‘Please can we have a man?’: male trainee English teachers entering predominantly female English departments

Abstract

This article arises from an ethnographic study of men training to become secondary English teachers on two university PGCE courses. The socialisation of male trainee teachers has been researched in the areas of early years and primary schools but has been overlooked hitherto in the secondary sector in spite of the feminisation of English being widely perceived. More women than men teach English in secondary schools, so initial training takes place in predominantly female English departments. The implications for female mentors, who are largely responsible for the school‐based training and assessment of the male trainees, are explored alongside the role played by a minority of male teachers in English departments. The experience of training forces the men to reconsider their masculinities and to renegotiate their relationships with colleagues, pupils and the subject of English.