Excluded: What is the impact of school exclusions on women in Hampshire?
Research Institution / Organisation
University of Southampton
In Collaboration With
Supported by the Office of The Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
Principal Researcher
Name witheld
Level of Research
Masters
Project Start Date
June 2020
Research Context
*Project is still awaiting ethics approval*
This project explores the impact of being excluded from secondary school and how exclusions are perceived in Hampshire. It is interested in school exclusion in relation to work on ‘adverse childhood experiences’ and the long-term consequences. This research may be useful for supporting crime prevention by providing insight into the experiences of excluded students in Hampshire later in life.
The Serious Violence Strategy identified those who had been excluded from school were at increased risk of committing and being victims of crime (Home Office, 2018, p. 29). Although this project does not directly assess this relationship between exclusions and crime in Hampshire, its findings will be useful for those seeking to support vulnerable individuals. This research aims to provide an account of the range of possible experiences following school exclusion.
Existing research has largely focused on the male experience of school exclusions and its consequences. This has stemmed from the disproportionate number of boys excluded from school across the UK (Kane, 2006, p.674). However, this therefore leaves the female experience under researched. Osler et al (2002) have investigated this imbalance, and this dissertation project seeks to build on their work.
This project is focused on Hampshire in order to conduct a more detailed and specific research project which makes use of both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Overall, this project aims to answer the question, “what is the impact of school exclusions on women in Hampshire?” Within this, it intends to address how being excluded from secondary school impacts women at the time of exclusion as well as its longer-term consequences.
Home Office (2018) Serious Violence Strategy. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/698009/serious-violence-strategy.pdf
Research Methodology
This is a mixed methods project. It involves the use of existing aggregated data from the Department of Education on the number and nature of school exclusions; an anonymous online survey; and virtual interviews with youth/education professionals and women previously excluded from school.
Only individuals over the age of 18 will be able to participate in this study. Therefore, participants who were excluded from secondary school will be asked to reflect on their experiences at school.
The existing aggregated data from the Department of Education will be analysed to produce descriptive statistics on school exclusions in Hampshire. From this, it will be possible to compare Hampshire to other counties, and to explore the way official data explains school exclusions.
The online survey will use snowball sampling. It will be distributed by social media and through personal contacts. The criteria for participating in the survey is to be over the age of 18 and to live in Hampshire. This survey is anonymous and is anticipated to take approximately 15 minutes to complete. It involves a range of free text box answers, yes/no statements, and categories individuals can place themselves within. The purpose of the survey is threefold. It seeks to understand individual experience, wider experience and opinions of exclusion. This data will be analysed to explore any themes or trends in responses in order to understand the nature and perceptions of school exclusions in Hampshire.
The interviews with professionals and excluded students will be semi-structured. They ask participants to discuss their experiences and opinions on the issue. These will be analysed thematically. Participants in this study will remain anonymous. Interview participants will also be able to participate in the online survey if they wish, however, this will not be required or expected.
The current global pandemic means that face to face research techniques are impossible. Therefore, all research will take place remotely.
Interim reports and publications
Date due for completion
October 2020
Return to Research Map