‘Lost Boys’
‘Australia’s male education catastrophe’ - SMH September 2025
A recent Australian 10-year longitudinal research study has uncovered yawning gaps in educational advancement between males and females that have been described as a catastrophe in terms of education for males, with boys lagging behind in key areas such as literacy, engagement, and retention.
As an aside, the research also identifies the major career advantage that private school students gain compared with government and, to a lesser extent Catholic, school students, with analysis of 10 years of census data revealing they are roughly twice as likely to be employed in the most highly skilled professions.
The Sydney Morning Herald article highlighted a range of complex factors contributing to boys falling behind, including:
- Literacy and Reading: Data shows that boys are consistently underrepresented in top-tier literacy results and are less likely to read for pleasure. This is a critical foundation for all other learning.
- Engagement and Motivation: The report suggests that some traditional teaching methods may not be as effective in engaging boys, leading to disinterest and a lack of motivation.
- Mental Health and Wellbeing: The report also touches on the pressures faced by young men, and how these can impact their focus and performance in the classroom.
At Mosman Prep, we specialise in boys’ education. We focus on the way boys react to situations, interact with learning, and process information.
Our approach to Learning has a wellbeing foundation which supports our boys to feel safe, connected, and ready to learn. We are committed to evidence-based boys’ education pedagogy, and the use of data to inform targeted teaching and learning.
Explicit Teaching, involving teacher-led instruction, clear objectives, small chunks of learning, worked examples of success, and opportunities for practice and reflection is critical. It sits alongside Integration and Investigation which provides for greater student engagement and connects different areas of learning. It also facilitates the development of future proofing skills, helping our boys to become more adaptive, flexible, creative and critical thinkers, and confident communicators and collaborators.
At Mosman Prep, we recognise the importance of:
- strong student/teacher relationships.
- targeted teaching and individualised learning.
- education that is relevant and purposeful with clear learning intentions and appropriate scaffolding.
- an increased focus on writing and developing a love of literature.
- meaningful movement and hands-on manipulation.
- freedom to express themselves in the Arts.
- opportunities to discover their authentic voice and develop their emotional vocabulary.
- developing strong social, emotional, and character traits.
Expert boys’ educators and a foundation of relationships, trust and respect, allows our boys to engage freely in learning, to make mistakes, to have a voice, to achieve mastery, and to develop their confidence, independence, and ultimately ownership of their ‘learning journey’.
The early years are the all-important formative years, where the critical foundations for successful social and cognitive growth are laid. Through our wide range of rich evidence-based learning experiences, supported by specialist boys’ educators, an outstanding teacher to student ratio, and a strong partnership with parents, we are committed to ensuring our boys are developing attributes that will inspire their learning journey and prepare them to embrace the future.
Peter Grimes | Headmaster
Reference:
The Lost-boys - Australia’s male education catastrophe - SMH September 2025 - based on the recent Australian Population Research Institute Report.
