Social exclusion: licence through ambiguity

In this paper I discuss some of the implications for state education that arise from what I argue is the ambiguous and flexible nature of the term ‘social exclusion’. I briefly consider the conceptual relationship between social exclusion, poverty and deprivation. Using the metaphor of story, I explore the operation of the term in the New Labour project, with particular attention to some of its implications for education. In the final section of the paper I consider some issues arising from New Labour’s social inclusion imperative in relation to educational policy and practice in a Scottish context. The potential of a state-sponsored discourse of exclusion to influence the conceptual backdrop to teachers’ reflections is briefly explored. Such considerations would seem relevant to other contexts in which the educational state realigns social policy within the margins of a new political narrative. Political discourse as narrative One way of conceptualising political discourse is through the metaphor of story or narrative. The notion of a political narrative is not an attempt in any way to trivialise political discourse but has utility in its ability to foreground the conscious work of building and maintaining a representation of the social world. Political parties tell us a story. Through their story they aim to achieve many purposes, not least of all the maximisation of voter share. Such narratives must be descriptive, evaluative and orientative; they must signal priorities and positions across a continuum of issues and concerns. What is not included in such narrative is also significant. What a story obfuscates or omits often reflects a particular view of the world, or a combination of ideological and strategic thinking aimed at electoral success. Such narratives are also dynamic. A representation of the social world cannot be fixed, permanently anchored; it must be maintained, defended and expanded in the face of changing circumstances and unforeseen events.