IngentaConnect Attracting, recruiting and retaining male teachers: policy issues...

Authors: Martin Mills¹; Wayne Martino²; Bob Lingard³

Source: British Journal of Sociology of Education, Volume 25, Number 3, 2004 , pp. 355-369(15)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

Frequent calls for more male teachers are being made in English-speaking countries. Many of these calls are based upon the fact that the teaching profession has become (even more) 'feminized' and the presumption that this has had negative effects for the education of boys. The employment of more male teachers is sometimes suggested as a way to re-masculinize schools so they become more 'boy-friendly' and thus contribute to improving boys' school performance. The focus of this paper is on an Australian education policy document in the state of Queensland that is concerned with the attraction, recruitment and retention of male teachers in the government education system. It considers the failure of this document, as with many of the calls for more male teachers, to take into account complex matters of gender raised by feminism and the sociology of masculinities. The paper then critiques the primary argument given for the need for more male teachers: that is, that male teachers provide boys with much needed role models.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/0142569042000216990

Affiliations: 1: The University of Queensland Australia 2: Murdoch University Australia 3: University of Sheffield UK

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Attracting, recruiting and retaining male teachers: policy issues in the male teacher debate