Primary teacher trainee perspectives on a male-only support group: moving male trainee teachers beyond the ‘freak show’

Abstract

This paper reports the perspectives of male trainees on mechanisms instituted to support them during their Post-Graduate Certificate of Education in Early Years and Primary Education in England. The male trainees were interviewed towards the end of their training, using semi-structured interviews that provided scope for pursuing several lines of enquiry around their experiences as males on the course. In this paper the authors examine specifically the male trainees’ responses to innovations in Faculty support for male trainees, rather than focusing on their broader experiences as males in primary education. The authors are thus concerned to interpret and understand the trainees’ perspectives on how support mechanisms did, or did not, ensure a more positive training experience. Most prominent amongst these mechanisms, in this pilot year, was the formation of a male-only support group. The findings support the idea that, for these trainees at least, focused meetings addressing the concerns of men in primary schools can help to support their development and sense of ‘belonging’ on a course where females are overwhelmingly dominant in numerical terms. The reported success of this initiative was, in the view of the trainees, strongly reliant on the active involvement of practising male teachers and the directly relevant foci of the meetings, determined by the trainees and invited teachers. The presence of a designated male member of the Faculty staff was also viewed positively.