Crista Mohammed

There is growing concern worldwide about the level of achievement of boys. There is such research published on the gender gap in educational achievement in which girls seem to be outperforming boys. It was against this backdrop that this consultancy was conducted.

The overall purpose of the consultancy was interpreted to be the generation of strategies to correct the perceived underperformance of boys in the school system in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly at the primary level. Such strategies were to be arrived at after certain preliminary work had been undertaken, viz:

• A review of pertinent literature and pertinent government policy documents

• A statistical analysis of the performance of boys throughout the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, with information on the early childhood sector provided where available

• An analysis of steps that are being taken in some schools to deal with the issue

• An analysis of Ministry of Education curricula and testing materials for gender bias with respect to boys‘/girls‘ achievement

• An analysis of the level of implementation in schools of relevant strategies as outlined in government documents

• Consultation with significant stakeholders

Further, the terms of the consultancy stipulated that recommendations were to be made for appropriate library resources and appropriate teacher professional development programmes that could assist in achieving the goal of enhanced performance levels by boys.