Differences in approach overseas

In Australia, many primary and high schools are single sex, and they promote different qualities for boys and girls. For example, some of the key areas for boys include intensifying the study of literacy and helping focused.

“The education offered doesn’t emphasize that a certain type of masculinity is characteristic of boys. The schools respect diversity,” said Hu Fang, a journalist with China National Radio, who is them to remain based in Australia.

By contrast, Russian boys are educated with the clear objective of fostering masculinity. “One indispensable part of school education for boys involves intensive physical training. Another is to tell them to pursue a sense of honor by learning about national honorandthehonorofbeinga member of a team. Those things will help to teach them that they must become heroes like their forefathers,” said Zhang Shunheng, who has lived in Russia for more than a decade.

In Japan, the mainstream philosophy is that the husband provides the family’s financial support and the wife is responsible for staying at home to do housework and take care of the children. As a result, boys have to participate in challenging sporting activities to cultivate willpower and perseverance.

According to Tang Xiong, a Shanghai native who has lived in Tokyo for more than 10 years, many Japanese parents send their sons to boys-only schools to involve them in harsh physical training and competitions with their peers.

“These schools are also the best when it comes to academic performance,” said Tang, who has a 4-year-old son.

Despite the edge in academic performance, Wang Weiming, Tang’s wife, is opposed to sending their son to a boys-only school.

“The biggest advantage of coeducational schools is that through their everyday encounters boys and girls learn to understand the common characteristics and differences between the two genders. That’s particularly important when they are younger and also during their teens — it will ensure that they gradually learn how to get along with the opposite sex,” she said.