The Excludables: From mainstream classroom to prison education – understanding the children we exclude and why

by Kat Stern

When it comes to 'The Excludables', it is time to shake up the debate. Students who are excluded from school, and society, are at a higher risk of being incarcerated. They are more likely to have mental health difficulties, special educational needs, live in poverty, have social care involvement and they disproportionately come from certain ethnic groups. This book pulls on all those threads using up to date research and establishes a deeper understanding of how and why these things affect school behaviours. The factors that lead to exclusion are complex, and this book meets that challenge head on, including the kinds of “crunchy bits” that are usually avoided at all costs, such as children who are high in callous-unemotional traits, and trauma-informed approaches in prison education. Written by an experienced educator and behaviour consultant, this book steps away from the worn-out discourse that surrounds behaviour in schools, and away from the notion that educators are the only relevant experts. Get ready to explore genetics, bias, epistemic trust, and the human stress-response system; all examined through the lens of the realities of behavioural challenge faced by educators every day. This is a read that will confront everyone in some way.

344 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2022