The relationships of young disabled men on the margins of alternative provision

Johnston, Craig

Abstract

This paper is based on qualitative data gained from young working-class men with disabilities on the margins of Alternative Provisions (APs), located within a medium sized local authority in England. Young males are disproportionately placed into APs intended for students who have been excluded from school and/or who would otherwise not receive suitable education. Research suggests that most of the students enrolled in alternative forms of schooling achieve poor life outcomes with high rates of prolonged unemployment, homelessness and criminal activity. Supporting these young people has also largely focused on the use of professional interventions, with the value of young disabled men’s friendships receiving little research attention (Johnston & Bradford, 2019). This paper contrasts the young men’s experiences of professional service interventions with the complementary functions of social and psychological capital embedded in their own friendship networks. Our data identifies instances of friendship, offering young men the support necessary to endure problems related to school exclusion, poverty and unemployment as well as to collectively develop effective coping strategies which enhance well-being and agency. There are implications here for how young people facing risks associated with different forms of exclusion can best be supported. We suggest that young people themselves are important agents in providing mutuality and solidarity. The paper also emphasises that the value of friendship networks should be acknowledged by academics investigating school exclusion and be a key part of the work undertaken by professionals and agencies working with marginalised young people.

Craig Johnston & Simon Bradford (2019) Alternative spaces of failure. Disabled ‘bad boys’ in alternative further education provision, Disability & Society, 34:9-10, 1548-1572

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: British Educational Research Association
• Start Date: Sep 14, 2023
• End Date: Sep 14, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2024
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11628382