Universal Journal of Educational Research Vol. 1(2), pp. 65 - 73
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2013.010205
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Should Male Primary School Teachers be There Principally as Role Models for Boys?

Hannelore Faulstich-Wieland ^*
Fachbereich Erziehungswissenschaft I, Fakultaetfuer Erziehungswissenschaft, Psychologie und Bewegungswissenschaft, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

ABSTRACT

There is a worldwide debate about the need for male teachers as role-models especially for boys. This might motivate young men to start a teacher career expecting that their gender is the essential qualification. In a German project we interviewed upper secondary students regarding their study plans and found that most of them thought that teaching – i.e. in primary schools – would be both a rather boring job as to the intellectual demands and at the same time be rather challenging as to the personal dedication to children. Both make a teaching career unattractive for most of them. Future teachers in their first year of study, on the other hand, find the dedication to children exciting, but are not very interested in intellectual challenges. On such grounds, recruitment of men with role-model arguments – so the focus in this article – might result in a de-qualification of the teaching profession. The perspective must therefore emphasize the required competencies – including gender competencies.

KEYWORDS
Male role-model; students‘ study interests; gender competency

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Hannelore Faulstich-Wieland , "Should Male Primary School Teachers be There Principally as Role Models for Boys?," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 65 - 73, 2013. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2013.010205.

(b). APA Format:
Hannelore Faulstich-Wieland (2013). Should Male Primary School Teachers be There Principally as Role Models for Boys?. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 1(2), 65 - 73. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2013.010205.