Exploring sources of consensus and disaffection in alternative provision provided by the construction industry in the UK

Alternative provision (AP) is where young people at risk of exclusion because of their behaviour are removed from mainstream education into alternative forms of education. This research explores construction AP delivered by five organisations, using the work of Basil Bernstein as the theoretical approach on the sources of consensus and disaffection in education. Disaffection arises when students cannot or will not accept the expressive order (conduct, behaviour) and/or the instrumental order (knowledge, skills) of the school. Drawing on interviews with construction trainers and social value teams working in construction AP, this research makes an important new contribution to construction education research by showing how training young people on a live construction site encourages improvements in behaviour as young people learn the appropriate behaviours for working in the industry. In addition to improving behaviour and gaining the skills and qualifications needed to access employment opportunities in the construction industry, young people can continue to learn mainstream academic subjects such as maths. It is concluded that Bernstein’s theoretical approach is useful for understanding the construction industry’s contribution to educating young people at risk of exclusion.