Rights, rules and remedies: interrogating the policy discourse of school exclusion in Wales

Power, Sally ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3287-0003 and Taylor, Chris ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9146-9167 2024. Rights, rules and remedies: interrogating the policy discourse of school exclusion in Wales. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 45 (1) , pp. 88-100. 10.1080/01596306.2023.2237433

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Abstract

Wales is often compared favourably to other countries because of its commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and lower levels of school exclusions. Systematic analysis of policy documents reveals the dominance of a rights-based discourse in approaching the challenge of school exclusions, which are explained in terms of socio-economic circumstances rather than individual pathologies. However, the analysis also reveals silences and tensions within the discourse which suggest that a rights-based approach may not provide a useful framework for reducing school exclusions. There are challenges in balancing competing rights and in reconciling children as rights-holders with the rules and regimes of schools. There is also a significant mismatch between the causes of exclusions and the proposed remedies. The paper concludes by arguing that until these incongruities are addressed, it is hard to see how policy relating to school exclusion can be effective.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
ISSN:	0159-6306
Funders:	ESRC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	11 July 2023
Date of Acceptance:	30 June 2023
Last Modified:	13 Feb 2024 15:25
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/160963

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