Despite Downturn, Few Men Sign Up to Teach

Gender gaps widen a bit among teachers

The economic downturn seems to have worsened an already-vast gap between the numbers of men and women teachers, particularly in the early grades.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2011 Current Population Survey , men make up only 18.3 percent of elementary and middle school teachers and 2.3 percent of preschool and kindergarten instructors—a dip from the 2007 prerecession proportions of 19.1 percent in grades 1 to 8 and 2.7 percent in preschool and kindergarten. The numbers of men and women on high school teaching staffs are more evenly divided but still off parity; 42 percent of high school teachers in 2011 were men, down from 43.1 percent in 2007.

A panel of researchers and former elementary teachers at the American Educational Research Association's annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia last month argued that the diminishing status of teachers generally, coupled with continuing sexism against men working with children, is helping tamp down the number of men willing...