Educational exclusion and social work: an intersectional lens

Roma Thomas

Chapter 8 in Handbook on Intersectionality and Social Work, 2026, pp 104-114 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In England, Black children are among the groups of young people deeply affected by educational exclusion, due to long-standing issues of racism in education. This chapter highlights the value a lens of intersectionality can bring to social work with school-excluded Black children. The chapter provides an overview of exclusionary processes in the UK and discusses social work practice implications. It argues that the use of the term disproportionality, in the context of the social harm of school exclusion, masks issues which can be uncovered through applying an intersectional lens. Nayak's conceptualisation of intersectional anti-racist curiosity is drawn upon as a framework for practice. The social work practice tool of chronologies and history taking is used to understand the significance of the history of exclusion. Drawing on a qualitative, ethnographic study of the lived experience of school exclusion, the chapter concludes by reflecting on intersectionality as an enabler in social work practice.

Keywords: Education Exclusion; Intersectionality; Anti-racist Social Work; Ethnography; Chronological Methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035324453
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