Part Three in this series exploring male underachievement in Jamaica discussed the importance of greater male engagement in helping to stem the tide of subpar outcomes from males in the education system. It was discovered that, broadly, the education system is not sufficiently tailored to fit the needs of males with respect to curriculum development, methods of delivery, or teaching styles. Several recommendations were proposed in this regard. In Part Four, there is analysis on the phenomenon of a lack of motivation for males in education.

According to Cobbett and Young (2012) and Odih (2010), a lack of motivation for tertiary education may have resulted from the lack of positive male role models at the home, in schools, and in the workforce. In a North American study, Palmer, Davis, and Maramba (2010) concluded that two reasons black males are unsuccessful at the tertiary level are lack of internal motivation and social relationships.

A similar study conducted by Wood, Hilton, and Hicks (2014) concluded that the internalisation of external stimuli is what has led black men to strive to achieve a more significant outcome for themselves and their families. This desire for a more significant outcome stems from the negative views of black men, which becomes the rationale for intrinsic motivation.

Furthermore, the education system has become more dominated by females with an increasing number of female teachers seen in schools (Clark, 2019). It is reasoned that young girls in schools relate more to female teachers, while young boys will relate more to male teachers. Consequently, girls will be more empowered and will outperform their male counterparts who have very few male role models to emulate within the school system. Additionally, the findings of this study suggested that in a school system in which there are predominantly female teachers and teaching methods that do not cater to young males’ style of learning, they will often become disenchanted and left behind.

My assessment corroborated the results from the study by Cobbett and Young (2012) and found that 50 per cent of respondents identified that males lack the motivation they need to further their education. She notes that some are simply not interested in higher education because they are complacent with anything life throws at them, finding a more comfortable alternative to education, wanting to live a life that proves their manhood, or simply because they just see it as being unnecessary.

Twenty per cent believed that this lack of motivation is caused by the absence of parental support, especially in motivating parental figures, while the remaining 30 per cent shared different views, noting that Jamaica is a matriarchal society in which females are generally better at managing tasks than males and, finally, everyone is given the same opportunities. However, men do not take advantage of them, while women do.

These findings are broadly in concert with those of Gayle and Bryan (2019), who discovered, with respect to tertiary education in Jamaica, “[M]ost of the males [in the study] genuinely wanted to attend The UWI, but had less access to funds than their female counterparts, due to poor family support, aligned to a cultural dictate that part of the definition of being a man is to achieve economic independence.” This would seem to support the claim that men are not being adequately supported or motivated in their pursuit of tertiary education.

Cobbett and Younger also advanced the claim that there are inadequate numbers of role models for males to emulate. This idea is seen in the household’s lack of motivation as many participants in the study identified that fathers are often absent from their son’s lives, leaving them with no example of the acceptable standard a male should live up to. This sentiment concurs with the claims advanced by Sutherland (2012), stating that, in Jamaica, males do not live up to the standard of male dominance set by the British during the colonial ruling resulting in the failure to execute the role of a traditional father adequately. If a young male has no example of what a traditional father and male should look like then it is only plausible that he will adapt to whatever else he sees around him, which are the negative influences in society.

Indeed, in assessing the role of family structure, an explication of the matriarchy which exists in Jamaica today reveals that it is rooted in African cultural influences on the family structure, as is explained by Professor Errol Miller (1988) in ‘The Rise of Matrifocality in the Caribbean’. Miller identifies that the middle class in Jamaica usually had a nuclear structure and was patriarchal despite the influence of slavery. He further identifies, however, that this family pattern has been contested by female authorities. The evolution of these changing roles over time may have had some influence on the inclinations of males in their development over the years.

My study also determined that the primary reason for this lack of motivation stems from the absence of suitable role models for young men. The participants in the study noted that the issue is related to many of these young men’s influences. They join particular gangs that do nothing to encourage them further from very early in high school. Frequently they fall prey to peer pressure and are influenced to engage in other illicit activities. There are also powerful, negative influences in their communities. For some there may be male influences directly in the social circle and indirectly through media influencing them to leave education behind and to join gangs in the streets. This view concurs with the position of Smith and Green (2007) that the informal relationships that many Jamaican males build hinder their ability to progress in the educational and business sectors.

If males are not positively influenced initially it will be difficult to influence them to take up these positions when they are older. Participants also noted that females are always being motivated by those around them and by each other, but the situation is not the same for males. Additionally, in many households as well, males are not encouraged to seek higher education, but instead are told to go out and work as soon as they have completed secondary education and sometimes even before completion. They have now become the breadwinner of their families and in many cases never get the opportunity to advance themselves. It was also identified that the school system has been doing very little to facilitate male learning and development deliberately.

In essence, the responses highlighted that this problem was largely due to Jamaica’s socialisation and educational culture. There is little to no motivation in the household and, without proper guidance, they get carried away by the negativity they see around them.

Dr Jacqueline Coke-Lloyd is a transformational leader and managing director of MYM Group Limited. She is a people, organisational, and middle manager development professional, as well as founder of Young Entrepreneurs Association. Coke is a national productivity ambassador, speaker, author, and adjunct professor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or jackiecokelloyd@gmail.com.