About Us
APBSA is an alliance of public boys’ schools in South Africa which champions, supports, advances and celebrates boys’ schools as learning environments focused on the development of boys. It enhances the understanding of boys’ learning and development through research, and seeks to improve practice, opportunity and outcomes in boys’ schools across the country.
Our
AIMS
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Association are to:
- Facilitate, promote and support member schools, and contribute to the broad educational values, goals, interests and needs of the public boys’ schools of South Africa.
- Research and implement ways and means of ensuring that “no boys are left behind” and that their collective well-being and hopeful-ness are addressed.
- Offer a voice of advocacy for boys’ public schooling to government, the private sector and to the media when such a voice is required and to represent where necessary, public boys’ schools in the community or to the authorities, individually or collectively: and to comment on various proposals, bills, changes to legislation, etc., which would assist schools in representing their unique standpoint.
- Enhance the capacity of member schools to exercise their rights and perform their obligations.
- Work with schools and educational leaders to equip boys with the tools needed to create lives of achievement, personal fulfilment, compassion and leadership.
- Undertake, participate in and contribute to research on best learning and developmental practices for boys.
- Identify effective teaching and general developmental philosophies to guide boys on their personal journeys to manhood.
- Share this knowledge among teaching professionals in member schools.
- Act as a resource centre for public boys’ schools and in particular provide guidance and information on various aspects of education and education management in public boys’ schools.
- Provide, identify and or publicise appropriate forums where matters of common interest can be discussed, where policy and best practice can be shared, and where information can be obtained on the operation of boys’ schools which will enable members to improve the operations of their school.
- Provide member schools with information, both positive and negative, around the concepts of benevolent and toxic masculinity at individual and institutional levels alike.
- Provide for the establishment of a common bursary fund and a development fund.
- Raise funds with which to finance the pursuit of the above objectives.
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
Alliance membership offers staff in member schools the opportunity to connect with dynamic professionals across the country who share a commitment to single-gender education and have a passion for advancing the interests and performance of advancing boys’ schools and the learning experiences of boys. In doing so it offers members the following benefits:
- Access to relevant tools and information aimed at enhancing the general capacity of boys’ schools and the educational experience of boys.
- The advantages of advocacy and contact with the authorities in the field of education.
- Support for the leadership in member schools, and the provision of a sounding board and an answering service for the discussion and resolution of problems related to institutional management and development in boys’ schools.
- Participation in forums of mutual interest and being part of decision-making with regard to such areas of common interest.
- The right to attend conferences, workshops and seminars organised by the Association for member schools.
- The possibility of being part of a circle of excellence.
- Seeking, identifying and, where feasible, producing resources to help member schools better understand the needs and experiences of transgender and gender-nonconforming students, staff and parents.
- Access to resources designed to address both positive and negative aspects of masculinity and related issues.