Education and
Boys
Key message
Key challenges
- Boys are at risk of failing to progress and complete their education. Whilst girls have more difficulty accessing education than boys, globally 132 million boys are out of school. This is over half of the overall out of school youth population.
(UNESCO, 2022) - Boys are more likely to experience learning poverty worldwide. This means they are unable to read and comprehend a simple text by the age of 10. In low to middle income countries, the learning poverty rate for boys is 56%, compared to 47% for girls.
(Saavedra et al, 2022) - Fear and experiences of violence negatively impact boys' levels of academic achievement. Boys are more likely than girls to experience physical bullying in school and are often targeted due to their sexual orientation and gender identity. Harsh discipline, corporal punishment and other forms of gender-based violence in school impact boys' educational achievement.
(UNESCO, 2022) - Poverty is a key driver of boys' poor education outcomes. Household poverty has been identified as the key factor that affects the chances of completion of primary and secondary education for both boys and girls. In Haiti, 78 of the poorest boys completed primary education for every 100 of the poorest girls.
(UNESCO, 2022) - Employment can be more attractive to boys than staying in education. In South Africa, studies show that more boys than girls left school early because earning money and attaining adult status was more attractive to them than staying in school. Similarly, in Brazil minimum age of employment is not clearly aligned with compulsory education; many boys in low-income settings drop out of school, as education is not seen to guarantee future employment.
(UNESCO, 2022) - Gender stereotypes can negatively impact a boy's school experience. Boys that do not conform to gender stereotypes can experience discriminatory and violent behaviours. For example, a study in Chile found that young people consider reading a feminine activity and boys who show an interest in reading are often mocked.
(UNESCO, 2022)
Make the case
- Educated men are more likely to have more egalitarian attitudes toward gender equality. Men with higher educational attainment have more gender-equitable attitudes, and less rigid views of masculinity.
(ICRW, 2011) (Parker et al., 2017) - Education creates more equitable and caring partners and fathers. Men who have completed at least some secondary education are more likely to take on a fair share of domestic work and childcare, and take paternity leave.
(ICRW., 2011) - Boys’ education reduces gender-based violence. Better educated boys and young men are less likely to perpetrate physical violence against an intimate partner, and are more likely to condemn sexual harassment or violence. This could be transformative in promoting gender equality and reducing violence.
(UNESCO, 2022) - Boys’ education deters recruitment as a child soldier. More than 90% of boys in the Democratic Republic of Congo believed that being in school would make them less likely to be targeted by child soldier recruitment.
(Save the Children, 2014) - Harmful social and gender norms can be shifted through school-based educational interventions. Stereotypical gender norms are a key factor in driving and sustaining gender-based violence. Curricula are an important
component of the educational process that allows youth to reflect on their roles in society and help them develop positive gender attitudes and norms.
(UNGEI, 2019) - Educated men are more likely to be healthier. In France, the partial (35 to 80 years) life expectancy of low, moderate, and highly educated men varies from 37.6 years, to 39.5 and 41.3 years respectively.
(Michel, 2021) - Quality education for boys creates more tolerant societies. Boys and young men with higher levels of education tend to have less homophobic attitudes.
(ICRW, 2011) - Schools are effective platforms for delivering critical knowledge and awareness to prevent sexual violence. A systemic review of 65 interventions to reduce boys’ use of sexual violence found 90% of interventions were school based, with most changing attitudes effectively. Participating students committed significantly less sexual and physical dating violence and were less likely to endorse rape myths compared with control groups.
(Ricardo et al., 2011) (Foshee et al., 2004) (De La Rue et al., 2014)
Key Q&As
- Why should we invest in boys’ education when girls are more marginalised?
- Girls’ education is a major global priority and there are numerous benefits for girls, young women, their families and the economy. Investing in boys’ education is also part of the solution to gender equality. Higher levels of education for boys is associated with lower levels of violence and discrimination and more positive attitudes towards women.
Key opinions
Guy Ryder
Under-Secretary-General for Policy at the United Nations
Education and training are the keys to unlock opportunities for women and men to gain employment, launch businesses and create better lives for themselves and their families. As we work to build a better and more resilient future after the COVID-19 pandemic, we must ensure quality education systems that are accessible to all.
Nadia Murad
UN Goodwill Ambassador and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Education is the key to addressing the root causes of sexual violence and to ending practices of toxic femininity and masculinity. If these issues are addressed from a young age, we will begin to see a world where women will occupy positions of power at the same rate as men and will know that they too belong in those spaces.
Key talking points
- Globally, approximately 132 million boys of primary and secondary school age are out of school.
- While it is right to provide special emphasis and focus on girls’ education, it is important to remember boys, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Men with higher educational attainment have more gender-equitable attitudes, are better partners, and are less likely to engage in gender-based violence.
- Harmful social and gender norms can be shifted through school-based educational interventions for boys.
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