The connections between debates about male absence in primary and preschool teaching, and wider d... more The connections between debates about male absence in primary and preschool teaching, and wider debates about the status of the caring professions are explored here. It is suggested that neo-liberal concepts of educational purposes are deeply entwined with hegemonic masculinity, resulting in the current patterns of male employment that we see as a global phenomenon in educational work with young children. The argument draws on three sources: a body of case studies of the individual experiences of male teachers/carers; comparative conversations within a network of Swedish/English gender and education researchers who recognize that government educational reforms in both countries have side-lined the caring purposes of education; and feminist study of an ethic of care that emphasizes relational and egalitarian dimensions of caring. The debate about ‘missing men’ is reframed in the primary stages of education to ask how society would be different if care ethics were taken seriously in terms of educational policy and practice. The concept of ‘educare’, derived from Swedish pedagogy, has the potential to portray holistic educational purposes and the power to transform professional gender roles within education.
Our purpose in planning and editing this special issue was to draw together discussions about the... more Our purpose in planning and editing this special issue was to draw together discussions about the intersection of care and teaching practices within educational contexts and to recognise how gender influences the complex relationship between these two aspects of pedagogy. We intended to promote a debate on this knotty intersection through a specific focus on the concept of care. Care is an elastic concept, its meanings dependent on the specific context in which it is used but the values wrapped up in it frequently implicate assumptions and expectations about gender. We wanted to encourage contributions that engage in a re-conceptualisation of care as a starting point in loosening the ties between care, femininity and women’s work and that simultaneously examined concepts of care in relation to masculinity and male teachers. Historically, care has often been essentialised as ‘natural’ to women and consequently informs understandings of the professional roles that women are best suited to perform (Cameron, Moss, and Owen 1999; Cameron 2001). Women have been seen to be particularly suited to teaching young children through a symbolical representation of the teacher as the loving mother (Burman 1994; Peeters 2008). Due to the gender order in Western society, the historical link between care and women’s work simultaneously devalues the nature of care and decreases the possibility of care work to be viewed as professional labour. Because women’s caring work is often not counted or financially rewarded it remains as an invisible and downgraded contribution to society (Acker 1995). The other side of this coin is that men are able to assume a ‘privileged irresponsibility’ towards caring duties because it is not seen to be their ‘natural’ work (Tronto 2002; Zembylas, Bozalek, and Shefer 2014). Consequently, some forms of care, when performed by men, are not recognised as such (King 1998; Hjalmarsson and Lofdahl 2014). The downgrading of care has excluded it, to a great extent, as a legitimate subject of academic study and research. For example, Lynch, Baker, and Lyons (2009) claim that ‘love and care have not been regarded as subjects of sufficient political importance to be mainstreamed in theory or empirical investigations’ (2). Yet there has been a growing literature, especially from feminist authors, that recognises the gendered nature of carebased work within formal and domestic education contexts (Hooks 1984; Noddings
... University of Cambridge: Holly Anderson, Grant Bage, Colin Conner, Eve Bearne, Mary Jane Drum... more ... University of Cambridge: Holly Anderson, Grant Bage, Colin Conner, Eve Bearne, Mary Jane Drummond, David Frost, Peter Huckstep, Mark Lofthouse, John MacBeath, Jean Rudduck, John Siraj-Blatchford, Anne ... Oxford Brookes University: Simon Catling and Alison Price. ...
British Journal of Sociology of Education, Dec 10, 2013
This article contributes to ongoing discussion of the Bourdieusian concept of cultural capital an... more This article contributes to ongoing discussion of the Bourdieusian concept of cultural capital and current attempts to elaborate this concept and its derivatives. The paper identifies ‘identity capital’, the capacity to create a narrative of social and self-awareness by constructing a flexible sense of self. This concept explains findings from a longitudinal ethnography with nine children and young people over a 13-year period from pre-school to the age of 17. Analysis of the data shows that this particular capacity is developed through certain kinds of privileged discourses and the opportunities provided within socially advantaged schools and families. Two case studies are selected to reveal how identity capital interacts with other identifiable forms of capital that compound and entrench each other. The paper concludes by arguing that deficiencies in identity capital could be addressed within schooling in order to support the creation of this important resource.
Currently, 3% of the early year's education workforce is male, a figure that has remained stu... more Currently, 3% of the early year's education workforce is male, a figure that has remained stubbornly resistant to change over the last four decades. Research has shown that support is key to increasing the number of male employees in this sector. In recent years, there has been an increase in the demand for male-only support activities, such as men-only training courses, or support groups. Whilst these methods are popular in order to establish gender-diverse workforces, an inherent danger is that single-sex support can exacerbate binary thinking and entrench gender differences. This paper explores the role of single-sex support in gender diversifying the early year's workforce and asks when, and for whom, such spaces may be effective or valuable. The discussion is based on data collected during the GenderEYE project, which aimed to look at strategies for, and understandings about, the recruitment and support of male early childhood education professionals
In this chapter I focus on the masculinities of staff in early childhood education based on femin... more In this chapter I focus on the masculinities of staff in early childhood education based on feminist poststructuralist theories of identities in general and masculinities in particular. I illustrate the discussion initially from a sequence of interviews I undertook with a male preschool teacher in the north of England carried out as an evaluation of his father-engagement work. I then move on to discuss the construction of masculinities at the Acorns preschool, a particularly noteworthy context given its mixed-gender staff team.
The development of a sense of self is a central concept within social and emotional learning. For... more The development of a sense of self is a central concept within social and emotional learning. For example, ideas about strengthening the self are embedded in the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme in UK schools, especially in the 'Good to be me' element. But what is a 'self'? What purpose does it serve? Do we actually experience such a thing as a self or is it more the case that we feel ourselves to be different people, several co-existing selves, in different social contexts?
ABSTRACT There are a variety of views on teaching. At one extreme, some teachers deny any value t... more ABSTRACT There are a variety of views on teaching. At one extreme, some teachers deny any value to theoretical thinking: learning to teach consists merely of acquiring tips from experienced hands. At the other extreme, some academics have a very abstract, theoretical approach. reflective teaching lies between - it allows practitioners to relate practice and theory within their own particular contexts.
The connections between debates about male absence in primary and preschool teaching, and wider d... more The connections between debates about male absence in primary and preschool teaching, and wider debates about the status of the caring professions are explored here. It is suggested that neo-liberal concepts of educational purposes are deeply entwined with hegemonic masculinity, resulting in the current patterns of male employment that we see as a global phenomenon in educational work with young children. The argument draws on three sources: a body of case studies of the individual experiences of male teachers/carers; comparative conversations within a network of Swedish/English gender and education researchers who recognize that government educational reforms in both countries have side-lined the caring purposes of education; and feminist study of an ethic of care that emphasizes relational and egalitarian dimensions of caring. The debate about ‘missing men’ is reframed in the primary stages of education to ask how society would be different if care ethics were taken seriously in terms of educational policy and practice. The concept of ‘educare’, derived from Swedish pedagogy, has the potential to portray holistic educational purposes and the power to transform professional gender roles within education.
Our purpose in planning and editing this special issue was to draw together discussions about the... more Our purpose in planning and editing this special issue was to draw together discussions about the intersection of care and teaching practices within educational contexts and to recognise how gender influences the complex relationship between these two aspects of pedagogy. We intended to promote a debate on this knotty intersection through a specific focus on the concept of care. Care is an elastic concept, its meanings dependent on the specific context in which it is used but the values wrapped up in it frequently implicate assumptions and expectations about gender. We wanted to encourage contributions that engage in a re-conceptualisation of care as a starting point in loosening the ties between care, femininity and women’s work and that simultaneously examined concepts of care in relation to masculinity and male teachers. Historically, care has often been essentialised as ‘natural’ to women and consequently informs understandings of the professional roles that women are best suited to perform (Cameron, Moss, and Owen 1999; Cameron 2001). Women have been seen to be particularly suited to teaching young children through a symbolical representation of the teacher as the loving mother (Burman 1994; Peeters 2008). Due to the gender order in Western society, the historical link between care and women’s work simultaneously devalues the nature of care and decreases the possibility of care work to be viewed as professional labour. Because women’s caring work is often not counted or financially rewarded it remains as an invisible and downgraded contribution to society (Acker 1995). The other side of this coin is that men are able to assume a ‘privileged irresponsibility’ towards caring duties because it is not seen to be their ‘natural’ work (Tronto 2002; Zembylas, Bozalek, and Shefer 2014). Consequently, some forms of care, when performed by men, are not recognised as such (King 1998; Hjalmarsson and Lofdahl 2014). The downgrading of care has excluded it, to a great extent, as a legitimate subject of academic study and research. For example, Lynch, Baker, and Lyons (2009) claim that ‘love and care have not been regarded as subjects of sufficient political importance to be mainstreamed in theory or empirical investigations’ (2). Yet there has been a growing literature, especially from feminist authors, that recognises the gendered nature of carebased work within formal and domestic education contexts (Hooks 1984; Noddings
... University of Cambridge: Holly Anderson, Grant Bage, Colin Conner, Eve Bearne, Mary Jane Drum... more ... University of Cambridge: Holly Anderson, Grant Bage, Colin Conner, Eve Bearne, Mary Jane Drummond, David Frost, Peter Huckstep, Mark Lofthouse, John MacBeath, Jean Rudduck, John Siraj-Blatchford, Anne ... Oxford Brookes University: Simon Catling and Alison Price. ...
British Journal of Sociology of Education, Dec 10, 2013
This article contributes to ongoing discussion of the Bourdieusian concept of cultural capital an... more This article contributes to ongoing discussion of the Bourdieusian concept of cultural capital and current attempts to elaborate this concept and its derivatives. The paper identifies ‘identity capital’, the capacity to create a narrative of social and self-awareness by constructing a flexible sense of self. This concept explains findings from a longitudinal ethnography with nine children and young people over a 13-year period from pre-school to the age of 17. Analysis of the data shows that this particular capacity is developed through certain kinds of privileged discourses and the opportunities provided within socially advantaged schools and families. Two case studies are selected to reveal how identity capital interacts with other identifiable forms of capital that compound and entrench each other. The paper concludes by arguing that deficiencies in identity capital could be addressed within schooling in order to support the creation of this important resource.
Currently, 3% of the early year's education workforce is male, a figure that has remained stu... more Currently, 3% of the early year's education workforce is male, a figure that has remained stubbornly resistant to change over the last four decades. Research has shown that support is key to increasing the number of male employees in this sector. In recent years, there has been an increase in the demand for male-only support activities, such as men-only training courses, or support groups. Whilst these methods are popular in order to establish gender-diverse workforces, an inherent danger is that single-sex support can exacerbate binary thinking and entrench gender differences. This paper explores the role of single-sex support in gender diversifying the early year's workforce and asks when, and for whom, such spaces may be effective or valuable. The discussion is based on data collected during the GenderEYE project, which aimed to look at strategies for, and understandings about, the recruitment and support of male early childhood education professionals
In this chapter I focus on the masculinities of staff in early childhood education based on femin... more In this chapter I focus on the masculinities of staff in early childhood education based on feminist poststructuralist theories of identities in general and masculinities in particular. I illustrate the discussion initially from a sequence of interviews I undertook with a male preschool teacher in the north of England carried out as an evaluation of his father-engagement work. I then move on to discuss the construction of masculinities at the Acorns preschool, a particularly noteworthy context given its mixed-gender staff team.
The development of a sense of self is a central concept within social and emotional learning. For... more The development of a sense of self is a central concept within social and emotional learning. For example, ideas about strengthening the self are embedded in the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme in UK schools, especially in the 'Good to be me' element. But what is a 'self'? What purpose does it serve? Do we actually experience such a thing as a self or is it more the case that we feel ourselves to be different people, several co-existing selves, in different social contexts?
ABSTRACT There are a variety of views on teaching. At one extreme, some teachers deny any value t... more ABSTRACT There are a variety of views on teaching. At one extreme, some teachers deny any value to theoretical thinking: learning to teach consists merely of acquiring tips from experienced hands. At the other extreme, some academics have a very abstract, theoretical approach. reflective teaching lies between - it allows practitioners to relate practice and theory within their own particular contexts.
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Papers by Jo Warin