Why Pick on Me?: School Exclusion and Black Youth

This book throws new light on the issues of exclusions relating to race. It examines real problems and the attempts made in schools to deal with them. A framework is created for understanding the complexity of individual identities within schools and shows the processes of exclusion to be both contextual and historically specific. Maud Blair draws on her experience in British schools and her own research to reveal the racialized punishment industry that operates in many schools.

The author shows how leadership and the perspectives of teachers profoundly affect the life chances of students. She also reveals the perspectives of the students themselves, and of their parents, and draws from her findings implications for policy and practice that will result in schools where teachers, parents and students together create an atmosphere in which respect, high expectations and good relationships are the norm.