Written by Sharon Shi

We need more men to break the stereotype of the female-dominated child care industry in today’s gender equity world. From the Hechinger Report, males total only 3% of early childhood educators (1). In our society and history, we have these very specific stereotypes of gender roles, and it’s important for children to see other possibilities and other paths they can take. Men are welcomed and encouraged to step up and step into the early child care provider’s positions as much-needed role models. Male early childhood teachers can make a more positive difference in our next generations’ growth and in our community. 

Here are some benefits to having men in early child care settings:

1. 1. Gender integrated care environments have a big impact on young children as they begin to form their conceptions of gender roles and identity. The presence of male caregivers provides a particular benefit for boys’ development. They have a bonus space to seek out positive role models, especially for those from father-absent homes. Also, a male presence in caregiver settings may encourage fathers to participate more in their child’s educational experience, which in turn expands positive influence into communities.
   2. For the youngest learners, they are more likely to get exposed to different varieties of play and communication styles, which helps them to develop healthy ideas around gender, social interactions, and balanced environments.
   3. The pay disparity that exists for all professional women is especially profound in education. In the late 1800s and early 20th century, being a teacher was one of the few “professional” occupations for women – an opportunity to use their intelligence to do something greater; “have a wider world of ideas, politics and public usefulness.(3)” Pay was meager and the conventional thinking of that time was that a woman’s income was only supplementing her husband’s income or for a single working woman living with her parents or in a shared housing arrangement until she married, and thus did not require a livable income. To this day, preschool and K-12 educators are overwhelmingly women and the compensation for this workforce remains structurally underfunded and undervalued. While it is an unfortunate reality, increasing male participation in early education will lift all boats and increase compensation for all early care and education professionals.

Despite the benefits listed above and the support from across the industry, male early child care providers are still facing societal barriers and cultural resistance. Some parents are skeptical or concerned about having men in classroom settings. In some child care centers, male teachers are advised not to hug children, change diapers, or monitor toilet training. This perception of anticipated misconduct is at the forefront of men avoiding careers in this industry. Welcoming men into this sphere means changing the perception that we hold of care and the face of caregiving.

A study (2) from NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) shows how several education professors have recommended concrete ways to increase male participation in the field. The recommendations include: 1) increase all early childhood educators’ compensation to that comparable to elementary school teachers 2) in child care programs, establish support groups for male early childhood educators and provide mentoring and professional development opportunities 3) outreach and offer young men more opportunities to work with young children through internships and volunteer programs, and also create marketing materials which include male caregivers in the early childhood education fields in the advertisement. 

To increase gender balance by encouraging more male educators, we must be intentional and proactive in how we recruit and retain men in the field—especially men of color. We need to take concrete actions to ensure this transition and to solidify children’s rights to meaningful and comprehensive education, in balanced environments. This course will truly benefit children, families, and our communities and have a lasting impact on the most critical period in a child’s life.

In the spirit of appreciation, BANANAS is grateful for PROVIDERS and the inclusion that you show daily. We know creating healthy environments for educating our youngest children is what you do best! We thank you for helping us to create a climate of inclusion, and for getting the word out that male educator’s matter.

References: 

1. NOAM SHPANCER PH.D.    Insight Therapy    No Man’s Land: Where Are the Male Daycare Caregivers? 
2. KIRSTEN COLE JEAN-YVES PLAISIR MINDI REICH-SHAPIRO ANTONIO FREITAS Building Gender Balanced Workforce  https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/sept2019/building-gender-balanced-workforce-supporting-male-teachers
3. PBS Online: Only A Teacher: Teaching Timeline https://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/timeline.html

Think back to when you were nine years old.  You are sitting in your 4th-grade class and your teacher announces it is time for a timed multiplication test. What is your reaction? Do you get a rush of excitement over the thrill of a timed brain rush, or do your palms feel sweaty and you have an anxious stomach at just the thought? What if you get the answers wrong? What if you can’t finish your test? What if you get stuck on the first line and your friend next to you sees that you don’t know the answer? 

If you are feeling anxious even imagining the situation, you are not alone. Research shows that math anxiety negatively affects about 50% of adults, more women than men. This anxiety takes up energy and space in your brain that inhibits problem-solving and critical thinking. Children who experience math anxiety have a more difficult time learning new math skills, and it creates a snowball effect landing students further behind in their math and science classes. 

As Early Childhood Educators, you might be wondering what this has to do with us. The reality is, many of us may still carry math anxiety years later and we might not be aware of it. For instance, I have moderate dyslexia and before I was diagnosed, I would often copy math problems from the book to my paper incorrectly. I would then do the problem correctly on my paper, but the answer was incorrect from my book because I wrote down 45 + 33 instead of 54 + 33. My teacher marked the answers incorrect, I received poor math grades, and I always thought I was just inherently bad at math. It wasn’t until years later that I learned I was dyslexic, got the tools I needed, and had to unlearn what had been embedded into my identity. I wasn’t bad at math. I could learn new math skills and I could do hard things. I often wonder what might have happened if that teacher took the time to help me problem solve instead of contributing to the issue. 

Many early educators unknowingly hold on to false beliefs about their abilities and pass them along to the children they educate. I had to learn to overcome my false identity so I could be a better educator and role model for the next generation. 

Let’s flip the narrative:

• What is your math story? 
• What do you believe is true and what is negative self-talk?

In case you need to hear it, you aren’t bad at math. You do math every day. Anyone who has ever successfully doubled a recipe, added a tip to a bill at a restaurant, managed a budget, estimated time or weight, or arranged furniture in a room is a mathematician! 

Let’s teach the next generation that math education is a process, not just about getting the most amount of answers on a timed test. Whether you are a family child care provider, a child care staff, or a center director, each of you has the influence to empower young children with the knowledge that it is ok to get the wrong answer, make a mistake, or work through a problem. It is okay to be a little nervous about something and try it anyway. Children need to see adults around them struggle, problem-solve, and work through it! That is when true learning happens. Building math confidence in young children now will provide the foundation to help them succeed as they enter elementary school and beyond. 

In an effort to break the cycle of stigma around math abilities, BANANAS recently completed a two-year partnership with the Early Math Initiative Project to provide early math coaching and training to child care providers. One of our coaches, Joan Suflita, worked directly with child care providers to rewrite their math stories and make teaching early math fun! 

To all the child care providers educating the next generation of leaders, scientists, inventors, mathematicians, doctors, researchers, and educators, thank you. We are continually inspired by your work. 

Please check out these Early Math Resources for simple tools to incorporate problem-solving, early math projects at your site. 

Sesame Street Early Math 

Development and Research for Early Math Education

Early Math Counts

by Sarah Silva