EarLY CHILDHOOD ISSUES AND TRENDS - Assignment Example

A shortage of male teachers in primary and pre primary education is not a new issue (Sargent, 2004). Including men in early childhood programmes hasbeen debated for many years and research has been carried out to find the reasons behind such gender disparity in education. This essay discusses the issue of male teachers in early childhood education and its implications to the field of early childhood education in New Zealand. There is a stark disparity in the ratio between male and female teachers in childhood education (Farquhar, 1997).

According to Peeters (2007), New Zealand is one of the worst countries in the developed western world when it comes to males in the teaching profession in early childhood. According to research, countries like Sweden, Norway and Denmark are marked by high levels of gender disparity although there is a high level of professionalism present (Peeters, 2007). Some research suggest the reasons behind such a disparity are stereotyping, accusation, and low wages (Farqhar,2006). However, society is also a party to such discrimination when it comes to the thought of male teachers in a field that involves interaction with minors.

The case of Peter Ellis is one that may perhaps be on the mind of all those who intend to apply for such a position (Farquhar, 1998). Teachers in early childhood education account for around two percent male members in the Australian and New Zealand region (Farquhar, 2006). Such numbers are shocking especially in a world that is considered to be quite liberal and encourages gender equity in all professions. However, when it comes to the thought of putting a male teacher into a room full of tiny children, there are certain reservations.

Not only from parents but also when it comes to the female teachers themselves. Peter Ellis was a case that was raised in 1991 where this male teacher was accused of sexual abuse towards the children in his class (Farquhar, 1997). According to one study, after this case was filed and the conviction was handed out to Peter Ellis, there was a drop in the number of male teachers. There are individuals who believe that whether the man is guilty or not, his punishment is serving a purpose, acting as a deterrent for those who desire to enter the field with intentions to harm children.

A study by Sarah Farquhar showed that about fifty five percent of those males who had entered the teaching profession were being looked into as potential or actual child abusers (Farquhar, 1997). Such behaviour may perhaps be a result of the feministic approach to the field of teaching and is certainly playing its role as a barrier for males entering the field. The trend apparent throughout history is that early childcare and education are predominantly considered the works of females. Another possible reason could be that work that is gendered tends to automatically generate discrimination in the selection and recruitment of the workforce, with more bias towards the selection of females (Peeteers, 2007).

Another factor leading to men overlooking the childhood education side as a potential job is that there is a natural stereotyping that females are better at such things than men. Peeteers (2007) observes that this gender process can be seen to operate at two levels. Firstly at the individual level, the employees pass on their particular gender constructions representing the responsibilities and attitudes of the employees; this gender construction is passed on via gender identity. Looking at the second level, the institutional level, one finds out that the understandings of childcare profession have been developed over the time and the gender aspect has strongly influenced them.

Consequently, in many countries such as the EU, childcare has inherently developed into a profession encompassing the element of mother care. A number of theorists regard this to be the chief reason for the low number of males in early childhood education (Peeteers, 2007). Sanders (2002) asserts that “the field of early childhood is an overwhelmingly female one” (p.40). Females have been looked at as the more caring of the two genders and considered to do certain tasks such as cooking, cleaning and child rearing; as such, early childhood education is also child rearing (Sumsion, 2005).

Hence many feminists consider that this part of a child’s educational life is something that would be easier for females to deal with as they have the natural instinct to nurture and are good at the 'mothering role' (Mephand, 2001). Moreover, it is argued that men find it demeaning and difficult to revert back to a role that is predominantly considered to be feminist (Peeteers, 2007). Men do not feel comfortable in putting themselves in a position representative of the woman-mother picture of care.

The feminist bloc in this aspect is so staunch and rigid that it is hard to make any major breakthroughs and though there are many men in this field in New Zealand, the ratio is however still ninety-eight to two percent.(Farquhar,2007). Even if men do decide and manage to enter into the profession of early childhood they are not considered to be real men by society. Many are considered to be either gay or not fit to be real men. This may be because at such tender ages young children need to be looked after and nurtured and that is generally seen to be a women’s job and if a female does so then she is not considered to be acting outside her established limit and seen as a normal female.

If men do something similar such as taking children to the bathroom, changing their clothes or giving them food, then they are not behaving in a manner typical of a man and so labelling them as a woman or something similar (Sumsion, 1999). Some men have even reported that if they are teaching young children and not married then parents as well as fellow staff members were more likely to consider them as gay. This is because of the social stereotype that gay men or pedophiles are on the lookout for such opportunities to be with young children.

To have such a stigma is not something that every man is ready to face and so some prefer to teach at a higher grade level where caring for children is not brought in to question (Wardle,2004). Some observers note that even the promotional materials in training institutes for early childhood contain more women's pictures than men's. Even the career guidance counsellors in schools do not advocate early childhood as a profession for male students simply because men in the early childhood sector are invisible and unrecognised (Mephand, 2001).

There are certain assumptions underlying the reasons why men form a meager percentage of the employees in early childhood education and care. Until recently, low salary scale used to put off men from joining the early childhood profession (Mephand, 2001). According to Farquer (2006) in most instances men are still the sole income earners in their families and the salary which they get as an early childhood teacher is relatively low when compared to other professions. Nelson (2004) suggests if there had been more men joining the ECE profession pay rates would have improved much sooner.

Lack of career prospects also can be considered as a reason why males do not enter the early childhood teaching profession. According to Nelson (2004) career progression is considered more important among men than women. Therefore early childhood might not appear as a lucrative career to some men as compared to other professions. On the other hand Nelson (2004) argues that there are opportunities within the early childhood profession for career progress. In the classroom there is progression from teacher to head teacher and if you are in a kindergarten the association has positions for managers and above.

Also there are opportunities to join the Ministry of Education or the Education Review Office as well as lecturing in a college or university in the field of ECE. But these are very few opportunities and do not exist always compared with other professions with good career progression prospects. Nelson (2004) says with the gender bias perception it is difficult for men to think about a career progression within ECE. There are differences in opinions in the competency of men as compared to women, with some critics being more emphatic about the greater aptitude of men.

Benefits of male teachers in the childhood profession are certainly present. Fagan (1996) asserts that male teachers are active compared to their female counterparts. They bring more play and they are good at rough and tumble play (Fagan, 1996). According to Wardle (1994) having both male and female teachers in the staff is a “natural way of teaching” (p.14). This brings a wealth of ideas into the programme. According to him male and female teachers think differently when it comes to teaching.

For example a female teacher will discourage or ban boys playing gun games while a male teacher will encourage such imaginative play and help them with the sport of target shooting and teach the mechanics of guns. Wardle (2004) believes that male teachers have a different approach to the programmes. It is a kind of challenge for them because many “early childhood programmes operate quiet sedentary activities that create minimum mess” (p.47). However opinions amongst theorists differ and although it is difficult to establish if men are better than women in promoting the imaginations of the pupils, it can at least be said that men and women are equally competent.

The role of the male teacher becomes very important in the case of single parent households (Farquhar, 2006). In most instances it is the mother who brings up the children. Therefore it is better for children to have a male figure to look up to. Farquhar (2006), believes the absence of male teachers in ECE have a resounding impact on the children who come from single parent families. According to Farquhar children from these families have virtually no contact with men at all. Male teachers can also show young boys that it is not a blow to one's masculinity that they do something that is generally considered to be a woman’s domain.

Male members on the teaching staff will even encourage fathers to take a more active role in their child’s education as they will feel that talking to a man is perhaps easier than entering in to a world filled with women (Harty,2007). New Zealand’s education system needs to encourage the role of male teachers at every level of education and there is certainly a need to promote the notion that this is a job that can be done by both men and women. As Sanders (2002) suggests if we really want to have male teachers in the early childhood profession all parties concerned should give necessary support and create an inclusive environment.

This in turn will create a sense of belonging among the male teachers. Paul Sargent (2002) adds to this by saying “rather than confining our efforts to changing men it is apparent that our profession must make some significant changes to the culture of teaching to recruit men and help them enter and remain in the field (p.30). Without changing the attitudes and policies it is worthless trying to recruit male teachers into the profession. Male teachers like their female counterparts want to be treated equally in every aspect including policies, rules and expectations (Dau, 2001).

Giving male staff the opportunity to work freely without being questioned for their motives is another issue that the policy makers have to look into (Dau, 2001). Wardle (2004) believes that placing male teachers under close supervision by the administrators of ECE centre, other staff members and parents for possibly being a gay or pedophile should be stopped. Men want to work freely. If the early childhood profession continues to support this kind of stereotype, there will be no men remaining in this profession.

There are reservations about the threats of sexual abuse law suits that act as a sword over the neck of male teachers which need to be removed. Proper evidence needs to be given to prove such a case. However, as in every other profession there can certainly be a balance of the genders. Children can also benefit from such teaching experiences from male instructors (Sargent, 2004). It cannot be proven as of now that there is any situation in which a male teacher outclasses his female counterpart in childhood education or vice versa.

Therefore encouragement should be given to both men and women to participate in their own way in the education of children. Male staff like the female staff want to work in good working conditions with good benefits and a professional approach to child care (Harty,2007). According to Wardle (2004) “fundamentally fathers want to be viewed as important people in the lives and education of their children while male teachers want to feel like they belong in the profession and in the programme” (p.60). Analyzing the current situation it is clear that there is a feminist regime that seems to have a hold on this particular profession and the trepidations that they feel that allowing men will lead to their downsizing is certainly not a valid enough reason to withhold such positions.

Legislatures should take a look into this alarming situation and make an attempt to level the system. There is a promising trend in New Zealand at present with regard to male involvement in ECE. Kohanga reo settings are one such example. Statistics show that 30% of the staff in Kohanga reo schools are males. (Peeters,2007). This is a good sign and an example for other early childhood settings. According to Peeters (2007) play centres too have gained popularity with male involvement. This is mainly due to increased father involvement in childrearing.

In New Zealand there are several government initiatives taken with regard to recruiting male teachers in early childhood education. One such initiative was the First Summit on Men in Early Childhood Teaching and Care. Desirable Objectives and Practices (Ministry of Education, 1998) and the Equal employment Opportunities guidelines by Ministry of Education (EEO) stresses that the employers should implement inclusive and equitable opportunities to all irrespective of gender. Further in section 7 of EEO states “discourage sexist and stereotypical attitudes, language, and behaviour directed at male employees”(p. 31). Establishing 'Men in early childhood education Inc New Zealand' a few years back is another promising initiative to get men into the field of education.

This organisation advocates promoting early childhood education as a great career for men. They have annual conferences to bring awareness with current issues and trends with relation to male teachers in early childhood. The organisation has taken the initiative to research the benefits of having males as teacher and careers. In conclusion a gender diverse work force in early childhood education is increasingly becoming important for high quality early childhood education. But there are significant barriers to bring back the male teachers into the early childhood education field.

According to Farquhar (2007) “pay, professionalism, and status” are the three main forces to bring back male teachers into the early childhood profession (p.18). If the policy makers and authorities want to make a real change they need to look at the existing policies and attitudes and make a real effort to overcome these barriers, so that the children will reap the benefit of having both male and female teachers in their school environments. 10 REFERENCES. Dau, E. (Ed.). (2001). The anti-bias approach in early chidhood (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Longman.

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