Are men lacking caring qualities in preschool education? Perceptions about male preschool teachers versus their experiences as preschool teachers in Cambodia

This research examines the constraints affecting men's engagement in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and how male preschool teachers navigate these constraints. It employs sociological approaches to masculinity studies to examine Khmer cultural discourses on care and to analyse in-depth interview data from preschool actors (10 preschool directors and 10 female preschool teachers) and two male preschool teachers, conducted from February to May 2018 in Cambodia.

This research found that the preschool actors enacted Khmer cultural discourses on care in the gender regime of the ECEC sector at two levels: symbolic enactment created a gendered identity of men as being without sufficient caring qualities such as patience, tenderness and gentleness; while material enactment occurred through their appointment of women as preschool teachers despite their wish to employ male preschool teachers because of their masculine qualities and skills.

Men’s narratives of caring practices in the preschool and domestic spaces were transformative, however. This research contributes by analysing a continuum of men’s caring practices between these two spaces, helping us understand how caring men are as husbands and/or fathers and preschool teachers.