- Mark Roberts is an English teacher and Director of Research at Carrickfergus Grammar School. He is the author of several books, including Boys Don’t Try? and The Boy Question, both published by Routledge.
Spurred on by the huge response to the TV series ‘Adolescence’, Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State for Education, has this week called for more male teachers to act as role models for disaffected boys.
As a teacher who has been writing about issues with boys and education for many years, I’m delighted to see an increased focus on the debate about how best to support boys in school.
Yet, while the idea of male teachers as role models is an alluring one, the plan is deeply flawed. Even if we can persuade lots of men to take up the call to arms to rescue our boys, there’s little evidence to suggest that the plan will work.
The case for more male teachers
Just as we have pushed more girls into STEM professions, we should be pushing more boys into HEAL (Health, Education, Admin and Literacy) professions. As I wrote in my book The Boy Question (2021):
Seeing more men in teaching roles, and especially in primary settings, would help change attitudes towards both education and society at large. It would probably encourage more boys to consider teaching as a possible future career option for themselves.
But, in the rush to save boys from Tate and his ilk, we need to ask a key question: Will more men in teaching actually make a difference? In the age of the manosphere, would more male teachers help shift boys’ attitudes? And, from the perspective of participation in higher education, would these new recruits help improve their academic outcomes?
The problem with male teachers as role models
Unfortunately, there are numerous problems with the role model plan:
1. Men are reluctant to go into teaching
Given the relatively low pay, workload expectations and lack of status, attracting men into teaching is a challenging prospect. Efforts to recruit 6500 new teachers already look dubious, with only 200 more trainee teachers signing up in 2024/25. Without a plan to tackle negative perceptions of teaching as a career prospect, the idea is doomed from the start.
2. Nobody can agree on what a male teacher role model looks like
Cushman (2008) surveyed 250 New Zealand primary school principals to discover what qualities they were seeking in male teachers[i]. The principals had a long list of often contradictory desirable qualities, including outstanding sporting prowess. Research by Brownhill (2014) listed 65 different role model requirements[ii]. Meeting this idealised checklist is a big ask for any individual. Pupils, parents and politicians would also have their own role model requirements. Is any one man capable of being all those things, all the time, to all stakeholders? And even if these Supermen are capable of all this, are they also equally confident talking about misogyny as talking about algebra or Shakespeare?
3. Children very rarely view teachers as role models
Even if teachers were willing to try and adopt the position of idealised male teacher, there’s little evidence to suggest that boys would see them as father figures. Bricheno & Thornton (2007) found that between the age of 10-16, boys named relatives as their ‘most important role models’. Compared to 32% of young people who said they looked up to a parent, a mere 2.4% of students identified a teacher as a role model. [iii]
4. There’s little evidence to suggest boys learn better with male teachers
One key reason given for more male role model teachers is the suggestion that disaffected boys will respond better to teachers of their own gender. But the evidence doesn’t stack up. A 2010 study by Lam et al. of nearly 5,000 Grade 4 students in Hong Kong found no evidence that boys improved their reading when taught by men[iv]. In 2008, Carrington et al. found no teacher gender effect on attainment data and pupil attitudes in British primary schools[v]. In the same year, Marsh et al. found ‘little or no evidence’ to support the idea that boys will be more motivated by male than female teachers in secondary maths, science and English classes’[vi]. I could go on. While I welcome any efforts to recruit more male teachers, we shouldn’t expect this to lead to better results for boys.
5. It judges female teachers unfairly
Many of the calls for more male teachers come from voices bemoaning the ‘feminisation’ of schools. Such voices believe that female teachers are incapable of providing guidance for boys and helping them become productive members of society. This deficit model is frankly insulting to the many thousands of female teachers doing a wonderful job of educating boys in often challenging circumstances.
Rather than getting distracted by the male role model debate, we should focus on fully supporting teachers to help boys succeed academically and get the grades required to, should they wish, enter higher education. Because that, above all, will make the biggest difference to boys’ lives.
[i] Cushman, P. (2008) ‘So what exactly do you want? What principals mean when they say ‘male role model’’, Gender and Education, 20:2, pp. 123–136.
[ii] Brownhill, S. (2014) ‘‘Build me a male role model!’ A critical exploration of the perceived qualities/characteristics of men in the early years (0–8) in England’, Gender and Education, 26:3, pp. 246–261.
[iii] Bricheno, P., & Thornton, M. (2007) ‘Role model, hero or champion? Children’s views concerning role models’, Educational Research, 49:4, pp. 383–396.
[iv] Lam, Y.H., Tse, S.K., Lam, J.W.I., & Loh, K.Y.E. (2010) ‘Does the gender of the teacher matter in the teaching of reading literacy? Teacher gender and pupil attainment in reading literacy in Hong Kong’, Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, pp. 754–759.
[v] Carrington, B., Tymms, P., & Merrell, C. (2008) ‘Role models, school improvement and the ‘gender gap’ – Do men bring out the best in boys and women the best in girls?’ British Educational Research Journal, 34, pp. 315–327.
[vi] Marsh, H., Martin, A., & Cheng, J. (2008) ‘A multilevel perspective on gender in classroom motivation and climate: potential benefits of male teachers for boys?’ Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, pp. 78–95.
An interesting article – however, any research based on few male teachers at present will not be able to represent a different view.
By encouraging more males into Primary and Secondary, especially if they are similarly trained with emphasis on literacy development and how, when and where children learn best – a PGCE does not cover enough psychology, sociology and pholosophy of education – then different stats might be produced.
The studies quoted seem to be around 2010. Have there been no new studies in the last 5 years?
It is only recently that mandatory schooling / training has been extended to age 18.
Have young people aged 7 to 18 been asked what gender they would prefer their teachers to be?
Has there been any research conducted in private schools where there seem to be more male teachers?
I would have thought that a mix of teachers of various genders would be the best way forward. The growth of social media and the prevalence of male influencers having a negative effect on young males needs to be challenged.
I agree that teachers of all genders should have a pay rise and a more flexible payment structure to raise the standard of teaching. When looking at pay and benefits we should include pensions, which in the public sector tend to be more generous.
This article raises important points about the push for more male teachers, challenging the assumption that male role models are the key to improving boys’ education. It makes a strong case for supporting all teachers, regardless of gender, to help boys succeed academically and reach their full potential.
Mark Roberts raises some valid points regarding the simplistic notion that more male teachers will automatically solve the complex ‘boy question’ in education. His research highlighting the lack of empirical evidence directly linking teacher gender to improved outcomes for boys, particularly in areas like reading and motivation, is important to consider. The challenges in attracting men to teaching due to pay, workload, and perceived status are also significant hurdles that any recruitment drive must address. Furthermore, his point about the often contradictory and unrealistic expectations placed on male teachers as ‘role models’ resonates with the practical realities of the profession.
However, while the direct causal link between more male teachers and definitively ‘solving’ the boy question might be overstated, the importance of representation within primary schools should not be dismissed entirely. As I’ve previously argued, primary schools play a crucial role in preparing students for a diverse world. A teaching staff that reflects a broader spectrum of society, including gender, can contribute to a richer and more inclusive learning environment for all pupils. Seeing men in nurturing and educational roles from a young age can challenge ingrained stereotypes and broaden children’s understanding of what different roles and identities can look like.
Therefore, while we should be cautious about overstating the impact of simply increasing male teacher numbers on boys’ academic outcomes, efforts to attract more men into primary teaching are still valuable. This isn’t necessarily about finding a ‘superman’ role model, but about creating a more balanced and representative workforce that can offer diverse perspectives and experiences to all children, potentially inspiring future generations of male educators who themselves benefited from such representation. The focus should remain on supporting all teachers and creating a profession that is attractive and valued by a diverse range of talented individuals.