Families' lack of access to home computer and internet a challenge for national curriculum
The Smith Family has said a lack of access to a home computer and the internet among disadvantaged families could undermine the successful implementation of the school curriculum.
In its submission to the Federal Government’s Australian curriculum review, the national children’s education charity said the curriculum along with schools, teachers and education planners tended to assume that all children had access to a computer and the internet at home.
But The Smith Family’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, said the organisation’s own experience told a different story.
“It’s quite common for our frontline staff to encounter families without a home computer and with no continuity of internet access,” said The Smith Family’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire.
“According to our analysis, around one-third of children aged 5-14 living in Australia’s most disadvantaged communities don’t have access to the internet at home.
“When families are struggling to pay for the basics, expenses outside of putting food on the table and a roof over everyone’s head tend to be sacrificed – however important they may be.
“A budget laptop costs around $300. Add to that a monthly broadband fee of around $30 and a family is looking at needing close to $700 in the first year. For many families that’s too costly to contemplate.
“We know that 85 per cent of children in the 5-14 age range who use the internet at home do so for education purposes.
“So, the impact a lack of access to a home computer and the internet has on disadvantaged children is quite clear.
“I recently heard of a family we support where the only way their high school-aged children could access the internet at home was on their mum’s mobile phone.
“It’s hard to imagine how difficult and upsetting it must be for a child working on a school assignment – when there’s the assumption they’ll use their home computer and internet for research – and they have no ability to do so.
“One of the ways The Smith Family works to address this issue is through our Tech Packs program.
“As part of Tech Packs we not only provide families in need with refurbished computers but give them 12 months free internet connection plus training for the parents in basic computer skills.
“It’s as much about equipping kids with the tools they need to succeed in school as it is about helping parents – many who’ve never used a computer before – develop skills so they can assist their children.
“Any Australian curriculum – and in turn, schools and teachers – needs to be aware of the limitations and challenges disadvantaged families face when their children participate in education. It can’t exist in isolation.
“The curriculum review must take these issues into account – including how the expense of IT equipment and home internet make them out of reach for some families.
“The separate question – which we all need to address – is to how to increase the numbers of home computers and access to broadband among disadvantaged families? Otherwise, thousands of disadvantaged Australian kids are going to miss out on being digitally literate.
“If our economy is going to meet the challenges of the 21st century, then we can’t afford to let that happen,” said Ms Hampshire.