Gendered Expectations for the Teaching Profession: Evidence From PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2006

• In Event: 52.020 - Proceeding Toward Justice: Understanding Aspects of Educational Equity Through International Comparative Research

Abstract

Policymakers in many countries have concerns about the proportion of men entering the teaching profession. Recent international reports suggest that the feminization of the teaching workforce may increase in the coming years because male teachers tend to be concentrated among older age groups (OECD 2005). While the departure of many male teachers due to retirement is inevitable, education systems can guarantee diversity in the teaching workforce by attracting new men to enter the teaching profession. Several comparative studies have documented national trends in the gender distribution of the teaching workforce, but little attention has been given to gender differences in the expectations students hold to enter the teaching profession (OECD 2005; UNESCO 2011).

The objective of the proposed research is to examine differences in the expectations boys and girls hold to become teachers using data from the Program for International Assessment (PISA) 2006 (the latest wave with available data on expectations). We complement the descriptive analysis of gender differences in students’ expectations with a more in-depth assessment of factors that are associated with gender differences in the probability that similarly qualified boys and girls will expect to become teachers. A crucial aspect we focus on is whether gender inequality in the labour market is associated with cross-national variation in gender gaps in students’ expectations to enter the teaching profession. More specifically, we investigate factors such as the percentage of female managers and professionals and the percentage of teachers who are women among teaching staff in public and private institutions by level of education (primary / lower secondary / upper secondary education).

Authors

• Seong Won Han, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Francesca Borgonovi

• Sonia Guerriero, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development