ABSTRACT
Writing on gender and achievement has swamped the British education media in recent years, yet concerns around issues of ‘gender gap’ appear to be growing rather than receding. And the issue of boys’ apparent educational underachievement in comparison to girls is increasingly identified as an international issue. So, given the proliferation of books and articles on this subject in recent years, is there really a need for another one? We can provide a positive answer to that question, on two counts. First, there is a need to draw together the diverse research and arguments concerning the ‘gender gap’, and to analyse the various different claims, counter-claims and assumptions underlying these debates, in order to provide a thorough, critical, contemporary guide to the debates and work in the area. Second, we believe that the majority of contributions to this field (including some of our own works) have been locked into micro issues. Either they concentrate on the nuances of the arguments (For example, to what extent are boys really ‘underachieving’? What effect is the focus on boys having on girls? Why are generalisations being made that are not representative of particular groups of boys and girls?); or they focus on possible pedagogic and institutional approaches which seek to narrow the gender gap in achievement. There is far less attention to the broader philosophical or political questions upon which these debates might be seen to be predicated, but which usually remain unarticulated.
