Care for the Gap! – Where are the men in Primary and Elementary School Education?

The Austrian labour and education market continues to be characterised by strong horizontal gender segregation, with the proportion of men in the occupational field of “education and teaching” (ILO definition) being particularly low at around 30% in 2022. This is even more pronounced in the elementary and primary education sector, where men are strongly underrepresented. The similar applies to educational institutions, which are almost exclusively attended by (young) women.

The aim of the project is to examine the situation of men in the profession and educational field of elementary and primary education. Therefore, the study will address three levels:

• Description of the status quo and possible future developments and needs in Austria and in comparison with other countries
• The identification of beneficial and hindering factors that influence the educational and career choices of boys and young men in the field of elementary and primary education as well as their remaining in or leaving the profession
• The practice-oriented preparation of identified (international) good practice examples, promising strategies or measures and possible areas of action

To this purpose, existing statistical data is compiled and analysed and a systematic literature review (SLR) is carried out. Scientific publications, project reports, initiatives, working papers, evaluations and statistics focussing on German-speaking countries are included.