Currently girls out-perform boys in all thirteen categories of the Foundation Stage profile, in Maths and English at Key Stage One in English (particularly writing), at Key Stage Two, in English at Key Stage Three and in every subject at GCSE. Looking for the root cause of many boys’ underachievement and subsequently the simple answer, or ‘Quick Fix’ has become something of a preoccupation over the past few years. It is my belief that neither of these particular tasks can ever bear fruit.
In Issue 9 of Teaching Expertise, Gary Wilson highlighted some important barriers to boys’ learning. In this article, he further challenges and extends thinking on the issue of raising boys’ achievement.
It is a risk being born a boy.
Gender and achievement is a complex area. Findings from a four-year intensive research project involving 50 schools point up strategies that curriculum managers can use to bring about more clarity to how they tackle this prevalent problem in all schools.