IPPN

Published: 20 April 2009

Source: independent.ie

By Katherine Donnelly


Monday April 20 2009

CELTIC tiger burnout and the recession are driving more men into seeking new careers as primary teachers.

A growing number of men are signing up for the post-graduate online course offered by Hibernia College.

It is a significant turnaround for the profession, which has seen a worrying drop in the proportion of male teachers.

In the 1970s, 30pc of primary teachers were male, but in the 2008/09 school year the figure was below 16pc .

Hibernia is currently filling places for its October 2009 class, and is predicting a male uptake of at least 20pc, up from 11pc for its first students on 2003/04, and from 16pc this year.

"We are getting more applicants because of the downturn and lifestyle choices. That was true for both males and females," Hibernia president Sean Rowland said.

More than half (54pc) of Hibernia students have a primary degree in arts, languages or education, but a further 26pc have come to it as business graduates.

The remainder are: science, 11pc; information technology, 4pc; law, 3pc; and nursing, 2pc.

"The downturn has attracted far more numbers of qualified applicants, people who may have had a 10-year career in information technology, pharmaceuticals, finance or banking," said Mr Rowland.

Work-life balance was also an issue and Mr Rowland said some of their students told them they never saw their children because of the long hours in their previous career.

He said some may also have been influenced at school to pursue a more financially rewarding career but they were now making a lifestyle choice.

The current education cutbacks will impact on teacher numbers, but Mr Rowland said "no matter what the pupil-teacher ratio is, we are going to need to teach our children".

Many mature male applicants are fulfilling a childhood ambition but were beaten in the Leaving Certificate points race for a place in teacher training college. Girls tend to perform better in the Leaving Certificate and are also more likely to take higher-level Irish, a minimum requirement for entry to any primary teacher training course.

Concern

The feminisation of teaching has been a source of concern, not least because of the loss of male role models, particularly for the growing number of children not living with their father.

A 2005 report on males in primary teaching triggered a campaign promoting the rewards of being a teacher. The campaign had limited success, with males accounting for 16pc of student primary teachers.

Hibernia student Seamus Silke (35) took voluntary redundancy from a job in a computer company last year.

He said he didn't get enough points for teacher training in the Leaving Cert and when he considered it again at a post-graduate level, the Celtic Tiger was up and running and he chose to study computing.

While he took his decision to switch careers before the downturn took a hold, he said the recession was definitely having an impact on other men.

- Katherine Donnelly