Number of male teachers in England drops

Figures in primary schools have stagnated over the last five years, and remain low, at 14.1 per cent.

The number of white men in secondary schools in England has fallen by over 12,800 since 2010, a fall of 17 per cent, according to analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) think tank.

The figures follow a year-on-year decline in the proportion of men teaching in secondary schools since 2010, with figures hitting an all-time low in 2019, when just over a third (35.5 per cent) of teachers were male.

In spite of this decline, the proportion of BME male teachers has risen to 17 percent of the workforce – with a 114 per cent increase in primary schools and 34 per cent increase in secondary schools, since 2010. These figures are now representative of the population as a whole (16 per cent).

However, the overall fall in male teachers is driven by a significant decline in the proportion of white male teachers in every region in England, except for Inner London, which is likely caused by the public sector pay freezes, the report says.

Research shows that men's decision to go into teaching tends to be more responsive to wages than females. Since 2010, teachers’ wages have fallen in real terms by 16 per cent.

The report, Trends in the diversity of teachers in England, reveals that the teacher workforce is becoming increasingly female-dominated and this may have implications for pupil outcomes as there is evidence that pupils have higher learning outcomes when they have 'a teacher like me' in the classroom.

Joshua Fullard, author and senior researcher at the Education Policy Institute (EPI), said, ‘This analysis shows that over the last decade, the proportion of men going into teaching has fallen year-on-year in almost every part of the country. While the Covid-19 recession has boosted teacher applications, this has had no effect on the gender diversity of the school workforce, which is still heavily dominated by women.’

He added, ‘Evidence suggests that when a teacher matches the background of their pupils, this can help to improve pupil outcomes. It’s therefore encouraging that despite the overall decline in males, we have seen a rise in the proportion of BME male teachers, which now corresponds with the population as a whole.’