Preventing school exclusions of Black children in England

Abstract

This paper explores the literature on preventive strategies to reduce exclusions of Black children in English schools which has remained as an entrenched problem and persistent concern for many decades. It examines grey literature from projects as well as tested approaches and reviews systematic impact of interventions, identifying patterns of when and where Black pupils are most excluded. This review begins by exploring the combination of systemic and policy changes that may have contributed to increased exclusion levels and triangulates evidence from reviews and academic analysis from experts in the field and policy makers. The paper then explores projects that have responded to increases in the exclusion of Black girls, and presents evidence of the experiences of intersecting identities, such as adultification, and how this has been found to contribute to growing disproportionate numbers of exclusions of Black girls from their education setting. Qualitative data from multiple Ofsted and DfE reports are reviewed, as well as the effects of using role models and presents data on roles that teachers and leaders play in reducing exclusions as key systemic apparatus. The paper ends with research on different types of interventions to prevent school exclusion and their varied successes.

References

This is an article critically reviewing what has been found to prevent exclusions of Black children in English schools.

It can be found online here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27526461221149034