Special Series on Girls and Women in Education

ABSTRACT

Teachers' careers have been approached from a number of angles. Some writers conceptualize careers primarily as individual decisions, while others emphasize the structural constraints that shape and limit careers. One such constraint is the gender differentiation that pervades the teaching occupation, as demonstrated by statistics that show men disproportionately in management roles. Generally neglected is the middle ground, ways in which perceptions and actions are influenced by daily experiences in a workplace context. This article explores this middle ground, drawing upon an ethnographic study conducted over several years in two primary schools in England. Teachers were interviewed, some on four or five occasions, and observed in staffrooms, classrooms, and other venues.

Results suggest that career plans are provisional and changeable, especially although not exclusively for the women. Most teachers believed men had a career advantage in primary school teaching, but there was little sense of outrage about it. Some teachers blamed themselves for “mistakes” they had made, such as staying too long in one school. Women teachers, especially those with children, juggled their commitments adroitly, with moral but rarely domestic support from their husbands. Head teachers were particularly influential in providing support and opportunities.