Men and classrooms in Qatar: A Q methodology research

Abstract

Globally, gender differences in the teaching profession are a longstanding public policy concern. International organizations and scholarly research routinely sound alarms concerning the low number of males joining the teaching profession. Although there have been multiple explorations of why the teaching profession has become gender imbalanced in favour of women, such studies have largely focused on the Global North. To this end, this study aimed to elucidate the situation in the Global South. Specifically, through Q-methodology, this study explored the perceptions of a group of G12 Qatari male students on joining teaching as a possible profession. The data showed that, to varying degrees, these students rejected the idea of becoming teachers. They took one of two positions: non-negotiable refusal or negotiable refusal. These positions are explained, and long-term strategies are proposed for policymakers in Qatar to gradually steer the ship towards a more equitable direction.

Keywords

• Gender imbalance in teaching
• Feminisation of teaching
• Qatar
• Q-methodology