Boys Forward

About

The Founder of Boys Forward

Ian Lillico

Professional Background

Ian's full CV

Ian has done action research in gender throughout Australia and New Zealand from 1992 as well as the UK, USA and Europe during his Churchill Fellowship in 2000. He has been with the Education Department of WA for 31 years and has held the positions of Teacher, Head of Department, Deputy Principal and Principal.

Ian is widely known for his expertise in the area of boys' education and is a publicist, recognised speaker and advocate in the area of boys' education throughout Australia and overseas. He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship for the year 2000 to further research boys' education in Europe, the United Kingdom and North America.

In 2003 Ian became a Fellow of the Australian Council of Education Leaders and, in 2004 became a National Fellow of the Australian Council of Education Leaders. In 2006 Ian became the Travelling Scholar of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders. This is a most prestigious and honorable accomplishment.

He is recognised as a leader in the field of boys' education worldwide and provides seminars and professional development to teachers, parents, parenting and sporting groups and all kinds of organizations around Australia and overseas.

Family

Ian and Alison Lillico have been married for 30 years and have three sons - Guy (29), Sean (25) and Stewart (21). They live in Duncraig, Western Australia and enjoy a rich and rewarding family life.

Ian is the former Principal of City Beach High School and is now an international consultant in gender and education. Alison looks after the boys' education consultancy from home. Sean is a music teacher as well as a musician for a renowned Perth band, Stewart is a university student and Guy has just completed a university degree and is a web designer. Guy and Stewart are also musicians.

Ian has researched boys' education since 1991 and has gleaned a great deal of insight into the issues facing boys today from his three sons and the many boys (and girls) who treat the Lillico house as their second home.

The family and many of their friends enjoy crabbing, fishing, swimming and going out to dinner (especially Chinese restaurants which abound in Perth). The family have 2 dogs, one cat, and a few fleas! They have just installed a swimming pool and enjoy lazing around it and entertaining family and friends with a barbie around their pool.

Making a difference

Hundreds of schools around the world are making a difference to the way that boys are performing following extensive work with Ian and his recommendations over the past nine years. Many have changed whole school policies and practices in line with his suggestions and staff and parents are already seeing changes in the way that boys are engaging in learning.

His practical and hands on approach to issues such as bullying, curriculum delivery and behaviour management is being widely acclaimed by large numbers of staff as the best professional development they have ever attended.

The on-going needs of girls are also dealt with in the presentations and gender specific learning styles are analysed to improve girls' performance at school as well.

Parents, teachers and the general public will find the issues relevant and be able to apply many of the findings immediately to their own children, students and boys in general.

Presentations

Teacher and school presentations deal with contemporary practices and theories in dealing with male students from birth to adulthood. Ian will share strategies that are working in different parts of the world and give teachers and administrators strategies for relating to boys and ways of supporting them in school.

He will deal with issues such as bullying, discipline, relationships, technology and the changing world of work. He will dispel some of the boy myths and provide teachers with many practical strategies to use in their classrooms to improve boys' behaviour, academic achievement and participation in school.

School presentations explore the issues surrounding boys' learning in Australia and outline detailed plans for school improvement based on the 52 recommendations he has made in his Churchill Fellowship report which has been accepted by the National Senate Inquiry into boys' underachievement in Australia.

Presentations cover boys of all ages and discuss their changing needs in society and the impact this is having on their schooling. There are a number of modes of professional development delivery ranging from lectures to large audiences to workshops with smaller groups of staff, parents or boys. All sessions are informative, entertaining and interesting.

Many suggestions are put forward and include reviewing pastoral care and discipline systems, school planning, physical structure of schools and strategies to engage boys more fully in schooling.