Rosemary Kilpatrick

Exclusions from school: The why and wherefore

Abstract Over the last number of years permanent exclusions from school have been monitored in England by the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). The figures indicate an increase from 1991/92 when 2,910 pupils were permanently excluded to 1994/95 when the numbers were approximately 11,000. Research carried out by Parsons for the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE, 1996), based on reporting of exclusions by schools to the LEA put the number of permanent exclusions for the 1994/5 year at 13,400. Parsons explains the discrepancy between the two sets of figures as due to schools under-reporting the number of permanent exclusions in the DfEE research. However, it should be noted that the increase in exclusion rates is not uniform throughout the country; in some areas they have increased or remained static, while in others they have declined. For example, in Croydon a package of measures has led to a decrease in permanent exclusions from 179 in 1994/5 to 158 in 1995/6 (TES, 1996).

Research and practice - which comes first? the education perspective

Abstract First of all I would like to thank you for inviting me to speak today on a subject very close to my own heart and which, in many ways, reflects my own career in psychology and education. When, as a mature student, I completed my honours degree in psychology at the Queens University of Belfast, I could not decide whether to follow this up with a PhD or alternatively complete a professional qualification which would allow me to practice as a psychologist. In the end I opted for the former. Not, I have to say from a burning desire to push back the frontiers of science, but rather from a purely pragmatic point of view - I wanted to be able to spend a little more time with my family than studying for a professional qualification would allow!

New Circus: the benefits of Circus Training for young people in a residential setting,

Circus 1 to 3 is a circus school, based on the concept of New Circus, for boys resident in St. Patricks Training School, Northern Ireland. The project is designed, not only to teach Circus skills,...

Juvenile crime in Northern Ireland: Psychological research and social policy

A number of strands of research relating to crime and antisocial behaviour among young people in Northern Ireland were identified for this paper. Much of the published research assessed the possible impact of growing up in the context of civil conflict whereas research on juvenile offenders has been mainly confined to statistical analysis of patterns of criminal activity. Recent research extended previous findings to include policy-related evaluations of the juvenile justice process. The relationships between the research findings and policy are examined in the context of changing social conditions and proposed legal reforms.