Associate Professor Marnee Shay
Principal Research Fellow, ARC Funded
School of Education
Research Interests: Indigenous education; Youth studies; Alternative schooling
Researcher biography
Associate Professor Marnee Shay is a Principal Research Fellow in the School of Education at the University of Queensland. She is an Aboriginal woman with maternal connections to Wagiman Country (Daly River region, Northern Territory), born in Brisbane, with strong connections to Indigenous communities in South East Queensland.
A/Prof Shay has an extensive externally funded research program that spans the fields of Indigenous education, policy studies, flexi schooling, and youth studies. She has published in many journals, books and scholarly media outlets. A/Prof Shay is the lead editor of a critical text in the field of Indigenous education, "Indigenous education in Australia Learning and Teaching for Deadly Futures", published by Routledge in 2021 (with Prof Oliver). The book won a national award for 'The Tertiary/VET Teaching and Learning Resource (wholly Australian) category at the Education Publishing Awards Australia.
A/Prof Shay's research has substantially impacted policy and practice in her field. She has contributed to numerous policy submissions, non-traditional research outputs (such as podcasts) and school reviews. She serves on multiple Government and school boards and committees, including the Queensland Department of Education Ministerial Advisory Committee for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education. Dr Shay's research contributions to education were recognised in 2020 through a National Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) award, a Queensland branch ACEL Excellence in Educational Leadership Award, and the 2021 UQ Foundation for Research Excellence Award.
A/Prof Shay advocates for strengths approaches in Indigenous education and Indigenous-based evidence to inform policy futures.
A/Prof Shay is a Chief Investigator on the ARC Centre of Excellence "Indigenous Futures" 2023-2029.
Other current research projects include:
ARC Indigenous Discovery 2021 'Co-designing Indigenous education policy in Queensland'
AIATSIS Indigenous Research Exchange 'Binung Ma Na Du - cultural stories and living histories on Wakka Wakka Country.'
ARC Centre of Excellence 'Digital Child' Associate Investigator and Indigenous Advisor
Edmund Rice Education Australia 'Indigenous education excellence in Flexi Schools'
UQ FREA Award 'Reconceptualising Indigenous education through a discourse of excellence.'
Publications
Book
Marnee Shay and Rhonda Oliver eds. (2021). Indigenous Education in Australia: Learning and Teaching for Deadly Futures. Abingdon, Oxon United Kingdom: Routledge.
Book Chapters
Shay, Marnee and Sarra, Grace (2024). Codesigning educational research with indigenous peoples and communities. Sage Research Methods: Diversifying and Decolonizing Research. (pp. 1-10) London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.4135/9781529684933
Shay, Marnee and Lampert, Jo (2023). Community according to whom? An analysis of how Indigenous ‘community’ is defined in Australia's Through Growth to Achievement 2018 report on equity in education. Critical Studies and the International Field of Indigenous Education Research. (pp. 47-63) London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781032695440-4
Miller, Jodie, Armour, Danielle, Shay, Marnee and Sawatzki, Carly (2023). What Next? Building on the Evidence of Teaching and Learning Mathematics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students. Assessing the Evidence in Indigenous Education Research. (pp. 201-227) Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-14306-9_11
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace and Woods, Annette (2022). Grounded ontologies: indigenous methodologies in qualitative cross-cultural research. Handbook of qualitative cross-cultural research methods: a social science perspective. (pp. 26-39) edited by Pranee Liamputtong. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781800376625.00011
Hameed, Suraiya, Shay, Marnee and Miller, Jodie (2022). ‘Deadly leadership’ in the pursuit of Indigenous education excellence.. Future alternatives for educational leadership: diversity, inclusion, equity and democracy. (pp. 93-110) edited by Deborah M. Netolicky. Abingdon, Oxon United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003131496-10
Hardacre, Charlotte, Stuart, Kaz, Shay, Marnee and Kinkead-Clark, Zoyah (2021). Socially just, authentic research with families in Jamaica, Australia and the UK. Negotiating Families and Personal Lives in the 21st Century. (pp. 156-172) edited by Sheila Quaid, Catriona Hugman and Angela Wilcock. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003039433-13
Shay, Marnee and Miller, Jodie (2021). Excellence in Indigenous education. Building better schools with evidence-based policy: adaptable policy for teachers and school leaders. (pp. 46-54) edited by Kelly-Ann Allen, Andrea Reupert and Lindsay Oades. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003025955-7
Shay, Marnee and Oliver, Rhonda (2021). Introduction. Indigenous Education in Australia Learning and Teaching for Deadly Futures. (pp. 1-6) edited by Marnee Shay and Rhonda Oliver. Abingdon, Oxon United Kingdom: Routledge.
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace and Woods, Annette (2021). Strong identities, strong futures: Indigenous identities and well-being in schools. Indigenous Education in Australia Learning and Teaching for Deadly Futures. (pp. 63-75) edited by Marnee Shay and Rhonda Oliver. Abingdon, Oxon United Kingdom: Routledge.
Madsen, Beth, Perkins, Ren and Shay, Marnee (2021). Critical selection of curriculum materials: Tools for educators. Indigenous Education in Australia Learning and Teaching for Deadly Futures. (pp. 133-147) edited by Marnee Shay and Rhonda Oliver. Abingdon, Oxon United Kingdom: Routledge.
Stuart, Kaz and Shay, Marnee (2019). Countering epistemological exclusion through critical ethical research to support social justice: methodological comparisons between Australia and the United Kingdom. Educational Research in the Age of Anthropocene. (pp. 188-210) edited by Vicente Reyes, Jennifer Charteris, Adele Nye and Sophia Marvopoulo. Hershey, PA, United States: IGI Global. doi: 10.4018/978-1-5225-5317-5.ch009
Sarra, Grace and Shay, Marnee (2019). Indigenous Education, Critical Perspectives to Enhance Learning Practices. Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. (pp. 1-8) edited by Michael. A. Peters. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_195-1
Shay, Marnee (2018). Leadership in Flexi schools: issues of race and racism in Australia. International perspectives on alternative education. (pp. 131-142) edited by Martin Mills and Gillean McCluskey. London, United Kingdom: Institute of Education Press.
Shay, Marnee (2018). More than cultural celebrations: Indigenous identities in school settings. Understanding sociological theory for educational research. (pp. 102-120) edited by Tania Ferfolja, Criss Jones Diaz and Jacqueline Ullman. Singapore: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108378482.008
Shay, Marnee (2017). Our mob are researchers too! The story of an Aboriginal researcher seeking new paradigms. Postgraduate study in Australia: surviving and succeeding. (pp. 127-136) edited by Chris McMaster, Caterina Murphy, Ben Whitburn and Inger Mewburn. New York, NY, United States: Peter Lang Publishing.
Morgan, Ann, Shay, Marnee and Proud, Denise (2017). Inclusion in the middle years: supporting ethnic and cultural diversity. Developing positive classroom environments: strategies for nurturing adolescent learning. (pp. 278-294) edited by Beth Saggers. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin. doi: 10.4324/9781003115335
Shay, Marnee (2016). Re-imagining Indigenous education through flexi-schooling. Imagination for inclusion: diverse contexts of educational practice. (pp. 116-127) edited by Derek Bland. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315689913-16
Shay, Marnee (2015). The perceptions that shape us: strengthening Indigenous young people's cultural identity in flexi school settings. Understanding sociological theory for educational practices. (pp. 93-109) edited by Tania Ferfolja, Criss Jones Díaz and Jacqueline Ullman. Port Melbourne, VIC Australia: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9781316151167.007
Journal Articles
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace, Lampert, Jo, Jeong, Daeul, Thomson, Amy and Miller, Jodie (2024). Codesign in Indigenous education policy and practice—A systematic literature review. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 1-20. doi: 10.1002/ajs4.320
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace, Proud, Denise, Blow, Iris-Jean and Cobbo, Fred (2024). “Strive with pride”: the voices of Indigenous young people on identity, wellbeing, and schooling in Australia. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 37 (2), 327-341. doi: 10.1080/09518398.2023.2233939
Shay, Marnee (2023). The William Walker Oration 2023: Indigenous education in Australia – learning and teaching for deadly futures. Australian Council for Educational Leaders, 64.
Shay, Marnee, Oliver, Rhonda, Bogachenko, Tetiana and McCarthy, Helen (2023). “From the bottom to the top”: Learning through stories of transitioning from an Aboriginal boarding school to the workplace and life beyond school. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 33 (3), 30-46. doi: 10.47381/aijre.v33i3.699
Shay, Marnee, Oliver, Rhonda, McCarthy, Helen Cd, Bogachenko, Tatiana and Pryor, Boori Monty (2022). Correction to: Developing culturally relevant and collaborative research approaches: A case study of working with remote and regional Aboriginal students to prepare them for life beyond school (The Australian Educational Researcher, (2022), 49, 4, (657-674), 10.1007/s13384-021-00459-3). Australian Educational Researcher, 49 (5), 1125-1126. doi: 10.1007/s13384-021-00467-3
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace and Lampert, Jo (2022). Indigenous education policy, practice and research: unravelling the tangled web. AER, 50 (1), 1-16. doi: 10.1007/s13384-022-00581-w
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace and Lampert, Jo (2022). Counter stories: The voices of Indigenous peoples undertaking educative roles inflexi schools. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 51 (1). doi: 10.55146/ajie.2022.20
Shay, Marnee (2022). The ripple effect: epistemic and professional justice in Indigenous education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 50 (2), 144-149. doi: 10.1080/1359866x.2022.2045566
Shay, Marnee, Miller, Jodie and Hameed, Suraiya Abdul (2021). Excellence is the Future of Indigenous Education. Teacher Magazine.
Shay, Marnee, Oliver, Rhonda, McCarthy, Helen, Bogachenko, Tatiana and Pryor, Boori Monty (2021). Developing culturally relevant and collaborative research approaches: A case study of working with remote and regional Aboriginal students to prepare them for life beyond school. Australian Educational Researcher, 49 (4), 657-674. doi: 10.1007/s13384-021-00459-3
Brown, Ceri and Shay, Marnee (2021). Context and implications document for: From resilience to wellbeing: Identity-building as an alternative framework for schools' role in promoting children's mental health. Review of Education, 9 (2), 635-641. doi: 10.1002/rev3.3263
Brown, Ceri and Shay, Marnee (2021). From resilience to wellbeing: identity‐building as an alternative framework for schools’ role in promoting children’s mental health. Review of Education, 9 (2) rev3.3264, 599-634. doi: 10.1002/rev3.3264
Shay, Marnee and Sarra, Grace (2021). Locating the voices of Indigenous young people on
identity in Australia: an Indigenist analysis. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 15 (3), 1-14. doi: 10.1080/15595692.2021.1907330
Shay, Marnee and Oliver, Rhonda (2021). Introduction. Indigenous Education in Australia: Learning and Teaching for Deadly Futures, 1-6.
Madsen, Beth, Williams, Llewellyn, Rom, Mitchell, Perkins, Ren, Purcell, Sasha, Olssen, Emma, Simpson, Annette, Torepe, Toni and Shay, Marnee (2021). Online Corroboree in Covid-19: the 'song and dance' of being an Indigenous researcher. Journal of Global Indigeneity , 5 (1).
Shay, Marnee (2020). Learning from Indigenous education success in flexi schools. Independent Education, 50 (3), 20-21.
Shay, Marnee and Lampert, Jo (2020). Community according to whom? An analysis of how indigenous ‘community’ is defined in Australia’s Through Growth to Achievement 2018 report on equity in education. Critical Studies in Education, 63 (1), 1-17. doi: 10.1080/17508487.2020.1786709
Shay, Marnee (2019). Extending the yarning yarn: collaborative yarning methodology for ethical indigenist education research. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 50 (1), 1-9. doi: 10.1017/jie.2018.25
Shay, Marnee (2018). The power of education. Redress, 27 (2), 12-13.
Shay, Marnee and Wickes, Judi (2017). Aboriginal identity in education settings: privileging our stories as a way of deconstructing the past and re-imagining the future. Australian Educational Researcher, 44 (1), 107-122. doi: 10.1007/s13384-017-0232-0
Shay, Marnee (2017). Emerging ideas for innovation in Indigenous education: a research synthesis of Indigenous educative roles in mainstream and flexi schools. Teaching Education, 28 (1), 12-26. doi: 10.1080/10476210.2016.1210594
Shay, Marnee (2016). Seeking new paradigms in Aboriginal education research: methodological opportunities, challenges and aspirations. HSE-Social and Education History, 5 (3), 273-296. doi: 10.17583/hse.2016.2299
Shay, Marnee, Morgan, Ann, Lampert, Jo and Heck, Deborah (2016). Introduction to the special issue on alternative pathways in education for disenfranchised children and young people in the Australian context. International Journal of Child Youth and Family Studies, 7 (2), 171-177. doi: 10.18357/ijcyfs72201615716
Shay, Marnee and Heck, Deborah (2015). Alternative education engaging Indigenous young people: flexi schooling in Queensland. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 44 (1), 37-47. doi: 10.1017/jie.2015.8
Shay, Marnee and Heck, D. (2013). Developing shared practice to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student retention in teacher education. Journal of Indigenous Australian Issues, 16 (4), 42-57.
Conference Papers
Shay, Marnee, Miller, Jodie and Hameed, Suraiya (2021). Exploring excellence in Indigenous education in Queensland secondary schools. ACER conference 2021, Virtual, 17-19 August 2021. Camberwell, VIC Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research. doi: 10.37517/978-1-74286-638-3_8
Shay, Marnee, Miller, Jodie and Abdul Hammed, Suraiya (2021). Exploring excellence in Indigenous education in Queensland secondary schools. Australian Council for Educational Research. doi: 10.37517/978-1-74286-638-3_8
Shay, Marnee , Olivery, Rhonda , McCarthy, Helen and Bogchenko,Tatiana (2019). Developing culturally relevant resources to enhance preparation of remote and regional Aboriginal students for life beyond school. Australian Association for Research in Education, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 1-5 December 2019.
Shay, Marnee and Lampert, Jo (2019). Community Engaged Teachers According To Whom? A Comparison of Australian Indigenous/non-Indigenous Definitions Of ‘Community’. European Educational Research Association, Hamburg, Germany, 2-6 September 2019.
Shay, Marnee and Sarra, Grace (2019). Healthy bodies, strong minds: Indigenous youth talking about identity and wellbeing. Ancient Wisdom - Anticipating the Future - XXIIIrd International Personal Construct Psychology Congress, Cairns, QLD, Australia, 25-28 July 2019.
Shay, Marnee and Miller, Jodie (2019). Doing things right way: dimensions of excellence in Indigenous education in Queensland secondary schools. Australian Association for Research in Education, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 1-5 December 2019.
Shay, Marnee and Sarra, Grace (2018). Our stories, our way: cultural identities, health and well-being of Indigenous young people in Australia. World Indigenous Research and Education Conference, Sámi University of Applied Sciences and World Indigenous Research Association, Norway, 22-24 August 2018.
Shay, Marnee and Wickes, Judi (2016). Deficit constructions of Aboriginal identity in Australia: a CRT analysis of the pervasiveness in education across generations. 2nd International CERES Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland, 24-26 June 2016.
Shay, Marnee (2016). Seeking new paradigms in Aboriginal education research: methodological opportunities, challenges and aspirations. Australian Association for Research in Education, Melbourne, 27 November-1 December 2016.
Stuart, Kaz and Shay, Marnee (2016). Narrative participative action research to support social justice: methodological comparisons between Australia and the United Kingdom. Australian Association for Research in Education, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 27 November - 1 December 2016.
Shay, Marnee (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander roles in flexi schools. Australian Association for Research in Education, Fremantle, Australia, 29 November-3 December 2015.
Shay, Marnee, Morgan, Ann, Proud, Denise and Heck, Deborah (2014). Alternative notions of schooling in Australia: the story of teachers and principals engaging and reflecting on supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, 19-24 May 2014.
Generic Document
Video Document
Shay, Marnee (2020). In what ways has or does the crises wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that we should think differently about education in the future?. Educational Futures Across Generations.
Newspaper Articles
Shay, Marnee, Cobbo, Fred, Sarra, Grace and Kettle, Margaret (2024, 02 20). ‘It’s about making our children feel proud’: how schools can learn about local Indigenous language and culture The Conversation
Shay, Marnee and Sarra, Grace. (2023, 09 04). ‘Co-design’ is the latest buzzword in Indigenous education policy. Does it live up to the hype? The Conversation
Shay, Marnee, Fredericks, Bronwyn and Raciti, Maria (2023, 07 03). Uncapping uni places for Indigenous students is a step in the right direction, but we must do much more The Conversation
Shay, Marnee , Miller, Jodie and Mills, Martin (2022, 12 09). ‘I would like to go to university’: flexi school students share their goals in Australia-first survey The Conversation
Shay, Marnee, Armour, Danielle, Miller, Jodie and Abdul Hameed, Suraiya (2022, 11 09). ‘Once students knew their identity, they excelled’: how to talk about excellence in Indigenous education The Conversation
Perkins, Ren and Shay, Marnee (2022, 03 14). How can Australia support more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers The Conversation
Shay, M. and Brown, C. (2021, 06 17). Identity building as a pathway to children and young people’s wellbeing in schools British Education Research Association Blog 1-2.
Shay, Marnee and Oliver, Rhonda (2021, 02 08). We must embed the full histories of this Country or rob all Australian students of understanding our home EduResearch Matters: AARE 1-2.
Madsen, Beth, Marnee Shay and Creagh, Sue (2020, 10 13). The budget has more money for school programs for Indigenous boys than girls The Conversation
Fredericks, Bronwyn, Shay, Marnee and Bradfield, Abraham (2020, 06 05). Young peoples as the leaders and visionaries of a reconciled tomorrow Croakey
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace and Woods, Annette (2019, 08 14). The imagination declaration: young Indigenous Australians want to be heard – but will we listen? The Conversation
Shay, Marnee and Lampert, Jo (2018, 06 14). How flexischools could help close the gap in Indigenous education The Conversation
Research Reports
Shay, Marnee, Miller, Jodie, Thomson, Amy, Cole, Antoinette, Abdul Hameed, Suraiya, Perkins, Ren, Rashidi, Pedram, Hurley, Amanda, Ockerby, Zoe, Harvey-Smith, Lisa and Williams, Lisa A. (2023). Big Mob: STEM it up research report 2023. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Marnee Shay, Jodie Miller, Martin Mills and Zoe Ockerby (2022). Flexi Youth Voices Report 2022. Brisbane, Queensland: The University of Queensland.
Shay, Marnee, Radke, Amelia and Miller, Jodie (2019). Indigenous Evaluation Strategy (Policy Submission). Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Creative Works
Shay, M., Perkins, R., Miller, J., Thomson, A., Cole, A., Hameed, S., Harvey Smith, L. and Williams, L. (2023). Big Mob STEM It Up Project podcast. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Shay, Marnee (2018). Teaching notes for Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia. Carlton, VIC, Australia: Black Inc.
Audio Documents
Shay, Marnee (Host) and Oliver, Rhonda (Host) (2021). Indigenous education - deadly futures. The University of Queensland. Indigenous education - deadly futures.
Shay, Marnee (2019). The imagination declaration. Radio Adelaide 101.5.
Shay, Marnee (2018). Flexischools: an alternative for indigenous children. The Wire.
Lovell, Ollie and Shay, Marnee (2018). ERRR #022. Marnee Shay on Indigenous education, education research, and flexischools. Education Research Reading Room Podcast.
Seminar Papers
Shay, Marnee (2020). What would it take to re-engage young people in education? - flexi school research in Australia. Youth Affairs Network Queensland (YANQ).
Sarra, Grace , Shay, Marnee and Jones, Bernadette (2019). Research capacity building and beneficence in Indigenous research. Professional Learning Hub. School of Education, Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia.
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace and Woods, Annette (2019). Our stories our way cultural identities and health and wellbeing of Indigenous young people in diverse school settings. The Department of Education Queensland, Research Services.
Sarra, Grace , Shay, Marnee , Mooka, Carol and Blackman, Karina (2019). Research capacity building and beneficence in Indigenous research. CASE Studies Research Seminar. College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University.
Shay, Marnee , Sarra, Grace , Cobbo, Fred and Blow, Iris-Jean (2019). Research capacity building and beneficence in Indigenous research. Indigenous Strategy Unit and School of Education, Latrobe University.
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace and Woods, Annette (2019). Our stories, our way: youth identities - wellbeing and school engagement. School of Education, University of Glasgow.
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace and Woods, Annette (2019). Youth identity - wellbeing and school engagement. Health, Psychology and Social Studies, University of Cumbria.
Shay, Marnee, Sarra, Grace and Woods, Annette (2019). Our stories our way: youth identities - wellbeing and school engagement. CTTR Research Seminar. Institute of Education Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research (CTTR), UCL.
Shay, Marnee (2017). 'Nothing about us without us' - collaborative Aboriginal research methodologies: Some ideas from practice. 'Stirring Minds' Series. School of Education, Latrobe University.
Shay, Marnee and Woods, Annette (2017). Reciprocity and partnerships in transdisciplinary research: doing things differently. School of Education, University of Adelaide.
Shay, Marnee, Proud, Aunty Denise and Morgan, Ann (2014). Alternative notions of schooling in Australia: the story of engaging and reflecting on relational ways of supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. First Nations Longhouse, University of British Columbia.