Lifting barriers: boys’ disengagement from education, volume 1: scoping study

Efforts to achieve inclusive and quality education for all have prioritised girls’ education, with policies and programmes helping to reduce gender gaps that have historically disadvantaged girls. However, gender gaps that disadvantage boys, such as lower rates of completion of a full cycle of education in some contexts, have not always been adequately addressed in policy or practice. Gender norms and stereotypes significantly shape the educational experiences and outcomes of both boys and girls.

This scoping study explores how educational innovations can challenge gender norms, including harmful and restrictive masculinities, to improve boys’ engagement in school while advancing gender equality more broadly. The study draws on insights from six programmes and pilot interventions across diverse country contexts.

This scoping work is part of a wider three-year project, ‘Lifting barriers: Educating boys for gender equality’, under the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) programme. The project includes the development and piloting of a school-based intervention model with a focus on masculinities, working closely with research partners and Ministries of Education in Cambodia, Lesotho and Malawi.