Pupils’ views on school work and school from 7 to 16 years

ABSTRACT In this paper results are reported from a longitudinal study of the same pupils’ perspectives on school and school work from 7 to 16 years. It reports on changes and stability over time in pupil views, ethnic and sex differences, and associations between pupil views and their school attainments. Pupils were from inner‐city, largely working‐class, areas. The sample comprised British black (of Afro‐Caribbean origin) and white pupils. They were interviewed at 7, 11 and 16 years (n = 133, 175, 108, respectively). Topics covered included general attitudes on the value of and interest in school, maths and reading/English, and keeping up with and understanding school work. There was little support for strong claims about growing disaffection toward school. Pupils explained their academic progress largely in terms of internal factors over which they had control, such as effort. There was an ethnic difference at 16 years with white pupils less positive than black children about school and their own attainments. There was little sign of stability over time in views, or associations between views and attainments.