The Hearing, Language and Literacy Project: Promoting the importance of hearing, language and literacy as key areas underpinning educational achievement for all students.
Tracks
7
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Advocacy
Collaboration
Cultural responsiveness
Deaf and hard of hearing
Hearing loss
Inclusive education
Oral language
Written language
| Saturday, June 14, 2025 |
| 2:55 PM - 3:05 PM |
| Knowledge Hub | Halls MNO, Ground Level |
Overview
Pamela Leonardi and Isabella Ganko
Details
⏫ Rapid impact
⏲️ 2.55pm - 3.05pm
⌛10-minutes
📚 Assumed knowledge of attendees: Foundational (new/casual familiarity with the topic e.g. treated a single case)
⏲️ 2.55pm - 3.05pm
⌛10-minutes
📚 Assumed knowledge of attendees: Foundational (new/casual familiarity with the topic e.g. treated a single case)
Presenter
Mrs Pamela Leonardi
Queensland Department Of Education
The Hearing, Language and Literacy Project: Promoting the importance of hearing, language and literacy as key areas underpinning educational achievement for all students.
2:55 PM - 3:05 PMPresentation summary
Realising the potential of every student is the vision within the Queensland Department of Education’s Equity and Excellence strategy. Students being able to access and participate in their learning is essential for positive educational outcomes and foundational to realising the potential of every student. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that recurrent conductive hearing loss, caused by otitis media, particularly in the early years of development and schooling may be associated with long-term developmental problems including language, literacy, behaviour and poor mental health (Altamimi et al, 2024). In 2022, the Department of Education (DoE) in the North Queensland Region (NQR) was approached to partner with Hearing Australia’s First Nations Listen to Learn Team to provide a two-phase approach to:
1. building capability of staff in Prep to Year 2 to understand the impacts that ear health and hearing loss can have on engagement in learning and student outcomes.
2. providing an ear health and hearing screening program in eight identified state schools with high developmental vulnerability (Australian Early Development Census), lower educational achievement in English and high enrolment of First Nations students.
The project was co-designed in consultation with Deadly Ears, Hearing Australia, DoE State-wide Hearing Pathways Team and the NQR’s First Nations Team. The project was coordinated by Senior Speech Language Pathologist and Community Participation Officer (identified First Nations role). This presentation will outline the findings of this project as it relates to the prevalence of ear health and hearing problems in 5–7-year-olds, and the impact of building staff and community knowledge around ear health and hearing in the early years. Future considerations for universal and targeted hearing screening and community education on ear health and hearing as a foundation for language and literacy, as well as service integration across health and education will be explored.
1. building capability of staff in Prep to Year 2 to understand the impacts that ear health and hearing loss can have on engagement in learning and student outcomes.
2. providing an ear health and hearing screening program in eight identified state schools with high developmental vulnerability (Australian Early Development Census), lower educational achievement in English and high enrolment of First Nations students.
The project was co-designed in consultation with Deadly Ears, Hearing Australia, DoE State-wide Hearing Pathways Team and the NQR’s First Nations Team. The project was coordinated by Senior Speech Language Pathologist and Community Participation Officer (identified First Nations role). This presentation will outline the findings of this project as it relates to the prevalence of ear health and hearing problems in 5–7-year-olds, and the impact of building staff and community knowledge around ear health and hearing in the early years. Future considerations for universal and targeted hearing screening and community education on ear health and hearing as a foundation for language and literacy, as well as service integration across health and education will be explored.
Refrences
Altamimi, A. A., Robinson, M., Alenezi, E. M., Veselinović, T., Choi, R. S., & Brennan-Jones, C. G. (2024). Recurrent otitis media and behaviour problems in middle childhood: A longitudinal cohort study. Journal of paediatrics and child health, 60(1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.16518
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Pam Leonardi is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist, a member of Speech Pathology Australia, and is currently a Speech Language Pathologist with the Department of Education (DoE) in Townsville, Queensland. Throughout 2023 -2024, she led the Hearing, Language and Literacy Project in the North Queensland Region. The project’s aim was to promote the importance of hearing, language and literacy as key areas underpinning educational achievement for all students and aligns with the QLD DoE’s Equity and Excellence vision of delivering a high equity, high quality early childhood and education system which provides a strong start for all children and supports every student to realise their potential. She has an interest in how ear health and hearing loss can impact a student’s engagement and learning outcomes, and literacy.
Miss Isabella Ganko
Department Of Education
The Hearing, Language and Literacy Project: Promoting the importance of hearing, language and literacy as key areas underpinning educational achievement for all students.
2:55 PM - 3:05 PM**********
The information contained in this program is current at of the time of publishing but is subject to changes made without notice.
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