Footprints in Time – The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC)

Study Page

The Footprints in Time team acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, water, culture and community. We pay our respects to the Elders both past and present. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this website may contain images and names of deceased persons.

• Data collection in 2024 – Wave 17
• About the study
• Topics addressed by the study
• Data access
• Publications
• Contact details

Data Collection in 2024 – Wave 17

Data collection will take place between February and December. Our Research Administration Officers (RAOs) will visit Footprints in Time families to conduct interviews.

Left to right – Geraldine, Jemma, Chris, Kath, Cher, Gale, Annie

Footprints in Time interviewers or Research Administration Officers (RAOs) interviewers) are all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander full time employees of the department.

We take the risk of Coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission seriously. We will only conduct face-to-face interviews where and when it is safe to do so. RAOs will contact Footprints in Time families to let them know when we will be doing interviews in their local area. RAOs will make agreements to conduct interviews. Participants can choose to take part in a face-to-face, telephone or a video interview.
If you are a Footprints in Time family and would prefer to do a telephone interview, please contact us. We will arrange a suitable time for an interview. Call our free call number 1800 106 235 or email lsic@dss.gov.au.

About the study

Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) is an initiative of the Australian Government. The study is guided by a majority Indigenous Steering Committee  chaired by Associate Professor Kalinda Griffiths. LSIC aims to provide quality quantitative and qualitative data that can give insights into how a child’s early years affect their development over the life course.
The study includes two groups of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander youth who were aged 6 to 18 months (B cohort) and 3.5 - 5 years (K cohort) when the study began in 2008.
Footprints in Time families are located in many urban, regional and remote areas across Australia.
 
In wave 1 (2008), we conducted over 1,680 interviews with parents or primary carers. Primary carers were usually mothers. Over 265 interviews were also conducted with fathers or other significant carers. We added more families in our wave 2 interviews. Participants have shown a strong commitment to Footprints in Time. As the young people become adults we want to continue interviewing to see what has helped Footprints kids grow up strong, go onto further education, employment and raise families of their own.

The key research question for the study were formulated and updated by the steering committee:

Key Research Questions for LSIC: 2020 to 2025

1. What do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people need to grow up strong?
2. What helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people to stay on track or become healthier, more positive and strong?
3. What is the importance of family, extended family and community in adolescence and emerging adulthood?
4. How can services and other types of support make a difference to the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people?
5. How do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people transition into and through adulthood?
6. What does it mean to be a young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander growing up in the 21st century?

Survey participant privacy

Your privacy is very important to us. Strict procedures ensure that only authorised people have access to your information. Interviewers, researchers and others involved in the study comply with the Privacy Act 1988.

Read LSIC Participant Information and Privacy Notice for more detail.

Topics addressed by the study

The study covers a wide variety of topics. They include health, learning and development, Culture, identity, Country, and language; experiences of racism, schooling (engagement, outcomes), family and community housing, computer and internet use, values and aspirations, work and further education. You can find more information from the Data Dictionary and Data User Guide. Both documents are publicly available from the Australian Data Archive (ADA) Dataverse LSIC Dataverse page without applying for the data.

Planning of future waves

We create the content of the future waves of data collection by engaging with:

• government agencies
• community stakeholders
• academic institutions
• working reference groups.

The Footprints in Time Steering Committee approves the content of data collection. The Human Research Ethics Committee of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) provides ethical clearance for content and fieldwork processes.

If you have suggestions for the content of future data collections, contact lsic@dss.gov.au

Data access

LSIC data is available to approved researchers from government, academic institutions and non-profit organisations. In partnership with the Australian Data Archive, DSS Longitudinal Studies is using Dataverse to facilitate access to its longitudinal datasets, including LSIC. Dataverse is an online platform that enables you to:

• find out about user obligations when accessing LSIC data
• apply for access to LSIC data
• access LSIC data files, once approved
• access LSIC data documentation, such as the data user guide, data dictionary and labelled questionnaires

Publications

Reports

Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children – Primary School Report.

This report was developed by the Queensland University of Technology and provides insight into the Primary School experiences of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. This report uses a mixed-methods approach, analysing both quantitative and qualitative data shared by LSIC participants, to explore primary school experiences from the perspective of children, parents and teachers. Analyses are framed using a strengths-based approach and are underpinned by the understanding that all aspects of life are related. The report documents a range of topics including teacher cultural competence, racism, school-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education activities, parental involvement, engagement, attendance, and academic achievement.

Primary School Report Summary Video

The team at QUT have put-together a summary video that shares some important findings from the Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children – Primary School Report.

The following research reports from previous waves of data collection are also available:

     A Decade of Data: Findings from the first 10 years of Footprints in Time

      Footprints in Time Key Summary Report from Wave 5

      Footprints in Time Key Summary Report from Wave 4

      Footprints in Time Key Summary Report from Wave 3

      Footprints in Time Key Summary Report from Wave 2

      Footprints in Time Key Summary Report from Wave 1

Footprints in Time Family feedback

We are committed to providing feedback to Footprints in Time families participating in the study. We do this through regular newsletters. These include selected findings about the Footprints in Time families and communities where they live.

If you are part of the study and have not recently received your newsletter, please email lsic@dss.gov.au

Research publications

We publish Data Highlights and Research Summaries. These cover various topics using LSIC and other longitudinal data sets.

Data highlights

• Data Highlight No.4/2016: Strengths and Problems in Indigenous Children’s Communities by Deborah Kikkawa
• Data Highlight No.3/2016: Parenting Efficacy of Parents of Indigenous Children by Deborah Kikkawa
• Data Highlight No.1/2014: Financial Hardship in Australia by Laura Bennetts Kneebone

Research summaries

• Research Summary No.7/2016: Housing Conditions and Children’s Health by Anastasia Sartbayeva
• Research Summary No.6/2016: School/Preschool Enrolment of Indigenous Children by Peng Yu
• Research Summary No.5/2016: Parents’ Involvement in Education of Indigenous Children by Anastasia Sartbayeva
• Research Summary No.4/2015: Increased literacy scores for Indigenous children in schools using the cross-curriculum priority by Fiona Skelton
• Research Summary No.3/2015: Partner violence in the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) by Laura Bennetts Kneebone
• Research Summary No.1/2014: Multiple Disadvantage by Deborah Kikkawa

Occasional papers

Learn more about the study’s development:

• Occasional Paper 20 – Stories on 'growing up' from Indigenous people in the ACT metro/Queanbeyan region – 2008 (nla.gov.au)
• Occasional Paper 17 - Growing up in the Torres Strait Region – 2006 (nla.gov.au)
• Occasional Paper 16 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander views on research in their communities – 2006 (nla.gov.au)
• Occasional Paper 15 - The 'growing up' of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children – 2006 (nla.gov.au)

For further bibliographic details of research material using data from LSIC is available. See the Department of Social Services' Longitudinal Surveys Electronic Research archive (FLoSse). FLoSse contains information related to all longitudinal surveys we conduct.

Contact details

For general enquiries about Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children:

• Email lsic@dss.gov.au
• Telephone (free call): 1800 106 235

All diverse people, from across our diverse land, each walking their own path and discovering all that life has to offer. Stepping up and taking control of their own destinies. The future is bright.
    ~ Diverse Destinies by Timothy Buckley
      2023

Related information

• LSIC Participant Information and Privacy Notice 
• The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)
• Longitudinal Studies

Last updated: 5 April 2024 - 3:59pm