There has been much debate about the problem of male marginalisation, but ideas towards sustainable solutions seem a challenge.

It has been suggested by some that the problem is generationally cyclical. Those who hold this view argue that several millennia ago, women dominated most societies. Ostensible evidence for this is deemed to be seen in the fact that in many ancient Eastern cultures such as Babylonia, the most powerful deities were goddesses. Assuming that deities represent power, the fact that they were feminine in gender is argued as evidence that women were the dominant gender. Other suggested examples of female power are powerful queens such as the Queen of Sheba and Isabella of France. In this context, a woman leading a powerful country (as in the case of Britain under Thatcher, or running for president in America) is not as novel a phenomenon as some seem to think.

I am not convinced, however, that the increasingly marginalised position that males occupy in our society is a product of the cycles of history; I believe the causes are largely sociological and as such, the solutions will have to be informed by sociology.

In a controversial paper entitled "Gender Composition of the Primary School-Teaching Force: A Result of Personal Choice?" Professor Errol Miller advances what he calls a theory of 'place'. This theory of 'place' he explains by suggesting that the position a person occupies in society is determined by multiple criteria - gender, education, skin colour, wealth, place of origin, connections, etc. The more of these criteria one has going in one's favour, the less marginalised one is likely to be.

By implication, the increasingly marginalised position of males is due to the fact that they are having fewer of these criteria in their favour.

While Professor Miller may be correct, his 'theory' does not adequately explain why males are faced with the crisis of reduced criteria in their favour.

RESEARCH FINDINGS

In a study conducted in 2007, among fourth and fifth-form students across four high schools in Jamaica, I unearthed some findings that I believe point the way to finding solutions to the problem of male marginalisation. Two of the schools were traditional high while the other two were new secondary. Two were from the Corporate Area and two from rural Jamaica; two were unisex and two bi-genders.

The distribution of the sample by gender and grade level is shown in Table 1.

RESPECT FOR PRINCIPAL

One of the telling findings of the study was that almost a quarter (20 per cent) of the boys surveyed said they disagreed or strongly disagreed that they respected their principal. While the study has not established that this figure is representative of the secondary level of the education system, given the spread of the sample across various types of schools, the finding may in part explain some of the disciplinary problems facing schools.

I am, therefore, suggesting that one of the probable causes of marginalisation is a deliberate distancing of boys, by themselves, from the centre because of the lack of respect they have for their leaders.

By contrast, it is to be noted that zero per cent of girls indicated that they disagreed or strongly disagreed that they respected their principal. (See Table 2.)

CAUSE OF WITHDRAWAL

If the marginalisation of boys is in part a self-determined condition and results from the fact that many of them do not respect their leaders, a further question that must be asked is what are the factors that may cause them not to respect their leaders?

The study again found some evidence that could help us answer that question.

Thirty eight per cent of boys (as compared to nine per cent of girls) disagreed or strongly disagreed, that their principal showed interest in their concerns. How important is the need to show concern? William Ouchi in his research that led to what he called 'Theory Z', found that one of the distinctive features of Japanese versus American leadership was the concern shown by Japanese managers for the welfare of subordinates. Ouchi concluded that the success of Japanese companies as compared to American companies was to be found in this simple fact.

The implication of this finding is that boys may marginalise themselves simply because they do not feel that they are cared for. To the extent that that is so, one of the cures to the problem of the marginalisation of boys is obvious.

INCLUSIVENESS AS A CURE

Yet another revealing finding of the research was that 43 per cent of boys felt that the principal did not takes students' views into consideration before making some decisions compared to a mere seven per cent of girls. This finding has two possible interpretations. The first probable explanation is that males have a greater desire for involvement and are thus not as easily satisfied as girls, even if they are given similar levels of opportunity for involvement, or they are less involved than girls and thus feel excluded. Either way, this finding points to a further probable explanation for the marginalisation of males in the Jamaican society.