“You're a man, so you're out of place”: reflexive thematic analysis of focus group with Italian teachers and educators

The following paper aims to understand how masculinity is endorsed, performed or subverted in educational and school contexts through the narratives and discourses of an Italian sample of teachers and educators of multiple genders. To investigate these relevant educational issues, we conducted a Thematic Analysis of four focus groups. Findings portrayed a complex social scenario marked by profound ambivalence towards masculinities and rigid gender hierarchies in pre-primary and primary schools. While men are highly considered to be role models of agentivity and authority, they also embody positive expectations of dismantling gender stereotypes and diferent types of sexual stigma: the mere presence of a male teacher in primary schools might raise concerns regarding physical contact and sexual deviance. Furthermore, men in teaching institutions face both privileges from their gender, perceived as more competent, practical, and authoritarian, but also discrimination via subtle forms of sexist devaluation as they are not considered “naturally suited” for childcare. These relevant psychosocial processes have been recently put in the spotlight within broader conversations on sex/gender issues in educational settings, media narratives on masculinity, and diversity management practices. The following paper provides recent qualitative data from the Southern-European context to shed light on the social constructs of gendered scripts within the narratives of teachers and educators, analysing within this broader social framework how to uncover representations, stereotypes, and biases regarding the schools’ roles in fostering fairness and equal opportunities, both for educators and students.