Underachievement : are students failing school or are our schools failing students?

Abstract

In this article I will first set out to problematise our common sense assumptions about the notion of "ability", on which subsequent defmitions of "achievement" at school are based. I will argue that this kind of critical reflection on the submerged theories we operate with is crucial, for it is through a better understanding of what we are about in schools and classrooms that we can best serve the interests of those entrusted in our care. The categorisation of pupils as "high achievers", "low achievers" , and "under achievers" depends on particular views of intelligence and ability, which have developed over time and which conceal political and economic ideologies that are often not immediately available to us for critique. Nevertheless, these views of the world, of the place of the school within thls world, and of the relative worth of different groups of children therein, have an extraordinarily powerful influence on the way we think and act, and therefore need to be unpacked. Otherwise, we risk perpetrating injustices on those we claim to represent. Having delved into the political etymology of the concept "ability", we will then explore what it is that can be done to interact more effectively with those who do not fulfill their potential in the school context.