Early School Leaving (ESL) has devastating consequences for all students impacting employment, poverty, health, and political, social, and cultural participation (von Wachter, 2020). This paper reports key takeaways from systematic reviews to the research question: What does research say about the following key social determinants -institutional, socio-economic (SES), cognitive, cultural, linguistic, gender, socio-emotional and well-being and early childhood education and care (ECEC)- and root causes of underachievement in relation to ESL? The Prisma protocol (Paige et al, 2021) was used in the review process to examine relevant literature published from 2003-20023. Undertaken by partners from Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Malta, England, and Finland the review ultimately engaged systematically with 854 articles across the identified 8 social determinants. With regards to individual social determinants, institutional aspects such as grade retention, streaming and dominant mainstream curriculum are all associated with disengagement. Accessible counseling and guidance, and high teacher expectations, on the other hand, reduce underachievement (Oomen & Plant, 2014). Cognitive aspects like intelligence and self-concept play a key role and cultural dissonance relating to differing expectations and language use between home and school contributed to underachievement (Wilkinson, 2014). There is also evidence of higher levels of underachievement and ESL among boys, particularly from lower SES and minority groups. Stereotypical gender roles and associated teacher expectations translate into differences in school engagement and the lack of male teachers is also significant (Bhana, D. et al, 2022) Socio-economic status is the key determinant of underachievement with associated issues of expectation, resources, capacity, and stereotyping (Behtoui, 2017). The key aspects influencing students’ well-being and retention included the totality of students’ relationships as well as school climate, curricula, attitudes, and resources (Greenwood, L. & Kelly, C. (2019). In ECEC, underachievement is mainly linked to a lack of quality in early intervention and expert advice in the early years. The need for targeted support for young children with behavioral health issues was highlighted as was the negative impact of early segregation. The systematic reviews highlighted importantly how social determinants rarely operate in isolation with 4 key integrative themes emerging: • Family involvement is key factor to prevent and reduce underachievement and ESL. • Segregation-based practices undermine achievement and well-being. • School engagement and motivation positively correlate with less underachievement and ESL. • Teachers’ expectations and curriculum design are influential in reducing or aggravating these issues.

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