This study draws together the strands of pupil voice and school improvement, with the aim of investigating some of the underlying causes of underachievement at key stage 3 from a pupil perspective. Recommendations are therefore made about raising achievement in secondary schools which are vulnerable to the failure to reach floor targets (minimum standards for A-C pass rates at GCSE). A sample of staff views were also sought in order to consider similarities and differences in the ways that adults and pupils in the case study school accounted for underachievement and suggested solutions to overcome these barriers. The research uses an action research and case study approach in its design, a focus group method for gathering data and finally, a grounded theory methodology for the analysis of data. It is the use of grounded theory that is central to this study as this leads to a proposed theory of underachievement. The research questions around underachievement are answered and, in addition, a theory of underachievement is constructed from the data. The implications of this theory of underachievement, putting pupil identity and relationships at the centre, is discussed in relation to issues for the DfES, the LEA, the school and for teacher training. In addition, a cycle of underachievement is described and suggestions are made as to how this cycle might be broken. As we move forward towards a climate where "Every Child Matters", the findings here are important in the spirit of putting the young person at the centre and creating a climate of positive outcomes, where the school is the platform on which to build enjoyment and achievement for all our young people.

This research paper details an autoethnographic investigation into a tumultuous year in my professional life that affected my identity and personal existence. I became the manager of a failing inner city secondary school for boys identified as having emotional and behavioural difficulties. The school had been deemed as being in need of `Special Measures' for several years and had at times been colloquially labelled as the worst school in England. I recorded not just my experiences but also my most intimate thoughts and feelings about what I experienced during the academic year 2002 - 2003. This was achieved through the production of a reflective journal that was nearly 300 pages long on its completion. The thesis is drawn from the contexts surrounding the school and its population as well as from the data I recorded in the journal. On finishing this paper I still do not understand how a school can be allowed to degenerate into the lawless and uncaring environment I encountered in September 2002. What I have discovered during my research is the importance of humanity, compassion, respect and equality when attempting to recover a school that has been disregarded and left to rot. I have been shocked and challenged by the physical, cognitive and emotional demands made by working in the environment described in my thesis. The journey of myself through the year in question can be genuinely described as harrowing. My fervent hope is that this research can help avoid what happened at Osbourne occurring in any other educational establishment. My reflections on Osbourne have helped me reach the conclusion that at the moment I simply cannot leave the school even though I am exhausted by it and my health has suffered. I cannot trust the school to anyone else at the moment; we have been through too much together. As I think this paper will demonstrate, I have given myself to the school.

Η σχολική αποτυχία αποτελεί διαχρονικά το ζητούμενο του εκπαιδευτικού συστήματος. Φαινόμενο πολυσχιδές και πολυδιάστατο προσεγγίζεται ερευνητικά με διαφόρους τρόπους. Στην έρευνά μας επιχειρούμε να συνδέσουμε την αντιμετώπιση της σχολικής αποτυχίας με την επιμόρφωση των εκπαιδευτικών, ως φορέα διαμόρφωσης παιδαγωγικών πρακτικών ανάσχεσης του φαινομένου. Αξιοποιώντας το θεωρητικό πλαίσιο του B. Bernstein και εφαρμόζοντας την πολυμεθοδολογική προσέγγιση έρευνας – συνέντευξη και παρατήρηση στο πεδίο – συλλέξαμε τα δεδομένα μας και οδηγηθήκαμε σε συγκεκριμένα συμπεράσματα. Διαπιστώσαμε ότι η επιμόρφωση των εκπαιδευτικών υπολείπεται στη διαδικασία συγκρότησης παιδαγωγικών πρακτικών που θα συμβάλλουν στον περιορισμό της σχολικής αποτυχίας. Οι κυρίαρχες παιδαγωγικές πρακτικές εμφανίζονται ομοιόμορφα, με επιμέρους διαφοροποιήσεις, αποτελούν διαδικασία μύησης στον κυρίαρχο κώδικα και συμβάλλουν στην πολιτισμική αναπαραγωγή ρυθμίζοντας τη συνείδηση των υποκειμένων. Τέλος, οι εκπαιδευτικοί μετέρχονται συγκεκριμένες στρατηγικές για τη στήριξη των "αδύνατων" μαθητών, οι οποίες επιφέρουν μια επιπλέον διαστρωμάτωση στην ήδη διαστρωματίζουσα παιδαγωγική πρακτική. / All over the years, school failure has been the aim of the educational system. Being a rather multifaceted and multidimensional phenomenon, school failure can be approached in various ways. This research attempts to associate facing school failure with in-service training which can be regarded as an agent to eliminate it. Utilizing B. Berstein’s theoretical framework and applying mixed methodology in our research – interview and observation in the field – we collected our data and reached certain conclusions. We found that in-service training falls short of establishing pedagogical practices that could help to reduce school failure. Dominant pedagogical practices are common, having only a few variations, and conductive to cultural reproduction as they influence the consciousness of the subjects. Finally, teachers use certain strategies to support weak students causing an additional stratification to pedagogical practice which is already stratifying