“Women have a wider embrace“: Principals’ gendered perspective on teachers in elementary schools

• Published in: Tímarit um uppeldi og menntun
• Main Authors: Guðnadóttir, Rósa Björk, Rúdólfsdóttir, Annadís Greta
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2020
• Subjects: gender; feminisation; teachers; elementary school; teacher’s role; kyngervi; kvenvæðing; kennarastarfið; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/tuuom/article/view/3034; https://doi.org/10.24270/tuuom.2019.28.3

The feminisation of the teaching profession has been widely discussed both in Iceland and internationally. In 2017 women comprised 82% of teachers in compulsory schools in Iceland (Hagstofa Íslands, 2018); in the time period between 1909–1945, however, women accounted for only 35–46% of graduates from the Teachers’ Training College in Iceland (Loftur Guttormsson, 2008). The lack of male teachers in elementary schools has raised considerable concern and questions about its effect on the schools in general. The fact that the lion’s share of teachers is female gives the impression that teaching is a job for women. Principals have a number of responsibilities. They govern the school, which involves providing professional leadership in terms of management of the school and its curriculum. They have the responsibility to ensure the education and well-being of students. Furthermore, this work has to be conducted within the remit of the law and regulations that apply to elementary schools. Results from a research conducted by Guðný S. Guðbjörnsdóttir and Steinunn Helga Lárusdóttir (2017), indicate that principals want to work with issues relating to gender and diversity. However, the authors express their concern about the lack of knowledge principals portray in relation to gender issues. The aim of this research was to explore principals’ ideas about the qualities and work environment of elementary school teachers and how these ideas are informed by gender. The theoretical perspective is feminist poststructuralism and we work from the presumption that gender is rooted in sociological and cultural ideas. This can be manifested in gendered constructions of the teaching profession and qualities of teachers but also in how teachers’ performances of masculinity and femininity are enabled and valued. The data consisted of eight semi-structured interviews with principals (four men and four women). All of them had worked as administrators within the compulsory school system for at least five years. The interviews focused on ...