ECU Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond inducted into WA Women’s Hall of Fame

An ECU Associate Professor has been inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame for her outstanding work in literacy in remote communities and tertiary education.

Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond was recognised on Friday for her work in changing the way reading is taught in schools and universities and for leading a program teaching disadvantaged children from remote schools to read.

“As a teacher, my moral compass was piqued early when I met so many adolescents who could not read. I decided to return to study to complete a Masters and PhD, and that began my mission to change the trajectory for WA children,” Associate Professor Hammond said.

The associate professor based at ECU’s Mt Lawley campus was also an Order of Australia recipient in 2019 for her outstanding contribution to tertiary education and the community.

“Learning to read is a right, not a privilege, and I share this award with the many teachers who have taken up explicit, structured literacy in their classrooms and have changed children’s lives,” she said.

Associate Professor Hammond has worked and researched in early literacy high impact instructional strategies, including explicit teaching and learning difficulties, since 1990.

She was instrumental in changing the syllabus of Australian universities to ensure they prepare pre-service students to teach reading according to research.

“Since 2018 I have been leading the delivery of the Kimberley School Project, an initiative which supports evidence-based literacy instruction in 23 regional and remote schools,” she said.

“Children living in remote communities who may not attend school as regularly as their peers in Perth and who experience far greater levels of disadvantage learn to read using our methodology, often better than children who attend schools in metropolitan areas in Australia. How you teach reading matters.”

Following the success of the Kimberley School Project, Associate Professor Hammond has secured a further $10 million in Closing the Gap funding from the Federal Government to expand the program.

“My greatest passion is and always has been to help others. To change the future for many children by giving them the lifelong gift that is learning and enjoying reading,” she said.

Associate Professor Hammond’s work is based upon explicit reading instruction, which is based upon research with focus on regional and remote WA communities.

“Unlike children who come from more socially advantaged backgrounds, children in the Kimberley of WA don’t always attend as regularly as their peers and face greater barriers learning, but with the right instruction they can learn to read as well as any child in Australia,” she said.