UK Edition
How can we get more men to become teachers?
When the Department of Education released the school workforce statistics last year, it was revealed that the number of male teachers working in Britain had fallen for the fifth time in as many years. Compared to 2010, when a little over 1 in 4 teachers were men, last year the ratio had dropped to just 1 in 5.
That may not strike you as an issue – so what if our teachers tend to be female rather than male? The problem comes when you look at the effect this imbalance has on the ground. Girls are now much more likely to perform well at school. For example, at the end of primary education (age 11), only 22pc of boys achieve Level 5 or better in reading, writing and maths, compared to 27pc of girls. Seven years later, after A-levels, young women in the UK are 35pc more likely to go to university than young men.
Increasingly, key figures in education such as Ucas CEO Mary Curnock Cook are asking whether the gender gap in teaching has a role in the gulf in achievement between the sexes. Perhaps boys learn better when they have a strong male role model in front of the blackboard; perhaps female teachers have a subconscious bias towards girls.
So, what's to be done? When the 'misses' outnumber the 'sirs' so markedly, there is clearly a problem in the classroom - but how do we fix the problem?
Nathan Kemp was named Teacher of the Year in 2012, and currently works at Leigham Primary School in Plymouth. The 31-year old believes that it is the negative perception of teaching as a career that is dissuading men from entering the classroom – and that this, in turn, is having a detrimental effect on students.
"The balance of male and female teachers is, at present, skewed," says Kemp. "There seems to be an attitude amongst many that if a man joins the profession, he is automatically just there to scale the steps towards headship. The reality, however, is very different. Teaching is a tough, tough profession and, in my opinion, the best teachers are not classified by their gender."
"Children are not only educated in school – this is also where they learn the vast majority of their social skills and begin to form opinions and beliefs. The gender imbalance only serves to further cement the belief that teachers are female which, in turn, allows this myth to continue."
Kemp's 'myth' can be seen perpetuated throughout Britain. But, whilst the majority of male teachers lament that they are outnumbered by their female colleagues, there are those who believe the imbalance to be to their benefit.
Jonny Walker is a teacher at Elmhurst Primary School in East London. And, despite being one of the few male teachers on the staff, the deputy has used this minority position to his advantage.
"As a male teacher in a primary school," says Walker, "you are immediately visible and you immediately 'stand out'. In my experience, men are often presumed to be confident and competent in many elements of their practice, which may need to be 'proved' more demonstrably for female teachers.
"When I enter a classroom," the teacher continues, "there is already a sense that I might want to do things in a more quirky or unusual way because my career choice is perceived as quirky and unusual itself.
"However, this professional freedom is an unearned privilege - and an advantage my female colleagues may not necessarily experience because they are in the majority."
But even though Walker welcomes the benefits that the gender imbalance has brought him personally, the 26-year old still acknowledges that a lack of diversity among teaching staff may adversely affect pupils in general.
"I think pupils would benefit from having access to committed, knowledgeable and talented educators from as many different backgrounds as possible,” says Walker. “Currently, the demographics of teachers are wildly dissimilar from the demographics of the pupils they educate, and this has ramifications upon pupils' views of school, society, and their place within it.
"And whilst I think that addressing the gender imbalance would have its benefits," concludes the deputy, "I think that the imbalance of black and minority ethnic teachers is a more pressing concern."
Teach First, a charity similarly concerned about the lack of all diversity in teaching, is taking steps to attract underrepresented groups into the profession. James Darley, Executive Director of Graduate Recruitment at the charity, believes that schoolteachers should embody a true cross-section of society.
”If we want to ensure that every pupil is able to access a broad and rich education," says Darley, "it is important that the teachers in our schools represent the communities they teach in, in all elements of diversity, including sex and race."
However, men - who make up 51.22 per cent of the British population - remain one of the most poorly represented groups in the field. Out of the 7,500 applications received by Teach First's Leadership Development Programme last year, only 28 pc of the 1,685 teachers recruited were male.
"We have significantly increased our efforts to attract men into the teaching profession," counters Darley. "This has included a range of recruitment events at universities across the country, which have been targeted particularly at male students in STEM - science, technology, engineering and maths - subjects.
"However, if we really want to address the gender gap in teaching, we must first all commit to ensuring that teaching is given the prestige that it deserves."
The idea that men have been dissuaded from teaching because the profession isn't held in high enough esteem may sound strange, but there is evidence to support this theory.
Richard Harty, Head of Childhood and Education at the University of East London, tells me that, in New Zealand, a long-standing public perception of male teachers having "poor intentions" has left prospective educators constantly feeling the need to justify their position in school environments.
"Looking at that evidence, you can understand that joining, or staying in a group where you felt you always had to defend your position is not an attractive choice. The only places where there are large numbers of men working with young children are in areas where there is more equality between ‘male and female work’, or where looking after children and teaching are held in high esteem - such as in Scandinavia.
"We need positive publicity that highlights teaching as a good career choice," continues Harty, "and showcases men, as well as women, as successful teachers."
Therefore, because teaching as a profession in Britain is currently viewed as either too tough, a stepping stone to headship or simply just not worthy or commendable enough to pursue in the eyes of men, there is an apathy towards the career path that borders on avoidance.
And so, to remedy this misguided social stance, Harty says we must make a concerted effort to change the perception of teaching as a whole and show our educators the reverence they are due – otherwise we run the risk of being left with no male teachers at all.