The programme
‘Boys Impact in Art’ is a professional development and learning programme for secondary specialist art teachers to improve the engagement and achievement of boys eligible for free school meals. It is grounded in the principles of relational education developed in Northern Ireland by the Taking Boys Seriously (TBS) research team at Ulster University. It involves teachers:
- Exploring key issues for boys including socio economic factors, concepts of masculinity, inequality in education, teacher perceptions of boys and expectations of them
- Designing and leading an enquiry project which involves teaching a programme of work with selected students that applies the practices of Relational Pedagogy (essentially talking meaningfully with boys about their experiences and building relationships)
- Working with local artists, galleries and contemporary art exhibitions to create inspiring real world learning experiences for students
- Participating in an end of project research event where the cohort share their findings and recommendations and plan how to share these with the wider education community
The ethos
Our approach is about co-producing the programme with art teachers. We are creating the conditions for teachers to undertake their own individual enquiry project and enable them to access the knowledge, skills and resources they need to complete it. Our evidence suggests that introducing new pedagogical practice is a risk for teachers within the context of the many demands on them. We set out to create a space of learning and enquiry rather than judgement, and to produce a programme structure with meaningful deadlines and reflection points that create momentum. We are experienced in supporting teachers through the enquiry process and finding the right artists partners and inspirations from gallery partners and others to extend their learning.
Why are we doing this?
Nationally boys eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) are amongst the lowest achieving group of students at secondary school (in 23/24 only 24% gained a Grade 5-9 in English and Maths) with only 17% progressing to higher education – less than a 1 in 5 chance. Recent research by Blower and Ranford showed the lack of confidence in many teachers to hold conversations with young men about masculinity but when they did do that it was highly productive. We have evidence of how contemporary art practices can positively impact on boys’ attitudes and enjoyment of art but short term projects are not sufficient to embed sustainable change in teacher practice, curriculum and assessment structures.
In 2023 Susan Coles wrote a provocation paper called ‘Where Have All the Boys Gone?’ articulating concerns about the trend she had noticed about the lack of boys taking GCSE art and why that might be. We asked Susan to run a CPD day with secondary art teachers exploring this issue and we had a huge response, suggesting there was wider concern. We added to this CPD day a project with four schools working with male artists and their teachers to test out art techniques and ways of making art that might appeal to boys differently and wrote a report on this process. This was part of the University of Wolverhampton’s ASPIRE to HE programme.
There was evidence of promise in our report Engaging Boys in Art: a project responding to ‘Where Have all the Boys Gone? that encouraged us to wonder who else was interested? Then we were introduced to Dr. Alex Blower, an alumnus of our University and to his research into masculinity and the Boys Impact Hub that he founded. Through the Hub we found the community of practitioners we were seeking. This introduced us to the foundational research from the University of Ulster, the Taking Boys Seriously Principles (one of which is about the value of creative learning environments) and the practice of Relational Pedagogy.
These concepts and tools began to explain the elements of success and the limitations we had seen in the pilot project and how we could expand upon it. Our focus moved more towards the day-to-day practice of art teachers (an area of expertise we have been developing through our work on the LINK Teacher Development Fund) with artists providing ideas and guidance to teachers rather than their work being an alternative to typical lessons.
What do we want to learn from this programme?
The detailed intended outcomes are described in our Theory of Change but, in addition, what we want to understand in the programme is:
• How can the Taking Boys Seriously principles be embedded in art schemes of work and in teacher behaviours and relationships with their students?
• What happens when this is attempted? What is the experience of the teachers? How do the boys and girls respond?
• What impact does this have on boys’ achievement, sense of belonging and motivation? Are there other benefits?
• How do we capture the evidence to tell the story and learning that emerges from the project to the wider arts education community?
Our partners in leading the programme
Our core partners are the Central Learning Trust in Wolverhampton, The Black Country Boys Impact Hub and Dr Alex Blower.
Our art partners
We are also working with the IKON Gallery and local artists.
