Excluded Girls: interpersonal, institutional and structural violence in schooling

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Excluded Girls interpersonal, institutional and
structural violence in schooling
Audrey Osler A.H.Osler_at_leeds.ac.uk www.leeds.ac
.uk/cchre
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Girls and Exclusion rethinking the agenda
Osler and Vincent RoutledgeFalmer
2003 www.leeds.ac.uk/cchre
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Outline

• context
• the data
• excellence and exclusion
• defining school violence
• girls experiences of exclusion and violence
• interpersonal violence and everyday school
  practices
• school organisation and institutional violence
• policy frameworks and structural violence
• conclusions

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Context

• Exclusion high profile political issue
• 83 permanent disciplinary exclusions boys
• 1 in 4 of 14-15 year olds excluded female
• Need to look beyond disciplinary exclusion
• Need to examine what happens to 10,000 girls
  permanently excluded in 5 year period

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The Data

• From three LEAs and three EAZs
• Inner London, Midlands, South East North
• Ethnic mix varied
• Interviews with girls aged 13 18 (81)
• Interviews with professionals health, social
  services and education

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Aim

• To understand young womens own experiences of
  exclusion and violence, to inform policy making
• Girls voices set alongside those of professionals

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Excellence and Exclusion

• 1997 SEU link acknowledged between exclusion,
  truancy and longer term social exclusion
• Target to reduce exclusion by 1/3 by 2002
• Reducing exclusion seen as central to standards
  agenda
• By 2001 government policy shift exclusions again
  rise
• New focus on violent and unruly students with
  excellence and inclusion in intension
• Girls not a problem hidden problem, exam
  success

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A hidden problem

• There is someone I am working with at the
  moment shes very emotionally distressed, as
  shown by crying, worrying, refusing to do her
  schoolwork and those sorts of things. Whilst the
  school are concerned about her, its not as
  pressing as a six foot kid whos throwing desks
  about (educational psychologist)

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Invisible Problem Girls

• Hidden problem lack of resources, support
• Typically, girls problems dont threaten
  learning environment
• Is a good school high excluding or low
  excluding?

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Defining school violence

• violence in schools used by researchers
  internationally
• Not a feature of English policy documents
• Terms disaffection, bullying, anti-social

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Defining School Violence

• Everyday incivilities
• Psychological violence

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Institutional violence?

• Schools can either be a force for violence
  prevention, or can provide an experience which
  reinforces violent attitudes and adds to the
  childs experience of violence (Gulbenkian
  Foundation, 1995 139)
• Teacher initiated?
• Systemic?

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Three types of violence

• Interpersonal
• Institutional
• Structural

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Interpersonal violence and everyday school
practices

• Girls link bullying to exclusion
• Physical violence
• Psychological
• If a boys going to bully hell use violence.
  Girls do it mentally because theyre clever.
  They know it hurts more. (Beth, mainstream
  school, no exclusions)

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Responses to interpersonal violence

• Bullying ? self-exclusion
• Interpersonal violence can escalate
• Girls value social networks exclusion from
  group a powerful form of violence
• Professionals under estimate academic and social
  impact of inter-personal violence

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School organisation and institutional violence

• Girls highlight setting (ability grouping) as a
  form of exclusion
• Education seen as access to better paid
  employment
• Large classes less support, more teacher-student
  friction
• Apologising, crying to diffuse tension no
  support follows

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Policy frameworks and structural violence

• Policy relating to pregnancy
• Lack of support for school-aged mothers
• Pregnancy often follows other forms of exclusion

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Everyday violence and pregnancy

• There was this girl and she started to get
  bullied because she was very big built and they
  used to call her fatty and everything but she
  wasnt. Then she started skipping days off
  school. They just thought she was skipping days
  off because she didnt like school. I think she
  missed 17 maybe 20 science lessons, then it was
  whole days, weeks and months. Then she left
  because she fell pregnant and then that was it.
  Shes trying to get into college but she hasnt
  got any GCSEs and itll be hard because shes got
  the baby. I really wanted her to have some more
  life. I wanted her to have an education to just
  have something to help her but she never managed
  it. Shes dyslexic as well but shes not
  statemented. She just thought to herself she was
  thick I dont know nothing. Im stupid,
  because people put her down and so shed skip
  days off school. (Sam, self-excluder)

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Conclusions

• Girls exclusion hidden
• Girls difficulties hidden from professionals
• Everyday violence and incivilities helps focus
  away from extremes and onto mundane
• Young people can contribute to policy formulation
• Exclusion ? disciplinary exclusion