The lack of male teachers has always been a strong theme here, an issue ignored for too long by policymakers who want to do nothing that could be seen as being helpful to men/boys.
This has left a dearth of male role models in school especially at a primary level, even more serious if after is not in the home (barred by the family courts/CSA as much as anything else) and has made some contribution to the continuing problem of boys falling way behind girls at school.
The lack of male teachers has not been helped by the "all men are potential paedophiles" atmosphere we live in. So much so that 25% of primary schools (4,700) do not have a male teacher.
The latest GSCE results show the damage done to two generations of boys education when exam-based O-levels (boy friendly because of their pressurised and competitive nature) were replaced with coursework and continuous assessment (girl friendly) and will still take decades to close (check out the amazingly warped last para in this Guardian article!). Boys are ahead/level at maths but way behind girls at English at 11 (Telegraph, Guardian, Daily Mail)
However, there is change on the horizon to ensure another generation of boys are not blighted by an education system that does not meet their needs thereby relegating them to second class status.
Firstly, there is a report by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission due to be published tomorrow which highlights the gender gap. It will be an interesting read especially in what it proposes in the support for boys because the Commission is notoriously anti-male and has done nothing in its three year existence to highlight or take action on discrimination against men and boys.
Secondly, the AQA exam board will offer only exam-based GCSE's, at last giving parents of boys the opportunity and choice on an exam system that suits their sons, rather than have to put up with an exam-system that only favours girls (girls and boys should be able to choose exam boards so they can sit courses that suit their relative strengths).
Thirdly, there are groups like this trying to attact more male teachers into primary schools and that there is more proactive studies (Standard, Independent, PA) and suggestions being put in place, rather than as previously seeing the problem and then not bothering to do anything about it (move along Harriet, there is nothing to see here).
Lastly, there was this cracking show (Gareth Malone's Extraordinary School for Boys) on the BBC about how to get boys re-engaged with education. What was the magic formula, er..., allow boys to act like boys.
Perhaps some progress will start to be made, maybe the change in Government has meant people are no longer scared to look at it without being hounded, but we cannot afford to see another generation of boys being left behind.
Posted by Skimmington
"It will be an interesting read especially in what it proposes in the support for boys ".
This will not be an interesting read. It will be the same old same old. I would agree that the EHCR is anti-male but its report is purely to justify the large salary, plus generous expenses, of a favoured group of quangocrats.
The greatest service to the nation would be the issuing of P45s to this entire Quango.
Posted by: J. MacKie | Monday, 11 October 2010 at 12:55
It is an interesting read. Partly because of the fact it does highlight some of the evidence that males do face on equalities but also the fascinating way it tries to avoid the obvious. I suspect the commission will survive the coming cull as I suspect the coalition can't be seen to be against the powerful interest groups it represents. Career minded women, racial groups looking for extra help and sexual minorities in the media would all create a hell of a noise. Best plan seems to be keep hounding the quango to support those it's own evidence indicates may need it.
Posted by: Groan | Tuesday, 12 October 2010 at 17:55