LEIP Speaker Abstracts
Louise Gazeley
University of Sussex, Senior Lecturer in Education at the Department of Education
Title
What Do We Know About Good Practices in Reducing Rates of School Exclusion?
Abstract
Louise's presentation will begin by exploring the importance of recognising how schools' exclusion practices have changed over time, making it increasingly important to recognise permanent and fixed term exclusion as elements in a complex process rather than isolated outcomes. She will go on to discuss the factors identified as being associated with good practice in reducing rates of exclusion during the course of a study commissioned by the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England that had a specific focus on reducing the inequalities with which these processes are associated. These factors included an inclusive ethos and strong leadership but also a strong commitment to local collaboration. Louise will finish by highlighting two key policy issues: firstly, the variation in schools' exclusion practices that suggests the need for higher levels of accountability within an increasingly marketised system and secondly, the potential to use the government's Pupil Premium agenda to address the continuing, disproportionate impact of exclusion on the least socially advantaged young people. Louise will conclude with some thoughts on the positioning of parents within school exclusion processes and by reiterating the need for practitioners who demonstrate high levels of empathy and reflexivity.
Gillean McCluskey
University of Edinburgh, Head of Institute for Education, Communication and Society, Deputy Director of the Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity, Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Education
Title
Exclusion from School in the United Kingdom: Where Are We Now?
Abstract
Behaviour in schools is an emotive topic and one of enduring political interest and sensitivity. The media often portrays schools as violent and dangerous places and young people as ever more unruly. Schools often assert the need to maintain their 'right to exclude'. However, the use of exclusion processes is problematic and closer consideration of the characteristics of those excluded, the role of the family, contexts of schooling and the outcomes of exclusion, all raise significant questions about its purpose, overall effectiveness and the disproportionality of its impact.
This paper will examine the current contexts for exclusion in the UK and ask what we might learn from recent research on school relationships, student participation and restorative justice, and how we might synthesise this research in ways that refocus discussion on exclusion and help frame a different perspective and a new set of demands on national policy and local practice.
Terje Ogden
University of Oslo, Director of Research at the Norwegian Center for Child Behavioral Development, Professor II at the Department of Psychology
Title
Exclusion and Disciplinary Measures in Norwegian Compulsory Schools: An Overview of What Works and What Does Not Work and What the Next Steps Should Be
Abstract
Even if there is a strong commitment to the idea of mainstreaming and full inclusion in a one-track system in Norway, there has been a significant increase in the number of students who are pulled out from ordinary classrooms in compulsory school. Expulsion is rarely used, particularly at the elementary level, but there are segregation tendencies which affect students with problem behaviour, mostly at the secondary level. Difficult students are often met with punitive reactions like being held after school or other informal disciplinary measures that are quite common, even though not very effective. Several preventive measures like anti-bullying programs, and social skills training programs that have demonstrated positive outcomes, are not widely disseminated. Family and parenting programs have also proven to be effective, but have had limited impact on childrens’ problem behaviour in school. The overarching goal of inclusion and mainstreaming, does not seem not to have matched the practical realities in Norwegian schools. There are ideological, organizational, financial, and practical obstacles in the implementation process. However, one promising research based inclusive approach is an adapted version of the School-wide Positive Behavior support model (SWPBS). This model which matches interventions to students’ risk level has been implemented and evaluated in Norwegian elementary schools with encouraging results.
Laura Ferrer-Wreder
University of Stockholm, Deputy Head of the Division for Personality, Social, and Developmental Psychology, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology
Title
Exclusions and Disciplinary Measures in Swedish Schools
Abstract
This presentation offers a Swedish perspective on school disciplinary measures and the exclusion of students from school. The presentation is structured around a set of questions such as: How and under what conditions are Swedish students excluded from school? How is discipline within the school context viewed in Swedish law and school policy, and how are these views translated into everyday practice? What is known about the utility of existing school disciplinary measures and how can we gain better insight into their effectiveness, particularly as these measures relate to young people who are most at-risk for exclusion from school, those with mental ill-health or other substantial challenges? This talk will be forward looking and integrative with an emphasis on how lessons learned from the international state-of-the-science as it regards school engagement and school climate can be instrumental to pursuing new directions in Swedish research and policy on this subject.
George Sugai
University of Connecticut, Director of the Center for Behavioral Education and Research (CBER), Co-Director of the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support, Professor of Special Education at the Neag School of Education, Carole J. Neag Endowed Chair
Title
Multi-tiered Systems of Behaviour Support: A Prevention-Based Framework
Abstract
Educating students in today's schools is important and challenging. Although we can identify many effective intervention practices, implementation of these practices is sometimes incomplete and their promised outcomes are not achieved, especially for students who present challenging behaviors. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the rationale and core features of a multi-tiered behavior supports framework which provides a mean of reducing the use of reactive and exclusionary disciplinary practices.
Topics will include prevention and implementation science, positive behavior support, applied behavior analysis, effective behavioral practices, efficient organizational supports, and data-based decision making.