Aboriginal children as young as 5 are being suspended from school. We can’t ‘close the gap’ if this happens

The recent Closing the Gap report brought promising news on education, with a 25 per cent increase in the number of Indigenous children enrolled in child care over the past seven years.

But other figures in the report show there are still big problems to be solved in schools. This concerns only 68% of indigenous people aged 20 to 24 who complete their 12th year.

These figures add to regular reports of poor or “lagging” academic performance for Indigenous students.

However, we still do not have clear data on one factor that could influence this situation: the high – and unacceptably high – rate of indigenous students excluded from school.

What are the exclusions?

School exclusion generally involves preventing a student from attending school. This measure can be temporary (suspension) or permanent (exclusion/expulsion). Students who are over the age of compulsory schooling may have their registration cancelled instead of being expelled.

Whatever form exclusions take, it means that students are away from school and not learning. This can naturally make it difficult for students to stay engaged in education and can be detrimental to their learning outcomes.

Exclusions are meant to be a last resort for schools to manage student behaviour and can sometimes be framed as a matter of student and staff ‘safety’.

A story of exclusion of indigenous students

In March this year, a report by the National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition chronicled the disturbing history of the systematic exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from education from the early 19th century to the present day.

The report describes explicit policies aimed at excluding Indigenous people from education, including school segregation. These policies are part of broader government policies aimed at excluding Indigenous people from the same opportunities as non-Indigenous people.

It also showed that even though these policies were eventually replaced, the practice of excluding Indigenous students remains a problem today.

How serious is the problem?

State and territory governments collect data on school suspensions and exclusions. Only some make it public.

In 2023, there were 81,918 incidents in Queensland government schools that led to suspension, expulsion or cancellation of enrolment. Of these, 20,924 (26%) involved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, even though Indigenous students make up only 11% of the school population.

We do not know exactly how many Indigenous students received more than one suspension. However, we do know that 171 suspensions were issued to Indigenous students who were in Year 1 (known as Prep in Queensland). In addition, there was a 98% increase in “disciplinary absences” issued to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in the transition from Year 6 to Year 7. These rates remained high in Years 8 and 9.

Just over a quarter (27%) of Grade 11 students whose registrations were cancelled were Indigenous.

In New South Wales in 2022, Aboriginal students made up 9% of public school enrolment but 25% of total suspensions. Of these, 417 children in the first three years of school (up to Year 2) received short suspensions (up to four school days). Another 84 young children received long suspensions, averaging 8.7 school days.

There is no evidence that the results in Queensland and New South Wales are any different from those in other states. But not all states and territories make this data publicly available or easy to find. So the full extent of suspensions or other disciplinary absences for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is unclear.

The example of the United States

We also know that suspension and exclusion practices disproportionately impact Black and minority students in the United States. Research shows that these practices contribute to poorer academic outcomes, employment impacts, and increased risk of engagement with the police and the justice system. Critically, they also lead to school-induced racial trauma.

Racial trauma, also sometimes referred to as “race-related traumatic stress,” refers to the distress, compromised well-being, and emotional trauma that results from racism. Research shows that racial trauma in schools can harm children’s development and academic outcomes.

What can we do?

Accessing data is important to understand the scale of the problem, but addressing these alarming rates of exclusionary discipline is urgent.

Research shows that some schools are successful in reducing suspensions across all student populations.

For example, the Positive Behaviour for Learning framework is used in about a third of Australian schools. It provides graduated levels of support to keep students engaged in school. Restorative practices allow teachers to facilitate conversations with students after an incident, shifting the focus from punishment to the impact of their behaviour and making amends. Mentoring programs help students develop the social and behavioural skills needed to succeed in school and feel a sense of belonging.

School interventions involve helping students continue their education with the goal of also reducing behavior problems. School suspensions may result in a student being suspended from their usual routine, but they continue to participate in other activities at school, often isolated from their peers.

However, we do not know how effective these interventions are for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, or whether they have been adapted to be culturally appropriate.

What should happen next?

There is a glaring lack of evidence on how to address the educational exclusion of indigenous people.

The lack of clear data also means we don’t know whether certain groups are disproportionately affected. For example, Indigenous students with disabilities or Indigenous students in out-of-home care.

What we know is that solutions must include Indigenous leadership, be co-designed and evidence-based. Co-design has the potential to address power imbalances, with Indigenous peoples being the first to identify problems and create new solutions.

Marnee Shay receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Government and the Queensland Government.

Shiralee Poed receives funding from a number of Catholic education ministries and agencies in Australia. She is the Past President of the Association for Positive Behaviour Support Australia and previously served as an ex-officio member of the International Association for Positive Behaviour Support.