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Absence of value - Masculinity, disability and class in alternative provision

Johnston, Craig

Authors



Abstract

In this paper, I explore aspects of alternative provision (AP), education settings created to provide short-term support for school-aged young people in England excluded from or unable to be placed in ‘regular’ schools. AP is an element of the
English education system ‘where pupils engage in timetabled, educational activities away from school and school staff. The key focus of this papers is on working-class disabled young men, who are invariably framed in terms of corporeal and cognitive deficit, often becoming a peripheral or invisible social category in education
discourse. In England, especially, AP has assumed a prominent position in current policy agendas. Whether it is its supposed reformative potential or the flexibility of alternative forms of education, belief in the benefits of APs has apparently never
been so strong. However, 80% of 14- to-16-year-old students who enter English APs may not return to mainstream schools. This at a time when access to the resources available in regular school settings
remains an important avenue for young people, particularly young disabled people from disadvantaged backgrounds, to accumulate valuable social, cultural, or human capital that can help to both increase their capacity for social participation
and improve their social positioning in a competitive, service-based labour market. The emergence of AP - and this paper - raises important questions about what welfare might mean in relation to young men placed in these provisions.

Presentation Conference Type Keynote
Conference Name Driving Impact - Supporting the Educational Outcomes and Progression of Working-Class Boys Conference
Start Date Sep 6, 2023
End Date Sep 8, 2023
Deposit Date Jan 26, 2024
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11628347