Australian Early Development Census National Conference 2015
Symposium/Workshop
Conference Theme: Please indicate which of the four streams your
symposium/workshop fits into. Please write the conference theme at the top of the page
using Arial 14 point font, capitalised, bold and centred to indicate the theme. The four
streams are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Research
Government/Policy
Community
Schools
Symposium/Workshop Title: Please enter a title for the workshop/symposium of no
more than 20 words. Please use Arial 14 point font, and bold and centre the title.
Convener/Chair: Please provide details of the convener/chair of the symposium. It is
expected that this person will chair and coordinate the symposium or workshop. They will
also be the primary contact person representing the group of presenters. Use Arial 12
point font and centre the name of the convener/chair. Use superscript numbers to indicate
the conveners affiliation. Affiliations should be in Arial 10 point font and centred with each
affiliation on a new line.
Overview summary of the workshop/symposium: Please provide a concise summary of
the workshop, or an overview of the symposium. It would be useful if you could include a
statement indicating why you think that others attending the conference will find your
symposium/workshop informative. The overview should be single spaced, justified
alignment, Arial 12 point font and a maximum of 250 words.
A symposium or workshop can have up to four presentations within the timeframe.
For each of the presentations please provide a brief abstract/summary, the authors
and affiliations, and brief bio for each of the presenters.
Authors and affiliations: Please list all authors/ contributors to the symposium with the
presenting author listed first and underlined. Use Arial 12 point font and centre the list of
authors. Use superscript numbers to indicate each authors affiliation. Affiliations should be
listed underneath the author list. Affiliations should be in Arial 10 point font and centred
with each affiliation on a new line.
Abstract/summary: Please provide a concise summary of what will be presented. At a
minimum please include the aims of your study/program/intervention and some details of your
key findings/experiences. The abstract/summary should be single spaced, justified alignment,
Arial 12 point font and be limited to a maximum of 250 words.
Biography: Please provide a brief professional bio on the convener/chair and each of the
presenting authors to be used when introducing the symposium. Each bio should be single
spaced, justified alignment, Arial 12 point font and be limited to a maximum of 120 words.
See next page for an example submission
Australian Early Development Census National Conference 2015
Symposium/Workshop Example
RESEARCH STREAM
The Australian Early Development Index (EDI) – what can we learn
through administrative data linkage
Convener: Brinkman, S.1,2
1Telethon
2University
Kids Institute, Perth, AUSTRALIA
of Adelaide, Adelaide, AUSTRALIA
SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW: In Australia, the EDI has been adapted to the AEDI and in 2009
it was administered as a census to all children in their first year of full time schooling. Over
the next few years data linkage systems will be used to link the AEDC data with health and
education administrative data sets. The presenters are a group of researchers aiming to
expand the research capacity in data linkage methods and exemplify the utility of data
linkage across sectors (health and education). Each of the presenters will be exploring the
relationship between perinatal outcomes and developmental outcomes as measured by the
Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) through to educational outcomes. The findings
presented will be of relevance to a wide audience; however the symposium will primarily aim
to share experiences of applying for, and obtaining and using linked administrative data.
CONVENER BIO: Associate Professor Sally Brinkman is a social epidemiologist with the
majority of her research focusing on societies’ impact on child development. Sally is the CoDirector of the Fraser Mustard Centre, an innovative new initiative between the Telethon
Kids Institute and the South Australia Department of Education and Child Development
aimed to improve research translation. Sally is well known for spearheading the use of the
Early Development Instrument (EDI) in Australia, being the first to pilot the instrument
outside of Canada. Internationally, Sally works with Governments and donor organisations
such as the World Bank, UNICEF, AusAID and the Bernard Van Leer Foundation working
with various measures of child development for monitoring and evaluation purposes.
ABSTRACT TITLE 1: The Australian Early Development Index (EDI) predicts reading and
numeracy skills seven years later
Gregory, T.1,2, Brinkman, S.1,2
1Telethon
2University
Kids Institute, Perth, AUSTRALIA
of Adelaide, Adelaide, AUSTRALIA
In Australia, the EDI has been adapted to the AEDI and in 2009 it was administered as a
census to all children in their first year of full time schooling. Over the next few years data
linkage systems will be used to link the AEDC data with school assessments to explore how
well the instrument can predict academic performance in later childhood. However, data
collected during the initial piloting of the EDI in Australia provide an opportunity to explore
this association now. In 2003, teachers completed the EDI assessment for 4,420 children
living in Perth, Australia. In 2010, the EDI data were linked to state and national school
assessments completed when the children were in Year 3, 5 and 7. Linked data were
available for a total of 1,823 children. Results showed that children who were vulnerable on
one or more domains of the EDI were significantly more likely to perform poorly on reading
and numeracy assessments in Year 3, 5 and 7 than children who were not vulnerable on
any domains of the EDI. The strength of the association remained very stable over time.
These results suggest that interventions aimed at reducing the number of children who are
developmentally vulnerable on the EDI at age five should also reduce the number of children
with reading and numeracy problems in later childhood. The findings will be of relevance to
those in the school sectors and policy makers.
PRESENTER BIO: Dr Tess Gregory is a Senior Research Fellow in the Fraser Mustard
Centre, a partnership between the Telethon Kids Institute and the South Australian
Department for Education and Child Development aimed to improve research translation.
Dr Gregory holds a Bachelor of Mathematics and Computer Sciences and a PhD in
Psychology from the University of Adelaide. Dr Gregory’s current research focuses on using
population level data on children’s health and wellbeing, including the Australian Early
Development Census and the Middle Years Development Instrument, to inform policy and
practice.
ABSTRACT TITLE 2: Perinatal data predicts the Australian Early Development Index (EDI)
results
Smith, T.1,2, Jones, S.1,2
1 Department
of Health, Darwin, AUSTRALIA
In Australia, the EDI has been adapted to the AEDI and in 2009 it was administered as a
census to all children in their first year of full time schooling. Over the next few years data
linkage systems will be used to link the AEDC data with perinatal data to explore how well
such information could predict later development. The results presented discuss the merit
of using perinatal data to target children for additional supports to prevent later vulnerability
on the AEDI. The findings will be of relevance to those in community health and policy
makers.
PRESENTER BIO: [Add bio for T Smith]
ABSTRACT TITLE 3: Hospitalisation data predicts the Australian Early Development Index
(EDI) results
James, T.1,2, Adam, S.1,2
1Telethon
2University
Kids Institute, Perth, AUSTRALIA
of Adelaide, Adelaide, AUSTRALIA
In Australia, the EDI has been adapted to the AEDI and in 2009 it was administered as a
census to all children in their first year of full time schooling. Over the next few years data
linkage systems will be used to link the AEDC data with perinatal data to explore how well
such information could predict later development. The results presented discuss the merit
of using perinatal data to target children for additional supports to prevent later vulnerability
on the AEDI. The findings will be of relevance to those in community health and policy
makers.
PRESENTER BIO: [Add bio for T James]
ABSTRACT TITLE 4: Perinatal data predicts the Australian Early Development Index (EDI)
results
Smith, T.1,2, Jones, S.1,2
1Telethon
2University
Kids Institute, Perth, AUSTRALIA
of Adelaide, Adelaide, AUSTRALIA
In Australia, the EDI has been adapted to the AEDI and in 2009 it was administered as a
census to all children in their first year of full time schooling. Over the next few years data
linkage systems will be used to link the AEDC data with perinatal data to explore how well
such information could predict later development. The results presented discuss the merit
of using perinatal data to target children for additional supports to prevent later vulnerability
on the AEDI. The findings will be of relevance to those in community health and policy
makers.
PRESENTER BIO: [Add bio for T Smith]