Education ministries in the Caribbean countries have directed considerable attention over the last decade to "solving" the "problem" of boys' underachievement. Rather than considering such interventions, our central concern in this paper is to revisit debates about the interpretation of the issue, to explore whether boys'…

Feeling part of one's peer group is of crucial importance for most middle adolescents. Drawing on empirical research in different schools, this paper explores the components of exclusion in relation to gender, the consequences for those excluded by their peers, and the kinds of strategies engaged in by girls and boys in order to attain peer group…

The restructuring of secondary initial teacher education in England has seen a shift in both the focus and location of training, with an emphasis upon tightly defined competences and standards and upon more school-based work. In this paper, I discuss the impact of such changes on newly qualified teachers' (NQTs) knowledge of gender issues, through…

Directing a publicly funded project can present a number of challenges to researchers in reconciling their own philosophy with the expectations of their funders. This paper explores those dilemmas in the context of a four year project funded by the British Government to explore strategies to raise boys' achievement. It reflects on the underlying…