This paper reports findings from a review of school exclusion policy and legislation in Scotland, conducted as part of a comparative study of school exclusion across the four UK jurisdictions by the Excluded Lives research group. Drawing on a range of policy sources, this paper adopts Hyatt's (2013) framework to contextualise school exclusion…

School exclusion reduction in Scotland--and especially in the city of Glasgow--has received substantial media and policy attention in recent years. In London in particular, multiple governmental agencies have explicitly expressed a desire to replicate the exclusion reduction which recently occurred in Glasgow, often citing the connection between…

While the disproportional application of school discipline has garnered notable attention, the relationship between trauma or adversity and school discipline is under examined. The purpose of the current scoping review was to map the state of the literature, empirical and theoretical, at the intersection of school discipline, and trauma or…

The application of exclusionary discipline practices among students with disabilities (SWDs) receiving special education (SPED) services is a widespread concern. In a local school district in Texas, SWDs receiving special education services are experiencing higher rates of disciplinary exclusions than the state's acceptable total disciplinary…

This article presents findings from qualitative research on school exclusion. The study was conducted in a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), part of alternative education provision, in England. Mixed methods used included ethnographic approaches, drama-based group work, focus group discussions and interviews. Research participants were teenage boys (age…

Previous comparative research has revealed recent high and rising school exclusion rates in England and a contrasting picture of much lower and reducing rates in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In this paper, we examine findings from new research into school exclusion policies across the four countries of the UK. This interrogates for the…

Over the past decade, numerous reports have indicated pervasively high rates of early childhood expulsion nationwide. In response, state and federal policymakers have enacted various measures to ban or reduce reliance on such exclusionary discipline. Prior evaluations of the implementation of one such legislative ban on expulsion enacted in…

The relationship between family poverty and children's psychological distress is well-established, often assessed through income-based measures. However, a child-centric perspective is lacking, particularly regarding the roles of teacher neglect and peer bullying as potential mediators, and the impact of cultural differences. This study explores…

This paper examines the context of school exclusion in Northern Ireland. In doing so, we explore the political economy of exclusion, focusing in particular on the intersection of perspectives between four key stakeholder groups: principals (n = 7) and teachers (n = 31) in mainstream schools, representatives from an official education body (n = 8),…

Expulsion is the harshest form of disciplinary action, and behavior policies are the foundation for this decision-making process. The purpose of this study is to uncover how behavior policies used in early childhood settings describe expulsion practices. Among the 111 early childhood programs in Western Massachusetts that met the search criteria…

Restorative practices provide alternatives to punitive practices, such as exclusionary discipline and zero tolerance policies. Restorative practices are important for elementary school counselors because they help repair the harm students do to one another while building positive relationships between and among students. A lack of understanding…

Suspension and expulsion have been documented concerns in childcare centers throughout the United States for nearly 20 years. This study examined suspension and expulsion practices in community childcare centers two years into the COVID-19 pandemic (May 2022). Survey data from 131 administrators of community childcare programs were analyzed. It…

Research has shown that nationally, there is a difference in school discipline rates for minority students compared to White students (Anyone et.al, 2021; Wiley, 2021). Black and Brown students have higher rates of exclusionary school discipline, like in-school and out of school suspension, and receive more strict consequences for the same…

Education both actively excludes (through suspensions and expulsions) and tries to include (through inclusion policies, programs, and pathways). Students who experience both exclusion and attempts at inclusion tend to be racialized Black, Brown, and/or Indigenous; identify as queer or trans; be experiencing poverty; and/or be living with a…

In this paper we explore how Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) conceptualise vulnerability and risk, and how these conceptualisations inform their responses to students at risk of exclusion from school. The literature typically makes a distinction between within-child and systemic or structural factors. We draw on interview data from…