Exclusion from school: a view from Scotland of policy and practice

Abstract

This paper reports research on the nature and extent of exclusion from school in Scotland 1994-6. The research involved: documentary analysis of local authority policies on exclusion, supplemented by telephone interviews with officials responsible for the operation of policy; a survey of 176 headteachers; an analysis of information about 2,710 excluded pupils; and case studies of eight secondary and four primary schools. A wide variation in local authority policy was found although most authorities emphasized exclusion as a last resort. Most exclusions were short term with pupils returning to their original school but a significant number of pupils lost more that a week's schooling and about 30 per cent had been excluded more than once. Schools with similar characteristics varied markedly in their exclusion rates and this could largely be explained by their different ethos. Key elements in understanding differences in ethos were beliefs about the purpose of schools, the curriculum on offer, school relations with the outside world and decision making about exclusion. These findings are placed in the context both of research on exclusions in England and of current policy concerns with social exclusion.

Keywords:

• Exclusion
• Policy
• Scotland
• Schools
• Discipline Ethos