Behind the headlines and controversy surrounding new academy schools, many of their principals, teachers and pupils have been quietly changing the culture of learning and achievement in some of the most disadvantaged communities in England. While successful innovation and change is not unique to academies, this book illustrates how the academy policy represents a significant opportunity to improve the life chances of their pupils. Too much attention has focused on unanswerable questions about whether academies are better or worse than their predecessor or comparable schools in their neighbourhood. Too little focus has been on what policy makers and practitioners can learn from the different, and often conflicting, perspectives of the key players, notably sponsors, architects, principals, parents and pupils in order to create a school that can truly serve their community with distinction.

This new text draws on international research into pupils' perspectives on schools and school work in order to offer insights into raising academic achievement in school.
There is particular concern with children underachieving in schools, and some of this is put down to children's lack of motivation to work and do well. This book illustrates how understanding and doing something about underachievement means understanding and doing something about pupils' views of themselves, their perceptions of their own ability and competence, and their motivation towards school work. The authors look at the differences between ages, genders and ethnic groups. They show that a pupil's motivation and attitudes towards their ability and towards school work can alter with different subjects. They study the effect that classrooms and the school as a whole can have on a pupil. They draw together their findings to produce implications for practice.