Young men drawn to toxic masculinity because schools are not ‘boy-positive', report says
Young men are being drawn to toxic masculinity because schools are not 'boy-positive', a report has claimed.
Research by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) has found men are being left behind in society because they underachieve at school.
It estimated that about half a million men have missed out on higher education in the past decade.
The report warns of the risk that these 'undereducated men' will be driven towards 'political extremes' if male underachievement in schools is not resolved.
It comes as the Netflix series Adolescence receives critical acclaim for its plot, which centres on a boy, 13, who is arrested for stabbing a teenage girl after being 'indoctrinated' by misogynist influencers.
Mary Curnock Cook, former chief executive of Ucas, the university applications body, wrote in the report's foreword that the rise of 'toxic masculinity' should not be surprising given male educational underachievement.
'We want girls to have role models to motivate them to achieve, yet we seem to be intensely relaxed about so many boys growing up with few male teachers, often in single-parent households (where the single parent is usually a mum, not a dad) and in places where their doctor, the vet and the solicitor are also increasingly likely to be female,' she wrote.
'Is it any wonder they look to social media for their icons and heroes, and are drawn too often to highly toxic versions of masculinity?'
Ms Curnock Cook cited research from the think tank Civitas, which indicated that 24 per cent of parents believed boys at their child's school were made to feel ashamed of being male.
The report said 'lower educational aspirations, a shortage of role models of the same sex and bias among teachers' contributed to boys achieving less at school than girls.
It called for a series of measures to raise standards by creating a 'boy-positive environment' in schools and encouraging boys into female-dominated professions like care, teaching and nursing.
'It is worth noting that some specific changes aimed at a boy-positive environment could be cheap and straightforward to deliver – such as marking International Men's Day,' it reads.
The report, sponsored by Ulster University, also recommended the creation of a junior minister for men and boys who would focus on the gulf in attainment, which it said was 'one of the most egregious issues' in education.
Another recommended measure was for university admissions departments to recognise men as a 'disadvantaged group'.
Mark Brooks, the report's co-author, said boys' underachievement was 'a truth that dare not speak its name'.
'Each year, it can be clearly seen when the exam results and higher education participation rates are published,' he said. 'Nationally, though, there is little discussion or accountability, let alone any action.'
Nick Hillman, director of the Hepi and the report's co-author, added: 'Education holds the key to unlocking more equal opportunities across our society, but boys and men currently fall behind girls and women at each stage of education, from infant class to PhDs.
'The resolute focus that is generally put on educational differences by class and ethnicity is generally missing when it comes to the sex of learners.'
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