Caribbean Conference on Keeping Boys Out of Risk, a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Secretariat and the World Bank
7 May 2009
Schools have an important role to play in keeping boys from underachieving in education, despite the many social factors that can contribute to this trend.
Jyotsna Jha, Advisor at the Commonwealth Secretariat said it was important to look beyond the myths relating to under-achievement and under-participation of boys in parts of the Commonwealth.
“It is not a ‘boys versus girls’ issue – girls are not necessarily benefitting from the trend. Neither is it a result of focusing on girls’ education and women’s empowerment or because the majority of teachers are female and boys have no role models,” said Dr Jha.
“It is important to understand the trend outside the ‘war of the sexes’ box,” she added.
Dr Jha was addressing participants at a Caribbean Conference on Keeping Boys Out of Risk, a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Secretariat and the World Bank.
The two day meeting, which is taking place in
In her presentation, Dr Jha highlighted the growing number of countries – in the Caribbean, Latin America and North America and
Many factors contribute to this, including a child’s background, class and family income.
But while education does not have all the solutions it can definitely play an important role in keeping boys out of risk, Dr Jha told delegates.
In the classroom, boys face peer pressure to behave to behave in a way that proves they are boys, and being a studious boy is often regarded as being like a girl, close to homosexuality. Education is perceived as feminine
Source: The Commonwealth Secratariat
