Caribbean pupils’ experience of educational achievement in secondary school

In the UK education system Caribbean students at the end of secondary school, are one of the ethnic minority groups most likely to underachieve compared to the national average.

This is well-documented historically and continues to be a current issue for Caribbean pupils in the UK school system.

Despite this there are Caribbean pupils who academically achieve in secondary school but there are relatively few studies that have explored their views.

The current thesis sought to identify factors, which lead to academic attainment for Caribbean students in a mainstream secondary school.

A systematic literature review investigated the association between the quality of teacher-student relationships and academic achievement for demographically and/or academically at risk children and adolescents.

Findings from thirteen studies indicated that both negative and positive teacher-student relationships influenced academic achievement over time.

The empirical paper adopted a qualitative approach using interpretive phenomenology analysis of nine semi-structured interviews of academically achieving Caribbean pupils aged 14-15, in a mainstream secondary school.

In total five super-ordinate themes were identified, which related to individual and environmental factors that both facilitated and hindered academic achievement in school.

Finally, the dissemination and impact paper provides an overview of effective dissemination to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

As well as an outline of the study's policy, practice and research implications in academic, social and professional terms.