Education and Under Achievement of Boys in the U.K

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank my supervisors, friends and family, without their support this research study would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I adjudge that the entire content of this dissertation is entirely my own work; the content used in this dissertation has not been submitted before in any educational institution and represents my own opinion.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

In this research study, the aim is to find out the potential reasons why Secondary school boys of ages 12- 17 achieve less in education. Many factors contribute in the underachievement of boys in attaining education. For finding out the facts and findings, quantitative were employed in the study. The findings suggest At home, the number one complaint of their parents is the difficulty of getting them to do school work. These boys seem not to believe in doing school work at home. Most of the boys used the time at home to play whether outside or inside (playing electronic games). The girls seem to be more interested in what's going on during teaching. The boys, they like to have their (toy) trucks with them, they like to be outside and they like to find other things to do. Boys' views on masculinity were expressed in their perception of what it means to be a man. On this topic they were unequivocal. To be men meant to be anti-women, that is, boys cannot do “girls' things” if they want to be men. Playtime was also used to parade masculinity. Invariably, boys played by them, displayed a higher level of physicality than girls, dominated outdoor play space by the very nature of the games they played and were harsh on girls who unwittingly ventured into 'their' space. After comparing both the schools A and B, it can be concluded that in the borough of Barnet the Secondary school boys of ages 12- 17 achieve less in education than the girls.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Introduction of the study1

Low teacher expectations1

Inadequate parental interest about their children's education1

Boys are more interested in games2

Ethnicity2

Peer pressure from friends2

Research hypothesis2

Research Aims and Objectives3

Aims3

Objectives3

Research questions4

Definition of Terms4

Overview/Structure of Dissertation5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW7

DCSF7

The Code of Practice in connection to special Educational needs7

Individual Education Plan8

Behaviour policy's8

Mentoring8

LEA's Part in the Underachievement9

CHAPTER 3: METHDOLOGY10

Methodology10

Participants10

Ethical consideration11

Limitations11

Geographic location11

Using keywords11

Time table12

Gantt chart12

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION13

Hypothesis testing13

Questionnaire analysis from School A13

Questionnaire analysis from School B19

Interview Analysis from Local Schools in Borough of Barnet23

Correlation analysis of school A25

Correlation analysis of school B25

Discussion26

Educational underachivement and gender26

Underachivement outcomes27

Statistical analysis discussion28

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS30

Recommendations31

REFERENCES33

APPENDIX35

Questionnaire35

Interview Analysis from Local Schools in Borough of Barnet36

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Introduction of the study

The reasons behind boys performing low in their secondary schools UK in the borough of Barnet are as following:

Low teacher expectations

Apart from many issues that exist in schools and one of the main issues is the underachievement of boys (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2009, 10 ). The teachers' biasness and provision of gender values play an important role in underachievement of boys in ...