Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children
About the study
Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) is a study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children selected from different locations across Australia.
LSIC aims to:
- improve understanding of the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, their families and communities
- improve the support provided by government policies and programs.
LSIC quantitative and qualitative data provide insight into how a child’s early years affect their development. This information can inform Closing the Gap initiatives supporting improved life outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Collected information includes:
- parenting
- family relationships
- education
- child and parent health
- culture
- community.
By interviewing children and young people over time, the study can determine factors that give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children the best start in life to grow up strong.
Read more about the study in the LSIC fact sheet.
If you’re part of the Footprints in Time family, read the information for participants.
Study participants
LSIC started in 2008. It involves 2 groups of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children who were aged 0 to 24 months and 3.5 to 5 years in 2008.
In wave 1, we interviewed over 1,680 families. Interviews occur annually. More than 1,200 parents and children were followed up in each wave by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interviewers up to wave 12. In 2020 and 2021, the response was impeded by Covid-19.
Read more about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Administration Officers (RAOs) interviewers on the information for participants page.
Table: LSIC sample size and response rates
This table shows for each wave the number of LSIC participants who responded and the retention rates.
| Persons | In-scope population (number) | Respondents (number) | Wave response rate (%) | Retention rate of wave 1 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | - | 1,671 | - | - |
| Wave 2 | 1,671 | 1,435 | 85.9 | 85.9 |
| Wave 3 | 1,717 | 1,404 | 81.8 | 79.8 |
| Wave 4 | 1,692 | 1,283 | 75.8 | 72.9 |
| Wave 5 | 1,650 | 1,258 | 76.2 | 71.5 |
| Wave 6 | 1,627 | 1,239 | 76.2 | 70.4 |
| Wave 7 | 1,617 | 1,253 | 77.5 | 71.2 |
| Wave 8 | 1,611 | 1,255 | 77.9 | 71.3 |
| Wave 9 | 1,590 | 1,268 | 79.7 | 72.1 |
| Wave 10 | 1,576 | 1,270 | 80.6 | 72.2 |
| Wave 11 | 1,560 | 1,253 | 80.3 | 71.2 |
| Wave 12 | 1,551 | 1,205 | 77.7 | 68.5 |
| Wave 13 | 1,532 | 757 | 49.2 | 43.0 |
| Wave 14 | 1,514 | 936 | 61.8 | 53.2 |
Notes:
- Response rates are calculated as a percentage of the in-scope participants at the commencement of fieldwork for each wave. Response rates are not provided for wave 1.
- Retention rates are calculated as a percentage of the wave 1 participants who completed each wave. They do not account for participants who are no longer in-scope (for example, moved overseas, passed away) or new sample members recruited in subsequent waves. Therefore, they only partially reflect the full response picture.
- In-scope population excludes respondents who withdrew from the survey prior to the wave or were removed for administrative reasons.
- Respondents excludes those who asked to be removed from the data or were removed for administrative reasons.
Participant locations
Footprints in Time families are in many urban, regional and remote areas across Australia.
If you’re a participant
If you’re part of the Footprints in Time family, read the information for participants.
Governance
The Footprints in Time Steering Committee guides the study. The committee is Indigenous-led and has majority Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander representation.
The committee provides expertise in:
- survey content
- design
- collection methods
- community engagement
- ethics
- cultural protocols
- data analysis and interpretation.
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Administration Officers (RAOs) conduct the interviews.
Roy Morgan Research programs the surveys and does the initial data storage and cleaning.
How to access the data
LSIC data is available for free through the Australian Data Archive Dataverse platform.
The data is for approved researchers from government, academic institutions and non-profit organisations.
You can download some data documentation without prior approval. This includes a data dictionary, user guide and marked up copies of the questionnaires.
Visit Dataverse(Opens in a new tab/window).
Learn more about how to apply for access to our datasets.
Research and publications
LSIC data has improved our understanding of what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people, families and communities need to live healthy, strong lives.
Primary school report
In 2022 we published the Footprints in Time Primary School Report. We hope this report helps teachers and schools support Indigenous children to grow up strong.
Visit the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) eprints website to read the Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children – Primary School Report(Opens in a new tab/window) (2022).
Occasional papers
Visit the National Library’s Australian Government Web Archive website for these papers about the study’s development:
- Occasional Paper 20 – Stories on 'growing up' from Indigenous people in the ACT metro/Queanbeyan region – 2008(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Occasional Paper 17 – Growing up in the Torres Strait Region – 2006(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Occasional Paper 16 – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander views on research in their communities – 2006(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Occasional Paper 15 – The 'growing up' of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children – 2006(Opens in a new tab/window)
Contact us
For more information about the LSIC study, contact LongitudinalStudies@dss.gov.au.
Updates
See updates related to Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children