Many boys walk into classrooms carrying burdens that are rarely named: fear of failure, peer pressure, and responsibilities at home that sit heavily on young shoulders. Anxiety is often masked with jokes, bravado, or silence, responses that classrooms can misread as defiance or disinterest.
These are not invisible boys. They are boys who have learned to hide.
Society and Peer Pressure in Boys’ Education in Ghana
Boys walk into classrooms carrying pressures from family, community and peers – presures that no textbook prepares them for. Behind the laughter, bravado, or disruption are questions.
Will I fit in?
Will I be mocked for asking questions?
Will I look weak if I struggle?
Peer pressure often pushes boys to prioritise image over learning. Some avoid subjects they find difficult. Others sit silently when confused, or act out to divert attention from fear of failure. Over time, these coping strategies become habits, slowly eroding confidence and engagement.
These struggles rarely appear in school reports or policy summaries, yet they play a decisive role in whether boys remain connected to learning.
Behaviour as communication, not defiance
Many boys move through school without consistent, positive male role models. In environments where emotional restraint is framed as strength, boys often mirror what they observe at home or in their communities. For some, harsh discipline or emotional silence is normalised, and these patterns are carried into the classroom.
What we see as loudness may mask insecurity.
What looks like withdrawal may signal fear.
What appears as anger may be anxiety.
Research across West Africa, including findings highlighted by UNESCO in Leave No Child Behind: Boys’ Disengagement and Disadvantage in Education, shows that boys are more likely to externalise stress in school settings when they lack emotional guidance and supportive role models.
This highlights the need for stronger, more intentional support systems within schools.
What helps boys stay engaged in learning
Supporting boys’ education requires approaches that recognise both academic and emotional needs. Evidence and practice point to several strategies that make a meaningful difference:
- Integrating socio-emotional learning (SEL)
Integrating SEL into everyday teaching helps boys understand their emotions, manage pressure, and develop healthier coping skills. It also improves focus and reduces classroom conflict.
- Strengthening mentorship and role model programmes
Boys benefit from mentors who model empathy, discipline, and resilience. School and community-based and school-based mentorship can offer guidance boys may not receive elsewhere.
- Improving counselling and guidance services
Access to trained counsellors allows early identification of stress and disengagement, helping boys feel supported rather than punished.
- Engaging parents and caregivers
Community workshops on positive discipline, emotional communication, and supportive parenting
can shift home environment in ways that reinforce learning.
- Providing flexible support for rural boys
Study clubs, homework support, and adaptable schedules help boys who balance school or family responsibilities remain engaged without having to choose between the two.
- Promoting healthy masculinity
Open discussions, school clubs, and peer groups can challenge harmful norms around toughness and silence, creating space for vulnerability and growth.
- Training teachers to interpret behaviour differently
When behaviour is understood as communication rather than misconduct, classrooms shift toward empathy and support.
A shared responsibility
Organisations like Homeland Ghana have seen what intentional and supportive approaches can unlock. Last change however, depends on alignment across schools, communities, families and policy.
When boys’ emotional and social needs are understood as part of inclusive education, fewer learners are left struggling in silence.
