TBS Boys and Young Men's Summit

TBS Boys and Young Men's Summit

Join us at the Belfast campus on Friday 9 September 2022.

Download TBS Principles Watch Conference Promo Video

Our Research

Introduction

Over the last few years TSB2 research has found that working class boys, particularly from Quintile 1 communities, experience what we have termed ‘compounded educational disadvantage.’

We have developed this term to refer to the additional barriers for education and learning which arise for boys as a consequence of an intersection between poverty and socio-economic class, the current system of selective education, and narratives of hegemonic masculinities within school culture and troublesome masculinities within a post conflict society.

Linked to several of the key findings from the original TSB1 research, TBS2 research has found that boys who experience compounded educational disadvantage, thrive in an educational ecosystem that adopts ‘relational’ principles, pedagogies, and practices.

Our research identifies these boys as ‘Relational Learners’ and through our case study data over the past year, TBS 2 has developed and began testing a set of holistic ‘relational’ educational principles aimed at igniting boys’ motivation, aspirations and attitudes towards education and learning.

Each principle and practice point has been informed by extensive qualitative and quantitative research findings and robust testing of the principles in a range of formal and informal educational settings.

While this set of principles has been developed from our research experiences with working class boys, it is our strong belief that the principles can be utilised to be of value in any educational setting, and with any young person, but particularly for boys originating from places of greatest social need.

Publications