Motivation of male students for preschool teacher profession

In contemporary pedagogy, family has gone through different changes. The number of single parent families is on the rise. There is usually no father figure in lives of these children. Furthermore, children who are enrolled in... [ view full abstract ]

In contemporary pedagogy, family has gone through different changes. The number of single parent families is on the rise. There is usually no father figure in lives of these children. Furthermore, children who are enrolled in kindergarten are exposed only to female influence. There is not enough men in kindergarten; therefore, it is necessary to talk about male kindergarten teachers. In Croatia, the term “aunty” is used, which emphasizes that kindergarten teaching is a female job. Eurostat statistical data (2015) show that female teaching staff is dominant in pre-primary education with 95%. The number of female preschool teachers in France is 83%, in Netherlands 86.6% and in the United Kingdom it is as high as 90%. Male preschool teachers are a rare breed in Croatia too, only 2.3% work in preschool institutions. This paper examines motivation of male students for becoming preschool teachers. First part of the paper provides summary of relevant research in this field. Second part presents grounded theory, a research methodology developed by sociologists Glaser and Strauss. In the light of this theory, interviews with male students enrolled in Undergraduate pre-school education in Osijek and Slavonski Brod were conducted. The aim of the research was to find out what motivated them to be part of a “female” profession. The results have shown that male students are intrinsically motivated, ready to fight stereotypes and see their future job as a calling not as a job, or a profession. The students highlighted main problems of modern families but also their role as men in upbringing and educating children. This topic sheds new light on family pedagogy, opens up an unexplored area of research in Croatia. Male kindergarten teachers are a minority group and deserve a chance to bring new perspectives in kindergarten teaching.