by looking at what was happening at Challis Community Primary School in Perth. We took the WDLAC board along there. They saw that a highly structured and systematic style of teaching called 'explicit instruction' or 'direct instruction' was really turning around the educational outcomes for these kids. We then went on to see this at work in remote Aboriginal communities on Cape York; under the inspired leadership of Noel Pearson, they, too, have transformed the educational outcomes for their children.

We have been very pleased to have been incorporated into the larger Good to Great Schools family that has been established under Noel Pearson and funded by the federal government. And I want to particularly congratulate the federal government for being prepared to invest in this particular program; the previous Labor government supported Noel Pearson in its establishment, and this government has continued that work.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the teachers and the aides who are putting 100 per cent into this program and their kids. DI is not magic; it is hard work. The leadership of Rawa Principal Lorraine Sligar across Martu schools has been exceptional, and Shane Wilson and his team at Jigalong have been just as good. (Time expired)