Don't Fence Me In (Paperback)

Michael Connolly

ISBN 10: 0955464269 / ISBN 13: 9780955464263

Published by Legend Press Ltd, Buckingham, 2009

About this Item

Paperback. Debunking the Taboo of TruancyDon't Fence Me In: Essays on the Rational Truant makes the iconoclastic assertion that most truancy stems from rational decisions made by students facing adverse circumstances in school.This unique and engaging take on truancy rejects the assertion that all acts of truancy are linked to deviancy and anti-social behaviour. While the books aim is not to absolve young people from accountability, it shows that structural weaknesses in the state-supported school system play a significant role in truancy from class and school.The book consists of a series of essays which seek to explain and understand truancy rationally, and dismantle existing narratives surrounding truancy. Many of the contributors report on recent research including the relation of teaching style to truancy, the incidence of truancy as a function of ethnic group and linguistic proficiency, the student as consumer and the importance of establishing a literate order to decrease truancy rates. Other essays in the collection are more speculative, offering a theoretical assessment of political attitudes to truancy.Don't Fence Me In makes essential reading for anyone with an interest in today's schooling system. It offers a fascinating and insightful exploration into one of schooling's biggest taboos. Intended for those who have a critical interest in education and schooling including teachers, principals, administrators, students of education, education departments, inspectors and superintendents and not least citizens with a commitment to good education. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780955464263

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Don't Fence Me In (Paperback)
• Publisher: Legend Press Ltd, Buckingham
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0955464269
• ISBN 13: 9780955464263
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

This book assumes that most truancy is the logical outcome of rational decisions made by students in the face of the circumstances that characterize their school experience. It declines to attribute and consign all acts of truancy to the dustbin of deviance and anti-social behavior. While it does not seek to absolve young people from responsibility for their actions, it seeks to show that structural weaknesses in the state-supported school system play a significant role in the causation of truancy both from class and school. The book consists of a series of essays written from a perspective that seeks to explain and understand truancy rationally. Some contributors report on recent research including the relation of teaching style to truancy, the incidence of truancy as a function of ethnic group and linguistic proficiency, the student as consumer, and the importance of establishing a literate order to decrease truancy rates. Other essays are more speculative and theoretical, including an assessment of political attitudes to truancy, a personal account by a recalcitrant former truant, a study of conflicting explanations of the phenomenon, an examination of the measurement of truancy and an account of 'truant' and its numerous synonyms. Contributors include Ron Bartholomew, Jonathan Shute, Jack Christianson, Bruce S. Cooper , M.P. Conolly, Sean Gabb, Colin Coldman, and Dennis O'Keeffe who is best known for his The Politics of Truancy.

About the Author

MICHAEL CONOLLY is Visiting Fellow in the Department of Economics and International Studies at the University of Buckingham. Dennis O'Keeffe is Professor of Social Science at the University of Buckingham and current editor of the Salisbury Review. He is Education and Welfare Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs.