Joanna Williams

Where have all the male teachers gone?

(Photo: iStock)

Should it matter whether a teacher is male or female? Research out on Monday from the Education Policy Institute shows that teaching is becoming an overwhelmingly female-dominated profession. Men are far less likely than women to become teachers in the first place and those that do take the plunge are much more likely to quit the classroom than their female colleagues.

Primary schools have long been dominated by women. For the past five years the proportion of male primary teachers has remained constant at around 14 per cent of the workforce. But it is the ‘exodus of male teachers’ from secondary schools that is raising concern. The proportion of men in secondary schools has fallen year on year since 2010 and now stands at just 35.5 per cent.

We know that girls have been outperforming boys at school for almost three decades now. Last year, 72 per cent of female students achieved a GCSE pass (level 4 or above) compared to only 63 per cent of boys. As a result, 57 per cent of young women go on to university, compared to only 44 per cent of young men. Recently, there has been particular concern about the performance of white working-class boys. White boys who have free school meals achieve an average point score of 28.5 at GCSE, compared with a national average of 46.5. The gender imbalance in the teaching profession may offer one clue as to why boys are falling so far behind girls.

For as long as I can remember, there has been discussion about the importance of strong female role models for girls. ‘You have to see it to be it,’ is a popular feminist slogan and the idea behind children’s books like Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World.

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