Young mob are experts of their own experience. The Education Justice Lab (EJL) backs the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young peoples through the power of youth participatory action research.
The Education Justice Lab is NIYEC’s youth-centred think tank focused on driving youth-action research, developing research partnerships and convening multi-disciplinary research collectives. Our program model was co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
In 2024, NIYEC received Lowitja Major Grants funding. Through this funding, we back the voices and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners who are disproportionately excluded from school, while co-designing tangible actions that can be taken towards a future free from exclusion.
The School Exclusion Project
The School Exclusion Project had two outcomes: the Research Report and Youth Guide. A first of its kind, the Research Report documents some of the ways in which government schools across the Australian continent, from the nineteenth century to the present, have excluded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This report has been written through an analysis of archival records, historiography, legislation, and policies. Together, the state and territory timelines in this report provide the first comprehensive historical overview of the exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from schools.
The Youth Guide explains the realities of school exclusion and what it means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. It provides clear and accurate information about school exclusion and its impacts.
Both reports were developed by a team of multi-disciplinary researchers, Samara Hand, Dr Beth Marsden, Dr. Archie Thomas and Dr. Mati Keynes.
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