What are male teachers’ understandings of masculinities?—an exploration of sex, gender and bodies in Irish primary schools (original) (raw)
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The concept of masculinities has traditionally been defined in terms of crises associated with boys' underachievement, the violence of homophobia, the underrepresentation of males in caring occupations, the rituals and discourses of laddism, and perceptions of disaffected and unrealised talent. Whereas the topic of masculinities has long been associated with warrants for distinctive and diverse male identities, it has a comparatively more recent history in the research on male Irish primary teachers as a particular social category. Two key findings are discussed in relation to performative masculinitiesa form of strategic manoeuvring designed to exploit gender discourses, practices for control, power and privilege. First, the findings show the staffroom as a bellwether or highly developed locus for teacher socialisation through gendered discourses, events and actions. Second, the findings show nonsynchronous performative masculinities not only between male and female teachers but also with male colleagues. Therefore, it is argued that this frequently forgotten and neglected seam in the grand narrative of schools and schooling in Ireland needs to be more fully understood as a variable of quality, social justice and democratic practices across the full scope and sequence of the teacher continuum and as a prerequisite component in all teacher leadership programmes.
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The history of men has taught us that there has only been one form of ‘man’: dominant and powerful. The role of a man in society was once clear, coherent and secure. Today, being a man has become more complex and confusing. Considerable international research on gender engages with masculinities, masculinities in schools and men in non-traditional occupations. What is missing from the debate on masculinities is an account that connects the voices of men with their individual daily experiences. This paper details a four-year study of eleven male Irish primary school teachers, of which seven are included here, and evaluates the relationship between men, care and work. It examines diverse understandings of care, explores the public and private worlds of masculinities, and evaluates how various social relations are charged with formal and informal meanings of masculinities
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The notion of equality is central to European public life. Yet, equality is a concept with as many definitions as it has varied use. Traditionally, equality in education focused on access to schooling and on boys' underachievement. As globalised education systems are becoming increasingly socially, culturally and politically diverse, it is important to consider equality in education in relation to the school as a workplace. Employing a feminist research design and focusing specifically on the lives of five Irish male primary teachers, this article unpacks a number of assumptions relating to equality and masculinities. Many of these assumptions are discreet, which allow for inequalities to be created and maintained. In this context, discussions surrounding informal barriers will be explored in relation to teacher education colleges and the staffroom. The study's findings show that the number of males entering teaching is static against a rising number of female entrants. Furthermore, male teachers within the profession feel isolated due to various forces. These forces are not neutral occurrences or natural economic patterns. Gender plays a pivotal role in this ideological drama. This article will be of particular interest to those educationalists interested in promoting gender equality in schools.
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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.
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