Page 23 - Štremfel, Urška, ed., 2016. Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Approaches, Challenges. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Digital Library, Documenta 11.
P. 23
eration. And how should Slovenia respond within the national environment, 23
when it is established that the achievement of its students, on the comparative
achievement scale or in terms of the European benchmark, is below average
and when the issue of underachievement is substantiated by numerous pro-
jections about the further (economic) development of society?
International reports (OECD, EU) reveal countries endeavour to improve
student achievement to a higher level in different ways. However, in spite of
the acknowledged social, economic and political significance of student (un-
der)achievement in PISA, it is clear that neither the member states individual-
ly, nor together, have succeeded in discovering the ‘magic formula’ that would
enable a reduction in academic underachievement of adolescents within the
EU. In spite of some aspirations to search for universal solutions at the EU level,
an OECD study (1998) pointed out that the situation of countries with regard to
student (under)achievement may be very specific and that each country must
thus develop its own strategy of coping with students’ low achievements. Un-
suitable balance in adopting European agendas and in taking into considera-
tion the specific nature of the national context has already been pointed out
by some Slovenian authors (e.g. Štremfel, 2013).
How does this monograph attempt to contribute to the discovery of a
‘magic formula’ for decreasing adolescents’ academic underachievement?
The aim of the monograph Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Ap-
proaches, Challenges is to highlight various indicators that are correlated with
student underachievement based on theoretical assumptions, data from in-
ternational comparative assessment studies and other international and na-
tional studies in the field of education. The aim is also to point out some pos-
sible approaches and strategies for improving students’ learning outcomes on
the same basis. The basis for identifying factors and developing approaches
was the data from PISA, which represents the central interface between con-
temporary perspectives on academic (under)achievement. However, a wider
approach was adopted simultaneously, one that enables the development of
country-specific approaches and perspectives, as well as identifying the open
challenges of student achievement within the Slovenian educational space.
In spite of the significance that reaching basic levels of literacy in PISA sup-
posedly has for one’s functioning in a modern society, in Slovenia some au-
thors (e.g. Marentič Požarnik, 2002: 48) still point out that this involves a rela-
tively narrow understanding of student achievement. In particular, the views
that students functioning below their capabilities, losing motivation for learn-
ing and acquiring (permanent, useful) knowledge that is of unsatisfacto-
ry quality, are disregarded as also being cases of student underachievement.
All of the above indicates that student achievement is not always a reflection
of students’ intellectual abilities (or their general intelligence for that matter),
contemporary perspectives on student (under)achievement: introduction
when it is established that the achievement of its students, on the comparative
achievement scale or in terms of the European benchmark, is below average
and when the issue of underachievement is substantiated by numerous pro-
jections about the further (economic) development of society?
International reports (OECD, EU) reveal countries endeavour to improve
student achievement to a higher level in different ways. However, in spite of
the acknowledged social, economic and political significance of student (un-
der)achievement in PISA, it is clear that neither the member states individual-
ly, nor together, have succeeded in discovering the ‘magic formula’ that would
enable a reduction in academic underachievement of adolescents within the
EU. In spite of some aspirations to search for universal solutions at the EU level,
an OECD study (1998) pointed out that the situation of countries with regard to
student (under)achievement may be very specific and that each country must
thus develop its own strategy of coping with students’ low achievements. Un-
suitable balance in adopting European agendas and in taking into considera-
tion the specific nature of the national context has already been pointed out
by some Slovenian authors (e.g. Štremfel, 2013).
How does this monograph attempt to contribute to the discovery of a
‘magic formula’ for decreasing adolescents’ academic underachievement?
The aim of the monograph Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Ap-
proaches, Challenges is to highlight various indicators that are correlated with
student underachievement based on theoretical assumptions, data from in-
ternational comparative assessment studies and other international and na-
tional studies in the field of education. The aim is also to point out some pos-
sible approaches and strategies for improving students’ learning outcomes on
the same basis. The basis for identifying factors and developing approaches
was the data from PISA, which represents the central interface between con-
temporary perspectives on academic (under)achievement. However, a wider
approach was adopted simultaneously, one that enables the development of
country-specific approaches and perspectives, as well as identifying the open
challenges of student achievement within the Slovenian educational space.
In spite of the significance that reaching basic levels of literacy in PISA sup-
posedly has for one’s functioning in a modern society, in Slovenia some au-
thors (e.g. Marentič Požarnik, 2002: 48) still point out that this involves a rela-
tively narrow understanding of student achievement. In particular, the views
that students functioning below their capabilities, losing motivation for learn-
ing and acquiring (permanent, useful) knowledge that is of unsatisfacto-
ry quality, are disregarded as also being cases of student underachievement.
All of the above indicates that student achievement is not always a reflection
of students’ intellectual abilities (or their general intelligence for that matter),
contemporary perspectives on student (under)achievement: introduction
