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Even though tremendous progress in enrolment has been made over the last 20 years, current estimates indicate that 250 million children and youth are still out of school. And over half of them – approximately 128 million – are boys.

Boys’ disengagement from education: key facts and figures

Globally, girls remain less likely than boys to enter school in the first place and still face the worst forms of exclusion. But, in many countries, boys are at greater risk than girls of disengaging from school and dropping out.

As evidence from the UNESCO Global report on boys’ disengagement from education shows, boys are more likely than girls to repeat primary grades in 130 of 142 countries for which there is data – indicating poorer progression through school. Boys are also less likely to transition to upper secondary education in 73 countries, whereas the same is true for girls in 48 countries.

While previously, boys' disengagement has been a concern in high- or upper-middle-income countries, the Report’s analysis points to new patterns: in several low- and lower-middle-income countries, boys are now being left behind at primary and lower secondary levels. Some of these countries have experienced a reversal in the gender gap. Take the Gambia, for example, where 88 girls for every 100 boys were enrolled in primary education in 2000 and 90 boys were enrolled for every 100 girls in 2019. Or Nepal, where the gender gap in upper secondary enrolment has reversed dramatically: In 2000, only 62 girls were enrolling for every 100 boys; by 2019, this changed to 89 boys enrolling for every 100 girls.

Young men are also less likely to get a university education in all regions of the world, except for sub-Saharan Africa. In North America and Western Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, only 81 young men are enrolled in tertiary education for every 100 young women.

Boys are also falling behind in learning outcomes, particularly when it comes to reading. In 57 countries for which we have data, primary-age boys do less well than girls in mastering reading skills, and adolescent boys continue to fall behind at the secondary level. The gaps start to develop as early as in grade 2/3 (10-year-old children). The biggest gaps can be found in Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, and Lesotho. When it comes to mathematics, girls have caught up with boys in half of the countries for which there is data.

Why and how teachers can make a difference

As the Report shows, several factors lead to boys disengaging from education, including poverty, the need to work, harsh discipline at school, bullying, streaming practices, and gendered norms.

For instance, in many contexts, school activities and certain subjects are considered at odds with expressions of masculinity, making education unpopular with boys. Academic pursuit can be considered ‘feminine’ in some contexts. Reading, for example, can be considered by young people to be an unsuitable, feminine activity for men, and boys who show interest in reading are often mocked, which discourages them from doing so. Social norms and gender stereotypes can also pressure boys to choose certain occupations, which can result in them leaving school early.

Perceived norms of masculinity among boys, teachers and parents can result in low expectations of boys’ academic ability and behaviour, resulting in poor motivation, disengagement with schooling and eventual dropout. Teachers’ expectations are based on their beliefs about students’ performance and what different students can achieve. Teachers may underestimate students’ abilities due to prevailing social norms and stereotypes. Boys are often seen as unruly and more disruptive in class than girls and teachers have lower academic expectations of them. Studies also suggest that some teachers are less tolerant of boys than girls displaying symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and more likely to refer boys for clinical medication. While much of the body of research on teacher expectations does not distinguish between students’ gender, there is some evidence that teachers’ low expectations impact negatively on participation and engagement of boys. Teachers have a key role to play in keeping boys engaged and learning. An important caveat here is that while teachers’ expectations contribute to boys’ low achievement, boys’ dominant behaviours in class often result in their receiving more attention, albeit negative. Issues of girls’ low self-efficacy and visibility within learning spaces should not be ignored.

Teachers can promote a positive learning culture that stimulates the interests of all learners. When teachers are fair, have high expectations of all learners, and provide constructive feedback to students, they can build high-quality teacher-student relationships.

To avoid boys´ disengagement from education and dropping out of school, learning needs to become gender-transformative, safe, and inclusive for all. This includes the critical examination of harmful social norms, gender inequalities and masculinities, and the strengthening of boys’ social and emotional skills. For teachers to be able to address all learners’ needs they need to be trained in gender-transformative pedagogies and comprehensive sexuality education, enabling them to challenge rigid gender roles, norms, and dynamics.

To support teachers in creating safe learning environments, education authorities need to disseminate and enforce codes of conduct for teachers and students and provide training on positive non-violent discipline for teachers, as well as ensure effective monitoring and response mechanisms exist.

Ensuring access to quality education for all is not a zero-sum game. It is important to ensure that a focus on achieving gender equality does not ignore boys. Teachers supporting boys does not mean that girls lose out and vice-versa. On the contrary, equal education opportunities benefit both girls and boys and the broader society.