Gender in the Teaching Profession - University Students’ Views of Teaching as a Career

Oct 15, 2026

Research examines what motivates young adults, especially young women, to enter the teaching profession, focusing on how pre-service teachers perceive the field and the reputation of female and male teachers. Based on a pilot survey of 132 students using a questionnaire, the study identifies factors shaping the career choice. Findings support the role of habitus-field harmonisation in explaining women’s numerical predominance, while perceiving teaching as vocation and valuing life-work balance prove essential for respondents of both genders.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Gender and education debates

EU and Slovenia gender patterns in teaching

Gender in the Teaching Profession: University Students’Views of Teaching as a Career 1 Veronika Tašner*2, Mojca Žveglič Mihelič3 and Metka Mencin Čeplak4 • The purpose of our research is to gain a better insight into what encourages young adults, in particular young women, to enter the teaching profession. The empirical part of the article is based on a pilot study including 132 students, with data collection being based on a survey approach using a questionnaire. The research attempts to address the context from which the desired characteristics of pre-service teachers with regard to their future employment arise. We have therefore tried to single out factors influencing the choice of teaching as a career, and to examine pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards the reputation of female and male teachers. The data obtained confirm the thesis that the predominance of women in the teaching profession(s) is an effect of the harmonisation of the female respondents’ habitus and their perception of the field they are entering. The perception of the teaching profession as a vocation (calling) that can be linked to the concepts of caring, giving and helping also proves tobe very important. The data also confirms the thesis that the orientation towards life and work balance is important to our respondents of both genders. Keywords: gender, habitus, field, teaching as a career, vocation 1 In our paper we address the so-called feminisation of the teaching profession, which presupposes a binary gender classification. We therefore use the wording “both genders”, although we are aware of the plurality of genders that reaches beyond the socially dominant gender binarism. 2 *Corresponding Author. University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, Slovenia; veronika. [tasner@pef.uni-lj.si](tasner@pef.uni-lj.si). 3 University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, Slovenia. 4 University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Slovenia. Spol in učiteljstvo: pogledi univerzitetnih študentk_ov na učiteljski poklic5 Veronika Tašner, Mojca Žveglič Mihelič in Metka Mencin Čeplak • Namen naše raziskave je zagotoviti boljšivpogled v razloge, zaradi katerih se mladi odrasli, predvsem mlade ženske, odločajo za učiteljski poklic. Empirični del članka temelji na pilotni študiji, ki vključuje 132 študentk_ov pedagoške fakultete, podatki pa so zbrani s pomočjo vprašalnika. Z raziskavo smo poskušale analizirati, katere značilnosti bodočega poklica so za anketirane najbolj zaželene. S pomočjo tega smo poskušale identificirati dejavnike izbire učiteljskega poklica, posebej pa smo ugotavljale, kako repondentke_i percipirajo ugled učiteljic_ev. Rezultati sopotrdili hipotezo, da je številčna prevlada žensk v učiteljskih poklicihučinek harmonizacije percepcije polja, v katerega stopajo respondentke (tj. učiteljskega poklica) s svojim habitusom. Pri tem se je kot posebejpomembna izkazala percepcija učiteljskega poklica kot poklicanosti, ki jo je mogoče povezati s koncepti skrbi, dajanja in pomoči. Rezultatipotrjujejo tudi tezo, da je možnost usklajevanja zasebnega življenja in poklicnega dela pomembna za vse repondentke_e ne glede na spol. Ključne besede: spol, habitus, polje, poučevanje kot poklic 5 Tema našega prispevka se nanaša na t.i. feminizacijo učiteljskega poklica, ki predpostvalja binarnospolno delitev, zato uporabljamo konvencionalni termin “oba spola”, a se zavedamo pluralnostioziroma mnogoterosti spolov, ki presegajo družbeno prevladujoč spolni binarizem. Introduction In the literature on gender and education, the theme of the teaching profession as a highly gendered profession has a significant place. One of the topical subjects in current debates remains the question of why the decision to enter teaching as a career remains so gendered, just as it does in certain others professions (Asimaki & Vergidis, 2013; Bourdieu, 2001; Drudy, 2008; Richardson & Watt, 2006; Riddell & Tett, 2006) . International data for EU countries show th

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study?

To understand what encourages young adults, particularly young women, to enter the teaching profession.

How was the empirical part of the research conducted?

It used a pilot study with 132 students, collecting data through a questionnaire survey approach.

What key factors does the research highlight for choosing teaching as a career?

It emphasizes habitus-field harmonisation, teaching perceived as vocation (caring, giving, helping), and the importance of life-work balance for respondents of both genders.

Oct 15, 2026

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