Building Community to Create Equitable, Inclusive and Compassionate Schools Through Relational Approaches

This book draws on an extensive international literature and policy context, from a wide range of fields of enquiry, to challenge the orthodoxies and systemic issues that serve to marginalise children and young people and lead the way for schools to become more equitable, inclusive and compassionate in their practice.

With a particular focus on children with social, emotional and behavioural/mental health needs, it critiques policy and practice as they pertain to behaviour management and school discipline in the UK and the USA, and offers alternative perspectives based on collaborative and relational approaches to promoting positive behaviour and building community. Each chapter features reflection points to provoke discussion as well as offering additional suggested reading, culminating in a discussion of the role of school leaders in leading for social justice.

Ultimately, this book will be of benefit to scholars, researchers and students working in the fields of behaviour management, inclusion and special needs education, and education, policy and politics more broadly. It will also offer substantial appeal to education professionals, school leaders and those with a locus on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Dr. Joan G Mowat is a senior lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Strathclyde and author of ’Using Support Groups to Improve Behaviour, ’ published by SAGE. She leads the ’Into Headship’ programme for prospective headteachers. She has extensive experience in the classroom, latterly as Depute Head at Vale of Leven Academy. She undertook a short secondment as a national development officer for ’Better Behaviour-Better Learning.’ Her principal research interests are the inclusion of children with social, emotional and behavioural needs, leadership for social justice and the relationship between poverty, attainment and wellbeing. Joan co-led a highly successful Scottish Universities Insight Seminar Series on this topic.