‘Going the extra mile’: educational practitioners compensating for perceived inadequacies in the parenting of children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD)

Abstract

Parents are frequently positioned in policy as blameworthy and lacking responsibility for their children’s well-being. However, little research has considered how the socio-emotional needs of children are being addressed whilst attempts are being made to improve parenting. Based on interviews with 15 educational practitioners employed in mainstream and BESD schools, I illustrate how staff perceived pupils with BESD to experience chaotic home lives. Parents were viewed as failing to take responsibility for their children’s development and socio-emotional well-being, and their parenting practices were frequently viewed as inappropriate. Educational practitioners consequently compensated for these assumed parental inadequacies to ensure the socio-emotional needs of pupils with BESD were addressed. This highlighted the intense pressure and multi-faceted role of practitioners, due to a moral obligation to support the socio-emotional well-being of their pupils. It questioned how the socio-emotional needs of pupils would be addressed if staff had not been so committed to addressing these issues, in addition to their key role as educator. The paper concludes by considering implications for policy and practice, with a particular focus on the need for further support for educational practitioners if they are to address the socio-emotional well-being of pupils within these circumstances.

Keywords:

• behaviour problems
• education
• health and well-being
• parenting
• policy and practice