Boys education: Balancing the differences

The Kings School (in Sydney) hosted an interesting conference in October, The National Boys’ Education Conference with the theme of “Balancing the Differences”.

The conference covered a variety of different topics and included talks from a number of key speakers. Many of the major addresses are available from school website. These include talks by:

Dr Adam Cox who dealt with the relationship between communication skills and social control in boys' emotional growth (MP3 here).

Mr Michael Furdyk who talked about the impact of technology on the changing world of boys (MP3 here).

Dr Tim Hawkes who talked about what we should be teaching boys in schools but probably are not (MP3 here).

Dr Andrew Martin who discussed the significant role of motivation in learning (MP3 here).

Some of the talks covered topics that challenged participants to consider the complexity of gender differences, as well as the relationship between the cognitive and social characteristics and skills of boys. For example, Dr Adam Cox (family psychologist from the USA) cited research that reveals a strong relationship between cognitive ability and emotional well-being. He suggested that the evidence shows that girls find it easier to understand and develop empathy and more complex social skills compared to boys. He suggested in his talk that parents and teachers need strategies to help boys develop empathy. He commented:

"We continually worry about boys' grades or whether they can get into a good university but what's really at stake is the moral and social development of boys: we're raising and teaching boys to live and work in a changed world where they'll no longer work the land, they'll work the phones."

He pointed out that boys are slower to realise that developing social skills isn’t just about becoming more popular, but rather, such skills are in his words “a bridge to the world at large, a world larger than yourself."

He suggested that research indicates that boys who can regulate their behaviour and become empathetic and considerate, were also more effective learners. He also argued that the best way for boys to learn empathy was through involvement in serving others, such as doing volunteer work with welfare organisations or other community-based groups.

I will review the work of some of the key speakers at the conference in more detail in a future post.

Related links

For all posts that deal with boys education on this blog click here.

Single sex schools: Why are they becoming popular?

Single sex schools and classes are not new, but in recent times there has been a trend towards more of them in the USA.  In an interesting piece in the New York Times Elizabeth Weil describes the recent growth in this phenomenon and offers some background on the schools and their purposes.  One of the most interesting observations is that boys and girls in these classes seem to enjoy them and benefit from them, and that such classes take on a character of their own that in many ways reflect the differences that some researchers have suggested exist between boys and girls.

The schools in question have been influenced by the work of two writers.  The first is Leonard Sax and his book, "Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences." New York: Doubleday, 2005.  The second is Michael Gurian's book “Boys and Girls Learn Differently!” Jossey-Bass ( 2002).

In a review of Sax's book Stephanie Trudeaux suggests that Dr. Leonard Sax, challenges the assertion that characteristics associated with each gender have been socially constructed. Using a scientific approach, along with research from the past two decades, Sax argues that gender differences are biologically programmed. Sax asserts "that for the past three decades, the influence of social and cognitive factors on gender traits has been systematically over estimated while innate factors have been neglected” (p. 253). The author further suggests that ignoring these hardwired gender differences, and opting for a gender-neutral child-rearing philosophy, “has done substantial harm over the past thirty years” (p. 7). As an example, he calls to attention the increased number of boys being given behavior-modifying drugs, and the increased number of girls being given antidepressants.

Sax stresses that although it is important to chip away at gender stereotypes, we should also recognize variances in how girls and boys develop. By understanding the unique qualities of each gender, we can better accommodate the different needs of boys and girls, with regard to the way they are raised, disciplined and educated. Sax suggests that single-sex education may help accommodate these gender differences. However, he does not believe that single-sex education is the only solution. He states that, “For at least some children in some circumstances, single sex activities offer unique opportunities and may even serve to ‘inoculate’ girls and boys against some of the societal ailments that now threaten children and teenagers” (p. 9). He writes, “Coed schools tend to reinforce gender stereotypes, where as single-sex schools can break down gender stereotypes” (p. 243).

This book is worth the consideration of parents and teachers.