Three Men and a Maybe: Identities and Privileges of Male Preservice Elementary Teachers

• In Event: 72.042 - Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Reflection on Identities and Practice in Teachers' Lives

Abstract

Male preservice elementary teachers often receive special attention, but identities are multifaceted. Constant-comparative methodology examined emergent themes of privilege and disadvantage linked to gender, religion, and ethnicity in this exploratory study of the narratives of three male preservice elementary teachers. The participants showed varying awareness of their hybrid identities and associated privileges and disadvantages. The men found privileges and disadvantages related to their gender, but members of religious and ethnic minority groups perceived significant disadvantages related to those acomponents of their identities. Findings suggest that preservice teachers’ identities are complex, that being in multiple minority groups may exacerbate difficulties for preservice teachers, and that teacher education may not sufficiently address issues of identity.

Author

• Stephen I. Tucker, The University of Queensland