The book is entitled History Wars in the Classroom: Global Perspectives and examines how ten separate countries have experienced debates and disputes over the contested nature of the subject, for example the "Black Armband" and "Whitewash" factions in Australia who adopt opposingly celebratory or denigratory views of Australian…

The author argues that the interests of transgendered children are being ignored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and that the publication of guidance on homophobic bullying only serves to highlight deficiencies in the way these children are excluded within the education system. (Contains 4 figures and 11 notes.)

This paper draws on a small-scale qualitative study of the lived experiences of gay male students in their final year of undergraduate study at a UK university. In contrast to the narratives almost universally reported in academic literature, anti-gay victimisation and harassment were not experienced or framed as dominant discourses in the stories…

This paper is concerned with findings about gender which form part of a larger ethnographic study. The study was undertaken during the author's employment as a local authority (school district) Pupil Support Officer, where the author's work involved the support of young people who had been permanently excluded (expelled) from school for a variety…

Drawing on recent ethnographic research in one single-sex, private primary school, this paper will explore what it meant for the girls in this setting to embody the discourse of the "lady". The paper will propose that classed and gendered discourses of respectability featured strongly in the girls' lives, as they were expected to behave…

This small-scale piece of research was undertaken to examine, retrospectively, the experiences of 10 men, ages 27 through 53, in terms of what constitutes and influences homophobic bullying in the private and state school contexts in the United Kingdom. Using standpoint epistemology and a life histories method, the author investigates what is…

This paper serves as a broad introduction to Disabilities Studies in Education (DSE). The emergence of DSE over the last decade has resulted in a vibrant area of academic scholarship as well as a critical forum for social/educational advocacy and activism. First, the authors trace the roots of DSE in the growth of disability studies (DS) within…

This article argues that the creation of a range of separate religious schools can prevent integration and encourage separation. It might well be that in fifty years' time, people will look back at this moment and blame us for exacerbating the social fragmentation that characterises modern Britain.

Refugees commonly have just one remaining identity--that of being stateless and statusless. They represent the ultimate "other in our midst". The humanism of our teachers in helping the children of asylum-seekers and refugees is tested by the state, especially its immigration policy. This paper offers preliminary research findings on…

Focussing on narratives collected during a two year participant observation research project in the children's services department of an urban local authority, this article addresses the intersection between incidents of permanent exclusion from school and assumptions made on the basis of a young person's gender. The article considers gendered…

Research within the area of the sociology of physical education (PE) recognises that it is a subject which reinforces dominant ideologies about gender. The gendered nature of PE appears to continue into General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinable PE, as the proportion of boys being examined in GCSE PE compared to girls is nearly…

Background: In the UK and elsewhere, there is a growing policy and legislative imperative to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities are supported to develop relationships, including sexual ones. However, gay, lesbian and bisexual people with intellectual disabilities may have additional needs or face particular barriers in this area of…

This paper critically examines some assumptions involved in determining the nature of the relationships and work that constitute a school as a community dedicated to learning and knowledge. Rather than arguing from first principles, the paper assumes that respect for other people as ends is preferable to seeing individuals in terms of their…

This paper examines aspects of coming out as a gay or lesbian person through the models of identity development presented in the literature as well as presenting some findings from face-to-face in-depth interviews conducted with young people telling us what it is like to grow up and identify oneself as gay. The coming out process is set in the…

The social model of disability has paid little attention to disabled children, with few attempts to explore how far it provides an adequate explanatory framework for their experiences. This paper reports findings from a two-year study exploring the lived experiences of 26 disabled children aged 7-15. They experienced disability in four ways--in…