Motivation and Engagement of Boys: Evidence-Based Teaching Practices (2006)
This report identifies evidence-based teaching practices which have proved effective in improving the motivation, engagement and academic and social outcomes of boys, particularly boys at risk. The report includes a literature review and case studies of schools involved in the project. Fifteen schools were selected that had demonstrated achievement of improved outcomes in boys’ education and represented a cross-section of learners, settings, outcomes and intervention strategies.
Authors: Dr Geoff Munns, Dr Leonie Arthur, Professor Toni Downes, Dr Robyn Gregson, Dr Anne Power, Associate Professor Wayne Sawyer, Professor Michael Singh, Dr Judith Thistleton-Martin and Frances Steele
Report: PDF 
(514.4 KB)
Case Studies: PDF (1.3 MB)
Educating Boys: Issues and Information (2003)
This booklet outlines how the Australian Government is addressing boys’ education.
Author: Commonwealth Government of Australia
Booklet: PDF (523.8 KB)
Addressing the Educational Needs of Boys (2002)
The Addressing the Educational Needs of Boys – Strategies for Schools and Teachers research project was commissioned by the Australian Government to investigate how systemic factors impact on the educational performance and outcomes of boys and how these can be addressed in the school context. The study was undertaken by Murdoch University and University of Queensland. It includes a literature review and case studies of primary and secondary schools across Australia
Authors: Professor Bob Lingard; Dr Wayne Martino; Dr Martin Mills; Dr Mark Bahr
Report: PDF (873.4 KB)
Executive Summary: PDF (79.5 KB)
Boys: Getting it Right (2002)
This is the report from the House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Education and Training’s inquiry into boys’ education.
Author: House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training
Report: Inquiry into boys’ education: Boys: Getting it Right 
Boys, Literacy and Schooling: Expanding the Repertoires of Practice (2002)
The Boys, Literacy and Schooling: Expanding the Repertoires of Practice research was undertaken by the Curriculum Corporation, James Cook University and Griffith University and focuses on current practices in teaching educationally disadvantaged/underachieving boys and their literacy development. The research study involved a comprehensive literature review to: (a) establish what we know about literacy development of boys; and (b) identify gaps in the research. The project's activities involved examining and documenting strategies which have proven to be effective in improving the literacy outcomes of boys and piloting the strategies in a small number of primary schools.
Authors: Professor Nola Alloway; Professor Peter Freebody; Professor Pam Gilbert; Mr Sandy Muspratt
Report: PDF (743.8 KB)
Executive Summary: PDF (36.7 KB)
Declining rates of achievement and retention: the perceptions of adolescent males (2001)
A report by Professor Faith Trent and Malcolm Slade of Flinders University. The research summarises the views of 1800 adolescent males, one-third of whom were identified as ‘at risk of not completing year 12’, in Years 9 to 11, drawn from 60 secondary schools in South Australia. The schools were drawn from State, Catholic and Independent sectors and were located in rural and urban sites.
Authors: Professor Faith Trent; Dr Malcolm Slade
Report: HTML
Boys in Schools: What's Happening (2000)
This conference paper looks at patterns of boys' and girls' participation and achievement in school and outlines some principles to improve gender equity in the educational outcomes of schooling.
Authors: Natasha Cortis; Eileen Newmarch; Department of Education, Science and Training
Report: HTML
Factors Influencing the Educational Performance of Males and Females in School and their Initial Destinations after Leaving School (2000)
A report by Professor Jane Kenway, Language and Literacy Centre, University of South Australia, and Dr Cherry Collins and Dr Julie McLeod, Deakin Centre for Education and Change, Deakin University. The report investigates the patterns of males' and females' educational participation and performance at school, their initial destinations after leaving school, the key influencing factors and the disadvantages that arise from them.
Authors: Dr Cherry Collins; Professor Jane Kenway; Dr Julie McLeod.
Report: PDF (735.8 KB)
Links to other internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute endorsement of the information contained within the sites listed below. The Australian Government accepts no responsibility for material contained in any site that is linked to this internet site.
Australian Council for Educational Research
The website contains downloadable copies of research publications including Boys in School and Society (1.2 MB)
Website: http://www.acer.edu.au
House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Education and Training’s Inquiry into Boys’ Education
Website: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/eofb/index.htm
Success for Boys
The website provides information on improving boys’ learning outcomes and engagement with school through the Government's Success for Boys initiative.
Website: http://www.successforboys.edu.au/boys
The United Kingdom Department for Education and Skills Standards
The website contains downloadable copies of research publications including the Raising Boys' Achievement Project .
Website: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/genderandachievement/goodpractice