– Maybe men think that working in a nursery is not a “man’s job”. But it is, and we need more men in the profession, says André Rosvoll Andersen. André Rosvoll Andersen has received comments from friends that the profession he has chosen is not typical for men. Photo: Kaj Hjertenes / news He has been sure that he wants to work in a kindergarten since he had his first day at work as a 15-year-old. He works at the Espira Scala Tasta kindergarten in Stavanger. Eight of the employees are men, while 14 are women. – Here they focus on getting more men into the profession. It shows that we are a resource and that we also belong in the nursery, not just ladies, says André’s colleague, Anders Karlsen. The number of men who work in the nursery was an important reason why Karlsen wanted to work here. But having so many employed men in a nursery is not normal, neither in Rogaland nor the rest of the country. Dropouts from studies are higher among boys One in four who start kindergarten education are men. But in total, only 10 percent of the country’s kindergartens are men. In Rogaland, only 7 percent of all nursery staff are men. Per Einar Sæbbe believes that men are attracted to men in the nursery profession. Photo: Elisabeth Tønnessen Per Einar Sæbbe thinks it is gratifying that a quarter of the students are men, but points out that the dropout over the three years is greater among boys. He is an associate professor at the Department of Kindergarten Teacher Education at the University of Stavanger. – What causes men to fall off? – Maybe someone doesn’t quite know what they have searched for and come across, which causes them to drop out. It has been over 20 years since the government decided that the proportion of men in kindergartens must increase. Nevertheless, the proportion of male nursery staff has remained stable at 10 per cent ever since 1997. Now the application deadline for autumn’s studies is just around the corner. 15 April at 23.59 is the deadline for applying for higher education. Stereotypes play a role – We have a very gender-divided labor market, and that is a challenge. We have arranged for the choice of education to be equally natural for boys and girls, but we see that the technical professions have a predominance of men and that the care professions have a predominance of women, says Sæbbe. Margret Hagerup believes that part of the problem is that boys and girls receive career guidance based on stereotypes. Margret Hagerup (H) thinks it is also important how we talk about those who work in the nursery and show that working in a nursery is both important, fun and interesting. Photo: Kjersti Hetland / news She is a parliamentary representative for the Conservative Party and sits on the education and research committee. Hagerup points out that it does not help that more boys start the education, when they do not finish. – Therefore, we must ensure that the study and internships maintain a high quality and ensure that the students thrive. Here, I think it is important to listen to the students themselves, let them influence their own daily studies and ask boys who are studying now what can be done better. Men are attracted to men Sæbbe has no doubt what the men who dismiss the nursery profession are missing out on. – Diversity! A kindergarten should be a society in miniature. That means there should be some younger, some older, some men, some women, some who can play the guitar, some who can climb trees and some who can play football and so on. He believes that men are attracted to men – in a nursery context. – Kindergartens that already have male employees find it easier to hire more male employees. Damian Peter Hopkin has been at Espira Scala kindergarten for 17 years, and enjoys being with his male colleagues. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news Damian Peter Hopkin agrees with that. He also works in Espira Scala Tasta with Anders and André. – I think that men want to stay in the profession because they have experienced being here with more men. If more people had experienced it, there would have been more of us.
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Men are dropping out of kindergarten education to work, at the Espira Scala kindergarten they want to do something about it – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
