Something has shifted in Australian schools over the last few years. Wellbeing coordinators and deputy principals are increasingly reaching out not just about general student wellbeing but specifically about their boys.
The concerns are consistent. Disrespectful behaviour toward female students and staff. Boys who cannot handle conflict or rejection without shutting down or blowing up. A culture of dominance and put-downs that masquerades as banter. Boys who seem disconnected from any sense of purpose or responsibility.
And sitting underneath all of it, a question that schools are not always sure how to answer. What does it actually mean to be a good man in 2026?
Why the need is growing
Boys today are navigating something genuinely complicated. The traditional models of masculinity that previous generations grew up with are being challenged. But nothing concrete has replaced them.
At the same time, the internet has created new and often toxic models of masculinity that are more accessible and more influential than anything a school can put in front of a student. Boys are consuming content that glorifies dominance, dismisses emotional regulation, and treats respect for women as optional.
Schools are seeing the results of this in their classrooms and corridors every day.
What positive masculinity programs actually do
The term positive masculinity is sometimes misunderstood. These programs are not about telling boys that masculinity is bad or that they should be different to who they are. They are about helping boys examine where their ideas about strength, respect, and influence actually come from.
Most boys have never been asked that question. They have absorbed a version of what it means to be a man without ever questioning whether it actually serves them or the people around them.
Effective programs start there. They make the influences visible. Social media, peer groups, online culture. Once a boy can see what has shaped him, he can start making actual choices rather than just reacting.
From there, these programs explore what real strength looks like. Not dominance or control but how you treat people, how you handle being told no, how you show up when things are hard. How to have influence that lifts people up rather than putting them down.
What makes these programs work
The most important factor is who delivers them. Boys will not engage with a message they do not trust. A corporate speaker, a teacher playing a different role, or someone who is clearly performing allyship will lose the room before they have even started.
Boys respond to someone real. Someone young enough to understand their world. Someone who challenges them without lecturing them. Someone who has actually thought about these things themselves.
The format matters too. Sitting and listening does not change behaviour. Boys need to be active participants. Scenarios they recognise. Questions that make them think. Moments where they arrive at the insight themselves rather than being told what to believe.
The long term picture
Schools that invest in this work consistently are seeing meaningful shifts. Not just in behaviour but in how boys talk about themselves and each other. In how they handle conflict. In how they treat the people around them.
It does not happen overnight. But it does happen. And the alternative, doing nothing and hoping boys figure it out on their own, is a risk that is becoming harder to justify.
If you are seeing this in your school, we can help.
Book a free 20 minute call. No pitch. Just a conversation about your students.
Book a free call