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The Tajyel-Turner Theory of Social Identity was used as a framework from which it was predicted that pupils of low attainment in secondary school should come to dejine themselves as indifferent to or opposed to the values of their schools. This hypothesis was examined in France and England, on self-report measures covering values, aspirations, perceptions, evaluations, beliefs and motivations. while results show numerous differences between low and high attainers common to both countries, the differences are more pronounced in England. National differences are such that the French pupils are more like high attainers.Results are interpretedas being more consistent with low attainingpupils being victims of boredom rather than failure, with the French school culture providing greater insulation against such reactions.

Primary school pupils in Portugal who have had to repeat two years of schooling were compared with a control group of normally progressing pupils. Harter's scales were used to measure components of self-concept and ofself-worth. There was no evidence that repeating years was associated with differences in mean scores other than those for perception ofpersonal scholastic competence. However, correlations between components of the self-concept and global self-worth in four sub-samples ofpupils differing in gender and repetenciayielded patterns that could be used to suggest a more complex interpretation.

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