jeromedelisle consulting

TOBAGO WORKSHOP 2014

Reaching & Teaching Tobago Boys in School

Are boys doing less well in school and life?

Worldwide, the evidence is mixed, but what we do know is that medium-sized gender differentials favouring females in Language do exist and they may be high in SOME Tobago schools.

This workshop is designed as a system initiative to help Tobago teachers and administrators launch interventions to address the issue.

The intervention is a national one, framed from the standpoint that Tobago being a significant part of the national landscape.

It comes at a time when Tobago school personnel are empowered to change their school and communities as schools make significant progress on National Tests.

The workshop is designed to foster the knowledge that can guide such change. As Proverbs 4: 6-7 implies, insight into a matter is everything.

6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. 7 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding (Proverbs 4: 6-7; NIV)

Our Design

We borrow from the Raising Boys Achievement Project in England (2001-2004) and identify 4 areas:

An integrated whole school approach to literacy
Specific refinements in pedagogy
Target-setting and mentoring by data literate staff
School culture that promoted boys’ motivation

My work on gender and achievement in international & Regional Peer-Reviewed Journals & Conferences

De Lisle, J., Smith, P., Keller, C., & Jules, V. (2012). Differential outcomes in high stakes eleven plus testing: Gender, assessment design, and geographic location in secondary school placement within Trinidad and Tobago. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy, & Practice, 19(1), 445-64.
De Lisle, J. (2011). The complexity and paradox of gendered achievement patterns: Re-examining gender differentials on multiple outcomes at the School of Medicine, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. Caribbean Journal of Education, 33(1), 103-141.
De Lisle, J., Seemungal, T., Teelucksingh, S., Mungrue, K., & Williams, S. (2011) Are female students better at breaking bad news? Implications for the design of communication skills training In Godfrey A. Steele. Health Communication in the Caribbean and Beyond: A Reader – pp. 21-43). Mona, Jamaica: UWI Press.
De Lisle, J, Smith, P. & Jules, V. (2010). Evaluating the geography of gendered achievement using large-scale assessment data from the primary school system of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. International Journal of Educational Development, 30(4), 405-417.
De Lisle, J., Smith, P., & Jules, V. (2005). Which males or females are most at risk and on what? An analysis of gender differentials within the primary school system of Trinidad and Tobago. Educational Studies 31(3), 393-418.
De Lisle, Jerome & Smith, Peter (2004). Reconsidering the consequences: Gender differentials in performance and placement in the 2001 SEA.
De Lisle, J. & Pitt-Miller, P. (2002). Not all males underachieve: Evaluating gender-based differentials in academic achievement at a medical school. Journal of Education & Development in the Caribbean, 6 (1 & 2), 87-110.
De Lisle, J. (2011). In search of evidence-based policy and best practice: Addressing gender differences in schooling within the English-speaking Caribbean. Paper delivered at the 24^th ISCEI Conference, Limassol, Cyprus, January 4-7, 2011.
Anisette, S. De Lisle, J., Joseph, S., Bowrin-Williams, C., Plante, W-A. (2009). Is there an association between students' world views on gender and self reports of school related gender based violence? Paper presented at the 2009 Biennial conference, Quality Education for All: Exploring Realities – Considering Options. June 23-25, 2009. Accra Beach Hotel & Resort, Barbados.
De Lisle, J. (1997). Male Underachievement in Trinidad and Tobago: Nature, Antecedents, and Causes. Keynote address and Paper delivered at Conference Workshop on Male Underachievement in the Caribbean, Guidance Unit, Ministry of Education, November 24-26, 1997.

Our photo-This photo was a stock photo from the photography unit of the School of Education. I like this photo because it reveals the reality of many. Girls develop a facility in reading and some boys lag behind. The workshop reveals strategies for helping young and even adolscent males develop greater facility in language.