Nidja Noongar Boodjar Noonook Nyininy

(This is Noongar Country You are Sitting in.)

CLCD researchers Terry Church and Beth Powell , were key players in a team which was contracted by the Catholic Education Office, Western Australia , to develop a primary school classroom learning kit to enhance learning of Nyungar Aboriginal culture. The kit includes Arts, Language, Mathematics and Society and Environment content. Beth had oversight and design responsibility for the numeracy aspects of the project. Terry was involved in all areas of the kit design, while his major involvement was for the writing of five books on five Aboriginal children, and study/activity posters for Aboriginal Art (didgeridoo and cave painting) and for Aboriginal theatre and dance. The kits have been highly successful and are being used widely in both non-government and government schools throughout Western Australia.

The Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs invited proposals to disseminate simple, direct information to parents about the importance of their children's numeracy development and to encourage them to be confident to support this in practical ways. It was expected that the project would produce promotional materials for parents in the area of numeracy.

It is intended that provision of this information will:

•  help parents/carers to understand and value the importance of numeracy learning, especially those whose children may be disadvantaged in terms of numeracy outcomes;

•  encourage a perception of numeracy as something enjoyable, accessible and important in everyday life;

•  provide parents with practical skills of everyday activities which can develop their children's numeracy skills;

•  strengthen the partnership between home and school by encouraging parents to actively support their children's numeracy development, and to work with schools in this effort, and by encouraging schools to work parents to assist their children's numeracy development; and

•  help to improve the numeracy outcomes of school age children.

Specifically, this tender required the following processes:

•  A draft poster and three draft brochures were produced

•  Consultation on the draft took place with educational authorities, parents and teachers,

•  Final draft products were developed, and finally,