“I Am the Teacher”: how male educators conceptualize their impact on the early childhood classroom

Abstract

ABSTRACT According to recent statistics, fewer than 3% of early childhood educators are self-identified men. Thus, at a time when young children are constructing their identities and exploring gender roles and boundaries, opportunities for them to engage in authentic and meaningful learning experiences with both male and female teachers are scarce. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how self-identified male educators construct non-normative masculinities as they fulfill their roles with young children within early childhood education (ECE) environments. To achieve this objective, we draw upon the voices of men in the field to highlight their motivations and shed light on the challenges of their lived experience in the field of ECE. We use data from questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and classroom observations from a much larger research project that uncovered intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing men’s decisions to join the ECE workforce. Overall, the men in our study view their involvement in ECE as an opportunity to support children’s social and emotional development as they also push back on stereotypes about men in this sector. Our findings have implications for national and international practices and policies that envision the recruitment, support and retention of men as a key strategy for building and normalizing a mixed gender workforce in ECE while also enhancing opportunities for young children and their families to engage in meaningful and positive gender experiences with both female and male educators.