Whole School Matters draft manuscript
Community Matters draft manuscript
MindMatters Resource Kit
MindMatters Posters
School Audits and Surveys
CommunityMatters DVD
Community Partnership DVD
Staff Matters
About Staff Matters
Getting Started
The Thriving Self
The Interpersonal
The Professional
The Organisational
School in the Community
Useful Information
Journals
Activities
Links
Case Studies
Discussion List
Professional Development
Index of Programs and Resources
Links
e-news

Social Exclusion

Boughton (1999) drew upon the work of the Brazilian educator Paulo Friere to argue that the uneducated, the unhealthy, the disadvantaged and the poor:

are not marginal to society, they are an integral part of it. Their situation will never be improved simply by trying to include them within the structures and institutions which helped to make them what they are. The problem lies in the structures themselves. (p. 2)

Shaw, Dorling and Davey Smith (1999) propose that the term 'social exclusion' is superseding terms such as 'poverty' or 'deprivation'. Whereas poverty concerns a lack of economic resources and relative deprivation emphasises living conditions, the term 'social exclusion' incorporates the process of marginalisation from economic resources, educational opportunities, social networks and cultural support.

The concept of 'disadvantage' is always relative - a group of people are disadvantaged to the extent that another group of people are 'advantaged'. Consequently, explanations of disadvantage need to account for the unequal relationships between both groups, and the characteristics and behaviour of each which sustain these relationships. Otherwise, 'disadvantage' appears as a 'passive' state, something which afflicts people, rather than something actually done to them. (Boughton, 2000, p. 5)

In 1988, the World Health Organization identified social exclusion, the lack of social support and exposure to stress as the key causes of disease and early mortality (White, 2002). 'Social exclusion is about multi-dimensional disadvantage' (Shaw et al., 1999, p. 222).

The accessibility of the education system will impact upon levels of social inclusion or exclusion (McKenzie, 2001, #104). Accessibility is affected by distance, special needs, financial circumstances, Aboriginality and cultural perspectives.

References
Boughton, B. (1999). Strategies to overcome institutional racism in education: A submission to the Collins review of Aboriginal education in the NT. Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia: Menzies School of Health Research.

Boughton, B. (2000). What is the connection between Aboriginal education and Aboriginal health? Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia: Menzies School of Health Research. Retrieved on 26/5/04 from http://192.94.208.240/Crc/General/CRCPubs/ocps/op%20files/issue002.pdf

Shaw, M., Dorling, D., & Davey Smith, G. (1999). 'Poverty, social exclusion, and minorities.' In M. Marmot & R. G. Wilkinson (Eds.), Social determinants of health (pp. 211-239). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

White, K. (2002). Sociology of health and illness. London: Sage.