This paper explores the issue of student mobility and the challenges it presents in an educational policy environment retreating from an ‘equity’ focus by presenting findings from a two year case study in Australia. Population mobility is a global phenomenon with significant implications for schools and schooling. Across the world schools are grappling with issues of high student mobility as demonstrated by such European projects such as “mobikid”. In the United Kingdom some London schools have an “in-year mobility as high as 60%” and in one London Borough 37% of students in key stage 2 had not attended that school for key stage 1 (Association of London Government, 2005, p. 5). In the United States a survey of more than 50 local education agencies revealed that in many districts as many as 40% of students were enrolled in a school for less than the entire school year (Rumberger, 2003). While many students attend the same school for the duration of their schooling, up to 25% of Queensland children change schools each year (Education Queensland Curriculum Division, 2007), many of whom enrol at non-standard times. Policy makers have been slow to respond to changes in the pattern of enrolment that has guided school curricula throughout the history of public schooling. Moving schools has implications for all stakeholders, but most of all it can have serious implications for the provision of equitable learning opportunities for highly mobile children who very often experience multiple disadvantages (Association of London Government, 2005). This research reports on the impacts of mobility in an environment of marketisation and poverty. It was focused in an area of regional Queensland, Australia characterized by low educational outcomes and low socio-economic status. Here the impact of marketisation has encouraged many school ‘consumers’ to move between schools, and multiple layers of disadvantage undermine housing and family stability.

The research uses a mixed method approach within a case study of three schools to outline the challenges for policy development in this area. Firstly, discourse analysis is utilized to trace the shift in equity policies within this Australian state and the impact such a shift creates for schools, teachers and students. Secondly, the research uses quantitative methods to demonstrate the extent of student mobility, benchmarking student mobility in schools against British studies. Descriptive statistics are also used to analyse patterns of movement. Finally teacher interview is presented to demonstrate both the impact on teachers’ work of student mobility and current policy regimes.

The paper concludes with proposed interventions for student mobility associated with ‘choice’ and poverty and presents the results from trial interventions in the school sites. Broader implications for educational policies are also reviewed.