Enhancing Opportunities for Australian Aboriginal Literacy Learners in Early Childhood Settings

• Published in: Childhood education Vol. 81; no. 6; pp. 327 - 332
• Main Authors: Simpson, Lee, Clancy, Susan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Olney Taylor & Francis Group 01.09.2005; Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) Subscriptions; Association for Childhood Education International; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Aboriginal Australians; Aboriginal English; Aboriginal students; Australia; Australian aborigines; Contemporary problems; Cultural Context; Culturally Relevant Education; Early Childhood Education; Education; Educational Opportunities; English; Foreign Countries; Indigenous Populations; Learning; Linguistics; Literacy; Literacy Education; Literature reviews; Native culture; Native peoples; Outcomes of Education; Social aspects; Teachers; Teaching models; Young Children; Australia
• ISSN: 0009-4056; 2162-0725
• DOI: 10.1080/00094056.2005.10521321

This article focuses on how young Australian Aboriginal learners experience early childhood literacy practices. The cultural-historical perspective used by the authors considers the inequities often embedded within these practices and identifies ways in which issues of social justice and historical and cultural understanding can be emphasized to provide support for these learners that will enhance their learning opportunities. It draws on the literature of critical literacy, initially explored by Freire, who believed, 'Language and reality [to be] dynamically interconnected,' and that 'The understanding attained by critical reading of a text implies perceiving the relationship between text and context'. Freire recognized that 'reading the world precedes reading the word and reading the word implies continually reading the world'.