Academic calls for scholarships to lure more males into teaching

A MAN drought in one of our most crucial sectors has sparked calls for full university scholarships for male students.

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FULL university scholarships would be offered to male students to lure them into the careers in the classroom, under a new proposal to address the “man drought” in the teaching profession.

Australian Catholic University education academic Matthew Zbaracki said there was now an urgent need to address the gender disparity in teaching.

Dr Zbaracki said Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Queensland had the equal lowest proportion of male teachers, with just 17 per cent of classroom professionals.

He wants the State Government and universities to step up and offer scores of scholarships to worthy male graduates to encourage them to become teachers.

“Male teachers play an important role in schooling and education and are needed now more than ever to be present in schools,” he said.

The Southport School teacher Jackson Elliott with Year 7 student Alastair Philp, 13. Picture: Adam Head

“There needs to be a major drawcard for males to pursue this career path, and perhaps a free education is just such an enticement.”

Jackson Elliott, a Year 7 teacher at The Southport School on the Gold Coast, supports the idea of enticing more males into teaching through scholarships.

“When I was enrolled in education, there were about 150 students in our cohort and only about 20 were male,” he said.

“I think it is essential to get the balance right in schools and have both male and female staff, especially with so many broken families, having strong role models is essential.”

Mr Elliott said it was also beneficial for male teachers to have other male colleagues to be able to debrief with between classes.

According to the ABS, just 17 per cent of teachers in both Queensland and New South Wales are male, compared to 21 per cent of teachers in Victoria and 22 per cent in South Australia.