How education is failing young working-class men

We often hear that working-class boys in education are misogynistic, aggressive and unwilling to learn. But how true is this?

In this episode, Richard Kemp speaks with Alex Blower, author of ‘Lost Boys: How Education is Failing Young Working-Class Men’, about how the education system often fails these boys.

They discuss the role of masculinity in the lives of working-class boys and men, Alex’s personal experiences with being working-class and a young carer, and why we need to stop focusing on perceived individual failures and instead turn our attention to the troubled relationship between these boys and the systems in which they reside.

Listen to the episode to get 50% off the paperback and eBook until 20 October 2025.

Alex Blower is Research Fellow at Arts University Bournemouth.

Find out more about the book at: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/lost-boys

The transcript is available here:

Timestamps:

01:32 - Can you tell us about your upbringing and experiences of education?

08:08 - What consequences have occurred from political leaders pointing to working-class boys themselves as the problem?

11:43 - Does this have an effect on the recent polarisation and marches?

14:02 - Did your feelings of aspiration change when you changed schools?

17:22 - Should schools be providing more diverse avenues for future progression?

20:42 - What is the working-class identity now?

24:51 - What inequalities are there and how are they perpetuated even by people with first-hand experience?

29:17 - Can you explain the caring roles that young working-class people have to take on, and how the education system is letting them down?

35:56 - What did you learn from the Being a Boy project?

39:11 - What is Boys’ Impact? And what changes do you hope to achieve from this work?

Intro music:

Cold by yoitrax | @yoitrax

Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com

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