Call for blokes-only classroom incentives

A leading teacher is saying the Government may need to offer men-only scholarships to entice male teachers into primary schools as a means of combating boys' under-achievement.

Low pay rates have traditionally been seen as a disincentive for men entering primary teaching.

Now, more than five years after pay parity was struck between primary and secondary teachers, men still make up only 18 per cent of teachers at the primary level - compared with 43 per cent at the secondary level.

Ministry of Education figures show that when primary principals and management staff are taken out of the mix, men make up only 13.6 per cent of the primary classroom teachers.

Waitaki Boys' High School rector and chairman of the Association of Boys' Schools in New Zealand, Paul Baker, said male teachers were crucial to boys' achievement and targeted scholarships might be needed to boost numbers.

"Rightly or wrongly, some boys respond differently to male and female teachers.

"For a lot of boys, the messages they need to hear about succeeding come through clearly only from other men."

Last year, girls continued to achieve better results than boys with 63 per cent of girls achieving the NCEA Level 1 qualification compared with 52 per cent of boys.

The issue was all the more acute for the many boys who were growing up in houses without a father and away from groups that have traditionally plugged the gap, such as church or Scouts, Mr Baker said.

Colleges of education report the number of men training to become primary teachers is not increasing.



National's education spokesman, Nick Smith, said there was a clear need for the Government to extend its TeachNZ scholarships to men.

The Government already pays $10,000 training allowances for student teachers specialising in secondary subjects where there is a shortage, such as maths and physics, as well as scholarships for Maori and Pacific teacher trainees.

- NZPA