Analyzing Academic Performance of Underachieving Students
A literature review identifying group of learners within society and providing reasons for their possible underachievement. Educational setting, without a doubt, should work in collaboration with families, local communities and above all, should aim to provide stimulating environment where every student is given the same opportunity to achieve. There is however general concern regarding academic performance of underachieving students and various reasons behind it. This assignment will address some issues associated with low attainment as well as identify a group of students who are particularly prone to underachievement. Those could include students who do not perform well in a specific subject area, do not show interest in gaining qualifications or perhaps are limited by poor language skills or culture from doing well academically at school. There have been many explanations for low attainment and some of them include: * Natural differences between sexes, * Natural intelligence, * Home background, * Type of schooling, * Different teaching styles (stereotyping by teachers), * Material factors (Hammersley-Fletcher, Lowe & Pugh, 2006). Halsey performed a survey of the working class and found that material factors were central to whether learners stayed at school beyond the age of 16 (Halsley cited in Hammersley-Fletcher, Lowe & Pugh, 2006). Department for Education also states that the gap between the best and worst performers in our system actually widens as they go through education; and it is both significantly wider and more closely related to socio-economic status in this country than anywhere else (DFES, 2004).
In education, the relationship between schools and social inequality is often explored by looking at the test and examination scores achieved by different groups of children and young people, and other monitoring data.
According to Molly Warrington by the age of 11, girls in many
In education, the relationship between schools and social inequality is often explored by looking at the test and examination scores achieved by different groups of children and young people, and other monitoring data.
According to Molly Warrington by the age of 11, girls in many
References: BBC News Channel. (2008). White working class boys failing. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7220683.stm. Last accessed 28th Feb 2013 Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People’s Services Daily Mail. (2012). White working-class boys are consigned to education scrapheap, Ofsted warns. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2159616/The-anti-school-culture-condemns-white-boys-failure.html. Last accessed 28th Feb 2013. Department for Education and Skills. (2005). Raising Boys’ Achievement. Available: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/RR636.pdf. Last accessed 28th Feb 2013. Goodman, A., Gregg, P. (2010). POORER CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: HOW IMPORTANT ARE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR?.Available: http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/educational-attainment-poor-children. Last accessed 3th March 2013. Hammersley-Fletcher, L., Lowe, M. and Pugh, J. (2006) The Teaching Assistant 's Guide, an essential textbook for foundation degree students. Oxton, Routledge. OFSTED. (2003). Boys’ achievement in secondary schools. Available: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/boys-achievement-secondary-schools. Last accessed 28th February 2013. OFSTED. (2005) Managing challenging behaviour. Available: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/managing-challenging-behaviour. Last accessed 15th February 2013. Swain, J. (2003). How young schoolboys become somebody: the role of the body in the construction of masculinity. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 24: 299-314. Swain, J. (2004). The resources and strategies that 10-11-year-old boys use to construct masculinities in the school setting. British Educational Research Journal, 20: 167-85. The Guardian. (2013). Working class boys: schools must work with parents to raise their attainment. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/jan/17/working-class-boys-raise-attainment. Last accessed 3th March 2013. Warrington, M., Younger, M. (2006) Raising Boys ' Achievement in Primary Schools. Berkshire, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing. Willis, P. (1977). Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs. Aldershot: Saxon House. Younger, M., McLellan, R., Warrington, M. (2005). Raising Boys ' Achievement in Secondary Schools. Birkshire: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.