Running head: RESEARCH REPORT 1

Do Men Really Belong in Early Childhood Institutes?

For as long as we can remember, early childhood education as well as other careers

where individuals provide care, have been believed to be a job strictly intended for women.

Females are perceived to be natural born caregivers, a common conception, such as this one, can

make the early years environment unfriendly to male practitioners. Despite what many may

believe, men do belong in the early years centers. The contributions of male practitioners are

very valuable to the Early Childhood Education profession, specifically in regards to the

attachment with the development of the children.

Male educators have a lot to offer the early years institute as well as the children they

teach. There should be an emphasis on the inclusion and recruitment of more male educators as

their male version of care allows them to offer something different in their practice. Male

educators have more insight into their male students and their antisocial behaviours. Male

students need to have access to more male role models within the school system. According to

the book Understanding Gender and Early Childhood: Am Introduction to the Key Debate by Jo

Josephidou and Polly Bolshaw “they (the government) believe that increasing the number of

male ECEC practitioners will help to address the lower levels of academic achievement of boys

in comparison to girls, to minimise the impact of absent fathers, to develop pedagogic practices

in schools and settings, and to promote ‘male’ behaviours in children” (Josephidou & Bolshaw,

2020, pg. 62). This goes to show that men are seen as necessary additions to the early years

setting as they provide something that female practitioners cannot provide. The male

practitioners are able to ensure that the children have access to quality time with positive male

role models. In regards to the teaching style of male educators, they tend to be more strict with

rules, engage in more physical or rough play with children as well as making more use for
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humour. They do not claim to be better educators than their female coworkers, rather they have

something different to offer through their work. During the research the article Differences?

Similarities? Male teacher, female teacher: An instrumental case study of teaching in a Head

Start classroom by Robert Bullough analyzed a team of teachers at Head Start that included one

female educator named Marta and one Male educator named Alphonso. Throughout this article

we learned that Alphonso learned many of his teaching skills from raising his son, he believes

that men are supposed to be nurturing, caring and protective of all children. He also went on to

say how his son taught him to see the best in each child in order to see their individual needs and

what he can do as an educator to help them. Like his female co-educator Marta, Alphonso’s

primary concern is to ensure that he is being a good educator and role model for his students.

Alphonso accepted this role of being a positive male role model for those students who may not

have one outside of Head Start. Women and men are able to reach these social and emotional

needs for their students, and it is not limited to one single gender. While interviewing Marta for

this article she claimed that “I have heard of studies where males help children delay

gratification. You can really see that with Alphonso. He really works on [helping them develop]

patience, waiting, raising their hands. [Watching him] I have learned ways to help kids delay

gratification, and [as a result] I see a huge improvement behavior wise in the kids.” (Bullough,

2014, pg. 17), Maria says that by watching Alphonso she learned ways to teach delayed

gratification to the children and by doing so, she has noticed a huge improvement in the students

behaviour. Alphonso was able to show the same nurturance as Marta as he knelt down to an

upset child, when a child hugged him, he hugged back and provided a comforting rub on the

back. Children need a diverse variety of significant others in their lives that offer competence,

caring, committed males and females in order for them to have varying life experiences.
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Teachers often become one of these significant others, so little of these educators and role

models being male does cause some concern. Lastly when looking at the type of play exercises

that male educators provide, it tends to be in the direction of more physical play, while female

educators tend to value a more quiet mode of play. Male and female ECE workers operate with

similar differences towards boys and girls. These differences tend to be more on the side of the

female educators rather than the males. In the article Does gender make a difference? Results

from the German ‘tandem study’ on the pedagogical activity of female and male ECE workers by

Brandes Holger, a tandem study was observed in regards to educators' interactions with children

through a craft activity. With the materials accessible, there were two types of creations made,

subjects (with eyes) and objects (without eyes), it was observed that women were more involved

in the creation of subjects where males are more involved in the creation of objects. Early

Childhood Educators use a range of materials and tools while working with children. Female

ECE’s tend to use beads, pipe cleaners and scissors much more frequently than males, who tend

to use materials such as metal washers, nails, hammers and pliers more often. The tandem study

revealed that there was no significant difference between male and female ECE workers with

respect to the five dimensions of professional standards and manners of interactions with

children. The work of male ECE workers can positively affect the diversity of learning activities

in children daycare institutes. Men are seen as necessary in early year settings as they can

provide something above and beyond female practitioners.

In order to understand the perspective of male educators and pave the way for a better

working environment for these male practitioners, we must understand the biases and barriers

these educators may face in their day to day practice. One of the main aspects that discourage

male practitioners from teaching could be linked to the low wages and social status as well as
RESEARCH REPORT 4

few opportunities for career advancement. Not only do these contribute to discouraging the

recruitment of male educators, but gender stereotypes and expectations also have a major impact.

Oftentimes parents are concerned with the sexual orientation of the male teachers are also a

major factor. They believe that many male teachers are homosexuals with ulterior motives which

may lead to male educators believing they have to resemble superheroes in order to prove their

masculinity. In the article by Rober Bullough (2014) the interview of Alphonso for the position

at the Head Start Center was recorded. Two people interviewed him over the phone, as they

spoke the two interviewers claimed that they kept looking at one another thinking that

Alphonso’s answers were too good to be true. They even went on to say “ I mean, his answers,

he was right on the money and he was a guy! Why she might have thought that being ‘right on

the money’ was unusual for a guy, she did not say.” (Bullough, 214, pg. 16) the fact that they

were simply shocked that they had found a good candidate for the position simply because of his

gender is appalling. Not only do men face bias in the interview stage, but it does not stop there.

Gender biases within the classroom and early years institutes cause men to often feel isolated and

lonely within their profession. During Marta and Alphonso’s time working together it was noted

the differences within the atmospheres that educators experience while working with children.

During carpet time Marta is able to pull kids into her lap, while this is not a reality for Alphonso.

He was very cautious not to have children sit on their lap or pull them into his body as Marta was

able to do. Alphonso was aware of the concerns of others in regards to child abuse including the

danger when men work with young children. Another issue is in regards to the diapering and

changing of young children. At Head Start this process is avoided by male practitioners for the

protection of them and the children. During this situation, Marta and Alphonso would quickly

switch positions allowing her to handle the changing of a child as he continues the lesson. Early
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Childhood Educators are inclined to stereotypical behaviour. Based on the gender stereotypes

and expectations, practitioners are required to reflect and critically question thor own attitudes

and preferences. Men cross many gender boundaries by choosing to work with children

questioning societal norms and questioning masculine identities. Caring activities for men cause

others to lead to suspicions of pedophelia, which raises a question that can women not be

pedophiles too? Men must always be on the defensive and take their gender into consideration of

their role. According to The construction of masculine identity among men who work with young

children, an international perspective by David Brody (2015) there is a dilemma of masculinity,

“When the professional imperative of caring is coupled with a cloud of suspicion generated by

these very acts, male ECEC workers experience a painful dilemma.” (Brody, 2015, pg. 352).

Coupled with this dilemma, these men's view of their masculinity can exacerbate it further. Men

as practitioners are encouraged to take on this role while also being discouraged from parental

mode of interaction such as diapering, that could cause suspicions of child abuse, this seems to

be a common barrier male practitioners face. Female educators hugs go unnoticed, for men

hugging is noticed and is a very pronounced statement that is very important in the ECE role.

Men are expected to deal positively with these suspicions of threat all the while balancing their

role as an ECE which does in fact the incorporation of appropriate touch. Recognizing

differences in teachers that are assumed to exist is not a matter of sex, rather a matter of

personality. There is a need for more male educators which is not just the need for education but

as well as a matter of social and ethical standards. These biases and barriers define mens

relationships with male and females in society which also creates a plethora of stressors for these

men whose masculinity and motives are challenged, many stressors that are not shared with their

female co-educators.
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As it has been made clear, male educators have a lot to provide the early years institute in

regards to the children and other educators. Although they have a lot of dedication to their

profession, it is not always easy due to the many barriers and biases they face simply for being

males in a caring profession. In order to have more of these valuable educators of the male sex,

there must be some changes made to Early Childhood Education practices in order to be more

welcoming to male recruits. The first thing that must be corrected is the fact that “female

professions are unattractive to men, thus perpetuating gender segregation. Furthermore caring

activities performed by men lead to suspicions of pedophilia. Peeters (2013) notes that men’s

ongoing fear of accusation results in vigilance regarding physical contact.” (Brody, 2015, pg.

352). In ECE we are required to be caring individuals, sometimes part of showing compassion

and nurturance to the children require appropriate physical touch such as a hug. The american

society these days has made this part of the job extremely uncomfortable for male practitioners.

The views of others, whether that be society, parents or child care centers, creates a strong sense

of gender segregation furthuring the unattractiveness of care professions to male, further

decreasing the number of recruits.The article by David Brody goes on to say that “Researchers

have noted the discomfort caused by contradictions between the ethic of caring and masculine

identity (King 1998; Sargeant 2004); however, little attention has focused on explaining how

men construct a masculine identity through their work with young children” (Brody, 2015, pg.

353) if the early years environment could successfully highlight gender biases and segregation

found in the workplace, they would be able to provide more opportunities for male educators to

join and feel as if they are valued contributions to the industry and classroom. Although we can

not control the minds and fears of parents in regards to child abuse, there should be something to

say for that fact that despite these accusations, male educators have found ways to appropriately
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show physical warmth. In order to reach this goal we must deconstruct the ideal female model of

an educator so that we are able to define what a good teacher is without having gender play a

role in the decision. The male practitioners that choose to stay are resilient to the outside

criticism and pressures which further demonstrates their commitment to the profession and the

children. Although the main focus right now is the recruitment of new male members, it is only

the first step to increasing these numbers, as getting these men to stay is a crucial component.

There seems to be a revolving door effect when it comes to men in female prominent professions

as men that enter these professions, soon leave. In the novel written by Jo Josephidou and Patty

Bolshaw, it was expressed that the low levels of male educators is a case for concern,

“Some people are worrying about this, and a moral panic has developed about the low

percentage of men in ECEC. The government has expressed a desire to tackle this; they believe

that increasing the number of male ECEC practitioners will help to address the lower levels of

academic achievement of boys in comparison to girls, to minimise the impact of absent fathers,

to develop pedagogic practices in schools and settings, and to promote ‘male’ behaviours in

children” (Josephidou and Bolshaw, 2020, pg. 62)

In 2017 The Department of Education published their ECE workforce strategy, this strategy

included promoting a gender balanced workforce. It was argued that they would like children in

early year centers to have both positive male and female role models to guide them, allowing

more men to choose to join the ECE workforce. Although measures have been taken in the past

to increase these numbers, it is frustrating that some places are still struggling to increase their

numbers of male practitioners. The actions outlined in the book Understanding gender and early

childhood: An introduction to the key debates include “actions were taken to increase the number

of male ECEC practitioners, including allocating money for supporting recruitment, creating
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networks for male practitioners and the commitment to recruit male practitioners in Government

Action Plans for Gender Equality” (Josephidou and Bolshaw, 2020, pg. 63). It is crucial that

institutions select educators based on their qualifications and characteristics rather than selecting

based on gender biases. Characteristics that should be considered include a good temper,

patience and a strong love for children, which can be found in any gender and is not only limited

to female practitioners. It is linked that the majority of the problems are connected to the gender

inequalities and stereotypes revolving around male practitioners. People believe that men that

work in early year settings have ulterior motives, this discourse around these barriers

successfully strengthens it therefore making it harder to challenge.

Over the years Early Childhood Education has shifted from a profession that was started

by men to a profession run by predominantly females. The environment in this profession has

become a deterrent for male educators due to the gender stereotypes and expectations within the

industry. Although this gender segregation has formed, men have been proven to be very

valuable to the development of the children, through their work and the connections they make

with each child.

RESEARCH REPORT 9

References

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…...difference? Results from the German ‘tandem study’ on the pedagogical activity of female
…...and male ECE workers. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 23(3),
…...315–327. https://doi-org.ezproxy.humber.ca/10.1080/1350293X.2015.1043806
Brody, D. L. (2015). The construction of masculine identity among men who work with young
…..children, an international perspective. European Early Childhood Education Research
…..Journal, 23(3), 351–361. …..https://doi-
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…...instrumental case study of teaching in a Head Start classroom. Retrieved November 20,
…...2020, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0742051X14001528
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…...introduction to the key debates (1st ed.). London;New York, New York;: Routledge.
…...doi:10.4324/9780429029776