Last Friday the Ministry of Education and Youth released the results of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP). Congratulations to all the awardees, including the hard-working teachers and parents who have supported these children throughout these past six years and especially during the difficult novel coronavirus pandemic period.

As is the case with all major national or regional exams, some students will be extremely elated with their results, while others will be satisfied or disappointed. It is important for teachers, but more importantly parents, to provide the necessary support and empathy for those who are displeased with their placement.

While the education ministry disclosed that close to 90 per cent of students obtained a space in a school of their choice, the rational ones among us are cognisant that the PEP students had to submit seven schools from which the selection would be made. This is two more schools than requested for the now-discontinued Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT). Usually, students prefer to be placed at one of their top two choices. I wonder how many got their preference.

Another important piece of information revealed by the ministry is that the girls outperformed the boys in all categories of the exams, even though there were more boys registered than girls. The continuous pattern of girls doing significantly better than boys academically begs the question of whether our pedagogy is reaching our boys.

Numerous studies have been conducted which suggest that girls tend to outdo boys in their formative years. A study done by Cole et al (2016) entitled Gender Differences in Years 6-7 Literacy and Numeracy Transition Outcomes underscored that girls outperform boys in reading in every Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country, and there is a consequential impact on other areas of learning.

Studies in neuroscience, while not conclusive, suggest that boys tend to outperform girls in one cognitive area: visual-spatial integration, which is involved in navigation, assembling jigsaw puzzles, and certain types of hand-eye coordination.

Some psychology researchers have suggested that social attitudes could play a significant role in how boys apply themselves at school. A study conducted by the University of Kent revealed that boys are falling behind girls because they are constantly being told they are not up to scratch. In this particular research that included approximately 600 children, ages four to 10, the results showed that boys felt their teachers and parents did not expect them to do as well as girls and lost their motivation or confidence as a result.

Tests showed that belief in their own academic inferiority could translate into lower grades among boys. The findings showed that by the time boys are seven years old they equate girls with higher achievement at school. Girls, on the other hand, believe they are higher achievers by the time they have reached the age of four. Consequently, this is a possible stereotype that teachers, parents, and the society need to help our children to debunk from an early age.

While these findings should be contemplated and assessed against our own context, as a male educator I often reflect on whether the teaching and assessment strategies used in our education system disfavours our boys. Of course, there are males who excel brilliantly compared to some of their female counterparts, but this is a meagre percentage.

Before some of my colleagues think I am being unreasonable, let me underscore that I empathise with them in matters of lack of resources, inadequate compensation, difficult administrators, and unreasonable directives from the education ministry.

However, if our boys continue to perform below average, we have a responsibility to try to reach them through our teaching. The 21st century learner has to be taught and engaged differently from how we were educated. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to constantly find creative and innovative ways to teach and assess our boys. Let us find techniques and methods to link their experiences with their learning styles and multiple intelligences. Let us try to understand how they develop cognitively to be better able to meet their learning needs.

I had a lengthy discussion with two of my high school colleagues, who told me about some of the strategies they employ with their students. They shared that project-based learning, gamification, and live worksheets work well with students. However, they noted that when it comes to written assessments many students tend to panic or become extremely nervous, so much so that they perform poorly in comparison to when they receive continuous formative assessments.

Understandably, not everyone can manage exam stress. Perhaps if we were allowed to assess our students through various continuous assessments, even orally, they would be better able to articulate the anticipated responses.

It would also be interesting for us to examine gender-based teaching strategies and conduct research to see if these can help to improve male academic performance.

Additionally, we cannot rule out the role that parents play in their children’s development. Too many parents continue to give priority to things other than their children’s education. Interestingly, these are some of the same parents who chastise their children when they underperform or when they are not placed in a “top” school.

As we continue to return to a sense of normality, provided there is no outbreak of the monkeypox, let us try our best to support our children as they seek to achieve their goals. Already, we have a lot of catching up to do.

Oneil Madden is president of the Jamaica Association of French Teachers (JAFT) and a PhD candidate in applied linguistics at Université Clermont Auvergne, France. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or oneil.madden@uca.fr.