Counter-narratives that challenge neo-liberal discourses of schooling ‘disengagement’: youth professionals informing the work of teachers

Abstract

Contemporary global economic contexts are shaped by a neoliberal paradigm of hyper-individualism and meritocratic frameworks that are increasingly guiding national policies in education and welfare. Schools are expected to focus on the production of human capital and student achievements are internationally benchmarked for competitive advantage. As social safety nets diminish, citizens are expected to be more personally accountable. This has created challenges for the poor and marginalised who are positionally disadvantaged in highly competitive neo-capitalist economies. Young people from social categories that sit below the traditional working class due to the precariousness of employment and living conditions are among the most vulnerable people in any society. Resource poor, many struggle to connect with schools and find meaning in a world that has relegated them to the margins. Such young people make up the apparently growing numbers of 'disengaged', 'at risk' and sometimes 'dangerous' and 'sick' youth who have become a focal point for official interventions that may be punitive and/or therapeutic or medical. Drawing upon the contrasting perspectives of teaching staff and youth workers in one Australian state, this paper argues for a change in the way schooling authorities construct and respond to the phenomenon of schooling 'disengagement'.

Can performing happy childhood be an occupational skill required of students?

“…As she struggled, Tessa felt that the problems she was experiencing were at the risk of turning her into a problem. Thus, Brunila's (2014), Finn et al (2010 and McGregor's (2015) argument above about marginalized young people being constructed as 'the risk' (McGregor, 2015, see also Devine and Cockburn, 2018), resonates in Tessa's experience. As her changing life impacted her ability to take on the performatives of a proper student (as she interpreted these), she felt she was turning into the problem of her circumstances.…”

“…Individual students are thus deemed to be in need of various combinations of punishment and/or therapy; they become 'the problem' (Finn, Nybell et al 2010). Marginalised young people are not simply identified as being 'at risk', they are also constructed as 'the risk' (Brunila 2014, McGregor 2015, te Riele 2006b, te Riele 2006a.…”

Bad behaviour in school: a discursive approach

“…"In these ways, and with the assistance of specific systemic and individual programmes, students' behaviours became observable, governable, and manageable" (Hardy 2015, 384; see also Ikävalko and Brunila 2011). It has also been argued that schools' reorientation toward greater measurement of outcomes and accountability has pressured teachers to "perform" by producing the desired young people (Hempel-Jorgensen 2009;McGregor 2015). For example, Hempel-Jorgensen's research in high schools of low and high socioeconomic status indicates that increased emphasis on measurement leads to different conceptions of good behaviour for students from different life circumstances.…”

Voices of disaffection: disengaged and disruptive youths or agents of change and self‐empowerment?

“…However, while such students often struggle to commit to their schooling, and thus may suffer the consequences of marginalisation, many experience tension, as they still value education (Graham et al, ), thus illustrating an interplay between institutional structures and individual agency. Despite this, disengagement has often been posited through an arguably negative discourse, such as the positioning of school from a default righteous stance, and this can result in a deficit construction of some young people (McGregor, ). For instance, Snape and Atkinson () note that disengagement is ‘associated with an increase in disruptive behaviours and truancy’.…”