The female face of dedication
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Teaching has long been recognised as one of the most noble and respected professions throughout history. Teachers are often under valued and under appreciated but in every sense, are one of the most essential professionals in any society, irrespective of economics and geography. To put it in context without too much effort: What would any of us be, if not for our teachers…our mentors…educators? Most teachers spend their lives learning, researching, caring, nurturing and in many ways they play the role of parents away from parents, who spend all their time and effort bringing up and educating other people’s children.
Interestingly I have often observed that in most institutions and establishments of learning, more often than not, women outnumber the men. In most schools, in a very general sense, there tend to be more women teachers in primary schools with there being more men joining the statistics as things progress towards secondary/senior school. Areas such as arts and sports also have rather varied recruitment, although once again, in a general sense there is a sense that there are more female teachers in the field of arts, whilst in the sporting arena of education, there is a tendency for it to be more male dominant.
These observations however, beg the question: Why is the teaching profession so heavily populated by females? Is it because teaching is traditionally seen as a ‘noble’ profession better suited to women? That there is an inherent ‘maternal instinct’ in women, which makes it a natural fit for women? Or perhaps it has to do with the working hours being more conducive to women, especially those who have – or hope to have – families. The school holidays work well with both the staff and students sharing similar periods outside the classroom…or perhaps it is just plain economics – State teaching jobs, whilst often falling short on the economic scale when compared with those in the private sector, usually ensure a certain financial security after retirement by way of pensions and other benefits…or maybe it’s just plain habit or tradition that has legions of women walking the well trodden path that leads to the age old profession of educating others.
Figures in the Databank at the Microdata Catalogue of the World Bank during an analysis conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics, reveal some very interesting statistics with regards to female teachers involved in Primary education around the world in 2014.
According to the study, economically developed nations have more than double the percentage of female teachers when compared with their male counterparts. High income nations account for 81% of female teachers as opposed to 40% of them in low income nations. To break it down further, figures for Europe and North America come in at 85% and 86% respectively. Conversely, and somewhat surprisingly, South Asia accounts for only 49% of female teachers at Primary level education; the Arab world was 59% and the sub Sahara Africa accounts for 45% of female teachers.
Writing for the U.K. Telegraph in 2013, the Education Editor, Graeme Paton, claimed that
“Teaching in primary schools (was) still seen as a woman’s job”. He observes that “The early years workforce is still skewed dramatically towards women as a result of deeply ingrained gender stereotypes combined with fears that men will be falsely labelled as paedophiles, it is claimed…Research by Nottingham Trent and Bedfordshire universities suggested that a “number of consistent stereotypes and barriers” stopped many men entering the profession in the first place.The conclusions follow the publication of figures showing that around a quarter of primary schools in England – 4,500 – are staffed entirely by women.”
Elizabeth Boyle, the Kampf Prize winner at the MIT Programmes and Gender Studies in the USA in “The Feminization of Teaching in America”, attempts to chronicle and explore the feminisation of primary and secondary education in the United States from colonial times to the present, exploring the causal and correlative effects of societal factors on women’s participation in teaching. As the gender ratios of teachers changed, so did the pay and the social prestige associated with teaching. Scholars disagree about why teaching transitioned from a male occupation in the colonial period to a female occupation in 1900. Researchers have credited the varying need for teachers, the public’s perception of early education, changes in views on the necessary skills for a teacher, and perceptions of men and women’s characteristics and appropriate occupations…It is often difficult, especially in historical studies, to distinguish between causes, effects, and coincidences. The teaching profession changed slowly, and the degrees of feminisation as well as its causes differed across the country. Several themes run through all of these historical periods, affecting the degree and ways in which teaching was feminized. Careers open to men and women have changed. Society’s perceptions of teachers and women have evolved. The hierarchy of education and the social status of teaching has affected its feminisation. Society viewed the social and personal characteristics of teachers differently throughout American history. It is my view that all of these factors have evolved and interacted together, resulting in the trends towards and away from teaching as a feminised profession.”
Whichever way one examines it, for whatever reason, the teaching profession is one which is almost ‘automatically’ associated with those of the female gender. Having received all my primary and secondary education here in Sri Lanka through the national education system, my experiences of teachers in school, was predominantly that of the female kind. I could count just a couple of teachers at Advanced Level who were men (and by which I mean just two – one for Accounts and one for Physics) but again not within the school system, but as external teachers. Even in the world of extra curricular activities, I often observed that the teachers who were well respected in the field of arts, were predominantly women. That is not to say there were no men who were as dedicated and committed, simply that as an Artiste and for the purposes of this column, I will focus on a few female teachers of repute in the broadest sense of art and education. Women who have been untiring in their efforts to disseminate their knowledge and understanding of a subject they were passionate about and in turn took great pains to create as great a love for, within their students. Whilst the list is by no means exhaustive and in no particular order, Professor Maithree Wickramasinghe, Mary Anne David, Vajira Chitrasena, Sita Joseph de Saram, Iranganie Serasinghe, Nanda Malini, Sumitra Peiris, Mary Billimoria, Wendy Whatmore, Upekha Chitrasena, Oosha Saravanamuttu, Wendy Holsinger, Goolbai Gunesekara, Mercy Nalini Edissuriya, Sita Siriwardena, Somalatha Subasinghe, Mariazelle Gunathilaka, Neela Wickramasinghe, Anoma Wijewardene, Bridget Halpé, Deanna Jayasuriya, Khulsum Edirisinghe, Kumari Hapugalle, Ramya De Livera Perera, Professor Yasmine Gooneratne, Anne Ranasinghe, Rosalind Mendis, Punyakante Wijenaike, Ramani Fernando, Yoland Aluwihare, Marie Alles Fernando, Dr Jean Arasanayagam, Ameena Hussein, Dushy Perera all come to mind.
I stress, the list is by no means exhaustive nor all inclusive and we are blessed that the list could go on and on. Yet this remains merely a snap shot of revered Sri Lankan women who have been tireless in their efforts to share their passion and love for the arts, crafts, language and for education for decades and have not only excelled as individuals in their own right, but also been selfless and generous as educators. Irrespective of the fact that they are women, their dedication as teachers in the broadest sense of the arts, the written word and education is something to treasure. I for one will always be grateful for their contribution to our society and would like to take this opportunity to celebrate these often hidden gems bearing the unifying title of being the Female Face of Dedication.
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