Reducing Wastage among Men Student Teachers in Primary Courses: A male club approach

Abstract

This paper describes the establishment, in one English university, of a club for male students training to be primary (elementary) school teachers, and the outcomes of research undertaken with the club's target group. The club was a device by which to reduce the high wastage rates amongst male students. Field notes, interviews and a questionnaire survey of volunteer male students, not all of whom attended the club, enabled identification of key features relating to: (1) their training course, (2) general perceptions of their chosen career, and (3) the success and failure rates among these students. Although the sample was small, and generalisations cannot be made, interesting issues were raised, many of which parallel the findings of other researchers, some of which are worthy of further research, and all of which should be considered by policy makers wishing to increase male recruitment to primary teaching.