More male primary-school teachers? Social benefits for boys and girls

Journal article


McGrath, Kevin and Sinclair, Mark. (2013). More male primary-school teachers? Social benefits for boys and girls. Gender and Education. 25, pp. 531-547. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2013.796342
AuthorsMcGrath, Kevin and Sinclair, Mark
Abstract

The call for more male primary-school teachers has long been associated with the educational needs of boys, the importance of positive male role models in schools and the disproportionate number of male and female primary-school teachers internationally. However, little is known about whether or not parents and students actually want more male primary-school teachers and if they do, the reasons they have for wanting more. This paper addresses the under-representation of parents' and students' views by drawing from a study of the perspectives of 97 parents and 184 sixth-grade students from Sydney, Australia. Surveys and semi-structured focus group interviews with boys and girls, and their mothers and fathers revealed an overall perceived social need for more male primary-school teachers. In particular, the paper indicates that male primary-school teachers are considered important for boys; a view consistent with some extant research literature that does not include the views of parents or students. The paper further indicates that parents and students see male primary-school teachers as being beneficial to girls; a matter rarely discussed in any research literature irrespective of the stakeholder group studied.

Keywordsmale ; primary-school teacher; role models ; girls; relationships
Year01 Jan 2013
JournalGender and Education
Journal citation25, pp. 531-547
PublisherTaylor & Francis Ltd (UK)
ISSN0954-0253
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2013.796342
Web address (URL)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540253.2013.796342#d1e954
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range531-547
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online14 May 2013
Publication process dates
Accepted11 Feb 2013
Deposited10 Sep 2024
Additional information

© 2013 Taylor & Francis

Place of publicationUnited Kingdom
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https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/90y5y/more-male-primary-school-teachers-social-benefits-for-boys-and-girls

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McGrath, Kevin and van Bergen, Penny. (2015). Who, when, why and to what end? Students at risk of negative student–teacher relationships and their outcomes. Educational Research Review. 14, pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2014.12.001