Male teachers 'don't make a difference'
Simon Vevers
Thursday, August 9, 2007
The belief that having more male teachers could help to raise attainment levels and improve behaviour among boys is 'simplistic', according to new Government research.
The report, Gender and education: the evidence on pupils in England,suggests that far from providing good role models, male teachers couldbe too 'harsh' on boys.
The research was prompted by a perceived gender imbalance in the schoolworkforce, with a decline in the number of male teachers in both primaryand secondary schools. Only 16 per cent of nursery and primary teachersare male.
The Teacher Training Agency has asked its providers to set recruitmenttargets of men on teaching courses.
The research revealed that two-thirds of pupils reject the idea that thegender of their teachers is significant. Pupils looked to the qualityand ability of their teacher. 'Moreover, there is very little evidenceto date as to whether a teacher's gender does or does not play asignificant role in their pupils' attainment,' stated the report.
Read the report at www.dfes.gov.uk/research.
