The proportion of male teachers in Australia is continuing to fall to new lows. Experts say it's a challenging but necessary gap to bridge, especially in the midst of a nationwide teacher shortage.
00:07Ryan Brown is a first year teacher, fresh from a career switch.
00:11I've found my calling, I've found something I'll do for the rest of my life and having done a bunch of other jobs, I'm so glad to have found it.
00:20But he's an endangered breed, one of just two male classroom teachers at his Canberra school.
00:27It does have to be in alphabetical order. I know, you'll be fine.
00:31It's the first time these year fives have been taught by a man.
00:35They understand more of the boys' problems when a female teacher more understands the girls' problems.
00:43Being a positive male influence on some of these kids' lives is a huge deal.
00:48Male teacher numbers have been dwindling for decades.
00:52In secondary school, about 38% of teaching staff are men.
00:56In primary school, it's dropped below 18%.
01:00There's two competing forces here.
01:02Firstly, there is a large economics factor and that is on average and compared to women, men can earn more in other industries.
01:11Second, there are social expectations around who belongs in the teaching profession.
01:16And there are fears recent explosive childcare safety revelations will also act as a deterrent for male educators.
01:24A female teacher can hug their student for comfort.
01:27I am, you're not allowed to hug Mr Brown, high fives only.
01:32The relationships are different.
01:34And because you can be accused of horrible, horrible things that aren't true, I think that scares a lot of men.
01:40Ben Weir has become used to people questioning his decision to study teaching.
01:46Particularly to men as well.
01:48It's sort of a lesser career, like one that you're choosing to, by sacrificing other careers you could be having.
01:55If you've got, say for example, society basically not rewarding and not recognising the value of teaching as a profession,
02:04then young people, men, boys, will be thinking, well I'll go into another profession.
02:11Some experts say the situation exposes a gap in Australia's gender equality goals.
02:17Look at how much your handwriting has improved.
02:19With research showing students benefit from diversity in the classroom.
02:24For boys it's important that they see teachers who they perceive understand them.
02:30For girls having male teachers is important for them because the absence of male teachers actually contributes to their anxieties around interacting with men more broadly.
02:40Kevin McGrath says a range of initiatives, including scholarships and gender targets, have been floated over the years.
02:47They continue to either be blocked by unions or dropped when there are no quick wins.
02:53The Australian Education Union says it backs measures to support all aspiring teachers, not specifically initiatives for men.
03:02It argues fixing underlying issues, including excessive workloads and ensuring competitive pay, is the best way to attract more people to the profession.
03:12If we value teaching, men will come back to teaching.
03:16In many cases, it's not that we need less women, we need the same number of women, if not more women, and now we need more men.
03:24It took me so long to figure out I wanted to be a teacher, whereas if it had been more common or if more people had stated this was an option for me, maybe I would have found it sooner.
Be the first to comment