Fewer male teachers at school
This was posted at soc.men:
Goodbye, Mr Chips: Two out of three teachers are women as men shun the classroom
The commanding, and sometimes inspiring, old-fashioned school master is fading
into history, figures revealed yesterday.
Fewer men are teaching in schools than at any time since records began and in one in ten primary schools there are no men on the staff at all.
More than two out of three teachers are now women, leading to fears that the kind of male role model embodied by the classic fictional creation Mr Chips has been lost to a generation of boys.
In secondary schools male numbers have dropped particularly sharply, adding to fears of a discipline crisis.
In the space of a generation, men have gone from taking a majority of jobs in secondaries to a dwindling minority.
They now make up 43 per cent of secondary teachers, down from 49 per cent in 1996 and 54 per cent in 1986.
The attractions of City salaries coupled with the threat of false abuse allegations are thought to be behind the recruitment slump.
Experts say it is increasingly likely that a boy will go through his entire education without being taught by a man.
When such data began to be collected in 1986, 184,000 men worked in state primaries and secondaries and 21,000 in independent schools.
They made up 40 per cent of all teachers but latest data shows their presence in schools has fallen to 31 per cent.
In 2006, just 131,800 state school teachers were male and 23,500 independent.
Government teacher recruitment campaigns appear to have mainly benefited fee-paying schools, where salaries tend to be higher.
The staff sex imbalance is particularly stark in primaries, the figures from the Department for Children, Schools and Families show. Just 15 per cent of teachers are men, down from 20 per cent in 1986.
Academic opinion is divided over whether the sex of the teacher makes any difference to children's grades or behaviour. One study claimed male teachers can cause boys' education to suffer because they treat pupils of their own sex "more harshly".
But the Training and Development Agency for Schools, a quango, released a survey suggesting boys were more likely to disrupt lessons and neglect their work if taught by women.
Tory schools spokesman Michael Gove said: "Fewer male teachers means fewer male role models for boys who may not have one at home."
Development agency chief Graham Holley said: "Both male and female authority figures play an important role in the development of young people, and we want the teaching workforce to reflect the strengths of our diverse society.
"The number of men applying for primary school training courses is increasing but not quickly enough."
ONLY HALF HIT GCSE SCIENCE TARGET
Only half of teenagers are meeting a Government target for GCSE science, it will be revealed next week.
Revamped exam league tables are expected to show that only half of pupils are achieving C grades or above in two science GCSEs - the standard considered necessary to make a serious attempt at A-levels in physics, chemistry or biology.
The tables, out on Thursday, will expose schools which have boosted their rankings by sidelining English, maths and science in favour of 'softer' courses such as media studies and computing.
Last year, tables gave a school's rating in English and maths. This year science is added as Ministers, who want to reverse the decline in pupils studying physics, chemistry and biology, seek to name and shame schools which neglect the subjects.
Next week's tables are also expected to reveal how more than half of schoolleavers fail to achieve decent standards in GCSE English and maths.
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