ABSTRACT
The problem of social exclusion is not new, but the common use of this term by policy makers in the UK is. Social exclusion has also emerged as a major focus of the current administration, as evidenced by the setting up of a Social Exclusion Unit based in the Cabinet Office and reporting directly to the Prime Minister. Among educationalists the term social exclusion has often been linked to two other terms – disaffection and non-participation – and it is all three terms which will form the subject of discussion here.
