Educational Performance and Masculinity: Engaging our Boys in the Classroom
We have all seen the data and heard the debate. Our boys are underperforming in our pre, primary and secondary schools, so much so, that in 2010, only one-quarter the graduates of the University of the West Indies and one-third of those from UTECH were males.This issue is not unique to Jamaica as throughout western education systems, boys are threatening to become a permanent underclass, achieving at slower rates and at lower levels than girls. Educators and social scientists have argued persuasively that there is a link between the formation of a masculine identity and educational performance. The argument runs like this: education and doing well in school are seen as feminine and hence are rejected by boys who want to fit in and be ‘a man’. If only it were that simple we could reconstruct what being a man means through very effective behaviour change communication techniques and we would alter the thinking of our sons and they would tap into that inner capacity and begin achieving at an acceptable level. But it is not. The persistent under-performance and in some cases, under participation of boys in schools is a complex social dynamic which cannot be addressed through simple causal analysis. The solution requires that we examine every facet of our society – our homes, our schools, churches, our media- and face and name the discriminatory tendencies and all the socialization practices that have resulted in our boys feeling alienated and insufficient. It requires that we ask some uncomfortable questions about expectations of our men and aspirations for our sons.While we interrogate those more deep-seated social issues, we also have to consider how the structure of schools and the delivery of our curriculum influence the extent to which boys engage in education. Having identified the negative which we wish to change, we will also discuss how we will design and implement programmes to change these negatives and create an environment in which our sons can flourish and grow to a new type of manhood.And lest we consider this phenomenon a side issue I want to remind us that our collective future is inextricably bound to the socialization and educational performance of our boys. Therefore, over the next three days I hope that as a community we will help to put this matter front and centre on the national educational agenda and keep it there until we fix it.
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Comments (4)
From Merris Murray
There are a number of factors which impact the underachievement of Jamaican boys. Two important factors are socialization and gender stereotyping. A study conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2004 identifies the root cause of boys under-achievement as being related to un-intended outcomes of male socialization and gender privileging. A popular perspective within the country is that of the "spoiling of young boys" who are raised under the notion of "tie the heifer and loose the bull" (Chevannes & Brown, 1998). This means that the girls should be closely supervised and given tasks to do in the home while the boys are allowed to do as they please. According to Chevannes "socialization in the home and community teaches girls obedience, co-operation and other skills that help them fit into school routines, while boys are allowed and expected to fend for themselves and be active thus they are less suited for strict school". Some sociologists argue that this concept of masculinity is now working gravely against our boys in terms of academic performance as the girls have been socialized to be responsible. According to Figueroa (2000) this "historic privileging" has created a male image that is dominant, strong and hard while on the other hand, femaleness has been constructed as submissive, appropriate to the public sphere, sensistive, caring and in need of protection. Jamaican boys have increasingly resisted schooling as "girlish". This hard image which has been embraced by the Jamaica male not only contributes to the resistance of school but is also directly linked to the creole language which is generally spoken by males. This practice has placed the boys in an increasing disadvantageous situation given that English is our instructional language. According to Figueroa these values are not only internalized by children but they also structure their worlds of school, home, work and the community. There is also the tendency for boys to internalize these expectations accepting that certain roles and treatment are in keeping with them being boys. Some theorists argue that gender stereotyping by teachers has contributed to boys' underachievement. This is compounded by low levels of expectations of boys' behaviour and academic performance. According to Figueroa (2002) there is a growing ambivalence within the educational system that allows the misbehaviour of boys to continue, partly as a reluctance to curb the tendencies of traditional masculinity that would endanger that identity. Davis (2002) concurs by arguing that boys are treated differently than girls as early as pre-school and that throughout primary school they receive lower ratings by teachers for social behaviour and academic expectations. These entrenched gender stereotypes act as incentives and disincentives to boys as well as girls and have an impact on their expectations,choices, actions and results. Research has shown that there are other factors such as socio-economic status, feminisation of academia and streaming which impact boys underperformance. I am curious to know the impact these factors have and what schools can do to minimize the devastating effect of this phenomenon, bearing in mind that if our males fail our society will fade (Jules, 2010). Merris Murray
You have raised some
You have raised some interesting points Merris. It seems our socialization practices have put our boys at risk.i would like to explore that some more later. I wonder though whether members of the community have any experience with underperforming boys? Have they been been displaying anti-social behaviours? What have been their attitudes to school work? Do you find that they say education is important but dislike schooling?The late John Maxwell (journalist) characterised the situation facing Jamaican boys as grave: :they nurture bizarre bizarre theories about sexuality and are sitting ducks for HIV, hard drugs and criminal behaviour".Did he exaggerate the situation? What really has led to this state of affairs?
"Beauty for ashes"
"Beauty for ashes"---
To: Subject:
To: Subject: Educational Performance and Masculinity: Engaging our Boys in the ClassroomDate: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:51:08 -0400From: masculinityandeducationalperformance@jamaica.kdid.org There are a number of factors which impact the underachievement of Jamaican boys. Two important factors are socialization and gender stereotyping. A study conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 2004 identifies the root cause of boys under-achievement as being related to un-intended outcomes of male socialization and gender privileging. A popular perspective within the country is that of the "spoiling of young boys" who are raised under the notion of "tie the heifer and loose the bull" (Chevannes & Brown, 1998). This means that the girls should be closely supervised and given tasks to do in the home while the boys are allowed to do as they please. According to Chevannes "socialization in the home and community teaches girls obedience, co-operation and other skills that help them fit into school routines, while boys are allowed and expected to fend for themselves and be active thus they are less suited for strict school". Some sociologists argue that this concept of masculinity is now working gravely against our boys in terms of academic performance as the girls have been socialized to be responsible. According to Figueroa (2000) this "historic privileging" has created a male image that is dominant, strong and hard while on the other hand, femaleness has been constructed as submissive, appropriate to the public sphere, sensistive, caring and in need of protection. Jamaican boys have increasingly resisted schooling as "girlish". This hard image which has been embraced by the Jamaica male not only contributes to the resistance of school but is also directly linked to the creole language which is generally spoken by males. This practice has placed the boys in an increasing disadvantageous situation given that English is our instructional language. According to Figueroa these values are not only internalized by children but they also structure their worlds of school, home, work and the community. There is also the tendency for boys to internalize these expectations accepting that certain roles and treatment are in keeping with them being boys. Some theorists argue that gender stereotyping by teachers has contributed to boys' underachievement. This is compounded by low levels of expectations of boys' behaviour and academic performance. According to Figueroa (2002) there is a growing ambivalence within the educational system that allows the misbehaviour of boys to continue, partly as a reluctance to curb the tendencies of traditional masculinity that would endanger that identity. Davis (2002) concurs by arguing that boys are treated differently than girls as early as pre-school and that throughout primary school they receive lower ratings by teachers for social behaviour and academic expectations. These entrenched gender stereotypes act as incentives and disincentives to boys as well as girls and have an impact on their expectations,choices, actions and results. Research has shown that there are other factors such as socio-economic status, feminisation of academia and streaming which impact boys underperformance. I am curious to know the impact these factors have and what schools can do to minimize the devastating effect of this phenomenon, bearing in mind that if our males fail our society will fade (Jules, 2010). Merris Murray