Male Teachers’ Perceptions of Gender Equality in the Foundation Phase

Abstract

ABSTRACT In South Africa, the recruitment and retention of men to teach in the foundation phase (Grade R-3) has gained national attention. In a patriarchal society such as South Africa, where such jobs are regarded as the purview of women, men’s perceptions of gender and gender equality in schools might explain their existence at this level of the education system. In this article, I am exploring male teachers’ perceptions of gender equality. The study used narrative inquiry and interview-conversations with 13 participants to generate data. I theorized the data using Connell’s work on masculinities as a framework. I found that the participants believe gender equality should be driven by clear policies to increase the number of men in the FP. Also, the findings suggest that men are constructing hybrid masculinities using the principles of gender equality to their benefit and to ascend to positions of leadership in the FP.