Wednesday, 15 August 2007

‘Male v female’ teacher debate missing the point

The debate regarding new research into boys’ education is having faulty conclusions drawn by some, and misses crucial points, according to UnitedFuture education spokesperson, Judy Turner.

“Finding that high school boys don’t care whether their teacher is male or female as long as they are good, is surely no surprise.

“But this does not “throw doubt on the push to increase the number of male teachers” as was reported in the media – that is just a nonsense conclusion to draw.

“Nobody would assume that because individuals don’t care whether their doctor is male or female as long as they are good, that we don’t need any female doctors.

“The biggest concern I have heard from Massey lecturer Michael Irwin’s research, was the fact that boys say they are not expected to do as well as the girls in the class. If boys have lower expectations placed on them at school, no wonder they are under-performing.

“Also, the sample was of high-school students. It is at primary school where only 18% of teachers are male. For kids in this age group, it is particularly important to have more experiences with male teachers and role models in general.

“The debate is not whether men or women are better teachers – that is not the point. It is that we have a huge shortage of men in the education system, boys are suffering academically and socially because of it, and the Government is doing absolutely nothing about it. That is the issue,” says Mrs Turner.

“If we ask, ‘Do men or women make a better MPs, Police officers or social workers?’ the answer is neither – it is not the point.

“We need a general gender balance that reflects society, and while Labour concentrates on getting more women into positions on corporate boards, they are completely ignoring the feminisation of the education system and the endangered male primary teacher,” says Mrs Turner.

ENDS

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