By Sarah Kola,
London Metropolitan University.
This research study hypothesises that institutional discrimination contributes to an evidential school exclusion-to-youth offending pipeline in the UK. The 'school-to-prison pipeline' has been a term used within criminology which demonstrates the relationship between the education system and youth incarceration. The term argues that youth offending can be consequence to school policies which criminalise young people. In five chapters, this dissertation thematically discusses and analyses the perspectives of six British citizens to understand their experiences and opinions on a school exclusion-to-youth offending pipeline in the UK. Following a qualitative approach, three parents and three young adults participated in semi-structured interviews to gain depth in understanding each perspective and experience. The study concludes that institutional discrimination is contributory to an evidential school exclusion-to-youth offending pipeline in the UK particularly with race, gender, and disability-based discrimination. Analysis of interview data revealed new insights about lived experiences for young people involved. The study will also show that Black male youths with special educational needs are disproportionately affected by a school exclusion-to-youth offending pipeline in the UK.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10777519