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Challenges and Barriers to Secondary Education: The Experiences of Young Gypsy Traveller Students in English Secondary Schools

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2008

Chris Derrington  and
Sally Kendall
Chris Derrington
Affiliation:
The University of Northampton, NorthamptonE-mail: chris.derrington@northampton.ac.uk
Sally Kendall
Affiliation:
National Foundation for Educational Research, YorkE-mail: s.kendall@nfer.ac.uk
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Abstract

An education system that is based on the needs of a sedentary community is inherently exclusionary for mobile young people. However, it is increasingly acknowledged that even Gypsy Traveller pupils who have been ‘settled’ for a number of years have limited engagement with the secondary phase of schooling. This paper provides an overview of developments in educational policy that have impacted on educational access for Travellers and draws upon research data generated from a recent five-year study to highlight potential challenges and barriers that continue to hinder their educational achievement. The findings suggest that experience of racism, the impact of cultural dissonance and low teacher expectations may all be contributory factors that affect Gypsy Traveller students’ educational engagement and achievement.

Type
Themed Section Care or Control? Gypsies, Travellers and the State
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , January 2008 , pp. 119 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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