In recent weeks, there have been several disturbing headlines illuminating allegations brought against a number of teachers, particularly males, in what could be deemed as inappropriate sexual conduct with students.

Child abuse is not unique to Jamaica, but now is an opportune time to take preventative actions to protect other children and eradicate the issue.

Arguably, there are a number of factors that must be taken into account when we discuss and attempt to address the matter of male teachers. However, I will focus on the need to be very deliberate in recruiting, training, and supporting male teachers to prevent further occurrences in which our children become prey to those with tendencies, urges, and desires to violate them physically and emotionally.

As a teacher educator I am convinced that the adage that says, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” is a total fallacy. The history of teacher education in Jamaica has its roots in colonial practices and beliefs that were authoritative, teacher-centred, oppressive, and a means of controlling the masses through selected methodologies and content that favoured our European masters.

As we seek to, inter alia, “professionalise” the teaching profession through the Jamaica Teaching Council, whose legislation is now before a joint select committee of Parliament, and implement curriculum reforms, it is imperative that we pay keen attention to teaching and the preparation of teachers in relation to character development, values, integrity, and moral responsibility.

As I have often conveyed to pre-service teachers, teaching is not only about the cognitive development of their students. It also requires, among other things, keen attention to students’ affective development. Teachers are guardians and stewards of the nation’s children, who are vulnerable and in need of guidance, support, and protection.

For decades, teaching has been a feminised profession in which the majority of individuals who enter teacher training are females. Notwithstanding, there is a relatively steady annual enrolment of males in teacher training. There have also been targeted initiatives by institutions, such as The Mico University College and Shortwood Teachers’ College, to recruit potential males to pursue teacher training.

Certainly, in addressing the paucity of quality male teachers in our schools, these initiatives are commendable and should be supported and promoted at all levels. But it is evident that the specialised recruitment of males into the teaching profession is not enough.

A few years ago I conducted a research study with final-year pre-service male teachers, which explored their experiences during teacher training. Two of the findings that are particularly relevant to this article are:

i) male pre-service teachers felt inadequately prepared to deal with issues of sexual advances by students and

ii) male pre-service teachers also require exemplary male teacher educators as role models.

Personally, these findings were not surprising as I, too, entered the teaching profession at a very young age and in an all-girl secondary school.

Let us not be ostriches who bury our heads in the sand. The stark realities that face teachers are multifaceted.

Teachers, especially at the secondary level, interface and interact with students who are at a very unique and impressionable phase of their development as they seek to explore and understand their sexual identities. Arguably, the advancements in technology also compound the issue. There are students, males and females, who make sexual advances to both male and female teachers.

From the recent accounts in the media, though, some of our male teachers are the ones who lack the fortitude to ignore and resist these advances made by students. Or, they themselves (teachers) initiate such entanglements. Whatever the case is, let us endeavour to save this endangered species as they are so critical to the teaching profession.

THE WAY FORWARD

As previously stated, teaching is a feminised profession, and this is evident at all levels. On an annual basis, only a minute number of males leave teacher training institutions qualified to teach at the early childhood and primary levels. Fortunately, the numbers are a bit higher for graduates trained to teach at the secondary level.

I contend, though, that with the myriad challenges that face our children, especially the absence of admirable father figures in the home, more male teachers are needed. On this premise I proffer the following recommendations.

Firstly, the recruitment of prospective teachers has to be more deliberate. Prospective teachers, regardless of gender, must demonstrate, prior to admission to teacher training, that they possess the rudiments to exhibit professional judgement in their interaction with students. Given that there is no age limit to admissions, perhaps we should also require a thorough background check of these applicants to ascertain if they have had issues with the law as it relates to their conduct with children.

Secondly, it is vital that teacher training institutions provide formal curriculum experiences that offer targeted support to pre-service teachers, especially males, to deal with issues of sexual advances by students and inappropritate sexual conduct with students. I am aware that pre-service teachers are exposed to theories of ethics during training, but as illuminated by my study, mentioned earlier, there is a dire need for training and support in relation to how male teachers react and deal with the aforementioned issues.

Thirdly, even at the tertiary level, pre-service teachers also need role models. Teacher training institutions need to revise their own recruitment strategies in an effort to attract and retain male teacher educators who will serve as positive role models for pre-service male teachers. Beyond their academic responsibilities, male teacher educators have to be relatable and serve as mentors to the neophyte male teachers who will eventually have to deal with the evolving dynamics of educating and working with children.

Finally, schools have a responsibility to their teachers to support them on their individual and collective journeys. In this regard, administrators should ensure that they are vigilant and proactive in treating cases or allegations of inappropriate behaviour, not only where teachers are concerned, but also students.

To conclude, I reiterate my stance that teaching is not a unidimensional profession. It requires teachers who have students’ best interests at heart and will ensure that they are cared for and protected.

Male teachers continue to remain in the minority, but they have major roles and responsibilities as they contribute to the development of our children. In this regard, teacher education institutions are poised to ensure that pre-service male teachers are properly screened, trained, and supported. Similarly, training does not end upon the awarding of a degree. School administrators, too, have a vital role to play to ensure that those employed in schools are the best that we retain.

Keriffe Clark is an Erasmus+ scholar, teacher educator, and president of the Association of Graduate Researchers in Education at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or keriffe.clark@gmail.com.