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Gender will find a way: exploring how male elementary teachers make sense of their experiences and responsibilities
... (Diary entry) This experience is commonly found in research concerning men in numerically femaledominated spaces (e.g. Ashcraft and Sevier 2006;Cushman 2005;Deneen 2011;Parker and Crabtree 2014;Sargent 2001); participants construct differences as gendered, rather than the variation between individuals. Previous research suggests that male primary school teachers have often felt isolated due to their lack of positive professional relationships and subsequently left teaching (Cushman 2007;Thornton and Bricheno 2006). ...
... As has been found in other studies of male primary school teachers (e.g. Ashcraft and Sevier 2006), Dan was acutely aware that physical interaction with children can engender mistrust from others and potentially hold more serious consequences. Particularly, Dan commented upon the age of the pupils being a factor, as typically younger children are viewed as in need of more physical nurture yet the age disparity is greater, and thus the perceived opportunity to take advantage is greater. ...
... Participants also recounted their avoidance of help-seeking due to the inconsistency of such behaviours with masculinities; gendered constructs serve to negatively impact the experiences of male teachers and can contribute to feelings of isolation in an environment where they already exist as the (numerical) minority (Ashcraft and Sevier 2006;Cushman 2005). The analysis also presents the mistrust levelled towards the male preservice teachers (re)producing participants' internal policing when instances of physical touch and care were presented; but there were also instances of overt policing by their colleagues. ...
This paper reports on research examining how male pre-service primary school teachers negotiate masculinities during their time within majority-female spaces. Four white undergraduate pre-service teachers in the North of England, UK, who were training to teach children aged 5–11 years were recruited. Interviews took place pre-and-post their seven-week practicum within primary schools, relating to their experiences of masculinity within their course and practicum. Participants kept a solicited diary for the duration of the practicum. Using thematic analysis, we highlight how participants were both subject to and complicit in the (re)production of gendered stereotypes. Findings evidenced the participants’ awareness of gendered assumptions placed upon them; however, this did not necessarily predicate their rejection of such positions, suggesting male and female teachers share responsibility for largely maintaining current hegemonic constructions of masculinities within schools.
... These findings are consistent with numerous other studies on male primary teachers (e.g., Ashcraft and Sevier 2006;Burn and Pratt-Adams 2015;Cooney and Bittner 2001;Cruickshank, Pedersen, Cooley, and Hill, In Press;Mills, Haase, and Charlton 2008), which indicated that this is a challenge for many men. Adding to this uncertainty Cushman (2005b) highlighted that very few schools have physical contact policies to assist new teachers, particularly men, to know where to set their boundaries. ...
... Cushman (2005b) observed that 67% of her focus group participants (N=17) rated the fear of being falsely accused of child abuse as a moderate or extreme concern. This high percentage, and similar findings from Ashcraft and Sevier's (2006) interview participants (N=14) suggested that this issue is a noteworthy challenge for many men. We should be cautious of these findings due to the low participant numbers in these studies, yet these feelings seem to also be evident in preservice male primary teachers (e.g., Cruickshank, Pedersen, Hill and Callingham 2015;Lewis, Butcher, and Donnan 1999). ...
... He clearly indicated that he felt he had to carefully consider the perceptions of others before comforting an upset child, whereas he believed female teachers did not have to do this. This feeling is consistent with previous research on male primary teachers (e.g.,Ashcraft and Sevier 2006;Cooney and Bittner 2001;Mills et al. 2008), which suggests that this fear and uncertainty might be less about the actual physical contact and more to do with worrying about what adults walking past might think if they saw a man reassuring a child with a hug.Fear of perceptions of others was not something that participants in this studywere concerned about when they were teaching their full class or were in a public setting. Conversely, gendered double standards have made participants in this study very fearful of situations where they are at risk of being alone with a student. ...
Young children often look to their teachers for affection and acceptance, particularly if they are sick or upset. However, many male primary teachers do not feel comfortable with this aspect of their role. Consequently, many men choose not to make physical contact with their students in order to protect themselves from accusations of inappropriate behaviour. Using a mixed methodology of survey and interviews, this research provides an in-depth analysis of the fear and uncertainty male primary teachers experience in relation to physical contact, and the key factors that contribute to its difficulty.
... Male primary teachers face specific gender-related challenges after graduation. Previous qualitative studies have identified a range of challenges including dissatisfaction about salary (Cushman, 2007), increased workload due to expectations to perform masculine roles (Smith, 2008), negative perceptions in society and the media (Mistry & Sood, 2015), discouragement from family (Foster & Newman, 2005) and friends (Cushman, 2005a), social isolation (Ashcraft & Sevier, 2006), questions about their sexuality (Mills et al., 2008), uncertainty about role modelling (White, 2011), and uncertainty about making physical contact with students (Burn & Pratt-Adams, 2015). These challenges are moderated by demographic variables such as age, years of teaching experience, the number of male teachers at the school where they work, whether or not teaching was their first career, the gender of the principal at the school where they are employed, and whether or not they are a parent (Moyles & Cavendish, 2001;Smith, 2008;White, 2011). ...
... Panel members were then asked to provide feedback and propose Mulholland and Hansen (2003) .. . feeling isolated in typically female-dominated schools Ashcraft and Sevier (2006) and Cushman (2005b) .. . the potential for your sexuality to be questioned Jones (2007) and Mills et al. (2008) .. . ...
... Previous research (e.g. Ashcraft & Sevier, 2006;Cushman, 2005a) has argued for male primary teachers to become proactive in developing positive professional relationships with teaching colleagues and school leaders. This finding suggested that female principals might need greater awareness of how challenges such as social isolation can affect male teachers in their schools, and open professional dialogue with these men about how they can support them to enact successful coping strategies. ...
Debate about teacher gender balance in primary education is a constant. This debate is fuelled by recommendations to increase recruitment and retainment of males into primary education. In parallel, 10-year trend data indicate a continual decrease in male primary school teachers. Although many factors contribute to the decreasing percentage of male primary teachers, one factor is the gender-related challenges they face in their profession. Previous research has identified some of these challenges; however, a limitation of these claims is contextual and individually bound data derived from qualitative research methods. Large-scale interventions have not been realised as current trends are unable to be generalised to the wider population of male primary teachers. Thus, the aim of this paper is to expand upon previous literature through discussing the development and validation of a scale which quantifies the gender-related challenges faced by male primary teachers.
... Some interviewees in an Icelandic study of the views of parents thought that male teachers were more stern than female teachers (Maríudóttir & Jóhannesson, 2018). The interviewees of Brody (2014) and Ashcraft and Sevier (2006) also thought that male teachers were better in discipline management than female teachers. Hjalmarsson and Löfdahl (2014), who interviewed seven male teachers in Grades 3-5 in Sweden, have suggested that male teachers benefit from being men within an educational structure that is outnumbered by women. ...
... As previous research has indicated, it is a persistent view that male teachers are somehow better equipped to keep discipline in classrooms than female teachers (Ashcraft & Sevier, 2006;Brody, 2014;Maríudóttir & Jóhannesson, 2018). Various bodily resources, including that men are on average taller than women and tend to have a deeper voice than most women, seem to be most important in this view (Persson, 2021). ...
This article presents an interview study with seven newly-graduated male teachers in Icelandic compulsory schools. We interviewed them five times during their first two years of teaching. The focus is on the ways in which the gender of the novice teachers mattered in the expectations that they experienced and how these expectations interacted with the professional demands of being a teacher. The interviews reveal that hegemonic masculinity ideas have an impact on the minds of our interviewees as they experienced various expectations, based in such masculinity. The findings also suggest a tension between the expectations of men as natural disciplinarians and the professional induction of learning to become a teacher. Male-specific expectations included that the school as well as parents expected that the students had respect for them on the grounds that they were men. While such expectations gave some a head start with positional authority, it laid a burden on them as novices. Not all of our interviewees fitted the male-specific expectations, which supports the importance of breaking down gendered stereotypes. In recruiting teachers, regardless of gender, we need individuals able to perform professional practices of care and attention to detail in managing a classroom.
... This fear and resultant self-protection mindset have been noted by previous research on male primary teachers (e.g. Ashcraft and Sevier 2006). Participants such as Fenton described this mindset; ...
... This finding echoed participants' statements in previous research (e.g. Ashcraft and Sevier 2006;Cruickshank 2016). While moving to a public place to converse with students may appear to be a defensive strategy born of fear, it nevertheless is also a form of active coping, which is a functional coping strategy (Carver 1997). ...
Young children often look to their teachers for affection and acceptance, particularly if they are injured or upset. Yet, many male primary teachers experience substantial fear and uncertainty about making physical contact with their students. This study used 53 open ended survey responses and semi-structured interviews with five experienced male primary teachers in Tasmania, Australia to investigate the coping strategies and supports these men use to deal with this challenge. Findings revealed a variety of coping strategies and supports, and that the fear and uncertainty surrounding physical contact and false accusations needs to be reduced if more male primary teachers are to feel confident interacting with their students in the same ways their female colleagues do.
... According to Drudy (2008: 309), the feminization of teaching 'is firmly rooted in issues relating to economic development, urbanisation, the position of women in society, cultural definitions of masculinity and the value of children and childcare'. Ashcraft and Sevier (2006) have argued that men remain outside of this profession due to the negative perceptions associated with elementary school teaching; its low salary and status; the social isolation of males within a feminine profession; and the 'push' to move into administrative positions. ...
... However, token men may also experience some negative discrimination in those occupations most strongly associated with women and femininity, such as, for example, when male preschool and elementary school teachers are perceived as effeminate, homosexual and paedophile (Ashcraft and Sevier, 2006;Pruit, 2015) as a consequence of the strong normativity of heterosexuality in hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 2002). The profession requires some nurturing and physical contact with young children, yet men's gender role expectations exclude such behaviours, hence men fall under greater scrutiny and suspicion than their female peers (Sargent, 2000). ...
This article presents a study that identifies the gender dynamics prevailing in a specific context of tokenism – elementary school teaching – in which the members of an otherwise socially dominant group are proportionally scarce – men. The results contradict Kanter’s (1977) theory by showing that male elementary school teachers do not experience the tokenism dynamics. In line with Williams’ gender perspective and Amâncio’s gender symbolic asymmetry, the article finds that although men constitute a small minority in elementary education, they do not lose the social advantages they generally have: on the contrary, they seem rather to gain several privileges. Indeed, the results show strong links between the tokenism dynamics and gender asymmetry, putting the token men at an advantage. Thus, tokenism seems to be limited to maintaining the gender social order.
... Interpersonal relationships are defined as MKTs' perception of the quality of their relationships with colleagues at work. As minorities in primary education, male teachers often feel socially isolated (Ashcraft & Sevier, 2006;Hedger, 2008;Yang & McNair, 2019). Societal stereotypes and prejudices can often contribute to them not having a sense of belonging to the broader group of early years educators (Carrington & McPhee, 2008;Drudy, 2008;Gosse, 2011). ...
Traditionally, early childhood education has been predominantly associated with female teachers. However, in recent years, the role of male kindergarten teachers has gained recognition and significance as society becomes more aware of the importance of diverse role models for young children. Changing societal norms and a growing emphasis on gender equality have paved the way for more men to enter the field. Understanding how satisfied MKTs are with their work and how committed they are to this environment becomes crucial for developing and retaining a diverse and dedicated early years workforce. This study involved interviews with Chinese male kindergarten teachers (n=13) to explore how satisfied they were with their work and how committed they were to their kindergarten. Analysis revealed that interviewees attached importance to public attitude towards them, the quality of their interpersonal relationships, pay satisfaction, opportunities for promotion and professional development, work pressures and the physical work environment. Besides, their commitment to kindergarten commitment was also related to satisfaction.
... However, Adriany and Warin (2014) state that even though male teachers might not contribute to the academic performance of boys, they may be able to instigate a change in the traditional cultural division of gender roles to demonstrate that men and women can equally share childcare and education. The research of Ashcraft and Sevier (2006) supports this point, as they argue that the presence of male teachers in early education can encourage boys to value childcare by seeing men as nurturing and caring while breaking down children's traditional gender constraints on career settings. Therefore, it is meaningful to explore the factors that contribute to the large difference in numbers between male and female teachers in early childhood. ...
This study examines the concept of gender, the factors that influence children's perceptions of gender and the reasons for the imbalance between the number of male and female kindergarten teachers. The study found that Children's understanding of gender can be influenced by the behaviour of parents and teachers and by cues from the media. The low salary and low social status of preschool teachers, as well as the constraints of traditional social attitudes, are factors that may lead to a much lower number of male kindergarten teachers than female teachers. Parents and teachers need to remove the influence of gender stereotypes and create a relaxed and positive environment for children to develop their gender awareness. There is a need for the government and educational institutions to improve the salaries and conditions of male and female teachers and to attract more male teachers to the ECE profession, which will help break down gender stereotypes of children.
... Niðurstöður Ingólfs Ásgeirs Jóhannessonar (2004), sem raeddi við kennslukonur í íslenskum grunnskólum, gefa vísbendingar um að þessi orðraeða um aga kennslukarla hafi þau áhrif að sumir drengir taki síður mark á kvenkyns kennurum en körlum. Nútímakennslukarlar maeta aftur á móti þeirri þversögn að á meðan starf grunnskólakennara felst, meðal annars, í umhyggju gagnvart nemendum þá sé oft aetlast til að þeir sýni hefðbundna karlmennsku byggða á styrk -í beinni mótsögn við þá faglegu kröfu að sýna umhyggju (Ashcraft og Sevier, 2006). ...
Í greininni er fjallað um viðhorf foreldra til kyngervis grunnskólakennara. Rannsóknin fólst í viðtölum við tíu foreldra, fjóra karla og sex konur, sem áttu bæði dreng og stúlku í grunnskóla, og var að minnsta kosti eitt barnanna á yngsta stigi og ann að á miðstigi grunnskólans þegar viðtölin voru tekin. Viðmælendur voru spurðir um afstöðu sína til kyns og kyngervis kennara, karlmennsku, kvenleika, virðingar, aga og umhyggju – allt í því augnamiði að fá vitneskju um hvort og á hvaða hátt þessi viðhorf væru kynjuð. Viðtölin voru greind í tveimur meginþrepum. Á fyrra þrepi voru greind nokkur þemu, svo sem karlmennska og kvenleiki; kennarar sem fyrirmyndir og virðing, agi og umhyggja. Við ítarlegri skoðun var bersýnilegt að viðhorf foreldranna voru lituð af einstaklingshyggju og eðlishyggju. Jafnframt komu í ljós ekki einungis ólíkar skoðanir meðal viðmælenda heldur mótsagnir í viðhorfum. Áhersla viðmælenda á einstaklingsmun er mjög líklega til marks um frekar almennan, ef ekki lítinn, skilning á þýðingu kynjajafnréttismála fyrir skólastarfið. Höfundar vilja árétta það að ef sérstakur vilji er fyrir hendi til að fjölga körlum í grunnskólakennslu, umfram það að mennta þarf fjölda bæði karla og kvenna til starfsins, verður að forðast að gera það á forsendum sem byggjast á staðalmyndum og hefðbundnum kynhlut verkum. Í kennaramenntuninni þarf að undirbúa kennaranema af öllum kynjum undir allar hliðar starfsins. Þar á meðal að þeir geti sem nýbrautskráðir kennarar vænst þess að stundum verði gerðar til þeirra ólíkar kröfur eftir kyni af aðilum innan og utan skólans.
... Despite explicit calls to increase the number of male teachers (e.g., Ashcraft & Sevier, 2006;Cushman, 2005) and investi- gate impediments to men's entrance into female-typed careers (Croft et al., 2015), the present research was the first (to our knowledge) to demonstrate experimentally that men encounter backlash when they enter the field of elementary education. Results add to the small but growing body of liter- ature on backlash against men, providing evidence that men-as well as women-experience backlash when violat- ing gender stereotypes. ...
We investigated the existence, nature, and processes underscoring backlash (social and economic penalties) against men who violate gender stereotypes by working in education, and whether backlash is exacerbated by internal (vs. external) behavioral attributions. Participants (N = 303) rated one of six applications for an elementary teaching position, identical apart from target gender and behavioral attribution type. Male applicants were rated as more likely to be gay, posing a greater safety threat, and less likeable (but not less hireable) than identical female applicants. Perceived sexuality and threat mediated target gender differences in likeability. Unexpectedly, behavioral attributions did not interact with target gender, suggesting that providing internal attributions may not exacerbate men's backlash. Implications for backlash theory and education gender disparities are discussed.
... The majority of English-speaking first-wave feminists were not only ethnocentric but racist; This lingered into the 1980s, and led to an exclusion of women of color, Native women, and immigrant women from a movement claimed to be based on gender (Valverde, 1992). Similarly, much academic literature in the field of male elementary teachers focuses on gender but unduly highlights [negative] possible experiences and effects on women as opposed to men; As well, although race and class issues do sometimes emerge, 6 men are misandrously treated as though they were a largely homogeneous and hegemonic group (see, for example, Ashcraft & Sevier (2006), Coulter & Grieg (2008), and Martino (2008a). This fits with an enduring ideological feminist 7 propensity for attacking the [mythological] malevolent, privileged, ablebodied, white, middle-class, protestant male, symbolic of the root of all evil. ...
There is a perceived shortage of males in education provincially and nationally in Canada, particularly at the primary and junior levels. Some barriers to males becoming teachers include the impression that teachers are overworked and underpaid, that men are less nurturing than women, and that it is inappropriate for men to be working with young children due to perception of their dangerous sexualities. Also, boys progressively score less well than girls on provincial, national, and international achievement tests in several areas, and some link this to the shortage of male role models in our schools. Ultimately, increasing numbers of researchers, teachers, administrators, and members of the public identify the need for more men to serve as role models, which has resulted in significant controversy. My theoretical framework derives from queer theory, questioning the fluidity of discourse and identities, and troubling accepted, commonplace beliefs, knowledge, and practices. To this end, I interpret data from an online survey of 223 male primary/junior school teachers in Ontario, Canada. The results are startling, and call into question some commonly accepted truths about male teachers as role models. In particular in this paper, I will critically address male primary-junior teachers as role models along the lines of race, sexual orientation, and culture, regarding two popular ideologies: firstly, that of good teachers who can supposedly teach all pupils regardless of their own identity markers, and sense of agency, or those of their pupils and larger communities, and secondly, notions of diversity to offset hegemonic male gender expectations, and to better reflect diversity in the broader school and social populations while counterbalancing the overwhelming numbers of female role models in school and at home for children.
The main objective of this study was to analyse the eventual negative effects associated with male teachers in Portuguese secondary education as well as their strategies for integrating into a profession where women are in the majority. We carried out sixteen individual semi-structured interviews with eight male and eight female teachers and with the contents then submitted to thematic analysis. The analytical findings demonstrate how men, in this context, experience different consequences from those experienced by women facing similar situations while also identifying advantages accruing due to membership of the minority. The experiences of men and the perceptions of women suggest the existence of pressure for men to portray, as teachers, the traits of hegemonic masculinity.
Resumo Este estudo analisou os possíveis efeitos negativos associados aos homens docentes do ensino secundário português, bem como as suas estratégias para se integrarem em uma profissão em que as mulheres são maioritárias. Foram realizadas 16 entrevistas individuais semiestruturadas com 8 professores e 8 professoras, e os seus conteúdos foram submetidos a uma análise temática. A análise evidencia que os homens, nesse contexto, experienciam consequências distintas daquelas que as mulheres em situações similares vivenciam, assinalando-se, ainda, vantagens pela pertença à minoria. As experiências dos homens e as perceções das mulheres sugerem a existência de pressão para que os homens evidenciem, enquanto professores, os traços da masculinidade hegemônica.
Male primary teachers make up a minority of the primary teaching profession in countries such as Australia, England and the United States of America. This minority status can result in male primary teachers feeling socially isolated within their schools, and consequently choosing to leave the profession. This gender-related challenge is known, yet previous research has primarily focused on deconstructing and critically examining issues of gender in primary school contexts; rather than identifying practical coping strategies these men can use to deal with it and persist in the profession. Consequently, this research used surveys and interviews to identify and analyse the coping strategies experienced male primary teachers use to deal with their social isolation.
Male teachers are rare in early childhood education (ECE). Interest in increasing the number of male ECE teachers is often driven by essentialist assumptions about male teachers bringing something unique to classroom teaching by virtue of being men. To explore this assumption, the author conducted an instrumental case study of a team of Head Start teachers: one female, one male. Differences were found, but similarities between the two teachers were determined to be of much greater importance. Reasons for the findings are explored, and a brief argument is made for greater male teacher involvement in ECE classrooms based on other than essentialist grounds.
Male preservice elementary teachers often receive special attention. However, identities consist of many complex components. Constant-comparative methodology revealed emergent themes of privilege and disadvantage linked to gender, religion, and ethnicity in this exploratory examination of the stories of three male preservice elementary teachers. The men demonstrated varying awareness of their hybrid identities and associated privileges and disadvantages. The participants found privileges and disadvantages related to their gender, but members of religious and ethnic minority groups perceived significant disadvantages of those aspects of their identities. Findings suggest that preservice teachers’ identities are more complex than gender alone, that being in multiple minority groups may compound challenges for preservice teachers, and that teacher training may not sufficiently address issues of identity.
Action-implicative discourse analysis is the name for a new type of discourse analysis, developed to be useful in the critique and cultivation of communicative practices in society. Developed within the metatheoretical framework of grounded practical theory, an extension and formalization of Craig's earlier ideas about communication as a practical discipline, action-implicative discourse analysis seeks to characterize the communicative problems, conversational techniques, and situated ideals of communicative practices. After overviewing the method's metatheoretical framework, the article proceeds to highlight what is distinctive about this new method. By comparing and contrasting action-implicative discourse analysis with four markedly different discourse analytic approaches-conversation analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, critical discourse analysis, and discursive psychology-the article seeks to make the methodological approach's distinctive character visible. The article's final section explicates criteria that could be used in assessing interpretive discourse approaches generally, and action-implicative discourse analysis in particular.
In this study, the author used ethnographic and focus group interviews to examine the lived experiences of men who teach in the primary grades. Several themes arose from the men's narratives. First, the men are under closer scrutiny than their women peers regarding contact with the children. Second, there is considerable ambiguity regarding the kind of “male role model” the men feel they are expected to portray. Third, there is a sexual division of labor that reinforces the image of men as having different teaching styles than women teachers. In response to the cumulative effects of these phenomena, the men must adopt compensatory behaviors causing them to unintentionally reproduce traditional forms of masculinity.