Oh Boy!

Understanding the Neuroscience Behind Educating and Raising Boys

By Dr Michael C. Nagel

$39.95

What’s really going on inside the head of a boy?
What can neuroscience teach us about educating and raising boys?

This engaging book takes a close look at the male brain – how it develops, and how it is different – and the crucial role it plays in how a boy thinks, learns and engages with the world.

Moving past the ‘boys will be boys’ dictum, neuroscientist Dr Michael C. Nagel gives us a guided tour of a boys’ brain, and explains how differences in structure and neurochemistry impact their behaviour, learning, emotions and bodies. Exploring aggression, learning difficulties, behaviour, emotional problems, toxic masculinity and the challenges of technology, Nagel offers solutions and ideas for parents and teachers.

Drawing on the latest research, Nagel applies neuroscientific insight to the common problems boys face, and argues that by understanding why boys do what they do, we can better work with them to increase their wellbeing and educational outcomes.

Also available via Amazon Kindle and iBooks

ISBN: 9781922607065

Size: 234 x 156 mm

Black & white, 186 pages

Published: September 2021

About the author: Dr Michael C. Nagel

Dr Michael C. Nagel, is an educator, researcher, author, mentor and parent. As an Associate Professor he teaches and researches in the areas of human development, educational psychology, behaviour and learning. The author of many books and articles on neurological development in children, Nagel has worked with parents and teachers worldwide to apply the insights of neuroscience to the daily task of raising and teaching young people.

Praise/Testimonials

In mid-2026, Oh Boy! by Dr Michael Nagel is one of the most important books that people in Australia, the UK, the US and other Western nations could read. As education systems face growing scrutiny over boys' declining academic outcomes, disengagement, behavioural challenges and widening gender gaps, Nagel provides an evidence-based roadmap for understanding what many schools have overlooked...

For more than two decades, Michael Nagel has been one of Australia's leading voices on boys' education. He is our version of America's Michael Gurian. Through Nagel's teaching, research, university work and earlier books on educational neuroscience and learning, he has consistently translated complex scientific evidence into practical strategies that teachers and parents can use. Oh Boy! represents the culmination of that long commitment.

Rather than relying on ideology or stereotypes, Nagel draws on neuroscience, developmental psychology and classroom experience to explain how: boys often learn differently; why movement, purpose, challenge and positive relationships matter; and how schools can better harness boys' strengths instead of constantly focusing on their deficits... He also shows why many behavioural differences are developmentally normal, and why recognising them leads to better outcomes for everyone.

Perhaps the book's greatest strength is its practicality. Teachers gain immediately applicable classroom strategies, parents better understand their sons, and school leaders are challenged to create environments where boys can thrive academically, socially and emotionally. Anyone with an interest in boys, or a love for our precious young men, should read this book.

At a time when many countries are finally recognising that boys are falling behind, Oh Boy! deserves to be widely read. I highly recommend it to teachers, principals, education policymakers, parents, university educators and anyone committed to giving boys every opportunity to succeed. It's thoughtful, balanced, compassionate and exactly the kind of evidence-informed conversation that our education systems need right now...