Presentation Schedule
A Critical Discourse Analysis of Unenforced School Seclusion Policy in the Canadian Context (97996)
Wednesday, 1 October 2025 17:50
Session: BCE Poster Session
Room: (B1) Poble Nou
Presentation Type:Poster Presentation
The use of seclusion in schools is intended to be an emergency response procedure in situations where a student’s actions pose an imminent physical threat to the safety of themselves or others. Despite its intended purpose, there is mounting concern that seclusion is being misused in school-based settings and students with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to these practices. In 2024, in the province of Ontario, Canada a student with disabilities died after being left alone in a seclusion room at school. This incident and others have fueled renewed concerns about the use of seclusion in Canadian schools. Despite the importance of this issue, only recently have educational policies emerged to provide regulatory guidance regarding the use of seclusion. This poster provides the results of a Faircloughian Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 2003) of a government policy directive in the province of Manitoba, Canada entitled, Safe and Caring Schools: A Policy Directive Enhancing Proactive Supports to Minimize the use of Seclusion (Manitoba Education, 2021). Using Fairclough’s 3 stages of description, interpretation, and explanation this analysis will interrogate the ways in which discourse is used in this policy document to reinforce social hierarchies and position students with disabilities as dangerous and in need of regulation by the state. The analysis also reveals that despite its claim to be a “policy directive” it lacks enforceability and accountability mechanisms to ensure implementation, exposing the ways in which students with disabilities remain vulnerable to the misuse of these procedures within this policy context.
Authors:
Nadine Bartlett, University of Manitoba, Canada
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Nadine Bartlett is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at University of Manitoba in Canada
See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule
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