A dearth in male teachers still pervades our education sector and perceptions around men working in schools needs to be changed, according to specialists.
The shortage of men is particularly dire in the early childhood sector - the Early Childhood Council (ECC) estimates that of 1100 centres it represents, a mere 2% of teachers are male.
A scarcity of male teachers has existed since the early 1990s when former Christchurch child care worker Peter Ellis was convicted on 16 counts of sexual offences involving children in his care, ECC chief executive Peter Reynolds told TV ONE's Breakfast.
This sparked concern and suspicion about men working in primary schools and the early childhood sector, said Reynolds.
"What's happened since then, I think, is that a lot of people have really been turned off looking at that as a good career opportunity."
Reynolds doesn't think this concern has completely gone away and said positive promotion is needed to counter it.
"You still get a bit of a raised eyebrow if you see a child in the playground who's perhaps tripped and fallen and a bit upset and a male goes to comfort that child. And that's an attitude that we need to move past."
He said the way to do this is by getting more males involved in the teaching sector and by sending the right messages out to male teachers and parents "so that they understand that there is a safer alternative".
"We need to put in some proactive steps to try and re-encourage that sort of engagement."
Reynolds said having men in a childcare centre brings gender balance and perspective.
"Some boys react much better to a male role model in a childcare service than they will necessarily to female."
He said this is particularly important for children being raised by a solo mother or who have a father that is away often.
Shortage widespread
There are more male teachers in our secondary schools but the problem of scarcity also exists in primary schools, Paul Drummond, president of the New Zealand Principals' Federation told Breakfast.
"The status around secondary school and the importance of it is perhaps more perceived as being vital in the public eye."
Drummond said about 18% of primary school teachers are male, something which has not changed for several decades.
The way to address the shortage is to "promote and recruit and tell good stories and celebrate good male teaching".
He also said the media have an important role to play in changing perceptions.
"So that some of the negative stories that sometimes dominate teaching become balanced also by the positive ones."
Parents often request for their children to be placed in a class with a male teacher, Drummond said.
The most critical age for children to have male teachers is between three and eight, in the formative years, he said.
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