Doing your time: Disaffection, schooling and the problem of suitable

education

by Tara Jones

“…if he went to say mainstream local secondary school…I could see him very easily slipping down this slope into…doing your time, because I'd seen what had happened to some other children for all sorts of different reasons.” (Janet, parent of child withdrawn from school for Home Education)

Engagement and participation in education as a relationship between person, family, community, system. Thus disaffection can be defined as a breakdown somewhere in those relationships

Some reasons why relationships break down

Lack of communicationIncompatibilityInequalityLack of supportBoredom

Consistent findings from research with young people about their

experiences of school

BoredomDifficulties with school work and lack of support with difficultiesProblems with relationships in

schoolFailure of relationships between

pupils and teachers – most consistent

Lack of voice / participation / consultation / democracyNot being listened to

Authoritarian

The starting point of this research

Widening the parameters of the concept of disaffection

Disaffection and Children’s rights in school

What opportunities do children have in their day to day experiences of school to ask questions, challenge the answers and question the validity of what they are

doing or being asked to do?

There is a common assumption that if a child’s voice is listened to then that fulfils participation with the reality being that whilst children’s voice is heard it is generally ignored or disregarded (Shier, 2010).

Rights in the Educational Context

Children have a right to a compulsory educationEducation must be suitable and efficientParents must ensure their children receive a suitable and efficient educationChildren must be educated in accordance with their parents’ wishesChildren have the right to be consulted and participate in decisions about things that affect them

Suitable and Efficient Education

The problem of ‘suitable education’• Efficient education: achieves what it set out to achieve (Taylor

& Petrie, 2000; Gabb, 2005).

– Education can be efficient without being suitable (cf. Biesta, 2012)

• Suitable education: prepares a child for life in modern civilized society, enables them to achieve their full potential and equips them for life within the community without precluding different life choices in the future (Taylor & Petrie, 2000; Gabb, 2005).

• Suitable education: Must also be ‘suitable’ to a child’s age, ability and aptitude, and any special educational needs they may have

– What is ‘full potential’?– Ability often equated with ‘intelligence’ as measured by IQ tests– Aptitude often linked to ability rather than motivation or preference

Disaffection and ‘Suitable Education’

Is disaffection a mechanism by which children exercise their rights to contest and challenge a dominant perception of school as ‘suitable education’?

‘Suitable Education’ is an Essentially Contested Concept

Defining featuresMust be appraisive and recognise some achievementAchievement must be internally complex and variously describableModification required in changing circumstancesMeaning of concept used aggressively and defensively – aware of other definitionsRecognition of authority of exemplars of other definitionsOriginal exemplar can be sustained and developed

• Gallie’s (1956) theory argues that essentially contested concepts derive from a single, agreed upon exemplar.

• BUT, when it comes to education there are a number of exemplars, either at a practical or philosophical level eg. Dewey, Pestalozzi, Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky, Montessori, Aristotle, Socrates, Confucious etc

• These exemplars are multi-disciplinary which suggests…

Suitable Education…Gallie’s (1956) theory of essentially contested concepts is not enough to deal

with the problemThere are multiple paradigms operating within the discipline of education.Whilst paradigms shift, change, go in and out of fashion and, are revolutionised, the education system in the UK has remained largely resistant to change since its first inception ie. mainstream authoritarian schooling

Disaffection has been an issue that has consistently

failed to disappear.

• Essentially contested concepts – there is continuous competition for one ideology to be dominant and control the definition (Gallie, 1956)

• Concept of ‘suitable education’ is dominated by an ideology of mainstream authoritarian schooling, particularly in relation to compulsory education

Mainstream authoritarian schooling serves the interests of a dominant ideology which, whilst claiming to be inclusive, is not necessarily in the interests of all children, families, and communities (cf. Giroux, 2001; Kincheloe, 2003)

Home education as disaffection, challenge and resistance to the

dominant ideologyHome education is a growing phenomenon across the world (Arai, 1999; Davies & Aurini, 2003; de Waal & Theron, 2003; Spiegler, 2003; Kostelecka, 2010). Even in countries where home education is illegal it is still practised (cf. Spiegler, 2003).

Home educators in England tend to home educate due to dissatisfaction with the school system (Morton, 2008).

Whilst not an homogenous group what home-educators appear to share is the view that school does not provide their children with a ‘suitable education’

Numbers of children being withdrawn from school for home-education is increasingChildren w ithdraw n from school for EHE by their parents

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

2006 / 2007 2007 / 2008 2008 / 2009 2009 / 2010 2010 / 2011 2011 / 2012Academ ic Year

Numbers

Series1

Key QuestionWhat is the reason for this rise?Multiplicity of answers but often focussed on the ideological assumption that mainstream authoritarian schooling is ‘suitable education’

My previous research in the area of disaffection and engagement

in education• Research with home-educated

children about their experiences and perceptions of home education – published in EPinP

• Research with school educated children previously identified as ‘at risk of exclusion’ about their experiences and perceptions of school – draft in process of development for submission to EPinP

Major findingsChildren need to feel listened to and good relationships with both adults and other children are crucialParticipation in decision making increases engagement

Current PhD research project builds on this research in terms of it being a further theoretical sample with respect to the development of a grounded theory of disaffection / engagement

• Develop further knowledge about disaffection and children’s engagement in education

• Refine the concept of disaffection from an understanding of children’s and parents’ experiences

• Develop a richer and deeper understanding of children’s experiences and perceptions of school

• Focus on a theoretical sample of ex-school home-educated children and their families as representing a distinct disaffected group

Purpose of this research

Research Questions

In initially sending their children to school, to what extent did parents question the ideology of school as suitable education?

What were the children’s perceptions and experiences of school and what are their parents perceptions of those experiences and perceptions?

What were the events and influences that led up to parents’ decisions to withdraw their children from school?

To what extent were children involved in their parents’ decision to withdraw them from school?

How have children and parents negotiated and developed their definitions of suitable education?

Research MethodologyResearch as not value freePurpose of research to challenge current ideas and taken for granted assumptions and bring about changeThe research process as a negotiated and collaborative process between researcher and participants

• Recruitment of participants through home education support groups and social networking organisations eg. Education Otherwise – volunteer sample

• Case study approach – families where children have been withdrawn from school in the last five years for home education – 5 as a suitable number– Ideal data collection – semi-structured interviews but method flexible and

negotiable– Children’s perceptions and experiences of school and parents’ perceptions and

experiences of school in relation to their children

• Grounded theory approach to analysis of data– Involvement of participants in clarification of meaning during analysis stages

where possible

Preliminary analysisCommon themes in the current data

• Major focus of parents is the psychological and emotional wellbeing of their children

• Attempts by parents to resolve problems and try to make school work

• Children withdrawn when all possible avenues for resolution seem to be exhausted

• Most important issues for children are their relationships with teachers and other children – difficult relationships and bullying

• Children note important barriers to relationships with teachers as not being heard and listened to or not being able to question or challenge rules, orders and the rationale for given tasks

• Parents as important advocates for their children when things become unbearable