How we can make it less difficult for boys to achieve in school

This article is based on the evidence provided to the Men and Boys APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group) inquiry into Boys' Educational Underachievement.

The underachievement of boys in education is well known and documented.  The low-achieving boys are most noticeable as teenagers and are often spoken of as ‘immature’, or the victims of ‘harmful stereotypes of masculinity’.

Solutions have been offered which include delayed education (to take account of slower maturity in boys) or some sort of training or re-education to prevent the development of these stereotypes.

Based on an analysis of a wide range of research, including genetics, child development and both successful and unsuccessful interventions, this article takes into account both evolutionary and social influences. It shows how, from minor genetic average differences, amplified by systematic different treatment by adults, society generates a group of ‘lost boys’, and then blames them (or the ‘patriarchy’) for their disadvantage.

As a baby
Boys are born with average differences which predispose them to be slower to develop language skills.  They tend to prefer objects to people.

Adults interact with boys and girls differently.  In general they encourage boys to be active and girls to talk.  They tend to read more to girls and teach them to sing nursery-rhymes more often and often interact differently with a baby depending on whether they think it is male or female.

“Low-language children [who are more often boys] are less able to tell the other child or the teacher what is wrong, so they act-out by shouting, hitting, grabbing, running away, hiding etc. Adults respond to this behaviour by reprimand, and tend to be firmer with boys than girls.” 

At Nursery School
The APPG heard that children with lower language skills tend to play together with low-language games (Lego, climbing, bikes etc).  They get less practice at talking than their talkative peers.

Low-language children are less able to use language to moderate their behaviour. They are less able to tell the other child or the teacher what is wrong, so they act-out by shouting, hitting, grabbing, running away, hiding etc.  Adults respond to this behaviour by reprimand, and tend to be firmer with boys than girls.

Primary school
Unless there is an effective intervention, low-language children arrive at primary school with lower language skills, less vocabulary and less self-regulation.  This means they understand less of what the teacher says and so act-up more.  The reprimands continue and so low-language boys start to associate education with negative experience.

However, national statistics show that the boy:girl gap in language skills becomes smaller at Primary School.  This may well be because the low-language child has the same teacher for most of the week, the teacher can get to know the child and set appropriate work.  The child progresses and the gap between the girls and boys narrows from 12% to 5 % as measured by their KS2 (Key Stage 2) assessment between ages 7 and 11.

Unless the language/vocabulary/oracy problem is addressed, the low-language child becomes a low-achieving child.

Secondary School
In many schools, detailed information about the child’s ability is not systematically transferred from primary to secondary school.  This disproportionately disadvantages the low-achieving student. While some children with special educational needs and disabilities (SENDs) get individualised support at secondary school, most low-language children do not.  They are then taught by a dozen different teachers who may teach hundreds of individual students each week.

Low-achieving students see the test results of their friends and soon start to understand that they are failing. They find themselves in lower sets.

The girls go through puberty earlier than the boys, so that by around 14 years old (Year 9), the class contains more mature girls and less mature boys.  Boys do not ‘catch up’ till around 17 years old (Year 12).

Low-language boys now start to be labelled as troublesome and systems put in place to manage them.  A culture of low expectations and less-controlled discipline develops. 

While the education system may not have been ‘feminised’ as such, it benefits those students (more girls than boys) who can easily/willingly sit, listen, read, write and discuss.

Later school exams (GCSE and A-levels)
As shown by the GCSE results (around 15 years old), the gap between boys and girls attainment grows (on average) from 5% at the start of Year 7, to 12% at the end of Year 11.

While many boys do well enough to progress in education, few low-achieving boys continue to A-levels (around 17 years old) and higher education.

“…society is complicit in this way of relating to low-achieving boys. They fail to understand that it is not the boys’ fault.  The boys are exhibiting a natural reaction to an environment created for them by adults.”

Outcomes for low-achieving boys
In the past they would have found jobs in mines, building trades, factory work, etc, so this has mattered less than it does today when these opportunities are in decline.

These boys now become a majority of so-called NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) and are more likely to be unemployed, abuse drugs or alcohol, get involved in crime and spend time in prison.

How do adults respond to the problem of low-achieving boys?
What is clear from the evidence is that adults amplify the issues boys face.  Because this underachieving group is found in so many regions and for decades, most adults come to believe that the boys have adopted some sort of ‘harmful stereotype of masculinity’ and blame the boys themselves (or those who ‘taught them the stereotype’).  They suggest some sort of re-education to retrain the boys. 

It is not just the parents and teachers: society is complicit in this way of relating to low-achieving boys.

They fail to understand that it is not the boys’ fault.  The boys are exhibiting a natural reaction to an environment created for them by adults. 

To reverse this process, it is the adults who need to change.  The boys will then change in response to this positive environment.

The way ahead
The successful schools that I surveyed have countered this narrative at every stage.  Central has been a change in culture where the expectations are raised and support given. 

Working draft summary
The following is a short, draft summary of what four successful schools are doing. We are continuing to work with these four schools, and other successful ones, to develop materials to help other schools achieve these results.

Culture and Ethos

·      Hold all students to the same high expectations, regardless of gender.

·      Promote positive expectations of all students and challenge stereotypes.

·      There isn’t ‘one big thing’. Take an all-round approach to providing and monitoring student achievement and engagement.

·      Avoid using small classes for behaviour management.

·      Focus on excellence for boys and girls.

·      Showcase positive male and female role models in all areas of school life.

·      Clearly set the "why" behind desired actions and behaviours.

·      Seek to reduce workload tasks from teachers to protect time for high quality teaching and relationship building.

Building Relationships

·      Create a school environment where all students feel safe, respected, and valued.

·      Ensure that all staff know their students well.

·      Celebrate and publicize the successes of all students.

·      Implement peer mentoring programs.

·      Provide opportunities for student voice.

Home-School Links

·      Encourage positive and effective parental engagement.

·      Provide parents with clear information on what is expected of them and how they can support their child's learning.

·      Create a welcoming and receptive school environment for parents.

·      Ensure that communication between parents and staff is clear, timely, and jargon-free.

Literacy and Oracy

·      Identify and provide support to students who are struggling with literacy.

·      Provide Continuing Professional Development (CPD) on high quality teaching for SEND.

·      Ensure the development of vocabulary and oracy is systemic across all subjects.

·      Provide opportunities for public speaking for all students.

·      Ensure all students have access to books and other reading materials that are interesting and relevant to their individual interests.

·      Develop a culture of reading in and out of lessons.

Behaviour/Discipline

·      Use a clear and consistent behaviour management system.

·      Ensure that all staff are consistent in their application of the behaviour management system.

·      Provide support for staff in managing challenging behaviour.

·      Ensure that parents or carers are contacted and involved when their child is involved in an incident of poor behaviour.

·      Provide access to counselling or mental health support for students with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

·      Use centralized systems for managing detentions and other consequences.

As you will probably have noticed, the overall summary is ‘Treat both sexes fairly’.  There is nothing strange, difficult or expensive here.  The successful schools (and we are finding more) have achieved equality within existing budgets.

Societal change
Interestingly, a parallel cultural shift took place from the 1960s onward – but with girls.  Girls were held back by low expectations and ideas about what subjects (and sports) were appropriate for girls. 

Once this was recognised, society started changing and offering support and encouragement to girls. The widening gap between boys and girls seen from the mid 1980s is a testament to the success of this aspiration/culture change.

But it’s important for us to recognise that today is no longer the 1960s. Today it is boys who need support, and urgently so.

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Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, legal advice, or other professional opinion. Never disregard such advice because of this article or anything else you have read from the Centre for Male Psychology. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of, or are endorsed by, The Centre for Male Psychology, and we cannot be held responsible for these views. Read our full disclaimer here.

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