In classrooms across the United States and the world, boys are increasingly falling behind, earning lower grades, facing more disciplinary action and struggling silently with mental health. Over the past decade, researchers and educators have taken notice of the growing gap between boys and girls in school performance, emotional development and long-term success. While girls are graduating at higher rates and securing employment at increasing rates, many boys are struggling to keep up.
Differences in development and learning styles may make traditional school environments harder for boys. Several economic and social changes are the causes for the change in trajectory. School favors girls and work has changed in ways that favor women. With growing industries such as health care employing mostly women and job opportunities mostly affect men such as labor intensive jobs. Boys are often thought of as disruptive in class. Young men say they feel undervalued and parents are worried. Schools have become more academically rigorous at an earlier age, a shift that particularly affects boys, who often mature later than their female peers. Consequently, modern day education is not enabling boys to fulfill their potential, highlighted by the fact that 28% of children aged 3 to 17 years old have a mental, emotional, behavioral or developmental problem. Boys and girls have very different experiences and views on schooling, with boys pressured into trying to overachieve and being over represented in the upper echelon of society and academia.
A 2020 NIH research study reported, “In fact, on average, the evidence suggests that boys do not achieve as much academically as girls in school. One meta-analysis of studies from elementary to college-age students shows that, across all school subjects, girls earn higher grades than boys. This occurs, in part, because the lower end of the academic distribution over-represents boys. For example, they are less likely than girls to meet kindergarten readiness standards and to graduate from high school on time.” In addition only 84% of teenage boys have at least one friend for emotional support, compared to 95% of girls. In a study it investigated “whether boys had worse health when they attended schools where there was a greater disparity between boys’ and girls’ academic performance.” Their results were: “In both samples, the greater the gap in a school between the percentage of girls and the percentage of boys who met expectations for their grade level on standardized tests, the worse boys’ health. This pattern did not emerge among girls.”
Molly Takagi the Health and Wellness educator said, “I think this is one of those ideas that is based on some biology and neurobiology, but also can be dangerous if the stereotype is applied to all kids, right? So from a neurobiological perspective, females tend to start going through the process of puberty at a younger age than males do. And because of those changes and the earlier development in our female population, that includes the development of the prefrontal cortex, which is the logical problem solving part of our brain.”
Boys have disengaged because educational environments misunderstand how they develop. Academic rigor matters, but relational depth matters just as much. Education must begin with empathy. Boys are not problems to manage. Students have to face insecurities, family pressures, grief, ambition and identity questions. Boys frequently internalize their struggles. This silent processing can develop disengagement or defiance which can mask or stem from insecurity or instability. Ms. Takagi said, “One trend that I noticed with my students, when we talk about stereotypes, particularly as it pertains to gender identity, they feel that they’re hearing a message, boys shouldn’t express feelings or boys are not emotional… All people have feelings and finding appropriate ways to express that, even if the larger societal trend might be telling them things like, ‘oh, boys shouldn’t cry, boys shouldn’t feel big feelings.’” This observation was created from her experiences in health and wellness classes, as she actively discusses emotions with her students.
A lack of strong role models, guidance or negative stressful experiences can lead to negative outcomes, with schools and teachers playing a major role in supporting boys. Educators now should question “What has shaped this student” great companies understand that performance is not just about metrics. It is about culture, mentorship, and leadership development. According to Forbes, “Well-designed environments can test combinations of mentorship, literacy support, disciplined routines, leadership development and emotional intelligence training.” Schools should taper to students by communicating with students, teachers, and parents about this process. It will allow for a cohesive learning environment where students alike can thrive. Doing this at a younger age can allow for an easier transition into bigger responsibilities later in life such as higher education and adulthood. As Stanford University sociologist Robb Willer observed, “The contemporary American economy is not rewarding a lot of the characteristics associated with men and masculinity.”
The gap starts in schools, with typical schooling suiting female students. An effective solution is to create spaces that suit boys and girls. There are already some programs in place across the US that have proven to alleviate education’s gender bias against boys, but these programs are not widespread. Ms. Takagi said,“some schools have girls’ groups, boys’ groups, and Q groups, which are sort of like talk story groups for kids who really want to talk about gender identity. So obviously boys groups for male identifying, girls for female identifying and the Q group would be like questioning or non-binary members of a school community that wanted to have space to talk about, how to express yourself in ways and how to navigate things like dating and sexual relationships in appropriate ways.” Another helpful practice, that Ms. Takagi uses in her classes is to “develop emotional intelligence skills.” She elaborated, “I try to integrate that through practicing the skills of recognizing, understanding, and labeling emotions accurately.”
Addressing boys falling behind is important not just for boys and their families but for society as a whole. The boys who disengage from school become workers, entrepreneurs and leaders who contribute less to the future economy. Ms. Takagi said, “I believe talking about these issues and having open dialogue about our expectations about people based on gender is helpful for both male identifying female identifying and non binary members of our community.”
