Taking Boys Seriously: a participatory action research initiative demonstrating the transformative potential of relational education
A. Hamilton, S. Morgan, B. Murphy & K. Harland (2024), British Journal of Sociology of Education
This article advances a gender-conscious conception of relational education emanating from the Taking Boys Seriously longitudinal participatory action research initiative in Northern Ireland. The study is grounded in the voices and experiences of boys from disadvantaged communities who have been disengaged, disinterested, or excluded from school. Specifically, we examine data from 120 educators and 442 adolescent boys involved in trialling a set of relational education principles. The findings demonstrate a groundswell of support from formal and informal educators for the advancement of relational education as a whole system approach that leads to improved holistic outcomes particularly for boys experiencing compounded educational disadvantage. Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital and symbolic power are utilised, framing relational education within the contested and politically infused space of education policy, pedagogy, and practice.
Taking boys seriously: Utilising participatory action research to tackle compounded educational disadvantage
Hamilton, A., Morgan, S., Murphy, B., & Harland, K. (2024), Action Research, 0(0)
This paper presents successive phases of Taking Boys Seriously (TBS), a longitudinal participatory action research initiative bringing together diverse educational bodies and indigenous educators across a highly stratified education system in a contested society. The voices and everyday life and school experiences of adolescent boys are positioned firmly at the centre of a research methodology aimed at re-engaging, empowering, and learning from marginalised boys. We discuss how a collaborative and reflexive process co-produced with a committed steering group has been vital in pursuit of systemic change.
Embedding masculinities within a gender conscious relational pedagogy to transform education with boys experiencing compounded educational disadvantage
A. Hamilton, S. Morgan, K. Harland & B. Murphy (2024), Pedagogy, Culture & Society
Responding to a persistent gap in policy and practice, this paper offers a new gender conscious relational pedagogy, directly informed by boys and educators who have participated in Ulster University’s longitudinal ‘Taking Boys Seriously’ research in Northern Ireland. The development of this pedagogy is grounded in the authentic voices of boys from disadvantaged communities whom despite encountering multiple models of masculinity within a contested society, are rarely provided with opportunities to explore and better understand these in relation to themselves and others.
Masculinity, Inequality, and Trying On New Possible Selves
Boyhood Studies, Volume 16: Issue 2, By Dr Alex Blower and Jon Rainford, published 1 December 2023
Young men, especially from working-class backgrounds, often lack the space, capacity, or opportunity to reflect upon masculinities and their role in shaping future trajectories. By devising mechanisms to engage young men differently in creative activities, participants in our project were supported to think beyond assumed futures and explore new possibilities.
Mobilising the theory of possible selves, this article draws on data across three creative university outreach workshops in England with 18 participants who were given the opportunity to explore masculinities using creative writing, photography, and dance/movement. Combining artefact analysis and semi-structured interviews, the article argues that these workshops created safe spaces for young men to articulate their concerns and fears about harm and risk in everyday life while facilitating an exploration of alternative possible selves.
Taking Boys Seriously: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Male School-Life Experiences in Northern Ireland
Harland, K., & McCready, S. (2012), Ulster University
This report presents the findings of a five year longitudinal study (2006-2011) carried out by The Centre for Young Men’s Studies at the University of Ulster and funded by the Department of Education and the Department of Justice.
The research was initiated in response to concerns about boys’ educational underachievement and wider concerns about boys’ health and well-being. The study annually tracked the same 378 adolescent boys aged 11-16 across nine post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. The longitudinal aspect of the study makes a significant contribution to how we can better understand and appreciate reasons why certain boys may struggle at school and therefore not achieve more successful educational outcomes.