Many socio-economically disadvantaged students excel in PISA. Students who succeed in school despite a disadvantaged background, known as resilient students, are the focus of Against the Odds. The book provides students, parents, policy makers and other stakeholders in education with insights into what enables socioeconomically disadvantaged students to fulfil their potential. The more hours disadvantaged students spend learning science at school, the better equipped they are to close the performance gap with their more advantaged peers. Resilient students are also found to have positive approaches to learning, including an active interest in science and greater self-confidence. However, the evidence in PISA shows that positive approaches to learning tend to boost the performance of advantaged students more than that of disadvantaged young people. From an equity perspective, the PISA results suggest that policies aimed at fostering positive approaches to learning should target disadvantaged students more than others.
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