Disaffected pupils respond well in circumstances where they feel secure, where they have a sense of being valued and respected, and where they perceive there to be opportunities for them to succeed. Paul Cooper offers some insights into how these outcomes might be achieved in both mainstream and segregated settings. Paul Cooper grounds his investigation in the views expressed by a group of pupils who have been excluded from mainstream schools and placed in residential schools for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. He charts the perceptions these pupils have of their current and former experience of schooling, as well as their views on the nature and causes of their difficulties. Connecting the insights gained from these pupils to work that has been done in the area of school effectiveness, he offers some guidelines on ways in which teachers and managers can work towards reducing disaffection in schools. The book's practical research base emphasizes the need to find solutions to educational problems within the real life contexts in which they occur; it will be of interest to all those whose concerns are with the everyday realities of schooling.