The sociology of education and male elementary primary teachers

Male Primary/Elementary Teachers

Sociology for Education

Male Elementary/Primary School Teachers

At one point or another during elementary school, there was always a time when some student in a moment of sheer panic, confusion or desperation accidently called their teacher, "Mom!!!!." While this situation is embarrassing on the surface, upon delving deeper, one might ask the question: how could someone confuse their teacher with their mom? Is being a teacher a traditional female role which allows students to be able to call them that? More importantly, what does that mean for males in society and their potential role as being a teacher? With all of these questions, the more universal question that needs to be addressed when it comes to gender issues and our public schools is: how do public perceptions in relation to gender issues discourage males from becoming primary/elementary school teachers? To effectively answer this question, the examining a myriad of sources will be required including ones that help provide a foundational concepts of masculinity and femininity, some that explore some data in both a more quantitative and qualitative aspect, and finally some policy issues that surround the predicament.

Foremost, to comprehensively address this question, the exploration of the "prevailing and alternative concepts of masculinity" is needed to form a foundational understanding of the concept of masculinity and establish what it means for a male to be "masculine" (Montecinos and Nielsen, 2004). To effectively answer this question of public perception and gender issues, the very definition of masculinity needs to be explored. In this particular article, the authors help define "imperatives that are associated with maleness" through "four metaphors," which include "to be a male role model," "to be a sports coach," "to appeal to reason" and "to prepare oneself for occupations in the field of education" (Montecinos and Nielsen, 2004). These metaphors help build the public perception component of the question at hand, and by completely flushing out this concept of "masculinity" it will help the further understanding of this societal issue.

To further build on this concept of masculinity and the metaphors that describe it as previously mentioned, one must explore the term even further. The perception of this term in society is, according to this scholar, an important influence on the lack of male primary teachers (Skelton, 2003). This article seeks to explain the efforts by some countries, like England, "to counteract the 'feminisation' of primary" school teaching (Skelton, 2003. Skelton provides background for her conclusions by using a national study that sought to investigate "the attitudes of student teachers towards gender and primary schooling"; the study 'indicated that male student of upper primary children were more likely to be concerned about and supportive of traditional images of masculinity than those men who were training to teach lower primary pupils" (Skelton, 2003). The national study completed and the results help build the case of the gender issues when teaching. There is clear evidence that the concern and support of certain perceptions is alive and thriving and leading to the demise of the male primary school teacher. This article in particular provides a national set of data which conclusions can be drawn on a general level, before being able to tease out the details.

Details are provided in the primary accounts from men's experiences teaching as elementary school teachers- details that help answer the challenge at hand facing public perception and gender bias in the school system. Coulter and McNay, of the University of Western Ontario, help tease out the intimate details of "various issues these men confronted as they attempted to create for themselves in a work world traditional thought more suited for women" (Coulter and McNay, 1993). Through these male's personal accounts, as supplied in a primary source in the article, the "assumptions and stereotypes" about men are brought to the surface and discussed (Coulter and McNay, 1993). The individual nuances that these teachers discuss helps shed light on the problems at hand and how to overcome these gender stereotypes and public perception of who should be an elementary or primary school teacher.

Finally, given the definition and issues surrounding masculinity and it's perception in society, as well as examining the perception on a national scale and hearing the issues from the male teachers themselves, it is imperative to round out the exploration into this issue by determining how and why the "attraction, recruitment and retention of male teachers in the government education system" is so difficult (Mills, Martino, and Lingard, 2004). By examining the previously mentioned component in harmony with one another, this article strives to provide the culmination of all these different factors- the lack of retaining male teachers. By taking "into account complex matters of gender raised by feminism and the sociology of masculinities," these scholars address the barriers that limit male teachers in a given place.