Ulster’s long-running initiative to close the gender attainment gap in Northern Ireland

Despite ongoing efforts across the education system, boys continue to fall behind and among unemployed NEETs (as opposed to economically inactive NEETs which includes those with care responsibilities), males outnumber females by nearly two to one.

‘Taking boys seriously’ is a sustained investment in communities across Northern Ireland, through which Ulster University has developed strong partnerships with local schools and youth centres as well as regional youth organisations and educational bodies to tackle the persistent underachievement of boys in education by understanding the systemic and personal barriers they face.

In addition to ground-breaking research, the project team has defined a framework for relational work with boys, launched the Northern Ireland Boys’ Impact Hub and created the Boys’ and Young Men’s Quadrant (an online resource for educators). As a result
partner schools have reported an increase of participation in further and higher education.