Is There a ‘Boy Problem’ in Learning Stem Subjects and Pursuing a Related Career? Findings from Q Methodology Research

Abstract

Through Q methodology, this study aimed to investigate whether a ‘boy problem’ exists among a group of grade 9 and 10 schoolboys studying in Qatar’s public schools, especially in relation to learning science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects (STEM) and pursuing a related career. The overall objective was to tell the schoolboys’ own narratives regarding their academic performance and future career aspirations, as well as uncover how these boys experience, understand and negotiate their social world both within and beyond the classroom. The discussion of whether a ‘boy problem’ exists among these schoolboys focused on the three main discourses that fail boys in education, namely: failing schools, poor boys and boys will be boys.