Australian Education Union

Gender Equity - Boys' Education and Male Teachers

The Federal Government's Sex Discrimination Amendment (Teaching Profession) Bill 2004, or 'male teacher scholarships' bill, was passed in the House of Representatives on 12 May 2005..

The Bill is expected to pass in the newly formed Senate, after July 1.

The amendments to the landmark anti-sex discrimination legislation, (that this year celebrated its 20th year of being in Australian law) will, from 2005, permit the provision of teaching scholarships for men only, ostensibly to address the imbalance of men in the teaching profession.

The rationale for this comes from the 2002 Inquiry into Boys' Education, which linked the issue of the numbers of men in teaching with the underperformance of some boys in literacy.

The Bill, having been rejected three times already arose as one of the first priorities of the re-elected Howard Government.

The AEU has strongly and continually argued against the need for this legislation, if the intended outcome is to redress the gender imbalance within teaching. The AEU believes that the reasons for the imbalance relate to the perceived low status of teaching (reflected in the pay and conditions within the industry) and the overall sex segregation of the Australian workforce.

In addition, the AEU rejects the Government's assertions that the lack of male teachers in primary schools is linked to boys' performance in literacy, or that this lack should be rectified in order for boys from sole parent families to have masculine role models. There is simply no evidence for the first assertion; the second is yet another attempt to place responsibility for resolving broader social issues with teachers and schools.

In addition to the male teacher scholarships, boys' education is also a popular yet complex policy area for the Government.

Educators recognise that a variety of social factors can impact students' learning capacities and the environment in which they learn. Gender has been one such factor that, by the existence of stereotypes (placing limitations or expectations), of attention/assistance provided and pressure/value placed on educational success, students of one gender or another can become educationally disadvantaged.

Across the board, we recognized this was the case for a majority of girls and more recently disadvantage debates have focused on a minority (however growing) of boys' underperformance in the area of literacy. The AEU is determined to ensure that where disadvantage exists, it is targeted and appropriately addressed. However, this required effort for some boys, is being somewhat lost to the Federal Government's art of manipulation, rhetoric and wedge politics.

The AEU believes that recent debate on boys' literacy, male role models and teacher scholarships is based on anecdotal evidence supported by a backlash against the "feminised" education workforce. At the heart of these issues, whether they be figures on the underperformance of some boys; the fact that teaching is undervalued because it's seen as women's work; or that gender programs in education departments do not specifically address the needs of boys; is misinformation and misogynistic/reactionary measures. The AEU wants to provide members with quality research and sensible solutions to the challenges in this area, and to do so without the current alarmist, ignorance that goes with the Federal Government's handling of this inflated crisis in schools. The AEU has therefore produced a package of resources, of quality information, within this section of the website.

Here [in pdf format] is the AEU Boys Education recommended resources that includes a variety of research papers, newspaper articles, and a brief synopsis of the AEU's position on these matters. The AEU produced this set of readings to offer members the depth of information that exists around the issue of gender and schooling, but has not been central to the public debate. For the sake of professional and well considered responses to the challenges before AEU members, these resources are offered to balance the debate.

In addition, this section contains much background and current material useful to the debates.

The AEU has responses to:

the Senate Inquiry into the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Teaching Profession) Bill

the stage one report from the Boys Lighthouse Schools Program, "Meeting the Challenge"

articles around the 'feminisation' of the education sector, gender equity in schools and the teacher shortage

the Inquiry into Boys Education in 2002.

Clearly the intensity of both argument and action over the education of boys has escalated. The AEU has and is engaged in extensive research and campaigning around the assumptions of masculinity and the capabilities of female teachers, which underpin such changes in gender equity policy. The issue is complex and requires well informed responses.

The Australian Educator has so far published four articles in a series of recent editions tackling the issue:

The gender balance; [in pdf format]

The gender agenda;

Gender blind; and [in pdf format]

You've got male

In addition, in early 2004, "Meeting the Challenge" [in pdf format] the report on Stage One of the Boys' Lighthouse Project, was released. Essentially this report indicates that the programs initiated by the Boys' Lighthouse Schools are more so pilots validating notions of quality teaching and quality resourcing, rather than providing a strong notion that a "unique" boys' learning style has been catered for. The AEU's report in response to Meeting the Challenge [in pdf format] analyses and exposes the failures of "Meeting the Challenge".

Equally concerning to the AEU is the proposed Sex Discrimination Amendment (Teaching Profession) Bill 2004 that aims to allow Sydney's Catholic Education Office and any other employer, to offer scholarships to male teacher education students only, in an attempt to attract and redress the gender imbalance within the teaching profession, (particularly the primary sector). The AEU, like the Sex Discrimination Commissioner have responded strongly against this strategy. The AEU's and HREOC's public responses and submissions to the Senate Inquiry into the legislation are available:

AEU submission [in pdf format]

AEU media release [in pdf format]

HREOC submission [in pdf format]

Sex Discrimination Commissioner's media release

Commonwealth Parliamentary Bills Digest [in pdf format]

Lastly, the gender equity policies of education departments and governments alike have, to date, focused on strategies to cater for the optimal learning environments of both girls and boys. The MCEETYA Gender Equity Framework 1997 has provided a solid base from which to address gendered disadvantage in schools, as well as acknowledging factors such as ethnicity, aboriginality, socio-economic status and sexuality, that contribute to learning outcomes for students.

However, more recently this debate has moved away from treating gender equity holistically and has seen the Federal Government propose and enact reactionary measures which are based on false notions of masculinity, role models and assessment of educational success. .

As part of the parliamentary report, "Boys Getting it Right" [in pdf format] that followed an inquiry into the Education of Boys in 2002 (below), one of the proposals was the full review of the MCEETYA Gender Equity Framework. The review has been awarded to Richard Fletcher and Deborah Hartman (Gai Sheridan International education consultancy) from the Newcastle University Family Action Centre. Their findings will be reported on and expected to be put to the June 2004 Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs.

This page last updated 6 July 2005

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