Anyone with young children knows that male teachers are extremely rare in early childhood education. Unitec Lecturer Alex Williams has been looking at why this gender imbalance still exists, and talked to the men brave enough to be in this minority.

The lack of men in early childhood education (ECE) was an issue Unitec ECE Lecturer Alex Williams noticed right away when he moved into the sector. “As soon as I started visiting students out in the field, for me the question was huge: ‘Where are all the men?’ You go into any early childhood centre and you’re unlikely to see a man. For me it was profound,” he says.

Williams − who was a primary school teacher before moving into tertiary teaching 12 years ago − believes research in this area needs to be highlighted. “That initial exposure to ECE and the realisation that it’s a highly gendered profession where men are largely invisible was what originally sparked my interest,” he says. “But I also wanted to start a process of reframing early childhood education as a positive, meaningful, enjoyable and socially significant career for men.”

Read more: Where are all the Men?