Sullivan, V; Coles, L; Xu, Y; Perales, F; Thorpe, K; (2020) Beliefs and attributions: Insider accounts of men’s place in early childhood education and care. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood (In press).

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Abstract

Theoretical perspectives, and a large body of empirical research examining sex-segregated occupations, identify attitudinal barriers of the majority as pivotal both for workplace wellbeing and the retention of minorities. Globally, where more than 90% of the ECEC workforce are female, understanding the attitudes of the majority is critical in informing actions to sustain men’s participation. So too are female educator’s understanding, acceptance and responses to the attitudes of other key stakeholders. The extent to which decisions in the workplace reflect personal, organisational or parent perspectives is not well understood. In this study we analyse interview data from the female majority, to distinguish personal voice and attributed beliefs regarding the inclusion of men in the ECEC workplace. We analyse interview data from 96 women working as educators in a representative sample of long day-care and kindergarten services in Queensland, Australia. Our analyses suggest that ta view of male educators as assets was claimed, while concerns about risk or competency were typically attributed to others. Attributed views were not often contested but instead accepted or excused. The findings suggest that while inclusion of men in the ECEC workforce is explicitly accepted by female colleagues, actions within the workforce may be influenced by the attitudes of those outside or by latent personal attitudes distanced by positioning as the voice of others.

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