This book critically examines the socio-cultural role of achievement within education, arguing that the increasingly global demand for measurable standards of academic achievement is an expression of political ideology and the aggressive competitive reality of a neo-capitalist schooling system, resulting in many students feeling socially worthless.

Khen Lampert is a Lecturer in the Department of East Asian Studies, Tel Aviv University, Israel. He has previously published Traditions of Compassion; Compassionate Education: Prolegomena for Radical Schooling; and co-authored A Voice Unheard: Insight to Children's Distress.