Using Collages to Change School Governing Body Perceptions of Male Foundation Phase Teachers

Abstract

The paper explores how collages can be used to change school governing body (SGB) members' perceptions of male teachers in the foundation phase (FP) in the Nelson Mandela Metropole, South Africa. The involvement of men in FP teaching forms part of initiatives to diversify and do away with the underrepresentation of men in the early years of learning. SGBs play an integral role in the recruitment and retaining of teachers in schools, but not much is known on how SGBs perceive male teachers and their willingness to employ them in FP. This study involved parent members of SGBs as participants because they represent the majority membership in primary school governance. This qualitative study was underpinned by feminist post-structural theory as a lens to analyse data generated using collages and a group discussion, both of which were later thematically analysed to generate the themes discussed in this paper. Findings indicate that participants' socialisation and lived experiences play a major role in the employment of teachers in FP. The findings also show that engaging in participatory visual methodologies such as collages can provide a platform for transformation of deeply embedded discourses towards equitable and socially just societies. In understanding that change is a process, the study recommends that participatory visual methodologies be used in courageous conversations with communities about constructions of caring masculinities and the involvement of men in care professions such as FP teaching. Keywords: collages, feminist post-structural theory, male foundation phase teachers, school governing body

"They would not like it if men taught in the foundation phase": SGBs' perceptions of the employment of male FP teachers

“…This paper is based on a bigger qualitative study in line with Creswell and Creswell (2017). We used participatory visual methodologies such as the creation of collages (see Kagola & Khau, 2020), and participatory methods such as semi-structured focus group conversations to enable SGB parent-component members to share their understandings and experiences in the employment of male FP teachers. In this article, we discuss only the semi-structured focus group conversations.…”

“…In support of this Msiza (2019) indicated that males seeking employment in such professions like FP teaching is not easy since they are often policed and perceived to have ulterior motives such as wanting to engage in paedophiliac behaviour (Mashiya et al, 2015;Moosa & Bhana, 2018;Msiza, 2019). The male teachers' masculinity is also questioned and at times they are belittled (Kagola & Khau, 2020;Msiza, 2020).…”

Reflecting on Sexuality Education in Teacher Education: Using a Life History Methodology of a Same-Sex Desiring Male Foundation Phase Teacher

“…The positioning of FP as suitable work for women is underpinned by the assumption that FP teaching is care work and that women are better carers than men (Msiza, 2020). Kagola and Khau (2020), in their study on school governing bodies, found that gender played a significant role in the division of labour, particularly in the employment of FP teachers. Bhana (2016) posited that the maintenance of a gendered division of labour in FP functions as a mechanism to disassociate men from working in this educational phase.…”