An exploration of the impact of programme of advancement through health and education (PATH) on the attendance and academic performance of two groups of corporate area school boys

The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of Jamaica’s Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) on the attendance and academic performances of two groups of corporate area school boys. The employment of constructivist and critical theoretical frameworks were ideal for this enquiry. As such, they allowed me to collect data from participants’ experiences with the programme. To capture as full a picture as possible of participants’ experiences with PATH, a critical ethnographic methodology was employed. Structured observation, document analysis and in-depth interviews were the methods used to obtain the data. The data came from the interpretations of the experiences of twenty-two (22) participants. These participants were the six purposively selected male PATH beneficiaries, their mothers, teachers, principals, guidance counsellors and the PATH social worker. The data analysis showed that only one of the six boys complied with PATH’s 85% termly attendance condition whilst none maintained nor graduated with satisfactory grades in keeping with their schools’ academic criteria. The data also showed that PATH benefits were felt to be insufficient for the boys to have achieved desirable educational outcomes in their respective schools. The study has not only exposed the boys’ struggles in the government schools; it has also presented valuable information, that can help teachers and other stakeholders gain insight into the issue of poor boys’ underachievement in Jamaican schools.