Overview
An inquiry 
into the education of boys in Australian schools was conducted in 2002 by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training which resulted in two major initiatives.
As a response to the Inquiry’s findings $7 million was provided to implement the Boys' Education Lighthouse Schools (BELS) program in two stages over 2003–2005. The program provided funding to over 550 schools to help improve boys' educational outcomes The Final Report of Boys' Education Lighthouse Schools (BELS) Stage Two provided a detailed analysis and discussion of the key findings and experiences of the 350 schools involved.
Success for Boys built on BELS as a national $19.4 million initiative that offered average grants of $10,000 to 1,600 schools over 2006 and 2007. Success for Boys targeted at-risk and disadvantaged boys to address the following key intervention areas: mentoring; literacy; information and communication technology; and relevant Indigenous issues. The Success for Boys program is currently being evaluated.
The Australian Government has also managed a number of research projects relevant to boys' education, and was the major sponsor of the 5th Biennial Working with Boys, Building Fine Men Conference which was held on 4-6 July 2007 at the University of Newcastle. The Conference gave teachers and others working with boys access to the latest research on educating boys successfully from national and international experts such as Professor Peter Cuttance (National Director of the Boys’ Education Lighthouse Schools initiative), Dr Ken Rowe (Chair of the National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy), and Professor Don Edgar (former Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies).