Analysing Underachievement in Schools

Description

Underachievement in school is one of the most widely used terms in education today. As a discourse it has been responsible for influencing government policy, staffroom discussions, as well as the pages of academic journals and the TES. It is also a subject which raises questions about what we expect from a fair and equitable education system. This book provides a critical analysis of two sides of the underachievement debate, at each of the three levels of focus - international, the UK and the individual. On the one hand, it will consider the 'crisis' account; of falling standards and failing pupils and, on the other, present an alternative account, which urges a re-evaluation of the underachievement debate in order to consider who might be underachieving and why.

Emma Smith is Lecturer in Education at the University of Birmingham, UK.

"...this is an interesting book, of relevance to policy-makers, researchers and practitioners seeking to better understand and engage with the perennial debates on underachievement and who are keen to gain an alternate perspective to national and international notions of educational success and failure." Educational Review, December 2009