Why aren't there more males in teaching?

Only 23 percent of K-12 teachers are men. To achieve proportionality, education must become more inclusive of the fatherly instinct.

Originally published in the Moultrie News.

My kids of both genders love their male teachers, but at both their schools, there are few males. How can we get more men into the profession?

It’s a fact that teaching is a female-dominated field. Females make up 77 percent of K-12 teachers, men just 23. Most of that, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, is in high schools, where males comprise 36 percent of teachers. In elementary schools, it’s a paltry 11 percent.

It's also, in my experience, generally true that students like their male teachers. Novelty might explain that since there are so few of us.

Popularity is one thing, but effectiveness is another. Are male teachers better at improving student achievement? Studies are mostly inconclusive, but a recent analysis in Ed Week states: “As the number of male teachers in K-12 classrooms has dwindled, so, too, has male students’ overall academic achievement, education attainment, and engagement in school,” noting that some experts believe more male teachers would help reverse the decline.

If true, research suggests it may be due to the “role model effect” in which students connect with teachers sharing identity traits like gender. Of course, that’s conjectural. My experience is it makes little difference. I and the dudes I work with can't get lazy eighth-grade boys to work any harder than their female teachers. I believe you need a parent for that job.

How do we recruit more men? To know this, we'd have to know why males don't want to become teachers to begin with, and there isn't a lot of information about that. The knee-jerk answer is that a job with high stress and low pay doesn't appeal to males — but I don't think it appeals to females, either.

Could there be something about teaching that’s naturally more appealing to women? The stereotype of females as more nurturing may have a basis in nature, as asserted in a 2014 UCLA study, which found that “sex differences in empathy have … roots in biology and are not merely cultural by-products driven by socialization.” In other words, it’s possible that men aren’t as drawn to a profession driven by nurture and caregiving. If that’s the case, there’s not much we can do to give the job more man-appeal.

Or is there?

Recruiting more men may remain a mystery, but keeping those already there is less puzzling. According to UNESCO, male teachers quit the profession at higher rates than females. In surveys, discipline and autonomy are among the most common factors for teachers leaving the classroom. This tracks with what we know about the differences between how men and women relate to children, especially as parents.

According to a 2023 Pew study, compared to dads, more moms say they’re overprotective, give in to their kids too quickly, and praise them excessively. Dads surpass moms at giving kids too much freedom, sticking to their guns on boundaries, and criticizing their kids.

Child advocate Sharon Bush says that moms generally are more detail-oriented while dads approach parenting from a big-picture perspective. Moms focus more on scheduling and chores, while dads act as authoritarians, building character and confidence. Dads push competition, while moms emphasize equity. Moms are the chief nurturers, while dads are disciplinarians. Moms prioritize comfort and security for their kids. Dads are more likely to lay down law and order.

All those differences can be a problem for men in education because it’s a female-dominated nurturing industry, and mom values rule. Curricula focus on small-picture details. Procedures are desired; freedom isn’t. Fine rules are fastidiously enforced, while big-picture discipline is glossed over. Teachers are discouraged from law and order, authoritarianism, and competition. Nurture, comfort, flexibility, and positivity are the law of the land.

In short, education’s view of the “ideal” classroom is mom-centric. Dad-centric school areas are usually confined to high school athletic departments, where 67 percent of coaches are males.

Don’t misinterpret me: mom values and dad values are equally important in learning. However, balance is crucial, and education is asymmetrical. To achieve proportionality — and enlist more men — the system must become more inclusive of the fatherly instinct.

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Jody Stallings has been an award-winning teacher in Charleston since 1992 and is director of the Charleston Teacher Alliance. To submit a question, order his books, or follow him on social media, please visit JodyStallings.com.