The Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) has agreed on a draft Indigenous education action plan (IEAP) to guide the national effort towards closing the gaps in early childhood and school education outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

The document will provide a basis for the community to comment on a range of actions to bring about both systemic and local-level improvements across six domains of activity that evidence has shown will make the most impact on closing the gap: readiness for school; engagement and connections; attendance; leadership, quality teaching and work force development; literacy and numeracy; and pathways to real post-school options.

The draft IEAP will be circulated first to Indigenous education leaders and Indigenous education consultative committees. It will then be released publicly for further consultation.

The draft IEAP has been informed by the The Review of Australian Directions in Indigenous Education 2005–2008 (PDF - also available at http://is.gd/59oyE).

The final document will be presented to the Council of Australian Governments early next year.

Source: Youth Fields XPress, Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies