Alternative and flexible education settings may come in different forms, but they generally have in common a focus on young people who have been disengaged from conventional schooling. One challenge of these settings, therefore, is to change the way education is offered in order to better engage these students. Much of the onus for this changed approach is on the staff: teachers, youth workers and other support staff. Therefore, the purpose of this book is to examine different aspects of the work of staff in these settings.

Several common threads run through the chapters in this book, highlighting core aspects of the work of staff in these settings:

• A strong sense of commitment to working with and for young people from marginalised backgrounds.

• Validation of the relational and emotional nature of education, as a fundamentally people-centred enterprise.

• The importance of explicit attention to critical reflection on staff members’ own positionality, assumptions and identity.

• Collegiality as a crucially affirming part of school culture for staff.

These elements are pertinent to educational settings everywhere. The chapters in this book serve as a reminder of what really ‘counts’ for our young people and their schooling.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Teaching Education.