Doris Calvo
Dr. Simpson-Warner
EN-111
24 November 2010

Males in Elementary School

When I was younger, I did not notice or question that there were not that many male teachers in elementary school. I did not think too much of it. But as I considered a career in teaching, I wondered why our education classes had more females than males, if not completely without a male student wanting to teach in the elementary level. My own ideas and questions began to bother me: were men just scared of teaching such a young group of students? Did men think that they were too good to teach in elementary? What was their reason for not wanting to teach at elementary level? Were women just better candidates to teach at this level? I knew that there had to be specific reasons why the populations of men in elementary school have been and continue to be low. In fact, I had to think about my own biases as to why men were not teaching in elementary. When I started this research paper and read the various articles about why men choose not to teach, I found that more often than not, it was because of other people thinking that men were not the best candidates for teaching in elementary than men simply choosing not to work. Society’s ideas about men teaching in elementary, then, are the big reasons why men are not teaching in elementary school. Society’s thinking that male teachers are not real men, parents’ suspicion of male teachers, and society insistence to men that secondary school is a more acceptable area for men to teach are the main reasons that there are not many male teachers in elementary school.
Historically, society has determined what job is best for a specific gender. Society tells people what is acceptable to do based on their gender. Even though job expectations based on whether a person is a man or a woman are decreasing, these ideas are not completely gone. Society still thinks men are supposed to do jobs that are more physical or more based on achieving and climbing a ladder to success, instead of doing jobs that require more nurturing behaviors or more caring attitudes. Society constructs these gender role expectations and when people do not follow these unspoken rules of behavior and attitude, then society can be critical and work hard to get people back on their expected behavioral track. Elien Sabbe and Antonia Aeltrman, in their journal article titled “Gender in teaching: a literature review” state: Male and female teachers are often presumed to differ I teaching styles, capacities and effects on both the teaching profession and the pupils” (Aelterman and Sabbe 521). While there are men in these elementary school jobs, and women who do more physical and achievement-based jobs, these people are not common because society thinks it is “unusual” or even “unnatural” for people to switch jobs that is expected based on their gender.: the reasons why males have steered away from primary schools are more straightforward. There are historical reasons for the perceived unattractiveness of primary teaching to men. They centre on the perceptions of salary, status, working in a predominantly female environment and the issue of physical contact with children. The prevailing image of the primary school as a predominantly female domain continues to act to a deterrent for young males considering teaching as a career. (Cushman 325)

If society is making teaching in primary schools look like a bad choice, then it is no wonder that there are not many men in elementary school. The idea that in the past men are not expected and even looked down upon for wanting to be elementary teachers stays in these the minds of these men. Men are not trusted to be good teachers at the elementary level simply because they are men, and not for other more logical reasons. These men are simply expected not to teach at elementary level, and even that they are not wanted to be teachers to young children based on the reasoning that it is “woman’s work” or because primary teaching is a “predominantly female” career choice. The reasoning behind low attractiveness to teaching in elementary school does not end. In fact “The reasons for this situation involve a complexity of historical and social issues that are seen in a present-day climate of bad publicity, inherent dangers and unresolved expectation about the suitability of teaching as a profession in general and for men in particular.” (PAGE NUMBER). Society, in the past as well as in the present, has placed a negative mindset on male elementary teachers. Even worse, “bad publicity” makes teaching in the future for “good” male teachers from wanting or even being able to teach at the elementary level. The idea that society discourages men from elementary teaching careers is not based on society as a whole, but also within the family of the male teacher. “The participants in the study done by De Corse and Vogtle (1997) stated that their fathers in particular viewed teaching as unchallenging or inappropriate for their sons” (331). Individual family members, also a part of society and following what society says are proper male jobs, affect the number of male teachers in elementary level. What society thinks is proper for men to do is not only supported by members of society, but even by women. Christine Skelton, of the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s School of Education in the United Kingdom, writes in her article titled “Male Primary Teachers and Perceptions of Masculinity” that: “Interviewees have also suggested that female colleagues often doubt their ability to do the job effectively in terms of nurturing/caring because they are men (Allan, 1993; Oyler et al., 2001). And issues of sexual orientation and child-sexual molestation for those men teachers working with young children are frequently raised” (Skelton 196). Society reinforces, or backs up, its own ideas about how men and women should behave to children and in regards to teaching. This regulation of behavior and attitude that society places on men and women does not empower them. In fact, this imposing of control on how men, and women, behave in the field of education is not supportive for teaching: ““gender roles in society, still tends to perpetuate traditional notions of masculinity, with expectation that’s males will aspire to and dominate roles associated with management, discipline and physical activity and avoid the more nurturing behaviors associated with teaching younger children” (Cushman 322). Men cannot be nurturing or help children grow because it is not what men “do.” Nurturing and caring behavior is what women do, and if men try to enter jobs, such as teaching in the elementary level, that society thinks what “women’s work” is or “what women do” then of course men are going to be discouraged from being elementary teachers. Skelton continues: “nurturing behaivours and is consequently viewed by society as more suited to women. For example, Carrington (2002) found that male teachers in lower grades are viewed as, at best, ‘unusual’ and, at worst potential threats to the children.” This idea now goes from what society thinks is women’s work to how society thinks of men who want to do or who are doing “women’s work.” While men may not appear to be the best choice for teaching in the elementary level because of their inability to do behave like women, Cushman finds that contrary to that belief, men in that teaching position can be nurturing, but are afraid how their caring and nurturing side will create more problems for them as teachers: “Males may want to respond to children with the warmth and empathy often demonstrated by female colleagues buy they are frightened of repercussions” (326). Therefore, society not only misunderstands what male teachers in elementary can do, but also how these teachers choose how to behave. Cushman states: recently observed that for men to be successfully recruited as teachers of young children, society needs to move on from the pervasive belief that men are less able than women to care for children” (331). Society again, is not helping the male teacher in elementary school, but making it harder for them to get into this field or do their jobs effectively. Another reason why males are not common in elementary school is because of how parents think of male teachers in the elementary level. Parents are more comfortable with women being in this position because they are more supported by society as the caregivers and nurturers of young children. When men, who are not traditionally thought of as nurturers or caregivers, parents are concerned and suspicious. Parents think that male teachers are pedophiles or not as nurturing as female teachers. These reasons are also a result of what people think. So society feeds on itself and makes it difficult for men to go into or stay within the elementary school career. Men, because society has a hard time thinking they can be nurturing and caring, sees these same caring men as strange. What society thinks is strange will often become what society thinks is dangerous. This ideas from society are also supported by the media: “The vulnerability suspicion of abuse has been repeatedly highlighted and sensationalized by the media for men involved in occupations with children” (Cushman 326). The media often exaggerates the minor and rare instances of bad men in the elementary school system and has parents panicking and suspicious of men in general being primary educators. Going back to, again, what society thinks is right and logical for behavior for men, Cushman explains: “Essentially, males are at risk, particularly in the lower levels of the education system, because they cannot comfortably exhibit caring behaivours, and they are at risk because they cannot be caring without being seen to be sexual. If men claim to be ‘caring’, they may be seen as unnatural” (Cushman 326). Worse—if a man is considered to be caring, he may also be considered a homosexual even if he is not, and even suspect abuse based on unjustified assumptions that the male teacher is harming a student because he is a homosexual. Cushman warns about this assumption: “Furthermore, if a parent suspects their son’s teacher is gay and assumes that being gay is a predisposition to sexual desire for children, then all the teacher’s behaviors will be interpreted from a sexual stance. All touch becomes suspect” (326). Society not only tells men and women how to behave and what kind of work to do, but it also gives labels when the norm is not followed. If a male takes on female attributes or engages in their behavior, then he is labeled a feminine man or even a homosexual. The homosexual label is not the end of the negative and often incorrect perception of male teachers in elementary. A male teacher, homosexual or not, is sometimes viewed as predators or child abusers because of negative assumptions of male teachers in elementary school: “Of particular concern to several participants was the problem of being seen as a potential child abuser. Mark expressed his concern about the possibility of wrongful accusations in a climate where there is a media/public preoccupation with paedophilia. He said: ‘As a man it does worry me how one child’s comments could end your career’” (Skelton 205). Threats to men’s masculinity, and the high possibility that these men will be accused of doing some crime they did not commit or of being of a sexual orientation they are not, make the decision to go or stay in the elementary level difficult for men. Even when men set themselves in this particular field, they are not always readily accepted in the community or by parents, and therefore the esteem or the desire for men to work in the elementary level decreases. This overall perception continues with its negativity: There is a discomfort and insecurity when individuals position themselves, or are positioned as, an ‘other’. Hence, many men teachers in the female environment of the primary school constantly construct and negotiate their masculine identities (Francis & Skelton, 2001). This leads to the second question about how gender shapes the perceptions of primary teaching held by men teachers of younger pupils. (Skelton 206)

Even male teachers who are homosexual, masculine, and have nurturing or caring personalities risk the scrutiny of society and this trend leads to less young men to the career of teaching in elementary school. If there is no place in elementary school for men to teach, where is an acceptable place for them to teach and how is it acceptable for these men to teach? Society encourages males who want to teach to enter the secondary school level: For a number of the participants in the study, the decision to enter primary school teaching elicited the responses that they would be better served by secondary school teaching, which was perceived as having a sounder image than primary teaching” (333). Males are a better option to deal with older children and young adults, according to this statement. This statement reflects again society’s opinion of what is best for males to do for teaching: “Certainly students in our study corroborated this gender division of the teaching profession: ‘The majority of men that I know have gone into secondary teaching because that seems to be the thing to do. If you want to be a teacher—and you are male—secondary teaching is more acceptable’” (Skelton 198). Society wants again to impose its own ideas on how and what males can teach. Society thinks that teaching in primary school is not for men, but secondary school is a better option: One of the biggest sort of things within society, is that men are considered to be more adept for teaching secondary children; I don’t know what it is but it’s a society thing that has developed. And I think you could probably trace it back to Victorian times when primary school teachers were women who weren’t married—in the caring role basically—and then when the children have got old enough to go to secondary school, people just assume that’s more of a male area. (198)

Even society keeps its historical insistence that men do men’s jobs and women do women’s jobs. All people who oppose will risk serious scrutiny and criticism because of a male or female who does not follow a gender norm or fit a gender stereotype. Society does not take well to people doing jobs of the opposite gender, and will find ways to either have these people fit a role that is more socially acceptable or to force them to feel uncomfortable with their choice. In conclusion, men have a tough time with the elementary school career choice. There are so many obstacles that men must overcome to enter and stay comfortable with their career choice in the elementary level. Males must overcome stereotypes about how they will treat young children and also what labels these men are given if they choose to stay in the primary level of teaching. Men have to overcome suspicion of their intentions with young children, society’s doubt of men’s ability to handle young children, and their own stresses when confronted with so much opposition to their career choice. Plus, the appeal of teaching older children (because it is more socially acceptable and there is less of a stigma and suspicion about a man’s sexual orientation) is overwhelming.

Works Cited

Cushman, Penni. "It's just not a real bloke's job: male teachers in primary

school." Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education. 33.3 (2005): 321-

338. Print. Sabbe, Elien, and Antonia Aelterman. "Gender in teaching: a literature review." Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice. 13.5 (2007): 521-538. Print. Skelton, Christine. "Male Primary Teachers and Perceptions of Masculinity." Educational Review. 55.2 (2003): 195-209. Print.