Gilson, H.

English

UEL Research Repository at University of East London

Educational Psychology Research and PracticeVolume 9, Issue 1, 2023Review of the book Square Pegs: Inclusivity, Compassion and FittingIn: A Guide for Schools, by Fran Morgan with Ellie Costello, edited byIan GilbertHannah GilsonTrainee Educational PsychologistUniversity of East LondonSquare Pegs analyses and attempts to tackle one of themost pressing problems facing the modern UK educationsystem — that is, the growing number of young people whofeel they do not “fit” in school, to the extent that their well-being, mental and physical health, and access to educationare in jeopardy, with many not able to attend any form ofschooling at all. However, this is not a book which merelyseeks to reiterate traditional, within-child perspectives ofnon-attendance. Instead, it poses difficult questions for allthose working within the education system about their roleand impact on the inclusion of every child. Square Pegs iswritten by those with direct experiences of either parentingor supporting young people who have not felt included in thesystem — including a number of educational psychologists.It skilfully outlines a range of relevant legislation, case stud-ies and psychological concepts, including fulfilment of needsand self-determination theories, and explains their relevanceto young people’s school experience in an accessible way.The opening metaphor, describing children who strugglewith school for whatever reason, as “the canaries in the mine,alerting us to the mounting problems in our education sys-tem” (p. 3) is powerful not only because of its fundamen-tal truth but also because of its stark warning of the veryreal danger which lies ahead in terms of the mental healthand wellbeing of young people if meaningful change is notenacted. While this message is addressed bluntly, the booktakes a non-confrontational stance on the individuals withinthe system. It points out the failings of organisations andemphasises the damage done when young people do not haveaccess to the support they need, while acknowledging the of-ten good intentions and impossible situations of those en-acting these destructive policies (such as non-negotiable be-haviour systems and rigid expectations). Recognising the fu-tility of blame, the authors seek instead to guide all practi-tioners to “reframe our relationship with [the system] and ourrelationships with others within it” (p. 109), towards recog-nising how they can alter their personal practice to become aforce for good within a flawed system rather than adding tothe erosion of young people’s belief in themselves and theirability to participate in school and society.The power of the book comes from its collaborative na-ture, with chapters authored by educational psychologists,teachers, school leaders, parents, mental health and medicalpractitioners, lawyers and social workers. These many per-spectives combine to form an all-encompassing educationalhandbook on how to understand and navigate potential issuesthat can create barriers to belongingness. In this way, thebook embodies the message it sends to schools and educationleaders — that improvements can only be made through par-ticipation, listening to and valuing all perspectives, and find-ing ways to co-produce strategies and develop constructiverelationships between children, their families, their schoolsand outside agencies.In a book filled with profound insights and practical strate-gies, ranging from quick fixes, which schools could applywith immediate effect, to calls for long-term societal shiftsin attitudes to achievement and epistemological value, themost memorable element is the inclusion of authentic words,pictures and narratives of children who have been failed bythe education system. As educational psychologists, we areaware of the power of hearing pupils’ voices, and this bookamplifies those voices loudly and demands that all educatorslisten.One shortcoming was its limited examination of the im-pact of systemic racism on young people, especially con-cerning the feelings of belonging of those whose ethnicityor cultural background is in a minority within their schoolpopulation. This issue is touched upon in some chapters,for example regarding discriminatory bias through punish-ments, particularly for black Caribbean boys, and neurodi-versity campaigner William Carter speaks movingly abouthis time as a former “square peg” and subsequent academicsuccess, sharing that his mixed race identity is “somethingthat many students will tell you makes a difference” (p. 69).However, as racism is such an insidious problem in UKschools, with more than 60,000 instances of racist bullyingrecorded in schools between 2016 and 2021 (Sapouna et al.,2023), a more detailed exploration of how to promote inclu-sion through actively antiracist education needs to be a keyfocus for future discussion.I would encourage all educational psychologists to readthis book, not because it will lead to radical changes in yourperspective — indeed, Square Pegs promotes the kind ofperson-centred, strengths-based, relational approach which2 GILSONmost of our profession already espouse — but instead, forthe fact that it is a useful resource to share amongst schoolsand a young person’s wider system, prompting considerationnot of how to change children to fit their school, but how toadapt the environment so that it works for every child. WhatSquare Pegs seeks to do is disseminate this ethos through-out the education system and help overburdened, pressuredschool staff working in the mine to recognise and reflect onthe warning the canaries are giving them and to see the lightabove ground leading them towards a better way to imagineour schools in the future.Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.This article is an open access articledistributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative CommonsAttribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/ ).REVIEW OF THE BOOK SQUARE PEGS: INCLUSIVITY, COMPASSION AND FITTING IN 3ReferencesSapouna, M., De Amicis, L., & Vezzali, L. (2023, Febru-ary 24). Addressing racist bullying in schools. Run-nymede Trust. https : / /www. runnymedetrust . org /blog/addressing-racist-bullying-in-schools

Review of the book Square Pegs: Inclusivity, Compassion and Fitting In: A Guide for Schools, by Fran Morgan with Ellie Costello, edited by Ian Gilbert

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Review of the book Square Pegs: Inclusivity, Compassion and Fitting In: A Guide for Schools, by Fran Morgan with Ellie Costello, edited by Ian Gilbert

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