If they don’t listen I shout, and when I shout they listen’: hearing the voices of girls with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties

Young people, particularly girls, constructed in the education system as having behavioural, emotional
and social difficulties are amongst the least represented voices in research. Frequently denied
a place to speak from, we direct attention to the importance of hearing girls, who are troubled and
troubling—deviating from the rules of school and the norms of their gender—speak about their dis/
engagement in education. We argue that participatory research methods can provide meaningful
ways for girls to construct and better understand their own narratives. In so doing we draw on our
ongoing research in England with teenage girls excluded from mainstream provision. Findings from
analysis of their narratives are discussed in relation to voice, space, audience and influence. This
process reveals the significance of hearing and responding to the multilayered complexities of girls’
voices in purposeful ways.