TUESDAY DIALOGUES: “Boys’ Achievement Crisis”: myths, evidence, policy challenges

„Leistungskrise bei Jungen“: Mythen, Fakten, politische Herausforderungen

Speaker:
Dr. Hania Sobhy, Forschungsgruppenleiterin, Max-Planck-Institut für Politik- und Sozialwissenschaft |  Research Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science

• Die Veranstaltungen finden jeweils online von 13:00 Uhr bis 14:00 Uhr MESZ/MEZ statt. | The Tuesday dialogues always take place online (Zoom) from 1-2 pm, CEST/CET.
• Während der Veranstaltung wird eine Simultanübersetzung Deutsch-Englisch angeboten. | Simultaneous translation German-English will be provided throughout the event.
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In a reversal of trends in the past century, boys are now under-achieving relative to girls. In Germany, girls consistently outperform boys in reading, outnumber men in university enrolment and are more likely to graduate. This trend, recognised in OECD countries since the 1990s, now increasingly affects middle income countries.

International organisations have called it the “Boys’ Achievement Crisis”, involving three elements: underperformance (lower skills/learning outcomes), participation(lower enrolment, retention), and underachievement (lower completion or graduation). This could contribute to divergent productivity, income, health outcomes and even engagement in violence, all leading to changing family and social dynamics.

Explanations vary: Some suggest that transformations in labour markets have favoured sectors that attract female students. Others believe there are general shifts in the school environment that disadvantage boys. Some go even further, talking about gendered social norms around reading, gendered differences in school performance skills and the absence of male role models.

The gender-specific framing, while important, puts the discussion at risk of polarisation. It also obscures critical socioeconomic dimensions, as male underachievement is concentrated in lower income groups. Giving an overview of the available research, Dr. Hania Sobhy will separate evidence from myths about the issue – and name the most urgent challenges for education policy.