To quote the report in The Observer today (link) "The government's failure to instill a sports culture in schools is to blame for the persistent educational under-achievement of boys, a new report warns.
"Games such as football and rugby can help to boost the status of less academic boys and motivate them in class, according to the report which explores why they lag behind girls academically.
"Oxford professor Ann Buchanan, the author of the report, "Barriers to Boys' Attainment", concludes that two hours of sport a week, the minimum recommended by the government, is inadequate."
The story continues that boys with active fathers do better than those without, especially when it comes to reading. This is no surprise of course, though the Family Courts system do not recognise the importance of a father to a boy's future. Even more so, when the Family Courts fail to uphold contact orders when the mother refuses to allow the father access against previous court judgements.
Boys are already seven years behinds girls academically, they do not have enough sport which brings out the best in boys and also there are calls for boys to have better access to action books to stimulate them.
The PARITY conference tomorrow will address this and a number of other issues about boys under-achievement.
The message though is that education is so feminised that boys are losing out in a myriad of ways. Time for this research to be put into practise by the governemnt and the education authorities. Though, with women dominating education authorities there is a clear lack of built-in empathy.
See this blog's education section for further research and comment on education issues
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