More male teachers 'could help reduce suicide rates among boys', headteacher claims
The head of Robert Gordon’s College believes boys must have male role models in the classroom
A mental health crisis affecting teenage boys could be averted by having more male teachers in Scottish classrooms, the head of a prestigious school has said.
Robin Macpherson, Head of College at Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen, believes high suicide rates among young men could be alleviated if they saw strong male role models in English classes.
His intervention comes after recent government figures revealed only a third of secondary teachers are men, with males accounting for only 11 per cent of teachers in primary schools.
Mr Macpherson also said men who wish to work in early years and childhood are “unfairly stigmatised” due to fears over high profile sex offenders such as Jeffrey Epstein.
In an intervention written for The Scotsman, the experienced head teacher said: “There is a powerful connection between being able to articulate our feelings and having positive mental health; men account for just a quarter of all English teachers, but three quarters of all suicides.
“I can’t prove that these issues are directly linked, but my professional experience tells me that teenage boys who are struggling with relationships and self-esteem would benefit hugely from having a male English teacher who can help them navigate these incredibly difficult years.”
Scotland’s most recent teacher census shows that 66 per cent of secondary teachers are female, a figure that has steadily increased since 2011.
In Scotland’s primary schools, some 11 per cent of teachers are men and in Early Learning and Childcare settings, only 7.2 per cent of practitioners are male.
Education secretary Jenny Gilruth was asked in parliament in December for a breakdown of English teachers in each local authority in Scotland by sex.
Figures show just over a quarter - 25.9 per cent - are male.
Mr Macpherson said: “All of this does beg the question as to why men are less likely to become teachers now, and there are some uncomfortable truths here.
“Societal bias is a massive problem.
“Men who want to work with young children are often treated with suspicion. The Jeffrey Epsteins of this world are pushing us down a road of unfairly stigmatising men who work with young children.”
He goes on to say that expectations of men and teaching are also a barrier, with misconceptions that the profession is not masculine enough.
In English, the issue is even more pronounced.
Mr Macpherson said: “We have an urgent societal problem of how to raise young boys to be emotionally intelligent, giving them a clear sense of what should be expected of 21st century masculinity.
“English is a hugely influential subject in this regard, because it’s where you get to explore the full range of human emotions through exploring language and literature.”
Recruitment of male teachers has been a long running issue for Scotland’s classrooms.
Around a decade ago the situation was deemed so parlous that the NASUWT teaching union passed a controversial motion calling for positive discrimination to ensure that 30 per cent of teachers in all Scottish schools are male.
Mr Macpherson added: “If we want boys to grow up into men who are gentle, kind and empathetic, and who treat women with respect, we need more male teachers in our classrooms.
“You can pin your hopes on tackling misogyny on a social media ban for under 16s if you like, but I’d rather see the government make a big push to encourage men to step into our nurseries, primary schools and English classrooms.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Although the Scottish government does not directly employ teachers, we are providing £186.5 million to local authorities in 2025-26 to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels and maximise the number of teaching posts available.
“In January we also launched the “Teaching Makes People” recruitment campaign, which aims to highlight secondary education as an aspirational career for graduates and undergraduates across the country and encourage all our citizens to consider a career in teaching.”
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