Concerns about boys have become topical in nations such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, the USA, Germany, Denmark and Japan. From the resulting research and discussion on boys' issues, several distinct approaches or discourses have developed.
Drawing on Epstein (1998) and Gilbert and Gilbert (1998), these discourses are briefly summarised below as 'poor boys', 'failing schools', 'boys will be boys' and 'gender relations'.
This school of thought sees boys as victims in education. It argues that attacks by assertive women, especially feminists, have caused men to lose control of their lives. The 'poor boys' discourse tends to blame women, especially female teachers and mothers, for the perceived 'failures' of boys. Advocates call for a 'return' to more 'natural' structures with more 'masculine' teaching styles, male teachers and male role models. Such approaches often align with recuperative masculinity politics.
This approach blames schools for boys' supposed underachievement. It can be linked to recent education policies, such as the 'school effectiveness' and 'school improvement' movements in the UK and Canada, and the 'outcomes-based' or 'standards-based' models in Australia and New Zealand. Competitiveness in the global economy is a major focus and frequent, formalised testing is used to rank schools within 'marketised' education systems. The 'failing schools' discourse is often criticised for using narrow achievement measures and managerial models which ignore real issues of culture, gender, isolation and poverty.
This approach relies on biological determinism. It claims that certain features like aggression, fighting and delayed maturity are unchanging and unchangeable in boys. Thus, schools need to change their methods to engage boys effectively and actively. This discourse promotes narrow, opposing notions of masculinity and femininity. It is weakened by its assumption that boys form a homogenous group. In other words, it assumes all boys are the same and will respond in the same way to the same teaching methods.
This approach focuses on how gender and gender relations are constructed, and how different ideas of masculinity and femininity affect students' expectations and relationships. Beliefs about masculinity impact on boys' participation at school in many ways, from restricted subject selection to disruptive, resistant and violent behaviour. The 'gender relations' approach promotes a critical look at masculinity as it is lived out, especially at school, and experienced differently by different boys and men. This discourse aligns with progressive masculinity politics.
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Access keys |
Other languages
© The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and the Arts) 2002.