More girls are getting excluded from school – here’s why they feel misjudged by teachers

More children are being permanently excluded from their school in England. In the 2023-24 autumn term, over 1,000 more pupils were excluded than in the autumn term the previous year. Rates of permanent exclusion have risen rapidly since the pandemic, with no sign of slowing down.

What is perhaps unexpected is that the rate of permanent exclusions is rising much faster among girls than boys. Girls are also more at risk of “hidden” or “grey” exclusions – when a pupil stops going to school but isn’t formally excluded. But partly because schools are seen as environments in which girls are more likely to thrive than boys, the issues girls face may be overlooked.

Stereotypes of schools as places where “good girls” are the hardworking majority – and boys are the disruptive ones – have repercussions for both girls and teachers.

In my research I interviewed 12 girls at risk of permanent exclusion aged between 12 and 16 in two different secondary schools and one pupil referral unit. I found that they struggled with being heard.

Girls in my study were unanimous that they wanted teachers to listen and take time for them, but felt this did not happen. They resorted to shouting before they could be shouted at. “When they shout it doesn’t mean we’re going to listen, we’re going to shout back,” one said.

Girls reported teachers did not know them, listen or allow them to explain and so responded with aggression: “Why should I bother about them when they ain’t bothered about me?”

Consequences of exclusion

Research from Agenda Alliance, a charity, has found that 74% of girls in youth custody were previously permanently excluded, compared to 63% of boys. After permanent exclusion, girls (unlike boys) are more likely to suffer significant mental health issues.

There has been very little progress in managing girls’ behaviour over the last two decades. Research has found consistent reports of girls being sidelined in education as far back as the 1970s.

Research also suggests that girls using their voice in ways that do not fit gender stereotypes – such as being loud and shouting at teachers – was particularly problematic. This damaged relationships with teachers.

In my research, girls believed both male and female teachers were sexist, singling them out for behaviour ignored in boys. This resulted in a deeply held sense of unfairness, particularly when teachers simply linked behaviour to their hormones. “Certain teachers overlook the girls, they pin it on your hormones,” one said.

This results in girls feeling they have no voice, and avoiding some lessons, teachers or situations by truanting – inside school or not attending at all – or by trying to “get in before they [teachers] do” and behaving aggressively.

These two extremes mean girls either end up using their voice in ways schools cannot manage, or remain systematically silenced: not present at school at all. Neither helps them to address the problems they are experiencing and the resulting behaviour.

Appearance and behaviour

I also found that girls struggled with how visible they were at school. Many girls in my study talked about facing sanctions over their uniform. They argued that teachers punished them for minor infringements, and that there was a double standard: teachers could wear two pairs of earrings, for instance, but they could not. One said that staff “don’t care about education it’s about earrings and that”.

Girls felt singled out in ways boys were not, suggesting teachers were sexist and only interested in them looking right.

However, girls told me that modifying their uniform was central to fitting in with peers and not being bullied. This results in girls treading a fine line between not standing out too much to other girls and not attracting the censure of staff.

Girls reported being too visible in other ways. They told me that trips to the toilet were policed by staff standing outside. Girls also felt too visible in class, with significant anxiety expressed in my research about being picked on in class. “My face goes all blotchy and I start shaking, it’s hard to breathe,” one said.

This fear was so significant girls chose to walk out of lessons rather than face embarrassment in front of their peers. “If a teacher picks on me to answer a question I just won’t come to the next lesson,” one girl said. They chose this despite risking being put in isolation – working in seclusion away from the rest of the school and their peers, where they once again became invisible. “It’s like a prison, they boarded up the windows and don’t listen to you.”

With some schools shifting to zero-tolerance approaches, permanent exclusion – once a last resort – may now be perceived as a reasonable response to school improvement drives.

Striking the balance between being appropriately seen and heard is a challenge for many girls in school, even those who appear to manage it successfully. But for those who struggle, the current and widespread problems in schools make it less likely that teachers will “take more notice of how you behave, [because] there might be something behind it”. Without significant and widespread change in schools, more girls will either disappear from the system or be silenced by it.

Emma Clarke received funding in a one off grant from British Educational Research Association. She is a member of Universities and Colleges Union.