Ministry: Kindergartens Need Male Teachers
The Ministry of Education said it would like to see more men working as kindergarten teachers.
During the last school year, there were just 27 male kindergarten teachers in Estonia, in sharp contrast to the number of female kindergarten teachers - 8,356.
While several Nordic countries have special programs dedicated to recruiting men to work with the youngest members in society, Estonia does not. "We haven't initiated any programs specifically designed to increase the portion of men working as kindergarten teachers, but the state does motivate young men to become teachers, whether in general education schools or as teachers in pre-school institutions," ministry spokesman Asso Ladva told Postimees.
"The kindergartens that have male teachers are very satisfied with their work, and they try to keep them around," Ladva said.
At the other end of education, women formed just 18 percent of professors and leading researchers in 2009. Nevertheless, women comprised 55 percent of lecturers and researchers in general, and 40 percent of senior researchers and assistant professors.
Ott Tammik