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The New Gender Gap: Exploring the ‘Boy Crisis’ in Education

On January 28–29, a two-day event was held in Berlin, hosted by the Robert Bosch Foundation, in partnership with the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL). The purpose of this event was to bring together a select group of international experts in the field of education and gender. At this third International Dialogue, CCL presented its new report, that was also the focus of this year’s discussion: The New Gender Gap: Exploring the ‘Boy Crisis’ in Education.

Recently the issue of the “boy gap” or “boy crisis” in education has been the subject of increasing attention across a number of OECD countries. International findings suggest that boys, as a group, are falling behind girls in reading and writing and are more likely to have behavioural difficulties or drop out of school completely. Not all boys however, are “at risk” of falling behind, nor is it the case that it is an issue only for boys from low socio-economic backgrounds.

This falling behind in education and skill development, whether it be boys or girls, has both short-term and long-term consequences for individuals and for the economy.

Indeed, the relationship between education and skill development has been a well-explored topic over the last decade, with many countries concluding that highly skilled and educated citizens are essential to meet the challenges of globalization and the knowledge economy. In an effort to help understand the complex network and inter-relationship of factors that influence individuals to participate and succeed in education and training, researchers have undertaken detailed research on educational outcomes and the influences on motivation, participation and completion of education.

In light of this, during the two-day event, participating researchers, practitioners and policy-makers from Canada and Germany, Austria, Australia, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S., discussed practical approaches to facilitating improvements in the education of young boys. Participants were given the opportunity to present findings from their respective countries and to share with other participants their experiences and expertise.

Objectives

To explore evidence for the ongoing gender shift;
To identify factors associated with the gender shift;
To better understand the “boy code” i.e. peer and societal expectation of boys in popular culture and the much-debated feminization of, and the impact of, role models for boys;
To discuss practical and holistic strategies for improvement in developed countries, including the engagement of boys in new and innovative ways, and introducing individualized and activating approaches to learning to the classroom to the benefit of all students; and
To understand the challenges that other countries face, and how the issues are being addressed and/or understood.

Key Findings

Evidence presented suggested that the trend in the boys’ crisis is evident across OECD countries, but the issue is complex and there are multiple factors involved such as class, ethnicity and the quality of teaching provided.

Boys and girls differ in their educational experiences and attempts must be made to facilitate stronger learning outcomes by:

Improving the quality of education and educators;
Promoting stronger visibility and awareness of the situation and issues; and
Continuous monitoring and sharing of best practices and research.

However, as findings suggest, there appears to be more variance within groups of boys and within groups of girls, than differences between boys and girls—and caution must be taken to ensure all students have access to quality and effective learning environments.

As well, as raised during the discussions, it is important not to generalize and assume that all boys are at risk; as these boys can come from a various socio-economic backgrounds.

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