State of American Boyhood paper…
Great resource on the boys issue offered here by University of Alaska professor Judith Kleinfeld, founder and director of The Boys Project. Here’s the abstract:
Whether or not a “boy crisis” actually exists or whether this “crisis”
amounts to little more than overblown rhetoric, fueled by an anti-feminist
agenda, is at the center of a new policy debate. On one side of this
controversy are those who argue that the nation is facing a “new gender gap”
with many boys falling dangerously behind in academic achievement and
college graduation, and later entering a new knowledge economy for which
they are woefully underprepared. On the other side of the debate are policy
analysts who argue that the widely-publicized “boy crisis” is non-existent,
overblown, or, at most, limited to minority boys. At stake are limited
attention, time, and resources. Should schools, government agencies, and
foundations now make the needs of boys a priority?
This paper briefly reviews the policy debate, dividing it into three
stages: 1. The schools are shortchanging girls. 2. The schools are
shortchanging boys. 3. Debunking the idea of a “boy crisis.” Each stage is
described through the major publications that crystallize each position in
different time periods. This paper then reviews the evidence for each
position, relying on the most recent and reliable statistical sources. More
detailed data analyses may be obtained from the author.
The argument of this paper is that neither girls nor boys are “in crisis.”
The problems of boys center in literacy, school engagement, low grades,
placement in special education, dropout rates, enrollment and graduation in
postsecondary programs, such mental health problems as suicide and
conduct disorders, injuries, premature death, and criminal activities. The
achievement gap in the natural sciences and mathematics for girls, however,
has not closed at the highest levels of achievement. Girls also suffer from
higher rates of depression, eating disorders, and suicide attempts. While
boys and girls both suffer from characteristic problems, those of boys are
neglected and far more serious.
