Underachievement in Schools

This text looks at a wide variety of issues concerned with underachievement in schools. The author uses a case-study school as a framework to show how recent research and theory about underachievement and disadvantage can be applied in practice. She discusses: understanding the concept of underachievement; social class; ethnicity; gender; poverty; family; peer effects; school effects; and the role of schools and policy makers in reducing underachievement.