ABSTRACT
Concepts of power inform discussions of exclusions and the aim of this chapter is to bring this more explicitly into focus. The main reason for exclusion given by schools to parents, children and LEAs is ‘disobedience in various forms’ (DfE, 1993) which consists primarily of insolence, disruption and uncooperative behaviour rather than violence. This evokes an expectation of children as normally obedient to the ‘natural’ authority of teachers and schools and in which children may be understood as actors only when disobedient. A naturalised and institutionalised adult expectation of authority and associated ideas of the nature of the child are thus in need of some analysis and exploration.
