"The Problem Class"?: A Critical Analysis of Experiences of Schooling and Involvement with the Criminal Justice System.
Irish research into the formal educational experiences of people who have been, or who are, in prison compares poorly with international norms. Against this noticeable absence of Irish studies affording attention to the formative educational experiences of people who came became involved with the Irish justice system, this research focused on bringing their voices and experiences into conversation. Through a non-ideal theoretical framework based on the work of Michel Foucault and epistemic injustice, this research examines the perceptions, experience, and analysis by participants of the relationship between experiences of formal schooling and involvement with the Irish criminal justice system. Theories of disciplinary power/knowledge and testimonial and hermeneutical injustice informed the design of a multi-perspective, qualitative methodology that was underpinned by the emancipatory commitments of critical theory. This used open and semi-structured interviewing to explore the formative educational experiences of those who were involved with the criminal justice system. Whilst centrality is given to the voices of the former students who experienced school exclusion and the justice system, this research also includes the important perspectives of educators, multiple stakeholders, and parents of excluded children. Analysis mobilised the lens of the theoretical frameworks, drawing on the core concepts of voice, practices, silence, and subjugated knowledge in framing the themes through which the findings were interpreted. Building on the key themes that emerged from the findings, this research unpacks the unintended consequences of equality policies for this cohort of students and the implications for school choice, relationships, discipline, exclusion, and deficit models of teaching and learning. The voices and perspectives of the participants in this research offer a different way of thinking about inclusion, relationships, communication, school culture, values, equality and participation in education. They locate the policy and practice constraints that impede these and offer solutions to remedy them. A series of policy and practice recommendations based on the findings and analysis are offered in the conclusion.
National University of Ireland - Maynooth
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations