In recent education discourse in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, we can see a renewed interest in the management of pupils’ dispositions and behaviours. This is evident in a proliferation of scientific research which links the development of social and emotional skills and character (skills) to improved academic achievement, and, by extension, better later life ‘outcomes’ and economic prosperity (Allen and Bull 2018; Bates 2017; Williamson 2017). In particular, the debate is framed and informed by knowledge from the domains of cognitive and positive psychology and concepts such as ‘grit’, ‘resilience’ and ‘motivation’. International organisations, such as the OECD and the World Bank have enthusiastically drawn on this field of research to argue for urgent reforms of education systems so that they can adequately prepare individuals and societies for the demands of the so called fourth industrial revolution (see for example Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2015; World Bank, 2017).

In education policy debates in the United Kingdom, this discourse has mainly played out in a resurgence of character education (Jerome and Kisby, 2019; Spohrer and Bailey, 2020), promoted by Conservative- Liberal Democrat Coalition and Conservative government from 2010. These debates and initiatives have been characterised as a blend of neo-liberal thought, promoting economic growth and addressing social mobility problems, and as a return to neo-conservative to traditional values (Vincent, 2019; Spohrer, 2021). Character education goes alongside the promotion of stricter discipline, evident in the appointment of the behaviour consultant Tom Bennett and a £10 initiative to tackle 'bad behaviour' in schools (Department of Education, 2019).

A number of high-profile Academy schools in England have embraced the idea that ‘discipline’, understood as behavioural control, is conducive to learning and, consequently, leads to higher ‘outcomes’ for individuals and schools. These schools often adopt principles and practices from the KIPP Charter Schools in the US, which draw on positive psychology and adopt ‘no excuses’ approaches (Stahl, 2020). Principles and methods of teaching include direct instruction, scripted lessons,and the SLANT technique (see, for example TES, 2021).

Reading this trend against a background of neo-liberal governmentality, Ball (2017) asks whether we can witness a return to docility and to a pedagogy that is concerned with the surface of learners rather than knowing them in-depth (as advanced in so-called progressive approaches to education which are concerned with the 'whole child'). Ball connects the recent interest in discipline and character with Bernstein's notion of a ‘visible’ or ‘performative’ pedagogy (Bernstein, 2000). Taking this observation as a starting point, the paper aims to analyse pedagogic discourses in schools with a 'no excuses' approach with a view to identifying which notion of the ideal person they construct, what techniques are employed in this process and what possibilities this opens up for pupils to interact with the rules of the school and develop their understanding of self. 

This paper draws on a document analysis of publicly available documents from six secondary Academy school with a 'no excuses' approach ins England, including behaviour policies, mission statements and information about the curriculum and pedagogical approaches adopted by the schools. The analytic approach draws on Foucaultian discourse analysis (Bacchi, 2016; Dean, 2010) with a view to deconstructing how pupils are constituted as subjects; the technologies by which they are expected to transform themselves; and towards which ideal future selves. A further step in the analysis is informed by Bernstein's notion of the pedagogic code (Bernstein, 2000). Drawing in particular on the notion of framing, which includes the structuring of the instructional discourse, as well as rules and relationships, the analysis will draw out to what extent the schools’ approaches can be seen as ‘visible’ or ‘invisible’ pedagogies or whether we can observe heterogenous approaches. It will be analysed how these pedagogic discourses allow young people to identify with the school's aims and internalise the desired behaviours and dispositions.Some connections will be made to what this means for pupil identities: What kinds of subjectivities do different pedagogies encourage? How might these be recognised and realised by pupils from different socio-economic and family backgrounds?

The schools' pedagogical practices will arguably be expressed though strong framing. However, different combinations might be found where behavioural discpline is designed to lead to a more autonomous future state of being. While stong framing and visible pedagogies might make it more difficult for pupils to see themselves represented in the school, they might also make expectations more explicit to children and young people and allow them to see themselves as academically successful (future) subjects. Whether the pupils will submit themselves to the rules of the school and experience them as personally meaningful will depend on other contextual factors, such as family resources, economic circumstances and pupils 'socio-affective dispositions' (see Marais and Neves, 2001).

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