Date of Award
4-2021
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
School of Education
First Advisor
Dr. Karen Buchanan
Second Advisor
Dr. Gary Sehorn
Third Advisor
Dr. Terry Huffman
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of four longterm male elementary classroom teachers. Each of the participants had spent at least 25 years as a classroom teacher at the elementary level in a Pacific Northwest school district. The study utilized a three-interview protocol to learn from the stories of long-term male elementary teachers, in order to discern what encouraged and sustained them to remain in the elementary classroom. Several themes were noteworthy: a) participants stuck by their teaching priorities, b) believed in the importance of the male perspective in elementary schools, c) recognized their impact on all students, and d) genuinely believed that the good of elementary classroom teaching outweighed the challenges. Identified implications for educational practice and policy include effective recruiting of male teacher candidates and collaboration to ensure male elementary teachers benefit from collegial relationships with others like them.
Recommended Citation
Turner, Maranda, ""You Don't Have to be a Head Teacher": Perceptions of Long-Term Male Elementary Teachers on Why They Stay in the Classroom" (2021). Doctor of Education (EdD). 160.
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/edd/160