This paper focuses on the learning experiences of lower attaining boys attending Stone Acre, a non-selective state Secondary school in England, and how these were shaped by teachers' gendered beliefs and practices. It argues that despite changes in our theoretical understandings of gender, those found in the context of everyday practice in schools…

There is a persistent suggestion that the lack of men who choose to work with young children (0-5 years) is detrimental to children's learning and development. This study analysed whether practitioners believed that men who work with young children adopt specific approaches within a play pedagogy. Practitioner beliefs about how their gender…

This paper examines the experiences of four men working as Special Educational Needs Coordinators in primary schools in England. There is currently no published research that draws insights from the small population of male SENCos, nor that explores the gendered aspects of leading for inclusion. Set against recent SEN policy reform and a changing…

Extensive feminist critique of lad culture has raised serious concerns about its role in the sexualisation and objectification of women; its association with 'pack-like' boisterous behaviour and pressured heavy drinking of alcohol; and its use of banter, irony and infantile humour to provide a protective shield for sexist and homophobic practices.…

We explore the ideology associated with gender equality that despite primary schools and initial teacher education (ITE) institutions doing all they can to recruit men into primary education, a huge gender imbalance still exists. We frame our study around the notions of gender equality and professional responsibility. Using a multi-case study…

The relationship between male rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, attitudes toward gay men, a series of gender role and sexism measures, victim blame and assault severity were investigated. It was predicted that men would display more negative, stereotypical attitudes than women and that male rape myth endorsement would be related…

The National Curriculum of 1988 provided a common curriculum for all primary and secondary schools in the state school sector in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and ensured that schools in all local authorities had a common curriculum. However, pupils with special educational needs had attainments that fell well below those that the National…

Debates about gender and schooling have taken a surprising turn in the past decade. After years of concern that girls were being shortchanged in male-dominated schools, especially in math and science, there has grown a rising chorus of voices worrying about whether boys are the ones in peril. With young women making up close to 60 percent of…

This article focuses on the involvement of boys and girls in playground football. It is based on research conducted with 10- to 11-year-old pupils at two state primary schools in London. Boys and girls were found to draw on gender constructs that impacted variously on their involvement in playground football. The performance of masculinity through…

Issues of gender equity in English secondary schools over the last decade have been dominated by a concern with the "under-achievement" of boys, implicitly acknowledging the apparent success of strategies developed in schools in previous decades to improve equality of opportunity for girls. This paper presents evidence to challenge this…

Most teachers in both secondary and primary schools are women, but most heads of secondary schools are men and the proportion of men who are heads in primary schools is large in comparison to the overall number of women in primary teaching. However, the proportion of women who are headteachers and deputy headteachers is growing. Although there are…

Drawing on illustrations from a recent life history study that focused on male student teachers as they negotiated their way through a 1-year postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) physical education teacher training course at a university in England, this paper explores how teachers are implicated in the social construction of gender…

Drawing on a number of fields of educational research this article argues that girls come to school better prepared to meet its demands than boys. Parents encourage different skills in their children, as a result girls have more sophisticated communication skills, and are more likely to have been encouraged to participate in intellectual tasks…