This post takes a look at the 2020 doctoral thesis of Eleanor Ann Gray (University of Sheffield) and considers what implications it may have for improving inclusive practice for excluded pupils #inclusionfortheexcluded.
Gray’s work attempts to develop an understanding of both the coping strategies used by anxious children in mainstream secondary schools and the conditions within schools that increase the likelihood of a child needing to use them. In doing so, Gray draws on Carver and Connor Smith (2010) to conceptualise coping as the process that individuals use ‘in order to protect themselves from the harm and discomfort associated with a problem or stressor’ (pp. 12).
The study began as an exploration of the reintegration experiences of young people from a medical provision as they attempted to successfully return to mainstream secondary schools, however it became apparent early in the study that these young people simply wanted to share their experiences of their prior lives attempting to cope in mainstream education. Gray responded to her participants and the research question became ‘How do pupils, who self-identify as experiencing anxiety in school, try to cope in mainstream education?’
Method
Gray used a classic grounded theory (CGT) approach and conducted her study within a medical provision for secondary aged school children. Her participants included four young people and one teacher from the provision and two educational psychologists. Data was collected using ten interviews which began with open questions and became more structured and probing as the interviews progressed. In line with CGT, although the interviews were recorded, they were not transcribed. Gray created field notes from these interviews which were then coded to elicit the main concern, core category and associated concepts for the study.
Those using classic grounded theory (CGT) are wary of forcing their preconceptions onto a study. Gray argues that creating specific research questions early in the study may be unhelpful and that ‘that relevant research questions will become apparent once the researcher enters the field’ (pp. 10). This clearly happened as the emphasis shifted from that which was thought initially important by the researcher to be replaced by that which was of main concern to the young people in the setting.
Results
Gray found three main category of coping strategy used by anxious pupils in mainstream schools. She describes them as Fitting in; Avoidance and escape; and School rejection.
The pupils described the lengths they went to attempting to fit in. They describe wanting to:
meet the expectations within mainstream education and to be able to do what their peers are doing. Pupils endeavour to meet a wide range of expectations, including academic expectations, to protect themselves from the emotional discomfort or harm of not doing so. (pp. 59)
In order to fit in, they adopt strategies such as not presenting their authentic self and adopting an identity which they believe will be accepted. Attempting to cope using avoidance and escape may include absenting themselves from lessons or not attending school at all. School rejection refers to the adoption of a position that mainstream education is futile, mistaken in its goals and therefore attending would be pointless. Rejectors use this as a reason to opt out altogether. An important point is that children may not be aware that they are using these strategies to cope, rather their ‘underpinning need is to protect oneself from emotional harm or discomfort’.
Conclusions and Implications for Practice
Gray’s study concerns the often maladaptive behaviour children use to cope with mainstream school and protect themselves from emotional harm. She recognises that it will be helpful to work on giving pupils adaptive ways of coping but believes the origins of their anxiety are systemic and the responsibility for eradicating them cannot be laid at the door of the children. She goes on to discuss the main protective factors that may mitigate a child’s anxiety in a mainstream school. These school system conditional factors are described as Knowing the Environment: Enhancing Predictability; School Ethos; and Developing Positive Relationships’ (pp.1).
Knowing the Environment and enhancing predictability
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School Ethos
Gray describes both acceptance the tension between pupil wellbeing and academic accountability. For us, this includes accepting children, giving them a place to be themselves and be happy in their own skin. It also includes an expectation that staff teach children from the point they are at without the need for them to keep up with anyone else. We hold teachers accountable for the quality of their teaching and not on rates of academic progress. We assess each child thoroughly but do not use testing to judge progress. We believe that testing is used when you do not have time to assess children properly.
Developing Positive Relationships
The pupils in the study describe the protective factor that comes with being part of a good friendship group. For many children, we believe that this will not simply happen and that time and effort needs to be devoted to developing good pupil/adult and peer relationships during the school day. This aligns with our belief that children with a good social engagement system (Porges, 2003) can prevent tipping into crisis if they are able to socially engage as they begin to feel a heightened sense of anxiety.
Strengths and limitations
The grounded theory approach taken in this study puts researcher preconceptions under scrutiny and the study had the flexibility to adapt to the main concern of the pupil participants. Gray resisted the temptation to interview staff before students in order to prevent a skewing of the focus of the pupil interviews. Gray does, however, acknowledges the small sample size and the limited nature of literature review which may have benefited from going beyond journal articles to consider a wider pool such as doctoral theses.
You can link to Gray’s thesis below.
Other references
Carver, C. S., & Connor-Smith, J. (2010). Personality and Coping. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 679-704.
Porges, S. (2003) ‘The polyvagal theory: phylogenetic contributions to social behavior.’ Physiology & Behavior,79 pp. 503–513.
