Men enter teaching to pay it forward

This piece was originally published by the Male Educator Network & Policy Institute.

Key takeaways

In partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, we are conducting a study on the motivations of male teachers and the barriers they faced when entering the profession. We present here some initial findings from our survey of 145 current male teachers. The full report, including additional survey respondents, analysis, and qualitative interviews, will be released in the fall.

What surveyed male teachers told us:

• More than three-quarters of male teachers said a desire to make a difference in children’s lives helped drive them into the profession.
• Over 60% of men in our sample were encouraged to enter teaching by another male teacher.
• For men who were encouraged by a male teacher, 69% said that encouragement was a very or extremely effective recruitment strategy.
• Early opportunities to work with children helped draw men into teaching, with 75% of those who had such experiences as teenagers saying they were very or extremely effective.
• Nearly three-quarters of men who experienced recruitment efforts specifically targeting men said those efforts were very or extremely effective in bringing them into teaching.

These early findings suggest that most men in our survey did not find their way into teaching by accident. Many were drawn to the profession by a sense of purpose and a desire to help others, but that interest often became a real career possibility through encouragement, early experience with young people, and a clearer sense that teaching could offer not just meaningful work but a workable career.

Recruiting more male teachers will require creating more of those moments earlier in the pipeline. That means giving young men meaningful opportunities to tutor, mentor, coach, or work in classrooms. It also means encouraging educators to recommend teaching as a path for young men who may not yet see it as an option and ensuring that prospective male teachers have the financial, professional, and social support they need to enter the field.

Why teaching feels meaningful

Overall, the male teachers who responded to our survey identified altruistic motivations as foundational to their decision to become teachers. Nearly four in five respondents, 78%, agreed that wanting to make a difference in children’s lives was an important motivation. Similarly, almost 40% completely agreed that belief in education’s ability to improve the world influenced their decision, with an additional one-third mostly agreeing. More than two-thirds of male teachers also agreed that providing a service to society and giving back to their community were important motivations.

Figure 1

While some research suggests that men may choose teaching as a career later in life than women, our survey results indicate that many male teachers first considered the profession much earlier. Nearly half of male respondents, 47%, mostly or completely agreed that they wanted to be a teacher from a young age. In fact, across all 145 male teacher respondents, the median age at which they first recalled a desire to be a teacher was 18 years old, with an age range of 5-45 years old. These findings suggest that, for many men, interest in teaching begins relatively early, even if their actual entrance into the profession occurs later.

What makes teaching work as a career

Although relatively low salaries are widely identified as an obstacle to attracting teachers into the profession, many male teachers in our survey also valued the profession’s economic stability. More than two-thirds (68%) said that reliable income and benefits were important to their career decision. This factor was especially salient among male high school teachers, 77% of whom identified it as important, compared with 41% of male elementary teachers and 67% of male middle school teachers. Nearly three-quarters of male teachers (72%) also said it was important that teaching offers a work schedule compatible with their family and personal life. Again, high school male teachers were most likely to identify this factor: 78%, compared to 62% of elementary male teachers and 62% of middle school male teachers.

Figure 3

Overall, 62% of male teachers said it was very or extremely important that teaching offered additional opportunities to be involved in sports, such as coaching. Another 48% said the same about opportunities to be involved in extracurricular activities other than sports. Perhaps not surprisingly, male teachers at the elementary level were the least likely to say this: only 34% for sports and 31% for other extracurriculars.

Figure 4

The cost of an education degree and teaching licensure are commonly cited as barriers to teaching regardless of gender. However, when combined with the lower average salaries in teaching compared to other careers, this factor may present an even larger obstacle for men, who may feel pressure to pursue careers associated with financial stability and long-term earning potential. Consistent with that concern, 55% of men in our survey said financial aid or loan forgiveness, when available, was very or extremely important in their career decisions.

But their concerns were not only financial. They also pointed to the importance of meaningful mentoring from other men (52%) and explicit discussions about navigating male identity in a predominantly female profession (41%) during their pre-service training. Although not all male teachers in our sample did not have access to these supports, they nevertheless saw the significant benefits they might offer to prospective male teachers.

These early findings offer an important first look at how surveyed male teachers describe their paths into the profession. In the months ahead, we’ll share additional survey findings that dig deeper into the motivations, barriers, and supports shaping men’s decisions to enter and remain in teaching. We’ll also build on these results through interviews with male teachers at different stages of their careers to better understand the “how” and “why” behind the numbers. But even this initial picture suggests something important: many men enter teaching because they want to make a difference—and because teachers made a difference for them first.