Educational Attainment and Society

Sophisticated monograph focussing on attainment at the end of secondary/high school education (and the interface with tertiary education). Combines re-analysis of secondary literature (including official statistics, institutional histories, interview data) and analysis of qualitative and quantitative primary research using descriptive and inferential statistics, value-added analysis and grounded theory. The results show the siginificance and weakness of both the mid-twentieth century classic analyses of social clas and the late-twentieth century feminist approaches. Shows how a joint consideration of social issues, in particular of gender and social stratification, produce a powerful model for explaining attainment with important implications for policy on (a) boys' underachievement and (b) participation in higher education.

Nigel Kettley is Lecturer in Social Science at the Institute of Continuing Education and Fellow of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK.

Preface Contents Acronyms and abbreviations Introduction 1. Empirical and theoretical approaches 2. Reconceptualisation Locating attainment 3. Contexts 4. Patterns of differential attainment Explaining attainment 5. The relevance of gender 6. The imapct of social stratification Theorising attainment 7. Situational adaptations and educational practices 8. Congruence approach Conclusion 9. Summary; implications; recommendations Appendix References Index