Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) technical report: education

Abstract

This report evaluates the education measures in the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC). Education measures in the LSIC were found to be internally valid and perform as expected. The LSIC is a robust dataset that, if used carefully, can improve our understanding of the development of Indigenous children, and help design good public policy. For analysts, we recommend using the data with confidence, while remaining aware that some variables perform better than others and that models using the education measures (especially those specific to the LSIC) tend to have low explanatory power. We also recommend taking advantage of the longitudinal data rather than the cross-sectional data. For reviewers of papers based on LSIC data, we recommend taking into account the unique circumstances of the survey, and that models will be estimated with low precision and with variables that differ from those collected in other datasets. Finally, for policy makers, we recommend making decisions using longitudinal research and considering funding a top-up sample.