Educational Underachievement in Northern Ireland: Evidence Summary

Addressing educational underachievement is a significant and complex challenge (CREU, 2018). This paper aims to provide an overview of current knowledge related to educational underachievement in Northern Ireland. It focuses on the significant relationship between underachievement, social disadvantage and the myriad of in-school and out-of-school factors which are associated with student achievement.

The report of the Chief Inspector of Schools for Northern Ireland (ETI, 2018) provides numerous insights into factors associated with pupil achievement across the various sectors and phases. A key theme is the need for education provision to address the educational needs of every child across all phases and sectors, and multiple studies considered in this review highlight the priority given to inclusion as a strength of education policy provision in Northern Ireland.

This evidence summary brings together research published since 2000 relating to educational underachievement in the context of Northern Ireland. The main aim is to establish what is currently known about underachievement and its implications for children and young people, and make recommendations for future research.