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Public | Study questions whether boys see mal . . .
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Study questions whether boys see male teachers as role models
A new English study questions the notion that male teachers are important role
models for boys. When 400 boys and girls in the country-region, ages 10, 11, 14
and 16, were asked to identify their role models, only 2.4% named a teacher;
most children identified relatives and friends from their own social
environments.
"Despite assertions to the contrary, by government and the mass media, male
teachers are not seen as role models by boys in this sample," write the
researchers in a study published in Educational Research. "As a policy
prescription to remedy boys' so-called under-achievement and laddish behaviour,
the promotion of male teachers as role models is, at present not viable."
Students who responded to the questionnaire attended one of four schools: two
primary schools and two secondary schools. Two of the schools were from socially
advantaged areas and two were from socially disadvantaged areas. No
statistically significant differences were found among students from schools in
socially advantaged and disadvantaged areas. However, fewer boys from the
primary school in the socially disadvantaged area mentioned male relatives as
role models. Parents top choice
Overall, 31.7% of
pupils chose one or both parents as their most important role model. When asked
to name any of their role models, 52.2% of girls and 28.5% of boys named
relatives (parents and all other relatives). Girls tended to choose female
relatives and boys male relatives. More girls than boys said they had a role
model (76% and 64%, respectively), indicating that boys were less likely than
girls to have any role models.
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In the study, 30% of boys named soccer players and other sports figures
as role models. Soccer players were second to fathers as the most important role
model for boys, the authors write.The prominence of soccer players as role
models for boys may be the result of media coverage but also could be due to a
"Player for Success" campaign in the UK that links soccer with literacy in the
schools, the authors note.
According to previous research, the authors write, people are more likely to
emulate a model if there are shared characteristics such as gender, age, race
and/or social location. Recent UK studies have indicated that peers and
relatives may be far more important to boys as role models than their teachers,
the authors say. |
The study attempted to clarify students' concept of "role model." The
questionnaire gave the dictionary definition of role model "as a person you
respect, follow, look up to or want to be like." Students chose role model
attributes from a provided list and then freely listed the attributes they
admired in their role models.Students most frequently mentioned that their role
models were honest, helpful and hard-working.
Characteristics related to celebrity and fame were less frequently cited, the
authors write. More boys mentioned "physical prowess" attributes such as
athleticism and bravery and more girls cited "worker/helper" attributes such as
honesty and hard working. While there were large differences between boys and
girls in citing caring and kindness as attributes, both boys and girls named
this attribute as the most important one for a role model (39.6% of girls and
29.3% of boys).
In this study, boys and girls mentioned friends more often than teachers as
role models. Lest educators take offense, the authors point out that the
findings do not mean that students do not have respect for their teachers.
"That only 2.4% of all pupils referred to a teacher as a role model strongly
suggests that children do not see their teachers as role models," the authors
write. "It may be that these pupils did 'respect' or 'look up to' their teachers
but, when thinking about role models, also focused on things such as 'want to be
like' and 'follow'. If so, this might indicate a lack of desire to become like
their teachers."
"Role model, hero or champion?
Children's views concerning role models," by Patricia Bricheno and Mary
Thornton, Educational Research, December 2007, Volume 49, Number 4, pp.
383-396.
Published in ERN December 2007 Volume 20 Number 9
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