OUR POSITION ON TEACHER GENDER

On the issue of teacher gender, our position is that men must be recruited into early childhood teaching as well as women. Policy strategies to increase men's participation in early childhood teaching are needed.  We believe that the current gender imbalance in staffing in early childhood services hampers efforts to achieve high quality learning and care for children. 

What we have done 

We have been at the forefront of raising awareness of gender discrimination and developing arguments to bring more men into early childhood teaching. 

We have taken action, including:

• Supporting men to have a voice in the sector and raising awareness of issues
  • In 2007 we provided the first ever national summit on Men in ECE teaching to bring male teachers from across the country to meet and discuss issues.  This lead to the formation of the EC-Menz Association
  • We held a political summit "Lifting the Lid on Gender Issues" in Wellington in 2014.
• Undertaking a national survey on ECE sector participant views concerning bringing more men into ECE and what benefits (or not) this would have.  The survey revealed that it that better representation of men in teaching would:  be of benefit to children’s learning and social development, raise quality within the sector in various ways including improving staff dynamics by having a mixed gender team, and help Dads feel more comfortable staying with their child and participating in the ECE programme.
• Encouraging more men into early childhood teaching. We provide the "Men in ECE Invitation Award".  Men need to be invited into ECE teaching.  This Award is one way of showing that they are welcomed.  Find out more by going to the Invitation Award page, here