In general, across the world, the career trajectories of men and women are clearly differentiated. There has been much research that demonstrates men and women tend to occupy different positions in the workplace and there is a clear gender divide between some occupational groups, with, for example, men predominant in engineering and women in nursing (horizontal segregation), and a gender divide within many occupations, where men disproportionately occupy senior positions and women disproportionately more junior ones (vertical segregation, Hakim, 1979). Such divisions have most recently been confirmed by the British Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which, in its annual report, ‘Sex and Power: Who Runs Britain? (EHRC, 2008a), likened women's progress in the workplace to that of a snail, and recorded a ‘worrying trend of reversal or stalled progress’ in terms of ‘women in top positions of power and influence across the public and private sectors’. Indeed, in the Commissions press release about the report, its chief executive, Nicola Brewer said:
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Acker, S. (1994). Gendered education. Buckinghamshire: Oxford University Press.
Alexander, R. (1991). Primary education in Leeds: Twelfth and final report from the primary needs independent evaluation project. Leeds: University of Leeds.
Arnot, M. & Miles, P. (2005). A reconstruction of the gender agenda: The contradictory ender dimensions in New Labour's educational and economic policy. Oxford Review of Education, 31(1 Special Issue), 173–189.
Bernstein, B. (1972). Education cannot compensate for society. In D. Rubenstein and C. Stoneman (Eds.), Education for democracy. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Bradley, H. (1993). Across the great divide: The entry of men into ‘Women's Jobs’. In C. L. Williams (Ed.), Doing ‘women's work’: Men in non-traditional occupations, (pp. 11–27). London: Sage.
Bricheno, P. & Thornton, M. (2002). Staff gender balance in primary schools. Research in Education, 68, 57–64.
Casassus, (2000). Female staff call for state support. Times Higher Education Supplement, 18th August 2000, p. 10.
Chevalier, A. & Dolton, P. (2004). The labour market for teachers WP04/11, Centre For Economic Research Working Paper Series, May 2004, Department of Economics, University College, Dublin.
Coleman, M. (2002). Women as head teachers: Striking the balance. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books.
Cubillo, L. (1999). Gender and leadership in the national professional qualification for head teachers: An opportunity lost? Journal of In-Service Education, 25(3), 545–556.
DES (1989). The Education Reform Act 1988: The School Curriculum and Assessment, Circular No.5/89. London: HMSO.
Drudy, S. (2008). Gender balance/gender bias: The teaching profession and the impact of femini- sation. Gender and Education, 20(4), 309–323.
Drudy, S., Martin, M., Woods, M., & O'Flynn, J. (2005). Men and the classroom: Gender imbalances in teaching. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Edwards, S. & Lyons, G. (1996). It's grim up north for female high flyers. Times Educational Supplement, School Management Guide, 10th May, 2.
EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) (2008a). Sex and power: Who runs Britain? London: EHRC.
EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) (2008b). Sex and power report reveals fewer women in positions of power and influence. Press Release http://www. equalityhumanrights.com/en/newsandcomment/Pages/CommissionsSexandPower reportrevealsfewerwomeninpositionsofpowerandinfluence.aspx accessed 5th September 2008.
Ellen, B. (2008). Prejudice isn't what keeps men out of nurseries. The Observer, Opinion, 21.09.08, p. 13.
Equal Opportunities Commission (2005). Facts About Women and Men in Great Britain 2005, January, EOC (ISBN 1 84206 126 7) available at www.eoc.org.uk.
Finlayson, L. R. & Nazroo, J. Y. (1998). Gender inequalities in nursing careers. London: Policy Studies Institute.
Garner, R. (2002). Unions protest at new role for classroom assistants. The Independent, 18 October 2002.
Goddard, A. (2005). Female heads big winners in pay stakes. Times Higher Educational Supplement, 25th February 2005, p. 1.
Griffiths, M. (2006). The feminization of teaching and the practices of teaching: Threat or opportunity? Educational Theory, 56(4), 387–405.
Hakim, C. (1979). Occupational segregation: A comprehensive study of the degree and pattern of the differentiation between men and women's work in Britain, the United States and other countries, Research Paper No. 9, London: Department of Employment.
Hargreaves, L., Cunningham, M., Everton, T., Hansen, A., Hopper, B., McIntyre, D., Oliver, C., Pell, T., Rouse, M., & Turner, P. (2007). The Status of Teachers and the Teaching Profession in England: Views from Inside and Outside the Profession. Evidence Base for the Final Report of the Teacher Status Project, DfES, Research Report RR831B, Nottingham: DfES Publications, 2007.
Jensen (2008). VietNamNet Bridge 14/07/2008 http://english.vietnamnet.vn/education/2008/07/ 793576/ accessed 01/11/2008.
Johnston, J., McKeown, E., & McEwan, A. (1998). Gender factors in choosing primary school teaching. Northern Ireland: Equal Opportunities Commission.
Kauppinen-Toropainen, K. & Lammi, J. (1993). Men in female dominated occupations: A cross- cultural comparison. In C. L. Williams (Ed.), Doing ‘women's work’: Men in non-traditional occupations. London: Sage.
Keamy, R. K. (2008). Crossing uncertain terrain: Messages from male academics. Gender and Education, 20(3), 267–279.
Klinck, P. & Allard, A. (1994). Neither frogs, nor princes: Changing models of leadership in academia. Paper presented at the Australian Association of Researcher in Education Conference, Newcastle, Australia.
Kruse, S. D. & Prettyman, S. S. (2008). Women, leadership, and power: Revisiting the wicked witch of the west. Gender and Education. 20(5), 451–464.
Lee, J. & Slater, J. (2005). Old boys' club of private headship. Times Educational Supplement, 14th January, p. 5.
Mahony, P., Hextall, I., & Menter, I. (2004). Threshold assessment and performance management: Modernizing or masculinizing teaching in England? Gender and Education, 16(2, June 2004), 131–149.
McNamara, O., Gunter, H., Onat-Stelma, Z., Howson, J., & Sprigade, A. (2007). Women teachers' careers, paper presented at BERA, University of London Institute of Education, September, 2007.
Measor, L. & Sikes, P. (1992). Gender and schools. London: Cassell.
Mills, M., Haase, M., & Charlton, E. (2008). Being the ‘right’ kind of male teacher: The disciplining of John. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 16(1), 71–84.
Mills, M., Martino, W., & Lingard, B. (2004). Attracting, recruiting and retaining male teachers: Policy issues in the male teacher debate. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 25(3), 355–369.
Parry, (2005). Teach at first, but then move on. Times Educational Supplement, 8th July 2005, p. 13.
Powney, J., Wilson, V., Hall, S., Davidson, J., Kirk, S., & Edward, S., in conjunction with Mirza, H. S. (2003), Teachers' careers: The impact of age, disability, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation (Research Report RR488). London: Department for Education and Skills.
Reid, I. & Thornton, M. (2000). Students' reasons for choosing primary school teaching as a career. Aldenham: University of Hertfordshire, Centre for Equality Issues in Education.
Sabbe, E. & Aelterman, A. (2007). Gender in teaching: a literature review. Teachers and Teaching, 13(5), 521–538.
Sargent, P. (2001). Real men or real teachers? Contradictions in the lives of men elementary school teachers. Harriman, TN: Men's Studies Press.
Scott, C., Cox, S., & Gray, A. (1998). The state of the profession: An English study of teacher satisfaction, motivation and health, a paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Belfast.
Skelton, C. (1991) A study of the career perspectives of male teachers of young children. Gender and Education, 3(3), 278–289.
Stylianidou, F., Bagakis, G., & Stamovlasis, D. (2004). Country Background Report for Greece: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers. Education Research Centre (KEE). Report for OECD Activity ‘Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers’ (http:// www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/20/30101431.pdf)
TDA (Training and Development Agency for Schools) (2008a). Teacher training inquiries hit a million since credit crunch, Press Releases 2008. http://www.tda.gov.uk/about/ mediarelations/2008/180908.aspx Accessed 3/11/08.
TDA (Training and Development Agency for Schools) (2008b). Male teachers crucial as role models, Press Releases 2008, http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/1fi/165850 Accessed 8/10/08.
Thornton, K. (2000). A new beginning. Times Educational Supplement, 20th October, p. 29.
Thornton, M. (1996). Subject specialism, gender and status: The example of primary school mathematics. Education 3 to 13, 24(3), 53–54.
Thornton, M. (1998). Subject specialists — primary schools, UCET Occasional Paper Number 10. London: Universities Council for the Education of Teachers.
Thornton, M. (1999a). Men into primary teaching: Who goes where? Dilemmas of entry, survival and career prospects. Education 3 to 13, 27(2), 50–55.
Thornton, M. (1999b). Reducing wastage among men student teachers in primary courses: A male club approach. Journal of Education for Teaching, 25(1), 41–53.
Thornton, M. & Bricheno, P. (2000). Primary teachers careers in England and Wales: The relationship between gender, role, position and promotion aspirations. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 8(2), 187–206.
Thornton, M. & Bricheno, P. (2006). Missing men in education. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham.
Thornton, M. & Iyer, P. (2009). Poor girls: A comparative analysis of their educational experiences in England and India. In G. Parameswaran & T. Kader (Ed.), Educational Access and Social Justice: A global perspective. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing.
UNESCO (2006). Teachers and educational quality: Monitoring global needs for 2015, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Montreal, 2006.
UNESCO (2008). Statistics and indicators on women and men, http://unstats.un.org/unsd/ demographic/products/indwm/tab4e.htm, accessed 01/11/2008.
Wallace, J. (2008) Questioning Assumptions about Male Teachers, www.teachers.ab.ca/issues + in + education/diversity + and + human + rights/gend accessed 08.09.08.
Wilson, R., Sharp, C., Shuayb, M., Kendall, L., Wade, P., & Easton, C. (2007). Research into the deployment and impact of support staff who have achieved HLTA status, NFER 2007.
Wylie, C. (2000). Trends in feminization of the teaching profession in OECD countries 1980–95 New Zealand Council for Educational Research International Labour Office Geneva March 2000 Accessed 01/11/2008 http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/ feminize/wp-151.htm
You, M. H. & Ko, P. S. (2004). Gender and career development: An analysis of the promotion of elementary school principles in Taiwan. Bulletin of Educational Research, 50(4), 45–77.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Thornton, M., Bricheno, P. (2009). Teacher Gender and Career Patterns. In: Bayer, M., Brinkkjær, U., Plauborg, H., Rolls, S. (eds) Teachers' Career Trajectories and Work Lives. Professional Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2358-2_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2358-2_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2357-5
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2358-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)