underachievement

What’s the real story behind today’s GCSE results?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 25, 2011, 10:31 pm

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Much of the mainstream media’s reporting around this morning’s GCSE results has focussed on the highest grades. The clipping to the right (from a BBC News online article) is a typical example. Not much mention of any grade below C. Mick’s post from earlier today has already started some discussion. The disparity between male and female results is very noticeable in a subject like English. This year 24.5% of girls opened their envelope to discover they had been awarded an …

Educational underachievement and disadvantaged PUL males

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 27, 2011, 11:28 pm

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One subject which didn’t get raised on Slugger last week was the publication of the report into educational underachievement and disadvantaged protestant males by Dawn Purvis and her independent working group. Protestant educational underachievement has been a much talked about situation over the years: generational unemployment, last of aspiration, lack of positive role models on top of the Troubles legacy, poverty, deprivation and family breakdown. Statistics bounce around the media about the low number of boys on the Shankill Road …