Since its formation in 2023, the Boys’ Impact network has co-ordinated a significant body of activity across the UK, bringing together educational researchers and practitioners from a range of geographic regions and social locations to build an evidence base surrounding effective practice.

Mobilising the membership of this network, in September 2024 Boys’ Impact launched a research project to develop a deeper understanding of educators’ perceptions of their relationship with young men in the school classroom.  This report is the second publication from the Boys’ Impact surveying the contemporary perceptions of 500 educators regarding masculinity, building trust and rapport, and demonstrating dignity and respect nationally. The findings were supplemented by the inclusion of reflective conversations in three schools in the South of England involving 17 teachers and 40 young men who were aged 12-16 and eligible for Free School Meals.  

The report explores how trust, dignity and respect are experienced within the classroom. These elements form a foundation for meaningful relationships in formal educational spaces, so it is vital to appreciate the ways they are understood and experienced by both teachers and young men. They hold the key to unlocking insight, deepening understanding, and improving the nature of relationships between educators and young men in schools. 

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