Underachievement is approached from a broad, integrated perspective in this insightful look at the talented adolescent who always performs below his or her optimum level of achievement. Professor Griffin examines the psychological, social, and scholastic reasons behind the phenomenon of the distracted and disengaged high school student. The result of this in-depth study: A unique volume describing effective student learning behavior, providing curricular and instructional proposals for motivating underachievers, and offering a construct that provides the basis for understanding the various factors that account for academic achievement.

First Published in 1988. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book provides a new contribution to raising attainment in secondary schools, with specific reference to able underachievers who are currently achieving C grades or less when they could be getting As. Standards are depressed each time a single able underachiever demonstrates a competence that is below his or her real potential. It lowers morale in that the progress of the whole school is reduced proportionately in line with the able pupils who aren't achieving their real potential, and resources are wasted every time these pupils start misbehaving or creating problems in school. This is a new and innovative approach, which is based on discussions with the pupils themselves and incorporates not just the usual basic subjects but also the creative areas of the curriculum and the wider community as a whole. Head teachers, senior managers, teachers and students, indeed all who are interested in raising standards and ensuring that pupils achieve their full potential will find this book to be an excellent resource.

Easy-to-apply, scientifically-based approaches for engaging students in the classroom Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham focuses his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning. His book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn. It reveals-the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences. Nine, easy-to-understand principles with clear applications for the classroom Includes surprising findings, such as that intelligence is malleable, and that you cannot develop "thinking skills" without facts How an understanding of the brain's workings can help teachers hone their teaching skills "Mr. Willingham's answers apply just as well outside the classroom. Corporate trainers, marketers and, not least, parents -anyone who cares about how we learn-should find his book valuable reading." —Wall Street Journal

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.

The Title IX legislation of 1972 asserts that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, .." This, along with other movements and forces of the past half century, laid the foundation for our ongoing challenging, national dialogue about individuality, identity, opportunity, equality, and equity. This study advances that conversation based on the continuing evidence of male underachievement in our secondary schools. The purpose of this study was to explore school and district leader perceptions of the root causes behind male underachievement in American secondary schools, and, in doing so, inspire action by elevating the broader societal conversation about the phenomenon, advancing professional and scholarly understanding of male underachievement, and illuminating the plight of underachieving males. The research focused on two broad questions: How do school and district leaders explain male underachievement? Do leader perceptions of causes vary by identity (e.g., gender, level, experience)? A mixed-methods approach combined a survey, written responses, and interview data from Washington state public school administrators who had working knowledge of secondary-aged students. Quantitative data analysis included analysis of central tendency, distribution of responses, and correlation among responses by participant identity factors. Qualitative analysis included coding data, identifying core themes in responses, and isolating patterns of themes in crafting the narrative of participant insights. The research showed that this phenomenon is real, pervasive, and has been the case for some time at the secondary level. The study confirms that this phenomenon has validity within our professional sphere, though with varying degrees of affirmation and understanding across identities. While the degree of agreement on this phenomenon varies across participant identity, the research describes a traditional school learning environment that clashes with how males often present in schools, where success is often based on compliance, and where educators may lack cultural and professional awareness about boys and how they learn, even to the extent of betraying an institutional/system bias against adolescent males. The findings from this study call on policymakers and professionals to address male underachievement with urgency, to interrogate the increasingly disproportionate representation of males receiving special education services, and to invest in resources and programs to support male students. This work asks us to examine and promote teaching practices that maximize male connection and success, and to focus research into male adolescent mental health and emotional well-being, with special attention to connectedness, sense of belonging, and any links related to school violence, self-harm, and mental health issues in boys.