Surviving a Feminized Profession: An Insight into Why Men Choose to Stay in Teaching

Authors

  • Stephen - Joseph The University of Trinidad and Tobago

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.26.1238

Keywords:

Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT

                       This study explored the plight of men operating in a highly feminized teaching profession and examined several reasons why they chose to remain in the classroom. In a random sample, 709 male teachers from the northern and southern parts of Trinidad were selected to participate in the study. A mixed-method research design was employed aimed at triangulating quantitative and qualitative data obtained from a survey questionnaire and focus group discussions. Findings of the study revealed that the majority of male teachers (94%) remained in the classroom because of what they described as their passion for teaching, and 96% of the respondents perceived of themselves as positive role models for young boys. Results of this study show that perhaps the time has come for us to re-examine the argument about men serving as role models for boys in the context of the Caribbean classroom. The results also have implications for education policy decision making aimed at not only retaining existing teachers but also attracting and recruiting new male teachers into the Trinidad and Tobago school system.

               Keywords: male teachers, feminized teaching profession, male role models

Author Biography

Stephen - Joseph, The University of Trinidad and Tobago

Dr Stephen Joseph is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Education Programmes

References

References

Albisetti, J. (1993). The feminization of teaching in the nineteenth century: A comparative perspective. History of Education, 32(3), 253-263.

Allan, J. (1994). Anomaly as exemplar: The meanings of role modeling for men elementary teachers. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED378190)

Cooney, M. H., & Bittner, M. T. (2001). Men in early childhood education: Their emergent issues. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(2), 77-82.

Davidson, K. G., & Nelson, B. G. (2011). Journal of Men’s Studies, 19(2), 91-96.

Drudy, S. (2008). Gender balance/gender bias: The teaching profession and the impact of feminization. Gender and Education, 20(4), 309-323.

Elfers, A., Plecki, M., & Knapp, M. (2006). Teacher mobility: Looking more closely at the “movers” within the state system. Peabody Journal of Education, 81(3), 94-127.

Fischman, G. E. (2007). Persistence and ruptures: The feminization of teaching and teacher education in Argentina. Gender and Education, 19(3), 353-68.

Gardner, R. (2010). Should I stay or should I go? Factors that influence the retention, turnover, and attrition of K-12 music teachers in the United States. Arts Education Policy Review, 111: 112-121. DOI: 10.1080/10632910903458896.

Gold, D., & Reis, M. (1982). Male teacher effects on young children: A theoretical and empirical consideration. Sex Roles, 8, 493-513.

Johnson, J., McKeown, E., & McEwen, A. (1999). Choosing primary teaching as a career: The perspectives of males and females in training. Journal of Education for Teaching, 25, 55-64.

Joseph, S., & Jackman, W.M. (2014). Men who teach and leave: An investigation into factors that push men out of the classroom. International Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Educational Research, 5(1), 72-83.

Malaby, M., & Ramsey, S. (2011). The dilemmas of male elementary preservice teachers. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 13(1), 1-17.

Montecinos, C., & Nielson, L. E. (1997). Gender and cohort differences in university students’ decisions to become elementary teacher education majors. Journal of Teacher Education, 48, 47-54.

Patterson, N., Roehrig, G., & Luft, J. (2003). Running the treadmill: Explorations of beginning High School Science teacher turnover in Arizona. The High School Journal, 86(4), 14-22.

Priegert Coulter, R., & McNay, M. (1993). Exploring men’s experiences as elementary school teachers. Canadian Journal of Education, 18, 398-413.

Schaefer, L., Long, J., & Clandinin (2012). Questioning the research on early career teacher attrition and retention. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 58(1), 106-121.

Scherff, L. (2008). Disavowed: The stories of two novice teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(5), 1317- 1332.

Skelton, C. (2003). Male primary teacher and perceptions of masculinity. Educational Review, 55, 195-209.

Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Education. (2014). Statistics on teachers in the primary and secondary schools. McBean, Trinidad: Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education.

Thornton, M. (1999). Reducing waste among men student teachers in primary courses: A male club approach. Journal of Education for Teaching, 25(1), 45-53.

Trouvé-Finding, S. (2005). Teaching as a woman’s job: The impact of women to elementary teaching in England and France in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. History of Education, 34(5), 483-496.

Downloads

Published

2015-06-22

How to Cite

Joseph, S. .-. (2015). Surviving a Feminized Profession: An Insight into Why Men Choose to Stay in Teaching. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 2(6). https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.26.1238