World News

A groundbreaking International Conference hosted by two of the World's most innovative projects. If we can create confidence in a child at an early age, if we can make childcare more adventurous, outgoing and jointly enjoyable, if we can provide a positive male role model, will this help in creating a more positive teenager/adult with an outlook far healthier than the one they have at present?

Edinburgh City Chambers
8 June 2012

Employers and a lack of policy are to blame for the shortage of male teachers in early childhood education, says a leading ECE expert.

Dr Sarah Farquhar, the national coordinator of ChildForum, has spent many years researching the role of men in ECE.

She says there are plenty of men wanting to work in early childhood education, but the main barrier for them is to get a position in a centre.

Just like the rest of the nation, Canberra's non-government schools have proven they're outstripping the public sector in attracting male teaching staff.

Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the ACT's non-government schools have recorded a 27 per cent increase in male teaching numbers since 1997 compared with an increase of just 1 per cent in the public sector.

Nelson Tasman Kindergartens are serious about attracting more men to early childhood education, following recent media reports identifying a lack of men in this area.

Nelson Tasman Kindergartens CEO Wendy Logan says it is a serious issue, especially as research shows that children learn the most from good role models.

In Germany, on 1st October 2010, the European Social Fund (ESF) programme "More Men in Early Childhood Education and Care" was launched. The three-year programme consists of 16 pilot projects in 13 federal states across Germany and has received a grant of 13 million Euros. The programme which will run until the end of 2013, will strive to find ways of recruiting more male educators for ECCE centres.

The Annual National Gathering for men who work or study in Early Childhood Education.


Saturday 17th -Sunday 18th March 2012

Top Ten Motor Camp, Whanganui
Phone & Fax: 06 343 8402
Free Phone: 0800 272 664

If you know a man interested in, or thinking of working in ECE encourage him to attend.

Marlborough's only male kindergarten teacher is encouraging other men to "throw the stigma out the window" and join the profession.

Michael Clark, the head teacher at Springlands Kindergarten, said he wanted men to forget about what people might think about them being in early childhood education.

Peter Harper moved to Methven with the intention of only staying a couple of years. Now, 31 years later, he's ended his career at Mount Hutt College and finds himself in a strange place - the job market. His departure isn't retirement; it's just a change of scenery. Mr Harper came from a teaching family - his mother taught English, his father taught mathematics.

It's a well known fact: the vast majority of people working in child care are females. Figures from the ABS show that at least 95 per cent of the working population of child care workers are female.

Attracting men to the industry is difficult and complicated: there are issues surrounding parental suspicion of men and the idea that child care is 'women's work', the low pay and status of child care workers have also been identified as a deterrent.

University gender ratios show women overtaking men in humanities, education, laws and business degrees

With women outnumbering men by a ratio of four to one among aspirant teachers, the male teacher is at risk of becoming a dying breed.

Statistics issued by the university from its 11 faculties show that only 265 of 1,418 students currently attending the Faculty of Education are men.

They are the minority in every staff room but are highly in demand.

Male teachers make up just one-fifth of the teaching population in Victorian state schools.

In the Grampians region, there are 700 male teachers and 1328 female teachers in state schools.

For the Catholic diocese of Ballarat, there are 934 female teachers and just 397 males.

The number of men applying to Bath Spa University to be primary school teachers this year has risen dramatically.

The 66% increase in applications mirrors a national trend: figures announced by the Training and Development Agency for Schools ( TDA ) show a 52% rise in the number of men applying to primary teacher education programmes in England.

The rise is attributed largely to the economic recession, with redundancies and unemployment making teaching an increasingly attractive option.

Male teachers are becoming rarer in New South Wales public schools, but these four teachers from Bowen Public School aren’t planning on going anywhere soon.

The men share decades of public school teaching experience between them and are standing strong in a public sector that is seeing a decrease in male employees.

More men are applying to be primary school teachers but male role models in early education remain stubbornly low, according to new figures.

At Dundee University, applications from men for courses are up by almost a quarter compared to 2008-09 while they are up by 12.3 per cent at the University of Aberdeen.

In the woman-dominated industry of pre-school educators, Mr Patrick Magno - who teaches at Kinderland - is a rarity.

But the situation is gradually changing, according to pre-school operators.

NTUC First Campus, which operates more than 90 childcare centres in Singapore, now has seven male pre-school teachers. Three years ago, it had none.