The Crisis of Boys in Teaching and Education.
According to sociology, the positions individuals take in society and education systems are determined by their gender, race, cultural background, and social class (ppt. slide 2). Such factors determine how education systems are perceived. Gender is one of the fundamental factors around which society is shaped. Unfortunately, efforts to combat gender inequalities have plunged boys into a perpetual predicament.
Boys and girls are socialized differently; as boys grow up, they are pressured into STEM-related fields while girls are encouraged to take up language and liberal arts. Such stereotypes can be counterproductive because they pressure individuals as they perform tasks that could confirm said stereotypes (ppt. slide 13). Boys especially sometimes end up resenting such fields, which can then develop into a bad attitude towards education.
Historically, women have been marginalized from all spheres of society. But as policies and laws evolved –for instance, drafting and implementing Title IX in the US- participation of girls in various fields including education and sports has increased drastically. On the other hand, boys have fallen behind because the system has failed to adapt and motivate boys to embrace education.
An educated girl stands a better chance of acquiring gainful employment and is thereby more self-reliant. Across different cultures, men are bred to be providers; therefore, self-reliant women tend to threaten their masculinity, which often results in difficult marriages. A self-sufficient woman will easily break off a bad marriage, and if she has kids, she stands a better chance of winning custody. Research has shown that kids, especially boys, who grow up without fathers, are more likely to be aggressive, depressed to perform poorly in school, commit suicide, and use drugs.
In the US, there are formidable networks of women who are relentless in protecting the rights of girls. But boys don’t have such advocates. There has been a paradigm shift in education, and it is high time the system reevaluates its strategy for the boys’ welfare because they are languishing academically while girls are flourishing.