Can arts-based education help re-engage excluded learners?: A case study of an arts-based programme aimed at enhancing educational engagement

Although there are concerns about the number of students who prematurely leave mainstream education, research has shown that these students do not always experience disconnection during their learning encounters. Instead, certain conditions have been found to promote engagement in learning and can enhance attendance, retention and performance (Sinclair, Christenson, Lehr, & Anderson, 2003). Consequently, this chapter discusses an innovation which focuses upon enhancing learning conditions by offering learners who had been excluded from mainstream school an alternative curriculum experience through the medium of visual art. This chapter considers the context of alternative schooling in the United Kingdom for pupils who have been excluded from mainstream schools, and how psychological perspectives can inform the development of curriculum innovations in this context