Exclusion from school in England: the generation and maintenance of social exclusion

Exclusion from school has excited a great deal of research interest in England during the 1990s. We now have clear evidence from research data (as well as regular monitoring by the Department for Education and Employment, DfEE), that children excluded from school are often amongst the most vulnerable groups in society. They are also more likely to be involved in criminal and anti-social activities out of school. The importance of the issue is such that exclusion (and truancy) was the subject of the first report of the Social Exclusion Unit established by the new Labour administration in England in 1997. This chapter explores the evidence about exclusion from school and its connection to the generation or maintenance of social exclusion. This chapter is informed by a number of research projects conducted by the author and colleagues throughout the 1990s and ongoing.