View in EDS

Lost Learning: Prevalence, Inequalities and Outcomes of Internal Exclusion in Mainstream Secondary Schools

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Lost Learning: Prevalence, Inequalities and Outcomes of Internal Exclusion in Mainstream Secondary Schools
Language: English
Authors: Emma Thornton (ORCID 0000-0003-4623-9538), Qiqi Cheng (ORCID 0000-0002-2295-330X), Ola Demkowicz (ORCID 0000-0001-9204-0912), Neil Humphrey (ORCID 0000-0002-8148-9500)
Source: British Educational Research Journal. 2026 52(2):1012-1037.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 26
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Descriptors: Inclusion, Foreign Countries, Secondary Schools, Discipline, Mainstreaming, Equal Education, Behavior Problems, Behavior Modification, Sense of Belonging, Secondary School Students, Student Attitudes, Suspension, Student Characteristics, Social Discrimination, Educational Practices
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (Manchester)
DOI: 10.1002/berj.70049
ISSN: 0141-1926
1469-3518
Abstract: Internal exclusion (isolation) is a behaviour management approach involving the temporary relocation of a pupil from their classroom to a designated isolation space as a consequence of disruptive behaviour. We present the first study of prevalence (i.e., what proportion of young people are isolated?), inequalities (i.e., who is more likely to be isolated?) and outcomes (i.e., does isolation impact school belonging and other salient outcomes?) of this disciplinary practice in English secondary schools, via secondary analysis of the #BeeWell dataset (k = 121 mainstream schools in Greater Manchester; N = 34,377 pupils in Years 7 and 10). 8.3% of pupils reported being internally excluded in a typical week, for a total of 8.44 hours. [Corrections added on 15 March 2026, after first online publication: "at least once a week, for an average of 8.44 hours per week" in the preceding sentence has been corrected to "in a typical week, for a total of 8.44 hours", in this version.] Differences between schools explained 6% of the probability of pupils reporting being placed in isolation, and they were more likely to do so if they attended schools with higher suspension rates. Older pupils, boys, LGBTQ+ young people, those with special educational needs, eligible for free school meals, living in more deprived neighbourhoods and from minoritised ethnic groups were all disproportionately internally excluded. Doubly robust estimation models revealed that isolation contributes to significantly worse school belonging (d = -0.15) and relationships with school staff (d = -0.18). While there were no overall effects for perceived stress or mental wellbeing, subgroup analysis showed that internally excluded girls' mental wellbeing was negatively impacted (d = -0.07). We conclude that internal exclusion is a very widely used but likely discriminatory and harmful practice; accordingly, alternative approaches to managing behaviour in secondary schools are warranted.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1502610
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ1502610
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Lost Learning: Prevalence, Inequalities and Outcomes of Internal Exclusion in Mainstream Secondary Schools
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Emma+Thornton%22">Emma Thornton</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4623-9538">0000-0003-4623-9538</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Qiqi+Cheng%22">Qiqi Cheng</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2295-330X">0000-0002-2295-330X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ola+Demkowicz%22">Ola Demkowicz</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9204-0912">0000-0001-9204-0912</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Neil+Humphrey%22">Neil Humphrey</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8148-9500">0000-0002-8148-9500</externalLink>)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22British+Educational+Research+Journal%22"><i>British Educational Research Journal</i></searchLink>. 2026 52(2):1012-1037.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 26
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inclusion%22">Inclusion</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+Schools%22">Secondary Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Discipline%22">Discipline</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mainstreaming%22">Mainstreaming</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Equal+Education%22">Equal Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Behavior+Problems%22">Behavior Problems</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Behavior+Modification%22">Behavior Modification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sense+of+Belonging%22">Sense of Belonging</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+School+Students%22">Secondary School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Attitudes%22">Student Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Suspension%22">Suspension</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Characteristics%22">Student Characteristics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Discrimination%22">Social Discrimination</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Practices%22">Educational Practices</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28Manchester%29%22">United Kingdom (Manchester)</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1002/berj.70049
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0141-1926<br />1469-3518
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Internal exclusion (isolation) is a behaviour management approach involving the temporary relocation of a pupil from their classroom to a designated isolation space as a consequence of disruptive behaviour. We present the first study of prevalence (i.e., what proportion of young people are isolated?), inequalities (i.e., who is more likely to be isolated?) and outcomes (i.e., does isolation impact school belonging and other salient outcomes?) of this disciplinary practice in English secondary schools, via secondary analysis of the #BeeWell dataset (k = 121 mainstream schools in Greater Manchester; N = 34,377 pupils in Years 7 and 10). 8.3% of pupils reported being internally excluded in a typical week, for a total of 8.44 hours. [Corrections added on 15 March 2026, after first online publication: "at least once a week, for an average of 8.44 hours per week" in the preceding sentence has been corrected to "in a typical week, for a total of 8.44 hours", in this version.] Differences between schools explained 6% of the probability of pupils reporting being placed in isolation, and they were more likely to do so if they attended schools with higher suspension rates. Older pupils, boys, LGBTQ+ young people, those with special educational needs, eligible for free school meals, living in more deprived neighbourhoods and from minoritised ethnic groups were all disproportionately internally excluded. Doubly robust estimation models revealed that isolation contributes to significantly worse school belonging (d = -0.15) and relationships with school staff (d = -0.18). While there were no overall effects for perceived stress or mental wellbeing, subgroup analysis showed that internally excluded girls' mental wellbeing was negatively impacted (d = -0.07). We conclude that internal exclusion is a very widely used but likely discriminatory and harmful practice; accordingly, alternative approaches to managing behaviour in secondary schools are warranted.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1502610
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1502610
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1002/berj.70049
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 26
        StartPage: 1012
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Inclusion
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Secondary Schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Discipline
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mainstreaming
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Equal Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Behavior Problems
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Behavior Modification
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sense of Belonging
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Secondary School Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Suspension
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Characteristics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social Discrimination
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Practices
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom (Manchester)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Lost Learning: Prevalence, Inequalities and Outcomes of Internal Exclusion in Mainstream Secondary Schools
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Emma Thornton
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Qiqi Cheng
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Ola Demkowicz
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Neil Humphrey
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 04
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0141-1926
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1469-3518
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 52
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: British Educational Research Journal
              Type: main
ResultId 1