A.N. Other, B.N. Other (eds.), Title of Book, 00–00.
© 2005 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
White, J. (2015) Learning in ‘no man’s land’: Policy
enactment for students with health conditions. In K. te Reile and R. Gorur
(Eds) Interrogating conceptions of ‘vulnerable youth’ in theory, policy and
practice. Rotterdam, Sense, pp. 97-110.
JULIE WHITE
LEARNING IN ‘NO MAN’S LAND’: POLICY
ENACTMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH HEALTH
CONDITIONS
INTRODUCTION
School-aged children and young people who live with serious health
conditions face challenging educational as well as health issues in Australia.
Through consideration of ways in which social inclusion, disability and
education policy are enacted at the intersection of health and education, this
chapter examines educational possibility for these young people. The
intention of this chapter is to focus on the theme of ‘vulnerability’ through
examination of key issues related to young people who are of school age and
who live with long-term health conditions. Four main groups have been
identified as vulnerable for the purposes of this discussion: (1) the young
people who live with chronic health challenges who are enrolled in schools,
(2) the parents of these young people, (3) state education systems and (4)
government-funded special schools and education facilities associated with
paediatric hospitals. Before these vulnerabilities are explored, medical and
educational contexts and legal frameworks pertaining to this particular
group of students are considered. Discussion about the vulnerabilities of the
identified groups forms the final section of the chapter.
The ‘no man’s land’ in the title refers to World War I trench warfare
where land between the opposing sides lay unclaimed (Ayrton, 2014). In
this chapter, I develop the argument that the intersection between health and
education is a similarly desolate and barren space, for which nobody is
claiming responsibility.