Abstract

Early childhood is a vital stage in human development, and participation in formal early childhood education has been linked to improved wellbeing across various dimensions, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Over the last decade, Australian government policy has aimed to increase access to quality early childhood education, with a particular focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. One of the Closing the Gap targets is for 95 per cent of all Indigenous four-year olds to be enrolled in early childhood education by 2025.

This presentation presents analysis of Census data from 2006, 2011 and 2016, and other data sources, to examine what the Census can tell us about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's participation in early childhood education. The results of this analysis are discussed in the context of current policy initiatives and findings from the literature.

Biography

Heather Crawford joined the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) at the ANU in 2014. Heather previously worked at the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare. She is an experienced data analyst and social researcher with a Master of Social Research from the ANU and over 20 years' experience working with social surveys and social statistics covering a range of areas, including families and child care, labour force, superannuation, literacy and time use. Since joining CAEPR, Heather has worked with a range of data sources to examine socioeconomic and wellbeing outcomes for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, with a focus on secondary and post-school education.