Educational Outcomes for Boys

The Hon. S.L. GAME (15:14): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General, representing the Minister for Education, Training and Skills, on educational outcomes for boys.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.L. GAME: I recently met with a University of South Australia researcher who clearly outlined that adults from trauma backgrounds are 20 times more likely to pass on trauma to their own children. This is well evidenced with less positive outcomes for these children. However, statistics from University of South Australia research show that boys are doing worse at almost every level of education.

Generational trauma cannot explain this because generational trauma is affecting boys and girls. The Australian Early Development Census shows boys are more likely to be vulnerable on all five development domains: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, and communication skills and general language. Our own office FOI revealed that the vast majority of suspensions and exclusions at school were boys.

It was suggested to me by this University of South Australia researcher that the imbalance is connected to the gender gap in the workforce in key areas, such as social work and primary school teaching, which are currently female dominated. My questions to the Attorney-General, representing the Minister for Education, Training and Skills, are:

1. Noting that gender imbalance in male-dominated workplaces has been a focus of equity policy for decades, does the government agree it has allowed a female-dominated gender gap in early childhood education and care, which is contributing to poorer outcomes for boys to persist, and what is the government doing to change this?

2. In light of the fact that boys are underachieving and given the ongoing negative narrative surrounding men, does the government feel it is doing enough to celebrate positive male role models and, if so, what is the government doing in this space?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for her questions and I will be happy to pass them on to the minister in another place and bring back a reply.