Outnumbered nine to one in the teacher-training colleges, male teachers may soon face extinction, writes Louise Holden

Ninety per cent of the students attending the colleges of education, which train primary teachers, are female. The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) last year issued the warning that men would be gone from our national schools by 2040.

Is it a problem? The Department of Education seems to think so, and has recently set up a committee to look at the issue. Colloquially known as the "males in teaching committee", the group has been charged with stemming the flow of men from primary schools. They may soon have to set up another committee to do the same at post-primary level.

The president of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (Asti), Susie Hall, recently told conference delegates that while 35 per cent of current second level teachers are men, less than 15 per cent of new Asti members come from the ranks of the next generation of male teachers. This augurs badly for gender balance in the post-primary sector. Why are men staying out of the classroom? Prof Sheelagh Drudy, head of the education department at UCD, has spent several years looking at the subject of gender and teaching, and says the feminisation of teaching is an international trend that will not be easy to reverse.

"Many male school students do not feel that there is a supportive environment for their teaching aspirations. Teaching is seen as a woman's job, and even those with an ambition to teach are not likely to be very open about it with their peers." In the course of her interviews, Prof Drudy spoke to male students who had put primary teaching on their CAO list but hadn't told friends or family about it.

Teaching at second level does not have the same associations with femininity and nurturing so the rate of male attrition has not been so dramatic. Nonetheless, the Asti's falling male membership suggests that over the next decade men will become a rarer sight in our second-level schools too. A recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report entitled Teachers Matter: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers flags feminisation as an issue for schools right across the developed world.

"Many countries are concerned that the proportion of males in teaching is declining, especially in light of concerns about boys' achievement in schools," the authors report. "On average, males constitute only 20 per cent of primary teachers in OECD countries and data on trainee teachers collected for this study suggest that this proportion is likely to decline further in coming years."

Whether the feminisation of our schools constitutes an interesting trend or a crisis is still a matter for debate. "The evidence suggests that we should be wary of attributing patterns of male underachievement to women teachers. The problem is more complex, multifaceted and embedded in the social structure," says Prof Drudy. Most educators are slow to suggest that fewer males in our schools means a raw deal for students.

There are wider issues to consider, however. Professions that become overtly feminised have a tendency to lose prestige. Women do not fight as hard for improved pay and conditions, not least because their blend of work and family commitments often leaves little time for active union membership. Pay and conditions for teachers in Ireland have declined relative to other professions as the number of male teachers has declined, although there is no evidence to link the two trends.

While men and women may bring equal standards to the classroom, a paucity of males can have a damaging effect on extracurricular offerings within schools. It's more difficult to find skilled and willing football and GAA coaches among female teachers.

There is also the issue of equality. The current system of selection for the colleges of education seems to be more challenging to boys than girls. Honours Irish is required for primary teaching and twice as many girls as boys take honours for the Leaving Cert. If a boy wants to take on teaching as a profession, he needs to decide at Junior Cert. With few role models in the profession the odds are against a teenage boy taking this option.

The points for teaching are high and girls are doing better in the Leaving Cert, putting them at a statistical advantage when it comes to selection. The minority of boys who choose education are disadvantaged. Last year, 15 per cent of applicants to colleges of education were male but they got in only at a rate of one in 10.

The social implication of the trend is regressive, too. Many women choose teaching because it offers the kind of work/life balance that allows greater parental involvement. Are fathers not interested in jobs that offer more time with the family? Educational researchers are increasingly focusing on the feminisation issue as unease about the trend grows. It may not bother our students, but the extinction of the male teacher could be a big loss to the rest of us.