Corcoran, Tim (2006) Learning by example: school exclusion and life-enacted learning. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Critical Discourse Analysis: Theory into Research, 15-18 November 2005, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania,. Le, Thao and Short, Megan, eds. Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, pp. 119-127.

Abstract

From the discourse of life-long learning comes the proposal that any interaction has the potential to become a learning experience. Further, that the relationships established and enacted via such exchanges are paramount to learning and psychosocial development. With this in mind the question begs: what is it that governments expect students and their school communities to learn from instances of State sanctioned exclusion? In this paper the discursive context is set with an analysis of Queensland’s Education (General Provisions) Act 1989 and discussion of the legislative power authorised to principals to enforce school exclusion. From this examination it will be tendered that legislative practice is incongruent with several policy initiatives currently directing State and federal educational practice in Australia. The cost of this conflict is examined in the second part of the paper when interview narratives, sourced from students who have experienced formal school exclusion, will be presented. It is argued that language use does contribute to the ongoing and situated construction of student’s identities and thus has the potential to engage or estrange a variety of learning-based relationships. In this sense the principle of temporality inferred in the concept of life-long learning can be conjoined with the contex tual importance of life-enacted learning encouraged through relational engagement. To enable such a transformation it is necessary to re-vision the principles informing the conduct of every day relationships. The concept of relational responsibility is advanced as a promising supplement to individually-based discourses which dominate and debilitate contemporary communicative activity. Activity in and through which the practice of education takes place.

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