Overview

An inquiry into the education of boys in Australian schools was conducted in 2002 by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training which resulted in two major initiatives.

As a response to the Inquiry’s findings the Boys' Education Lighthouse Schools (BELS) program was implemented in two stages over 2003–2005. The program provided funding to over 550 schools to help improve boys' educational outcomes. The Final Report of Boys' Education Lighthouse Schools (BELS) Stage Two provided a detailed analysis and discussion of the key findings and experiences of the 350 schools involved. The Compendium is an interactive CD of resources that has been developed for teachers based on the findings from the BELS initiative.

Success for Boys built on BELS as a national $19.4 million initiative that offered average grants of $10,000 to 1,600 schools over 2006 and 2007. Success for Boys targeted at-risk and disadvantaged boys to address the following key intervention areas: mentoring; literacy; information and communication technology; and relevant Indigenous issues.

The Australian Government has also managed a number of research projects relevant to boys' education, and was the major sponsor of the 5th Biennial Working with Boys, Building Fine Men Conference which was held on 4-6 July 2007 at the University of Newcastle.