Beliefs and attributions: Insider accounts of men’s place in early childhood education and care

Abstract

Theoretical perspectives, and a large body of empirical research examining sex-segregated occupations, identify the attitudinal barriers of the majority as pivotal for both workplace well-being and the retention of minorities. Globally, where more than 90% of the early childhood education and care workforce is female, understanding the attitudes of the majority is critical in informing actions to sustain men’s participation. So too are female educators’ understanding, acceptance and responses to the attitudes of other key stakeholders. The extent to which decisions in the workplace reflect personal, organisational or parent perspectives is not well understood. In this study, the authors analyse interview data from the female majority to distinguish personal voice and attributed beliefs regarding the inclusion of men in the early childhood education and care workplace. They analyse interview data from 96 women working as educators in a representative sample of long-day-care and kindergarten services in Queensland, Australia. The analyses suggest that the view of male educators as assets was claimed, while concerns about risk or competency were typically attributed to others. Attributed views were not often contested, but instead accepted or excused. The findings suggest that while the inclusion of men in the early childhood education and care workforce is explicitly accepted by female colleagues, actions within the workforce may be influenced by the attitudes of those outside or by latent personal attitudes distanced by positioning as the voice of others.

Perceived to be incompetent, but not a risk: Why men are evaluated as less suitable for childcare work than women

“…Thus, people's expectations that childcare work is primarily associated with women and female gender‐typed (communal) characteristics will lead to perceptions of men's lower competence when caring for children. This is supported by findings from qualitative research, which suggest that male childcare workers are perceived as less competent than their female counterparts (Sullivan et al., 2020).…”

“…Moreover, it is important for childcare workers to be trustworthy, so that parents feel safe leaving their child in their care, and so other staff know their colleague is responsible enough to care for small and vulnerable children. As a result of gender role incongruity, qualitative research suggests that men who work in childcare are perceived as incompetent or treated with suspicion (Cameron, 2001; Manzi, 2019; Sullivan et al., 2020)—the two mechanisms this research examined as potential explanations for why men are evaluated less favorably than women in childcare work. Consequently, men are likely perceived as less trustworthy than the women they work with.…”

“…The quantitative literature highlights two common responses to men working in ECEC: perceptions of incompetence and perceptions of threat (see Cameron, 2001; Manzi, 2019). That is, men's competence or their motives for wanting to work with children are questioned and they are treated with suspicion by parents or co‐workers (Sullivan et al., 2020). Despite the wealth of qualitative evidence, it is unclear how perceptions of incompetence and threat influence the evaluation of men interested in working in childcare.…”

Gênero E Pré-Escola: Experiências E Estratégias De Homens Educadores De Infância

“…Este estudo pretendeu analisar se são corroborados os pressupostos de Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1977Kanter ( , 1993 quanto aos contextos profissionais caracterizados por uma desproporção numérica acentuada entre elementos de cada sexo, neste caso, no exercício da educação de infância. Nessa profissão, os homens são, praticamente em todo o mundo, uma minoria numérica e o exercício da educação de infância está socialmente associado e dominado por mulheres (e.g., Alves, 2012;Cortez, 2015;Lam, 2014;OECD, 2014;Peeters et al, 2015;Santos & Amâncio, 2018;Sullivan et al, 2020), pelo que objetivámos observar se os homens educadores de infância vivenciam as três consequências negativas associadas aos tokens: elevada visibilidade, polarização e assimilação (Kanter, 1977(Kanter, , 1993. Cumulativamente, pretendemos identificar e caracterizar as estratégias que os homens educadores de infância, enquanto potenciais tokens, adotam para gerir sua inclusão no contexto da profissão.…”

“…profissionais do sexo feminino, tanto a nível internacional (e.g., Alves, 2012;Cortez, 2015;Drudy, 2008;Lam, 2014;Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2014; Peeters et al, 2015;Sullivan et al, 2020;Sumsion, 2005), como em Portugal (Sarmento, 2002(Sarmento, , 2004Santos & Amâncio, 2018;Seco, 2015). Em Portugal, houve sempre uma prevalência de mulheres na profissão, sendo esta percebida como naturalmente feminina (Sarmento, 2002(Sarmento, , 2004.…”