Why do Emirati males become teachers and how do cultural factors influence this decision?

Martina Dickson, Johann Le Roux


Teaching, particularly in primary schools, is globally a female-dominated profession. The reasons for this have been explored in many Western countries. Men in the United Arab Emirates face an additional dimension to the problem; that of the cultural expectation to be the provider and protector of the family. We interview six male final year students of a Bachelor of Education program who are soon to represent around ten percent of the total number of Emirati male teachers in Emirate. We examine their choice to become a teacher and how they dealt with cultural biases to do so. We report their suggestions for encouraging more Emirati men into the profession.


teacher training; teacher education; gender; UAE

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18538/lthe.v9.n2.111