Primary teaching as a career choice: the views of male andfemale sixth‐form students

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a study which examined the factors influencing the choice of primary teaching as a career option among A‐level students and how these factors differ between males and females. The views of males were of particular importance given the current disquiet in relation to recent trends in the recruitment of males as primary‐school teachers. The paper reports that primary teaching is highly regarded as a career by all sixth‐formers, in that it is seen as performing a moral service to society, as being mentally stimulating and as likely to offer a high degree of job satisfaction. However, primary teaching is seen as lacking in salary and status. Male sixth‐formers are aware that males are in a minority in primary schools and assert the value of a male role in younger children's educational experience. Most are also aware that they may have to confront societal negativity about males working closely with young children. This perceived negativity manifests itself in three ways. Firstly, primary teaching is seen as an occupation already dominated by females; males are much more gender‐sensitive when it comes to career choice than are females. Secondly, contemporary male teenage culture sees teaching as inherently unfashionable and males indicate that a desire to enter primary teaching could evoke derision from their school peers. Thirdly, the currency of child‐abuse awareness in recent years has made males wary of close contact with young children. Female sixth‐formers do not report concerns about any of these factors. The paper proposes that halting the decline in numbers of male primary teachers is a task which requires the intervention and contribution of a variety of agencies and bodies, and suggests that the content and dissemination of career information on primary teaching could be reviewed.