Lack of male teachers: a problem for students or teachers? (original) (raw)
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Education 3-13, 2018
Primary teaching ITT courses across the UK have been under pressure from central government, Ofsted and the media to recruit more male students to their courses with the aim of increasing the proportion of males in the primary teaching workforce. This is because increasing the number of male role models in primary schools has been mooted as the solution to boys' underachievement, especially in reading and writing. There is, however, little evidence showing any correlation between boys' educational outcomes and the number of male primary teachers in schools. The purpose of the project reported in this paper was to ascertain the beliefs of the future primary school workforce about this focus on the need for male role models in schools. A mixed methods approach was employed; 120 male and female primary trainees were surveyed and a further 48 took part in group interviews, all of whom were based in an Initial Teacher Training department in a university in North West England. Results indicated that although aspiring teachers felt that males and females could make equally good role models for children their personal value systems perpetuated the myth that boys need male role models to achieve better educational outcomes.
Gendered Workplaces: Experiences of the Beginning Male Teacher
2006
The paper looks at gendered positionings of a small group of beginning male teachers currently working in schools in Queensland Australia. In recent years there has been much talk about the 'crisis' in masculinity, the declining numbers of male teachers and imminent retirement of experienced male teachers from Australian schools. Within this 'crisis' a range of discourses have emerged that position male teachers in diverse ways. This positioning not only constructed males in traditional images premised by such comments as 'real men' but also highlighted particular issues that impacted differently on male teachers to their female colleagues. It is argued in this paper that the gender construction of teaching bodies impact on the way in which both men and women practice teaching. While there is acknowledgement of negative stereotypes attached to the male body that does teaching, survey data illustrated that positive rewards, pleasures experienced and anticipated by male teachers motivated their desire to take up teaching as a profession. Discourses within the data construct the male teacher as a 21st century male Learning Manager who is as a second career male. He enjoys working with children, wants a family friendly job and wants to be recognised as someone who can nurture the educational journey of students in his care. Therefore in this paper I explore the contradictory and ambiguous discourses concerning male teachers and present the results of an online survey that looked at the contemporary context and experiences of a group of beginning male teachers in Queensland, Australia. These results are discussed in relation to expectations in the teaching workplace and implications for the retention of male teachers.
Let's hear it from the males: Issues facing male primary school teachers
Teaching and Teacher Education, 2005
As the number of male teachers in primary schools continues to decrease, the resultant gender imbalance has become the focus of increased discussion and debate. While the reasons for the decline in the number of males enrolling in teacher education are complex and multi-faceted, four factors which have been identified as contributing to the decline are experiences and attitudes related to status, salary, working in a predominantly female environment, and physical contact with children. In an attempt to explore the extent to which they were concerned and challenged by these factors, focus group interviews were conducted with practising male primary school teachers. The study confirms that each of the four issues has the potential to influence the decision to take up a career in teaching and to impact on job satisfaction and performance. r
Gender and Teachers' Classroom Practice in a Secondary School in Greece
Gender and Education, 2002
This article discusses the results of a qualitative ethnographic study in a secondary school in Greece. The study explored teacher-student classroom interaction in a mixed-ability group in a working-class school in Greece. It also explored the links between the teachers' behaviour in the classroom and their ideas about gender and, to a limited extent, their life experiences. Although the sample was small and there were many variations, the ndings of the study suggest that overall teachers behaved differently towards girls and boys. Teachers' general lack of awareness or low level of awareness of gender as an important organising and categorising factor in students' behaviour and generally in schooling, as well as the teachers' tacit assumptions about gender, in uenced the way that teachers related to girls and boys in the classroom. Other issues, such as the lack of teachers' training on equal opportunities, the low status of the school and the principal's lack of involvement in the promotion of gender equality in the school, also impact on teacher-student interaction.
Should Male Primary School Teachers be There Principally as Role Models for Boys?
Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2013
There is a worldwide debate about the need for male teachers as role-models especially for boys. This might motivate young men to start a teacher career expecting that their gender is the essential qualification. In a German project we interviewed upper secondary students regarding their study plans and found that most of them thought that teaching-i.e. in primary schools-would be both a rather boring job as to the intellectual demands and at the same time be rather challenging as to the personal dedication to children. Both make a teaching career unattractive for most of them. Future teachers in their first year of study, on the other hand, find the dedication to children exciting, but are not very interested in intellectual challenges. On such grounds, recruitment of men with role-model arguments-so the focus in this article-might result in a de-qualification of the teaching profession. The perspective must therefore emphasize the required competencies-including gender competencies.
Male Preservice Teachers and Discouragement from Teaching
The Journal of Men's Studies, 2011
Driven largely by concerns over boys' education, countries worldwide have seen crisis discourses over small numbers of male teachers, particularly those teaching young children. Despite public desires and policy movements to increase their numbers, important barriers and challenges remain for male teachers. Preservice teachers' experiences, especially, might illuminate challenges to the recruitment and retention of males. Using a (pro)feminist, social interactionist framework and qualitative discourse analysis methods, this study examines discouragements from peers, family, and teacher education as faced by three male student teachers. These included gendered teasing about the ease of and "cuteness" required in education coursework, gendered objections to "wasting" their ability, and gendered suspicions of sexual predation. The analysis focuses on strategic performances the men used to cope with discouragements and persist in teaching. I argue that foregrounding such performances can disrupt barriers for males and thus increase their numbers.
GENDER UNDER-REPRESENTATION IN TEACHING: A CASUALTY OF THE FEMINISATION OF TEACHING
South African Journal of Higher Education, 2020
Much has been written on the relationship between gender and schooling, and teaching. In particular, the focus has been on the significant dis-proportion between female and male teachers, which remarkably, inverts in relation to educational leadership positions. Arguments abound as to the social factors and hegemonies, which have created not only what is referred to as the "feminisation of teaching", but the risks associated with feminised classrooms and pedagogies, particularly, in relation to boys. Not surprisingly, therefore, an equally dominant narrative calling for the (re)masculinisation of teaching has gained increasing momentum. The basis for this argument is not limited to a seeming need for male teachers as role-models. More disturbing, is the idea that the standing of the profession-invariably measured in terms of salary-might improve if more males are encouraged to become teachers. Our interest in this article is in the patriarchal hegemonies, which give shape to constructions of teaching as "women's work" in the first place. We argue, that rather than contributing to what has been an overdue preoccupation gender-based socialisations, the concern should be on ensuring that teaching transcends framings of "feminisation" and "masculinisation" so that it serves all teachers and all learners.
Education 3-13, 2013
One of the challenges facing the Early Years (EY) sector is how to encourage more male practitioners to counterbalance a largely feminised workforce. Using case studies of male trainees at different stages of their primary undergraduate Initial Teacher Training course at one university, we attempt to consider data why there is underrepresentation of men within the leadership strata in EY settings. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted with the male sample groups and male leaders in primary schools to gain an overview regarding gender stereotyping. Our findings suggest that male trainees enjoy working in the EY sector, but they need mentoring by strong leaders to help them overcome the perceived contextual barriers of male stereotypes in that setting. In conclusion, we consider some of these barriers of stereotypes, attitudes, values, beliefs existing and the actions needed in addressing such stereotypes if a long-lasting change is to happen.
Primary teaching has traditionally been framed by assumptions about gender. These commonly held, but seldom voiced, assumptions have a strong impact on male primary schoolteachers and on men considering teaching as a career. Focusing on the lives of five Irish male primary teachers, this article unpacks a number of the assumptions relating to men who teach children at primary level. Many of the assumptions are often shrouded in silence, which increases the difficulty in addressing them. In this context, discussions surrounding the topics of care, men working with young children and teaching as a feminine occupation, are presented. The study employs three data-collection phases using the interview as the primary method of enquiry. Overall, two major challenges were identified: informal barriers and the concept of care in education. The study’s findings show that gender relations within a feminine environment are central to understanding masculinities in primary schools. This article makes a contribution towards revealing how issues of masculinities are navigated and negotiated on a daily basis. Allied to this, it also provides a context for understanding the challenges male teachers face on a continuous basis. This article is published as part of a thematic collection on gender studies.