Associate Professor Marnee Shay is a Principal Research Fellow in the School of Education at the University of Queensland. She is an Aboriginal woman whose maternal family is from the Ngen'giwumirri language group (Daly River, Northern Territory), born in Brisbane, with strong connections to Indigenous communities in South East Queensland. Dr Shay is an experienced and qualified secondary teacher.
Associate Professor 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. Associate Professor 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.
Associate Professor 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. Associate Professor 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.
Associate Professor Shay advocates for strengths approaches in Indigenous education and Indigenous-based evidence to inform policy futures.
Associate Professor Shay is a Chief Investigator on the ARC Centre of Excellence "Indigenous Futures" 2023-2029 and the Deputy Head of School in the School of Education, the University of Queensland 2025-2028.