ABSTRACT
I begin this chapter with Banksy’s succinct definition of the problem and H.G. Wells’s hopeful
optimism regarding its solution. In writing this book, I regretfully come to the conclusion that
most countries’ education systems are losing Wells’s race; they are failing significant num-
bers of their children who are disadvantaged by one or more aspects of their backgrounds. In
some cases, it is girls who are excluded from education (Chapter 2); in others, it is boys who
trail girls in achievement (Chapter 2) and, in still others, it is those whose different religions
or beliefs lead to discrimination (Chapter 5). In many cases, it is children from low socio-
economic status backgrounds whose performances lag those from higher socio-economic
homes (Chapter 3), or children from ethnic minorities (Chapter 4), or those who have dis-
abilities (Chapter 6), who are disadvantaged. In yet other cases, it is the combination of two
or more of these markers of identity that leads to discrimination or low achievement. In all
cases, segregation of children by reason of their diversity is a major cause for concern.
