Background to the Research

• Reductions in levels of pupil disaffection and potential social exclusion have been a central tenet of the UK Government's Social Exclusion Unit. Personal and situational risk factors relating to the education of young people have been highlighted and have been the focus of intervention and prevention strategies within the schools and youth sector.
  

Research Approach

• This literature review sets out the background to these risk factors and critically reviews the academic and community literature from NI, the rest of the UK, Europe and beyond, that has evidenced the effectiveness or otherwise of prevention and intervention strategies in addressing underachievement and social disadvantage, in both the schools and youth sectors.
• Evidence and suggestions are presented on the most effective strategies and their constitute components, the most appropriate time of application and the expected benefits of such strategies.
• Key factors relevant to policy development aimed at combating social disadvantage and reducing low achievement are discussed.
  

Main Findings

• Numerous factors have been highlighted as potential 'risk' factors in the educational underachievement of pupils. Such risk factors may include age-related behaviours, contextual factors, parenting style or neighbourhood influences. The range of risk behaviours is wide and includes abuse of alcohol, substance abuse, pregnancy, truancy and smoking.
• The development of successful programmes is possible, but only if they are designed and delivered in the context that risk behaviours are interrelated and influenced by a range of individual and contextual factors.
• There have been few successful teen pregnancy prevention programmes. Programmes that have been most successful have extended beyond reproductive health to include life options, such as education and job-skill training and psychosocially-based components, including decision-making, problem solving and communication enhancement.
• In relation to drug prevention, studies strongly suggest that interventions should be targeted at primary schools with multi-component and multi-channel programmes with booster sessions.
• For pupils involved in truancy a number of approaches have been tried. It has been found that rewards and sanctions tend not to affect persistent truants (while positively affecting occasional truants) but ICT solutions can be effective, at a cost. Whole school solutions, coupled with unambiguous discipline policies and computerised registration, early literacy/numeracy intervention and extra-curricular activities have been the most effective.
• Since bullying has been shown to be implicated in pupil truancy and lack of achievement, intervention is recognised as being necessary. Whole school approaches, which are evidence-based, are needed to address bully/victim problems at the pupil, staff, parent and community level.

The briefing is available on the DENI website.