Girls are continuing to outperform boys in every aspect of learning, as last year's Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) results again reminded us. Even in Physical and Creative Development, areas of learning where boys should feel confident and competent, the girls are making greater progress.
To help address the problem, the DCSF has now published Confident, capable and creative: supporting boys' achievement - Guidance for practitioners in the Early Years Foundation Stage, and it is important that practitioners take on board its recommendations. We have to respond now to help boys achieve their full potential. It has to be now, or we run the risk of producing a generation of disaffected boys unable to learn new skills, to empathise or to think imaginatively.
Language skills
When considering the learning needs of boys, it is worth remembering that while the FSP results point to progress by both sexes, other research has reached much bleaker conclusions.
According to the I CAN review, The Cost to the Nation of Children's Poor Communication (2006), children are entering nursery and reception classes at a lower physical and cognitive level than they were even five years ago, and more than half have impoverished language on entering school.
Communication skills are at the very core of cognitive/intellectual, social and emotional development and they are inextricably linked to physical skills. Physically confident children are, in the main, confident speakers and listeners.
This lack of communication skills can be more pronounced in boys. Gary Wilson, chair of the National Education Breakthrough Programme on Raising Boys' Achievement, identified various barriers to boys' learning, including a lack of independence and, significantly, a lack of emotional development stemming from poorer language skills (girls use ten to 30 times more language in their play).
Remedying the situation for all children, boys and girls, will require far-reaching change, including an end to product-based Government targets in literacy and numeracy. However, as early years practitioners we need to recognise the extent to which the Early Years Foundation Stage provides us with an opportunity to plan provision that offers appropriate and rigorous challenge to all children, particularly boys.
In response
To meet the needs of boys, early years teams should:
- take on board and shape their practice around the Statements and Commitments of the new framework
- have a sound knowledge of child development
- reject stereotypes and any personal misgivings they may have about boys' 'unwelcome' boisterous behaviour
- provide a stimulating environment
- plan and support experiences that recognise and value the learning preferences, interests, strengths and contributions of each boy in their care.
Development and differences
Adults' lack of understanding and empathy about what it is to be a young male learner can have disastrous consequences for a child's disposition and attitude towards learning.
All practitioners need to be aware of the link between physical and cognitive development. They should know that boys:
- in general, develop physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively later than girls
- have a different chemical make-up which makes them respond and react to stimuli in different ways
- have a testosterone rush between the ages of four and five, which causes their play to become more physical and competitive (importantly, the new document addresses how practitioners should respond to boys' superhero play).
We have to view boys' behaviour and strengths for what they are, not as something to be discouraged in favour of a 'quieter' and more compliant classroom or play area.
We have to accept differences, for it is only when differences are truly recognised, respected and catered for that patterns of similarity in provision and learning can be found. Svaleryd in OECD (2004) states, 'We know that to give boys and girls equal rights in the early years means to give them different and specific opportunities. It is not sufficient to say that ... everything is open to all the children, since at this age children choose gender-specific activities.'
Environment
Open-ended resources, which foster the use of imagination and language, are a must. Providing the space in which to explore them is essential for all children, particularly boys.
The layout of many reception classrooms, with a dominance of tables and chairs, mitigates against a more physical and exploratory way of behaving. The environment should allow children to be in a perpetual state of movement and communication, developing the core body strength and co-ordination that will aid brain development.
Resources that offer challenge are another must. For example, low-calibre balancing and climbing equipment is boring to active learners and does nothing to develop either body or mind.
Provision
For boys to develop self-confidence and see themselves as learners and explorers, practitioners need to engage and encourage boys' natural energy and exploratory drive. To achieve this, we can focus on two key questions:
1. How do we find out what interests the boys in our care?
2. How do we support their learning journeys and show that we value their experiences?
A rigorous system of observation and assessment lies at the heart of all good provision. In such a system, practitioners should:
- observe all the children during the week
- set aside time every week to discuss and make informed assessments about observations
- track observations to highlight any gaps in children's experiences
- discuss regularly a boy's interests and learning with their family and incorporate the findings into planning.
To support boys' learning effectively, we need to:
- use a range of teaching styles to give boys the opportunity to become more responsive and ensure the play boys engage in is relevant and purposeful
- assess our interactions in boys' learning. Are the interactions interesting? Are we interested? Are we thinking about future experiences that will extend the child's learning?
- assess our feedback, which should be instant and extend far beyond passing comments of praise ('Oh, that's nice, Jamal') to meaningful discussions about the learning processes within children's activities. Such discussions should hinge on open-ended questions that scaffold and model thinking and include the direct teaching of skills and knowledge. As Ferre Laevers said, 'The creativity is in the doing; the process is the learning, not the product.'
Neil Farmer is a Foundation Stage consultant who can be contacted at neil.farmer@croydon.gov.uk
ROLE PLAY
High-quality role play is where real learning can take place, so it is well worth looking in depth at whether or how boys are accessing it in our settings. Home corners, for example, although important, can often leave boys without a meaningful role to play or taking on the role of 'the baby' or 'the dog/cat'!
Meaningful role-play should:
- be available both indoors and outdoors
- provide opportunities for big physical actions and exploration outdoors
- incorporate positive images that do not stereotype.
Consider, for example, the learning that could stem from a boy's interest in garages. A visit to a local garage, where practitioners could audit and gather resources, followed by small-world and role play, could provide opportunities for:
Reading manuals, books, diagrams
Writing for a purpose reports, appointments, notices
Speaking and listening engaging meaningfully with each other and with adults; learning new vocabulary
Social development turn-taking, listening to others, self-esteem
Physical development playing with bikes, blocks, large apparatus, screwdrivers, hammers, bolts and nuts
Calculation using concepts such as more/less; solving problems
Numbers as labels for counting ordering, counting, one-to-one correspondence
Design and making petrol pumps, tools, hats
More information
- Confident, capable and creative: supporting boys' achievement - Guidance for practitioners in the Early Years Foundation Stage can be downloaded at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/publications/foundation_stage/supporti ng_achievements/sba_0068207bkt.pdf
- Using the National Healthy School Standard to Raise Boys' Achievement can be downloaded at: www.standards.dfes.gov.ukgenderandachievement/nhss_boys_achievement2.pdf?version=1
LINKS TO EYFS GUIDANCE
- PR 2.3 Supporting Learning
- EE 3.1 Observation, Assessment and Planning
- EE 3.2 Supporting Every Child
- EE 3.3 The Learning Environment
- L&D 4.1 Play and Exploration
- L&D 4.2 Active Learning
- L&D 4.3 Creativity and Critical Thinking.
