Mates looking after the boys : mentoring male primary teachers in Central Queensland

Recently there has been much talk about the declining numbers of male primary teachers and the imminent retirement of experienced male teachers from our schools. This talk has been punctuated by discourses such as the ‘crisis in masculinity’ and the lack of father figures in ‘those dysfunctional’ families. Consequently there have been calls to get more males into teaching – specifically the right kind of males. Significantly this is also countered by comments of ‘not my son’. These kinds of comments have brought forward various issues that impact on male bodies when they perform as teachers. In this paper I outline a male mentoring program called MATES suggested for supporting male pre-service teachers and the underlying themes of hegemonic masculinity, ‘old boy networks’ and challenging traditional images of the ‘good’ teacher. In discussing this male mentoring program I highlight first, specific issues found in the current research literature that concern the construction of the male ‘teacher’ body, thus establishing why a male mentoring program was seen as necessary and then second, I detail the program, followed by what has been done so far in both the Catholic and State systems in the local Rockhampton and Mackay school districts to support male primary teachers through the Mates program.