Documenting the Early Literacy and Numeracy Practices of Home Tutors in Distance and Isolated Education in Australia

Abstract

THIS PAPER REPORTS ASPECTS of a large-scale project conducted in rural and remote regions of Australia. The study was designed to assess teaching and learning practices in early childhood programs with a particular focus on literacy, numeracy and the use of information and communication technologies. Programs had been specifically designed for use in rural and remote areas and were implemented through schools of distance education with teachers conducting regular ‘lessons’ via radio or internet-based satellite technologies. Home tutors, who were not necessarily trained educators, delivered the programs face-to-face. A range of tools to document these early-years programs was developed. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews with teachers, home tutors and the children themselves. This was supported by observations of ‘lessons’ using an observation schedule. The focus of this paper is to describe some examples of the pedagogical practices of home tutors, using the observation schedule as the tool as they engage in a 30-minute lesson with children between the ages of five and eight years. Key findings from this latter instrument are presented in this paper.