Male Educators' Perspectives on Best Practices for Enhancing the Teaching and Learning of Boys in Single-Sex Classrooms

Abstract

Overall, Canadian boys have greater literacy problems than girls. Boys also voice more disengagement with school, account for most suspensions, drop out of school, and commit suicide at significantly greater rates. Minority boys are particularly at risk. The results of this study arise from four weeks of data collection in an inner city school, grades 7-8, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Most of the studentsare of African, Caribbean, and South Asian immigrant backgrounds, where English is not the primary language at home, and whose families live below the poverty line. Methods include semi-structured interviews, observations, document analysis, and an in-depth literature review on boys and learning within single-sex and co-educational settings, and thematic analysis. I sought the perspectives of the principal, and two teachers of grades 7 and 8, all boys classes, to determine effective teaching and learning approaches and strategies within these demographics. Results indicate that these minority boys display: enhanced engagement, participation, and sense of belonging; fewer office referrals and better attendance; a challenging of hegemonic masculine traits, such as homophobia and professed boredom with school subjects often dismissed as gay, sissy, or girly, including language arts and, especially, music; greater opportunities for positive peer and male adult role modeling. These benefits are contingent on a shared vision between the principal and key homeroom teachers, joint development of a positive school and classroom ethos, high expectations, and overt commitment to differentiation.