A flexible approach to learning

With a flattened student-teacher hierarchy and a focus on community relationships, UQ research shows why flexi schools are a growing phenomenon catching more and more Indigenous students who have fallen out of mainstream schooling.

Largely without our notice, a new form of alternative education – called ‘flexi schools’ – have been attracting and keeping Indigenous learners within the education system.

Research by Dr Marnee Shay, a senior lecturer in UQ’s School of Education and Senior Research Fellow at the UQ Centre for Policy Futures, has shown there are nearly 10 times more Indigenous students and staff in flexi schools than would be expected from numbers in the general population.

With statistics like that, something is clearly working.

Dr Shay’s work is revealing why flexi schools are so popular among Indigenous young people, and what lessons we can learn to change mainstream schools for the better.

What goes on inside flexi schools?

And it wasn’t only the students where Indigenous people were over-represented: around 30 per cent of the flexi school practitioners also identified as Indigenous.

“That’s much higher than the current percentage of Indigenous teachers in the workforce nationally,” says Dr Shay, “which currently stands at approximately 1.2 per cent”.

The next step for Dr Shay was to work out what it was about flexi schools that were keeping Indigenous learners engaged in education.

Her research showed key aspects of the flexi school approach aligned closely important aspects of Indigenous culture.

Making flexi schools even better

With experience as a youth worker before becoming a teacher, Dr Shay had a clear advantage in meeting the needs of her complex cohort. But this is not the case for most flexi school teachers, who have only had standard teacher training.

As a consultant for four flexi schools across Queensland, Dr Shay is addressing this need. “I provide really tailored professional development advice to build the capabilities of their staff who deliver Indigenous education within their flexi school context.”

Dr Shay is also aware that, in conventional schools, research shows cultural competence of educators is an important factor in keeping Indigenous children engaged in education.

Her research with flexi school principals showed they were very willing to engage in programs to celebrate Indigenous heritage. However, they weren’t equipped with the cultural knowledge to effectively do so.

Because of this, Dr Shay has since incorporated quality cultural learning opportunities for staff into her professional development programs.

She also helps schools set and meet their own Indigenous Education Strategies.

“One school’s aim, for example, was to increase employment of Indigenous staff," Dr Shay says.

"And following our program, they have already raised their Indigenous employment from one to three staff members.”

Getting the message to the right people

Dr Shay’s research showed that flexi schools have been quietly meeting the education needs of a large group of Indigenous young people. Why then, she wondered, was there not more awareness of their critical role in education policy or the academic literature?

Working with UQ’s Centre For Policy Futures, Dr Shay has been campaigning to change this at the highest levels.

“I consult with the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education and Training Advisory Committee (QATSIETAC),” Dr Shay says.

“Together, we are eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experts in education from all over the state. We provide high-level advice to the Queensland Minister for Education to develop and implement Indigenous education policy in Queensland.

"One was an announcement last year of a shift towards ‘co-design’, where Indigenous communities participate on policies to do with our lives. This is underway now at both a Commonwealth and state level.”

Dr Shay is also campaigning for more data on flexi school education outcomes.

This is a more complex issue than it might seem, as Dr Shay and her colleagues outlined recently in an Indigenous Education Strategy policy submission for the Australian Government’s Productivity Commission.

“It’s complex, because it’s not clear precisely what data we could collect to fairly and accurately represent learning outcomes for flexi school students, particularly when they are engaging with high numbers of Indigenous students,” Dr Shay explains.

For example, some flexi school practitioners argue standardised tests (like NAPLAN) are not appropriate for testing flexi school students. This is because they are based on a system already shown not to work for those students.

In response to this, flexi schools may devise their own tools for testing. But, this comes with its own issues, Dr Shay warns.

“Having two completely different systems in operation around recording of outcomes is problematic. It may seem as though there is a lack of accountability and transparency around what flexi schools are doing with these young people.”

Dr Shay continues to work with a network of 12 flexi schools across Australia, exploring what Indigenous education excellence could look like. She is also working on a professional development video series and textbook to improve the delivery of education to Indigenous Australians across the country.

“Longer term and in an ideal world, of course flexi schools would not exist,” she says.

“If we had an education system that could meet the needs of each and every young person in our society, there would be no need for them.

“While flexi schools continue to provide this lifeline for young people to continue with their education, we need more data on learning outcomes, and a better understanding of how they support this cohort – often labelled as ‘disengaged’ – so we can bring this learning to mainstream education.”