Primary schools face a challenge in motivating boys to do well. Photograph: Martin Argles
Boys' underachievement is an issue that's not going away, says Gary Wilson. The debate shifts focus from time to time, from the "laddish culture" to inappropriate teaching and learning styles.
Sometimes the lack of male teachers is seen to be the root cause of boys' underperformance. Quick fixes that have been suggested have included sitting pupils boy girl boy girl and even single sex grouping in the context of mixed comprehensive schools.
My work and experience in countless schools over the years implies that the issue is far more complex than the debate suggests. There is no such thing as a quick fix.
The problems begin early, and that is precisely where we need to address them. Boys are often significantly less independent than girls prior to starting school and differences in language development are evident right from the early years.
We force boys to read and write before they are emotionally or physically ready for some time. Add peer pressure - perhaps one of the most significant barriers to boys' achievement - plus the lack of positive male role models, the reticence of many boys to read, together with countless emotional intelligence issues and you begin to understand the complexity of the problem.
Of course, in education, we are aware that issues of social class have a significant impact on achievement, but there is barely a school in the UK that doesn't have some issues related to boys - be it anti-social behaviour, academic underperformance, low aspirations, coasting or general disaffection. All schools are of course different, as indeed are all boys. It can be said that sometimes there is in fact more difference between individual boys than there are between girls and boys.
None of this should detract from the fact that, as in virtually every other country in the world (except Finland where, incidentally, children don't start school until they're seven), we have issues with boys in schools that need to be addressed to the ultimate benefit of both sexes.
The facts are self-evident: standards in schools continue to rise steadily, while boys continue to fail to catch up. But we do still see successes in schools with boys.
We need to widen the debate beyond issues of underachievement. We need to also concern ourselves with trying to develop in our young men what I care to call a more caring masculinity. I have seen countless numbers of boys turn themselves around, both in terms of attitude and performance, and countless schools where strategies are having a tremendous impact.
Boys can and do succeed, and we need to share and consolidate the good practice that already exists.
Gary Wilson is author of Using the National Healthy School Standard to Raise Boys' Achievement, and speaker at Small Change, Big Impact - Raising Boys' Achievement, on Fri Sep 21, Guardian Newsroom, 9am-4pm.
