Concept of Preschool Children of Their Male Teachers

CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS
A Thesis presented to the

College of Home Economics
In Partial Fulfilment for the Degree of

Bachelor of Science in Family Life and Child Development
By:
Al Paolo D. Castillo
University of the Philippines

Diliman, Quezon City
May 2019December 2018

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, DILIMAN
COLLEGE OF HOME ECONOMICS
Bachelor in Science in Family Life and Child Development
Concept of Preschool Children of Their Male Teachers
Asst. Prof. Excelsa C. Tongson

Department of Family Life and Child Development
College of Home Economics
May 2019
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APPROVAL SHEET
The thesis attached hereto, entitled, “CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL

CHILDREN OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS” prepared and submitted by AL
PAOLO D. CASTILLO, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of
Bachelor of Science in Family Life and Child Development, is hereby accepted.
ASST. PROF. EXCELSA C. TONGSON

Adviser
MR. RAMON JERICHO C. SANTOS MR. ERICKSON M. MACLID

Member Member
Accepted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science
in Family Life and Child Development.
DR. AURORITA T. ROLDAN

Dean
CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the children I
interacted with throughout my stay in FLCD. Thank you for inspiring me to pursue this
thesis, and for making a long-lasting mark in my life.
To my thesis adviser, Teacher Etchel, thank you for always motivating me to push
forward, and for giving my thesis direction. I would not have been able to see my thesis
come into fruition if not for your helping hand from the very beginning.
To my thesis panel, Teachers Jico, Erickson, and Edgar, thank you for the wisdom
and guidance, as well as the patience in reviewing and critiquing all my drafts.
To my friends and loved ones whom I met throughout my whole stay in UP, thank
you for being my constants and for being true friends to me. I am constantly challenged
and encouraged to become a better person because of you all.
To Mama, thank you for being my rock and support. Thank you for always
expressing your love to me through your many selfless acts for my sake. Thank you for
helping me stand up when I fall down, and for giving me the strength to carry on. I love
you.
To Daddy, thank you for raising me to be a God-fearing and independent young
man. Thank you for always looking out for me, and for being my guardian angel. I await
the day when I can see you again up in heaven.
And finally, to the Lord Almighty, thank You for the grace of strength and
knowledge to complete this thesis. Thank you for providing me comfort and for
empowering me. I lift my work unto You, as I proclaim Your honor and glory.
CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS vi
ABSTRACT
This study aims to discover how preschool children view their male preschool teachers,
in light of prevailing gender-stereotypical mindsets towards males in early childhood
education. In addition to this, the study seeks to determine the concepts of these children
across three age groups in both sexes. To achieve this, thirty preschool children from four
different preschools within Metro Manila were randomly selected for a semi-structured
interview and participatory drawing. Through these methods, the participants were able
to express their thoughts and experiences with their male preschool teachers. The
responses were analyzed and categorized into themes found across the data. Results show
that preschool children are able to view their male preschool teachers in multiple ways,
and that they view their male teachers as companions, task helpers, learning guides,
classroom managers and facilitators, and promoters of independence. Additionally,
younger participants were shown to view their male teachers more frequently as task
helpers, while the older participants view their male teachers more frequently as
companions and helpers. The two sexes were shown to have little differences in their
concepts of their male preschool teachers. The children were shown to describe their
teachers through their environment and adult interactions. Moreover, the children did not
mention the sex of their teachers to provide explanations to their answers. With these
findings, the study may allow for the development of more appropriate practices, as well
as a more flexible perspective on gender roles within the school and inside the family.
Keywords: preschool children, male preschool teachers, concepts, sex and gender
CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page ii
University Permission Page iii
Certificate of Approval iv
Acknowledgement v
Abstract vi
Table of Contents vii
List of Appendices viii
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
Chapter I: Introduction 1
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 2
Research Objectives 3
Significance of the Study 3
Chapter II: Review of Related Literature 6
Concept-Building Among Children 6
Significance of Early Childhood Education 9
Male Teachers in Early Childhood Education 12
Gender Stereotyping in Early Childhood Education 15
Chapter III: Research Design and Methodology 20
Theoretical Framework 20
Conceptual Framework 23
Operational Definition of Terms 24
Scope and Delimitations 25
Research Approach and Design 26
Research Locale 26
Research Participants
275
Sampling Design
285
Research Instruments
286
Ethical Considerations
296
Data Gathering Procedures 30
CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS viii
Data Analysis 31
Chapter IV: Results and Discussion 33
Chapter V: Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations 93
References 9
List of Appendices
Appendix A. Interview Guide 105
Appendix B. Pilot Testing
108Informed Consent Form
Appendix C. Informed ConAssent Form 110
Appendix D. Assent Form 112
Appendix E. Profile of Participants 114
CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS ix
List of Tables
Table 1. Sampling of Participants 28
Table 2. Summary of Participants
345
Table 3. Concepts of Preschool Children of Their Male Teacher 35
Table 4. Concepts Related to Adult Companion 36
Table 5. Concepts Related to Learning Guide 53
Table 6. Concepts Related to Task Helper 65
Table 7. Concepts Related to Classroom Manager 72
Table 8. Concepts Related to Routine Facilitator 78
CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS x
List of Figures
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework 23
Figure 2. Dancing Together 37
Figure 3. Dancing with the Teacher 39
Figure 4. Swimming 41
Figure 5. Going to the Playground 42
Figure 6. Swimming 43
Figure 7. Playing with Teacher 44
Figure 8. Throwing a Ball 45
Figure 9. Talking to the Teacher 47
Figure 10. Talking to the Teacher 48
Figure 11. Making a Rainbow while Teacher Watches 49
Figure 12. Holding Hands 51
Figure 13. I Like to Learn with Teacher 56
Figure 14. He Draws on the Blackboard 57
Figure 15. Teaching Something on the Board 57
Figure 16. Doing the Activity while Teacher Watches 60
Figure 17. Planting with Teacher 61
Figure 18. Listening 63
CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS 1
CHAPTER 1 Commented [Office1]: Put line numbers
Introduction
Background of the Study
In this age of more vocalized progressive thinking, the fight for gender
equality is now steadily growing stronger and stronger. Many have taken upon
themselves to forward this advocacy and bring these ideals in their respective
careers. However, the thinking of gender roles and stereotypes are still prevalent
in our society today especially in the field of early childhood education. Despite
many studies aimed at clarifying misconceptions surrounding male preschool
teachers in early childhood education (Owen, 2003), the group remains
stereotyped and generalized by society. Society disapproves of males joining the
early education workforce due to many reasons, which many researchers have
taken upon themselves to discover.. Research has shown that many people still
view males joining the early childhood education workforce in a negative light
(Erden, Ozgun, & Ciftci, 2011). Many researchers therefore have striven to
discover the reasons behind these perceptions. Using a multitude of methods such
as interviews, case studies, and statistical tools, these studies yielded many
different results such as negative stereotyping, mistrust, and the general
perception that males are unfit to be part of such a nurture-extensive field such as
early childhood education (Wilson, 2011; Tufan, 2018). Other studies concerning
this field revolved around the importance of having men in the field of early
childhood education, possibly to address societal concerns and judgments, as well
as being role models for children to follow (Sak, Sahin, & Sahin, 2012;
Cunningham & Watson, 2002). However, there are also studies that show the
dangers of tokenizing male preschool teachers (Murray, 1996; Wilson, 2011).
Although it is evident that there have been a number of studies that aimed to
eradicate negative perceptions on male teachers in the field, these studies have a
few limitations and gaps that this study will aim to address. This includes the lack
of children representation in viewing the male preschool teacher across ages and
sexes, which is why in this study, the researcher will attempt to determine the
concept of preschool children of their male preschool teacher.
The other aspect of this study is how children build their concepts
throughout their early childhood. There are many studies which aimed at
discovering the process of this concept-building such as the concept of sex and
gender roles (Anggard, 2011). These studies compared and contrasted the concept
of children across ages and across between the two sexes. Other studies showed
that children are also able to learn different concepts through other methods such
as play, observation, and interactions with adults (Gross, 2012; Tongson, 2017).
This paper aims to view male preschool teachers through a different
perspective, the child’s, in the hopes that the results may contribute to not only the
dissolution of society’s misconceptions towards male preschool teachers, but also
to encourage more males to enter the field.

Statement of the Problem
Studies on preschool teachers and their effects on the lives of children are
largely focused on female teachers due to the reality of early childhood education
being a workforce dominated by women statistically shown by UNESCO,
showing that female teachers make up 90.97% of the population of early
childhood educators in 2016 (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, n.d.). The studies
that do focus on male preschool teachers mainly tackle either the causes of the
lack of male representation in the field, or the effects of having male teachers in
the classroom such as the research of Mukuna and Mutsotso (2012) and Besnard
and Letarte (2017). These studies often turn to the perceptions of adults such as
the parents or other teachers in order to accomplish their research objectives.
However, these studies have failed to take into consideration the perceptions of
another group- the children. The researcher aims to answer the question “How do
preschool children view their male teachers?” and as such, will aim to shed light
on the issue through a different perspective. Through this study, the researcher
will attempt to discover whether the views of the children are consistent with the
findings of other studies.
Objectives of the Study
This research aims to achieve the following objectives:
1. To describe the concept of preschool children of their male teachers
2. To determine the concepts of preschool children of their male teachers based
on their age and sex

Significance of the Study
The results of this study could allow further research in the improvement
of early childhood education programs by incorporating more men in the
workforce. The study could also provide a clearer understanding regarding male
preschool teachers and how children perceive them.
The study is beneficial to the discipline of Family Life and Child
Development and will prove the significance in further studies concerning
concept-building of children and could allow for more developmentally
appropriate early childhood practices both at home and in school. Furthermore, it
may be possible to positively influence parents and their perspective on male
preschool teachers, as this study presents a different angle to the issue at hand. If
society should become more accepting towards male preschool teachers, this may
also lead to becoming more open towards gender role reversals within the family
and in the workforce.
The discipline of Home Economics could also benefit from this study. The
study aims to emphasize the importance of daily interaction in the concept-
building of children. As such, this study could prove significant to this discipline
as it stresses the need for an environment conducive for learning and developing
not only in school, but at home as well. This study may be significant in
understanding some facets of children’s everyday lives such as their environment
and education.
Finally, the results of this research may prove to be significant in the
promotion of one of the seventeen sustainable goals of development, gender
equality. The results may shed some light on typically gender-exclusive traits and
could provide a more inclusive perspective, wherein men and women do not need
to be confined to the characteristics that society expects them to have.
Furthermore, this paper may hopefully inspire male preschool teachers to keep
challenging societal norms in terms of what males can and cannot do in the hopes
of achieving a truly gender equal society.

CHAPTER 2
Review of Related Literature
Concept-Building Among Children
Throughout the years, many scientists have formulated many different
theories as to how children make sense of the things around them. Gelman (2009)
posited through his research that children build concepts through the cooperation
of both accepting information given to them and learning through their own
volition (Gelman, 2009). However, in terms of developing their concept of
gender, the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement
(2018) states that preschool children develop their own concept of gender through
their environment and the adults around them.
Anggard (2012), on the other hand, argues that preschool children already
have a concept of gender roles and stereotypes, and is easily observed in their
play. The researcher observed children to play gender-stereotypical themed-
games like superheroes and war, wherein female children were not allowed to
play in (Anggard, 2011). The children also exhibited family play, which, although
also riddled with gender roles, may possibly allow some gender role reversals.
This may show that it is important for children to learn the concept of gender in
an environment that demotes gender roles and instead promotes gender equity
(Anggard, 2011). Other studies observed other types of play across children aged
3 through 6. One study observed that children aged 3-4 exhibit gendered role play
such as dress-up, and mostly prefer playing with peers of their own gender. The
frequency of gendered role play declines as children get older, however. Children
of 5-6 show flexibility in terms of gender roles during play (Halim, Ruble, Tamis-
Lemonda, & Shrout, 2013). Another study states that children reach their peak
gender rigidity, or their concept of strict gender roles, at 5-6 years of age.
Children are shown to become more flexible in terms of their concepts of gender
roles as they grow older. Though there were no correlations observed in the two
events, the study claims that early childhood experiences may have an impact on
other aspects of gender role concept-building (Trautner et al., 2005).
There are other concepts that may be also built upon through the use of
play. Gross (2012), through her article, introduced using play as a catalyst for
learning water concepts in children. She described many different types of play
that focus on the different concepts surrounding water. She also discussed the role
of a teacher in play, which is mainly to provide a conducive learning environment
that encourages exploration and communication (Gross, 2012). In addition to
Gross’ article, Piccolo and Test (2010) observed that three and four-year-olds
were able to exhibit skills in the areas of problem solving, communication, and
exploration through play. These children were also shown to have developing
spatial recognition skills. All of these skills were observed while the children
were playing with blocks, further strengthening the argument that play is a vehicle
for learning (Piccolo & Test, 2010).
Children are also capable of processing information around them and
building concepts based on this information. The findings of Ramsey (1991)
showed that children’s concepts of objects are widely dependent on the exposure
that children receive regarding these objects. Children are shown to gain
information through books as well as other media (Ramsey, 1991). This was
further built upon by the study of Tongson (2017) which concluded that Filipino
children are already capable of having a concept of poverty, albeit the concept
was shown to be limited to physical cues, such as the lack of different resources.
Moreover, the study shows that children are able to procure concepts, such as
poverty, through their interactions with more knowledgeable adults as well as
observing the interactions of adults and the concepts in question. The reason as to
why some children do not have a concept of poverty yet is possibly because their
parents have yet to introduce the concept to them (Tongson, 2017). Meanwhile,
Tafere (2012) introduces another factor to concept formation: context. Children
are said to have differing concepts on poverty based on their lived experiences, or
lack thereof, of poverty (Tafere, 2012). Some studies also observed distinct sex
differences in various concepts. Ramsey (1991) observed that boys were more
capable of distinguishing rich people from the poor, in comparison to girls who
were more capable of the opposite: distinguishing the poor from the rich
(Ramsey, 1991). Chang (2012), on the other hand, determined the concept of
children of science-related ideas through drawings. The study emphasized the role
of adult interaction and facilitation in helping children develop many different
concepts (Chang, 2012).
Studies conducted by these researchers proved that children gain
information through many different ways, which include play, observation, and
interaction. These show the importance of an enriching environment that not only
introduces new concepts to the children, but solidifying existing ones as well.
Fortunately, many parents are now understanding of the importance of early
childhood education.
Significance of Early Childhood Education
There is no question that during early childhood years, children are
exposed to a multitude of stimuli that enrich the different domains of
development. The brain of a child goes through rapid development, which means
that it can be largely affected by the environment that the child is subjected to.
Preschool education in particular, positively impacts a child’s cognitive, speech,
and socio-emotional skills (Yoshikawa, Weiland, Brooks-Gunn, 2016). As
children become subjected to bigger social spheres, their inter and intra-personal
development become increasingly important. Some of these skills include the
knowledge, expression, and regulation of one’s emotions. Thankfully, children
are much more able to comprehend their feelings and events happening to and
around them as they grow (Denham et al., 2003). Denham, Bassett, and Wyatt
(2010) added that the socio-emotional skills of children may be further developed
and honed with differing socialization styles among mothers and fathers. These
show that the development of the children’s emotional competence are affected
by their interactions with the adults around them (Denham et al., 2010).
Early Childhood Education does not only aid in the development of socio-
emotional skills, but cognitive skills as well. During this age, preschoolers are
also subjected to stimuli that allow the development of their executive functions.
Some of which are self control, working memory, and mental adaptability. These
may be developed in school through activities and even play (Diamond, Barnett,
Thomas, & Munro, 2007). Moreover, studies have shown that early childhood
education can make a lasting impact on a child. This was seen in a longitudinal
study of Peisner-Feinberg et al. (2001), wherein they determined that children
who attended early childhood education had higher scores in the areas of
language, math, cognitive, and attention skills. This was supplemented even more
with close child-teacher relationships (Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001). These
studies generally state that because early childhood is such a critical period for
learning and development, exposing children to an enriching environment with
close interpersonal relationships aid in their development (Peisner-Feinberg et al.,
2001). Experiences in the classroom contribute to the child’s development.
Activities inside the classroom specifically are shown to be related to the
development of a child’s language and math proficiency, while having having
close bonds with the teacher was were seen to have a lasting impact on a child’s
socio-emotional development. Besides this, the formation of close child-teacher
relationships helps supplement this development as well as enrich it with socio-
emotional learnings (Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001).
Preschool children with close child-student relationships were shown to
have less problem behaviors as they grew older (Peisner-Feinberg et al. 2001).
This shows that a preschool teacher’s roles are not only limited to guiding and
being a model to the children. Teachers must also be able to identify
developmental problems in the different domains of development such as the
socio-emotional domain, and intervene to resolve them as soon as possible
(Searle, Sawyer, Miller-Lewis, & Baghurst, 2014).
There are many different studies attempting to make sense of how the
cognitive domain is developed among children. Some studies, such as the study of
Yoshikawa and their colleagues (2016), claim that early childhood development is
at its most optimal when the child is subjected to an enriching environment
(Yoshikawa et al., 2016). On the other hand, there are some who take on a
Constructivist perspective. These studies claim that teachers are meant to serve as
merely facilitators to a child’s learning because children learn mostly on their
own, although external factors may aid in their learning (Yadav, 2016). Kudret,
Tekkaya, Cakiroglu, and Sungur (2009) also subscribe to this line of thinking,
stating that teachers should be the ones to provide a learning environment which
encourages independent thinking and learning.

In spite of contrasting views, these studies agree that the teacher does bear
responsibility in the child’s learning in one way or another. But although all these
gender-neutral arguments explain the significance of teachers and education in the
lives of children, males entering the workforce are rare, and preschool education
is led predominantly by female teachers.
Male Teachers in Early Childhood Education
Based on the statistics provided by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the percentage of female
preschool teachers in the Philippines back in 2003 was an overwhelming 96.5%.
This serves as evidence to the claim that pre-primary teaching is dominated by a
female workforce (UNESCO International Bureau of Education, 2006). Through
the years, the percentage has shrunk, but only by a few. UNESCO’s statistics
show that in the years 2015 and 2016, the percentage of female preschool teachers
in the Philippines were 90.54% and 90.97%, respectively (UNESCO IS, n.d.).
Many have tried to argue the significance of having a male preschool
teacher in the classroom. There are accounts such as Owen’s (2003) study which
states that parents, especially single mothers, prefer to have male preschool
teachers for the benefit of their children, specifically their sons. They claim that
having a male preschool teacher around provides the children an opportunity to
interact and build a relationship with a male role model. Other arguments state
that male preschool teachers benefit the preschool setting because their presence
in the classroom introduces a male role model. They could prove to be role
models for the children in terms of first-hand masculinity or to challenge the
stereotypes surrounding males. (Owen, 2003). This is affirmed by Cunningham
and Watson’s (2002) study which claims that male preschool teachers are also
seen as instrumental to the gender role development of children. They may serve
as examples to children that certain professions need not be dominated by a single
sex. These teachers may also be role models to other males, in the sense that they
may encourage other males to join the workforce (Cunningham & Watson, 2002).
Male preschool teachers are also said to have benefits outside child development
as well. According to Sak, Sahin, and Sahin (2012), female preschool teachers
view their male counterparts as important in the field not only due to their
possible influences to a child’s development, but also for their impact to the
development of female preschool teachers as well as early childhood education as
a whole (Sak et al., 2012). Gold and Reis (1982) argued that while these
assumptions would all be very beneficial for the children, especially the boys,
male and female teachers would need to have easily identifiable differences in
teaching and socialization styles. However, research has shown that the two sexes
do not differ greatly in terms of these at all, and are both actually very similar to
each other (Gold & Reis, 1982). This shows that the effects of having a male
teacher in the classroom may not be as profound as some people claim it to be
(Gold & Reis, 1982).
Several researchers who tried to determine the differences of male and
female teachers in the classroom were astonished to discover more salient

similarities than differences in their findings. One such study was Bullough’s
(2014), wherein the researcher determined similarities of motivations through
interviews and observations of both male and female teachers. These teachers
proudly exclaimed how they felt that being a teacher is what they were called to
do, and that teaching brings them great joy and satisfaction (Bullough, 2014).
Besides this, interactions of male and female teachers with male and female
children were not shown to have great differences either, and that children are
equally responsive towards both sexes (Van Polanen, Colonnesi, Fukkink,
Tavecchio, 2016). Even though males and females have many similarities in the
field, there are many studies that provide evidence showing how male preschool
teachers are beneficial for the development of a child and for early childhood
education in general. Besnard and Letarte (2017) observed children who had both
male and preschool teachers compared to children who only had female preschool
teachers. Results show that the presence of male preschool teachers positively
influenced a child’s social skills such as friendliness, confidence, and openness,
despite male preschool teachers having similar practices with females (Besnard &
Letarte, 2017).
Though there are similarities regarding the characteristics of both male
and female preschool teachers, there are a number of observed differences as well.
One such difference would be their attitudes towards play. Sandberg and
Pramling-Samuelsson (2005) studied this and concluded that male preschool
teachers tend to prefer physical play, which enables physical development, in

contrast to female preschool teachers, who tend to prefer more mellow and
relaxed play, which enables socio-emotional development. Male preschool
teachers were also seen to be more willing to engage in play along with the
children as compared to the female preschool teacher who are not as eager to do
so (Sandberg & Pramling-Samuelsson, 2005). This was also seen in Fagot’s study
where the researcher concluded that male teachers were indeed more committed
to providing physical play and affection towards the children (Fagot, 1981).
Langford (2008), researched on a different perspective regarding male
teachers and interviewed many male early childhood education students and
determined that although having a career in preschool education may lead to
negative judgment towards peers, family, and society, male preschool teachers’
motivations lie in their belief that they will be able to positively affect a child’s
life in the long run (Langford, 2008). This shows how there are many stereotypes
within the field of early childhood education, leading to it being a profession of
mostly females. Fortunately, this was a cause for concern for many researchers,
and thus, many have dedicated multiple studies to provide explanations as to why
early childhood education is an incredibly female-dominated profession until
now.
Gender Stereotyping in Early Childhood Education
There are many different studies revolving around the gender stereotypes
for both male and female preschool teachers. Women are stereotyped to be more
fitting to be preschool teachers because they are seen to be more nurturing and
that it is a better profession for them. Males, on the other hand, are perceived by
parents to be more impatient towards children and generally untrustworthy. These
perceptions are heavily influenced by culture and its society (Mukuna &
Mutsotso, 2012). Society’s perceptions on males needing to have masculine skills
and characteristics completely contrast the perception of educators as caring and
nurturing, contributing to the decisions of males against joining the early
childhood education workforce (Johnson, 2008). These perceptions are very much
evident and expressed outwardly as male preschool teachers have shared that they
are aware of these and experience disapproval from society (Wilson, 2011), while
some female preschool teachers even subscribe and agree to these notions (Tufan,
2018). These negative and discriminatory views are demoralizing for the male
preschool teachers, especially if these perspectives are from people they love,
such as their family and friends. Unfortunately, this ultimately leads to many in
the field to change their career choice (Erden et al., 2011).
Furthermore, Børve (2016)’s study focused on the causes for gendered
practices within the practiceworkforce. A big factor to this is shown to be the
tendency for men to avoid tasks and practices related to femininity, under the
guise of gender-neutral interests and competencies (Børve, 2016). Brandes,
Andra, Roseler, and Schneider-Andrich (2015), on the other hand, examined how
both sexes handled children, and saw that there were little to no differences in
terms of how they interacted with the children, save for their choice in activities.
The study showed that female teachers preferred handicraft activities more than
their male counterpart (Brandes et al., 2015).
However, there are also studies that show the dangers of tokenizing male
preschool teachers. Murray (1996) warns everyone that this mindset towards male
preschool teachers may prevent others from seeing the other different
contributions that these teachers may provide to early childhood education,
regardless of sex (Murray, 1996). This was also seen in a more recent study in
which a male preschool teacher was shown to have hostile feelings towards this
line of thinking. Male preschool teachers, similar to females in men-dominated
fields, desire to be seen as more than just their sex, rather simply a teacher to
children (Wilson, 2011). This is consistent with Gold and Reis’ (1982) findings,
in which many who wish to study on the significance of male teachers in early
childhood education fail to take into consideration other relevant factors revolving
around the male teacher such as their experience in teaching, teaching style, and
individual personality (Gold & Reis, 1982).
The emphasis of sex in the field of early childhood education could also
be attributed to the perceptions of people within the workforce. . Cameron
(2006)’s study contrasts Wilson’s, wherein the researcher interviewed men in
childcare and discovered that there were mixed perspectives on the reason why
they are seen to be role models. Though some participants wished to be a model
in terms of their moral values and other non-gendered characteristics, many of the
men responded that they are to be role models to the children simply because of
their sex (Cameron, 2006). This line of thinking is not necessarily wrong. In fact,
Martino and Kehler (2006) argue that male teachers should take it upon
themselves to challenge the existing gender norms and stereotypes and use their
sex as a statement of rebelling against societal standards, as it is their
responsibility as males in the field (Martino & Kehler, 2006).
Synthesis
Gathering all this information, children not only develop their different
socio-emotional skills in early childhood education, but the concepts of the things
around them as well. They were shown to gain knowledge for their concepts
through different media, such as play, observation, and their interaction with
adults and their environment. Thus, one can assess that preschool educators have
a very important role in the lives of the children that they teach. This goes for
both male and female preschool teachers. Gender role development, in particular,
could definitely be influenced by the guidance of competent teachers. If one aims
to alleviate strict gender roles among the children, it may be wise to include more
male preschool teachers in the picture. However, as seen in the research,
essentialist claims of male preschool teachers being beneficial in the classroom
just because of their sex are constantly being debunked and challenged. Despite
the similarities of both sexes in the field, there are still many prevailing
stereotypes surrounding male teachers that ultimately keep the profession a
female-dominated field. Thankfully, though, there are many studies that show
benefits of having male preschool teachers around, and there are also a few
studies that present anecdotes of parents who preferred having male preschool
teachers as well as female teachers. There are a few gaps in research, however,
and these gaps may be used to further forward the claim that male preschool
teachers are not what society views them to be. This is why the researcher aims to
determine how preschool children view their male preschool teachers, and if these
views are consistent with previous studies or if these challenge them.
Theoretical Framework
For the purposes of this research, the study will adopt Lev Vygotsky’s
Sociocultural Theory. Vygotsky constructed the theory mainly to determine how
one’s behavior is formed and developed throughout one’s lifetime. The theory
posited that there are close relations between one’s development and with one’s
physical and social environment (Vygotsky, 1978).
Behavior development in children was shown to be directly influenced with the
interplay of the child’s speech and environment. It would seem that children make
use of both physical and verbal actions towards solving a problem or achieving a
goal. Furthermore, Vygotsky stated that one determines the meaning of an action
or sign through the observation of others (Vygotsky, 1978).
Besides this, Vygotsky (1986) concluded that although concept formation
among individuals are solidified during adolescence, early childhood experiences
still play a part in it. The long process of honing and refining a concept is
emphasized as genuine concepts are only formed during the onset of maturity
during adolescence. The first stage of early childhood concept formation is
described as the process of putting seemingly unrelated objects into one pile or
“heap” in order to formulate a new idea. Building up from this stage, the second
stage is made up of, as Vygotsky called it, “complexes”. If the first stage groups
objects together using logic and thinking, complexes are objects grouped together
based on factual evidence formed through actual experience. Complexes are
subjected to much more refining over the child’s development, and eventually
become pseudoconcepts, which may seem like genuine concepts on the onset, but
are still simply complexes. Vygotsky differentiates this with actual concepts by
stating that the processes are different, and that children are limited to associating
objects with concrete perceptions. Pseudoconcepts are likened to a newly
germinated seed, in which adult interaction with the constant exposure to actual
concepts contributes to their transition to genuine concepts. Once again, Vygotsky
stresses the importance of social interaction in terms of developing concepts in
children (Vygotsky, 1967).
Although Vygotsky performed his experiments under the context of how
children learn language, many future studies also showed that children gain
different knowledge similarly. This may show that Vygotsky’s theory may also be
applied in a different context other than language development. Vygotsky himself
stated the following:
An interpersonal process is transformed into an intrapersonal one.
Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on
the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people
(interpsychological), and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This

applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the
formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual
relations between human individuals. (Vygotsky, 1978, p.57)
The Sociocultural Theory suggests that before a concept is internalized
and personalized, children first learn interpsychologically through their actions
with other people. Vygotsky also stated that the creation of an intrapsychological
is done over a long period of time, constantly being changed and altered based on
social interaction (Vygotsky, 1978).
The Zone of Proximal Development is another key concept and principle
found in the Sociocultural Theory. This concept is used to depict the relationship
between a child’s learning and development. It states that it is much better to
determine what children are able to do with the assistance of adults as compared
to what they are able to do on their own, called the actual developmental level.
Vygotsky claims that the actual developmental level depicts what mental
processes have already matured within a child, and thus does not need any more
developing. The Zone of Proximal Development, however, houses concepts and
skills that are still in the process of constructing and developing. This may prove
useful in constructing developmentally appropriate practices that will address
concepts and processes found in the Zone of Proximal Development and not the
actual development level (Vygotsky, 1978).
The study will be using Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory in analyzing the
results, specifically how a child’s environment influences the formation of their

concept of male preschool teachers. The concept of the Zone of Proximal
Development may also be taken note of to possibly determine if a child’s concept
of male preschool teachers have already solidified or are still under formation.
Conceptual Framework
Formatted: Left
Preschool Children’s
Concept of Male Preschool
Preschool Children Teachers
Age (4, 5, 6)
Sex (Male, Female) Who they are
What they do
Experiences with male
preschool teacher
Figure 1: Conceptual
Framework
The diagram above describes the process of the study and will incorporate
concepts posited in Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory. The leftmost box depicts
the participants of the study, preschool children from four to 6 years old, both
male and female. This figure shows how the aim of this research is to determine
the concepts of preschool children of their male preschool teacher. Some
indicators that could concretize the ideas are who the teacher is to the child, what
they do in the classroom, and the child’s experiences with the teacher. This is
based on the argument of the Sociocultural Theory that children learn concepts
initially through their environment and interaction with adults. Finally, the data
gathered among age groups and between sexes will be compared and contrasted
with one another in order to synthesize the results, ending with a clear view of
preschool children’s concept of male preschool teachers.
Operational Definition of Terms
1. Concept. For the purposes of this study, a concept is defined as how
children explain and describe their male preschool teacher, either with
abstract and logical reasoning or with factual evidence and experiences.
2. Male Preschool Teacher. A male preschool teacher shall be defined as
someone who is biologically assigned to the male sex at birth, identifies as
a male, and is currently employed as an early childhood educator.
3. Preschool Children. Preschool children, for this study, shall be defined as
male and female children from four to six years old, currently enrolled in
early childhood education.
Scope and Delimitation
The scope for this research shall be limited to preschool children enrolled
in preschools within Metro Manila, Philippines. This is due to the fact that
majority of the preschools found in the Philippines are found in Metro Manila.
The study shall only take into consideration the sex and the age of the children in
selecting participants. The study will not include factors such as the socio-
economic status and family structure of the participants. Moreover, the research
will not take into consideration the philosophy of the preschools that the children
and teachers are part of, due to the limited population of male preschool teachers
in the Philippines. However, the researcher acknowledges that this may affect the
answers of the participants, as the teaching style may differ depending on the
philosophy of the preschool.
The research shall be conducted among preschool children in preschools
with male teachers around Metro Manila, Philippines. This study will not include
socio-economic status and family structure into its variables, and will only seek to
define a child’s concept of a male preschool teacher on its own, without
comparing it to their concept of a female teacher. Furthermore, the research will
not take into account any other variable concerning the male teacher, besides the
teacher needing to be currently handling the participants.

CHAPTER 3
Research Design and Methodology
Theoretical Framework
For the purposes of this research, the study adopts Lev Vygotsky’s
Sociocultural Theory. Vygotsky constructed the theory mainly to determine how
one’s behavior is formed and developed throughout one’s lifetime. The theory
posited that there are close relations between one’s development and with one’s
physical and social environment (Vygotsky, 1978).
Behavior development in children was shown to be directly influenced with the
interplay of the child’s speech and environment. It would seem that children make
use of both physical and verbal actions towards solving a problem or achieving a
goal. Furthermore, Vygotsky stated that one determines the meaning of an action
or sign through the observation of others (Vygotsky, 1978).
Besides this, Vygotsky (1986) concluded that although concept formation
among individuals are solidified during adolescence, early childhood experiences
still play a part in it. The long process of honing and refining a concept is
emphasized as genuine concepts are only formed during the onset of maturity
during adolescence. The first stage of early childhood concept formation is
described as the process of putting seemingly unrelated objects into one pile or
“heap” in order to formulate a new idea. Building up from this stage, the second
stage is made up of, as Vygotsky called it complexes. If the first stage groups
objects together using logic and thinking, complexes are objects grouped together
based on factual evidence formed through actual experience. Complexes are
subjected to much more refining over the child’s development, and eventually
become pseudoconcepts, which may seem like genuine concepts on the onset, but
are still simply complexes. Vygotsky differentiates this with actual concepts by
stating that the processes are different, and that children are limited to associating
objects with concrete perceptions. Pseudoconcepts are likened to a newly
germinated seed, in which adult interaction with the constant exposure to actual
concepts contributes to their transition to genuine concepts. Once again, Vygotsky
stresses the importance of social interaction in terms of developing concepts in
children (Vygotsky, 1967).

Although Vygotsky performed his experiments under the context of how
children learn language, many future studies also showed that children gain
different knowledge similarly. One such research gave examples of different
publications that used Vygotsky’s theory to justify the benefits of technology in
assisting the development of the child (Verenikina, 2010). This may show that
Vygotsky’s theory may also be applied in a different context other than language
development. Vygotsky himself stated the following:
An interpersonal process is transformed into an intrapersonal one. Every
function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the
social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people
(interpsychological), and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This
applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the
formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relations
between human individuals. (p.57)
The Sociocultural Theory suggests that before a concept is internalized
and personalized, children first learn interpsychologically through their actions
with other people. Vygotsky also stated that the creation of an intrapsychological
concept is done over a long period of time, constantly being changed and altered
based on social interaction (Vygotsky, 1978).
The Zone of Proximal Development is another key concept and principle
found in the Sociocultural Theory. This concept is used to depict the relationship
between a child’s learning and development. It states that it is much better to

determine what children are able to do with the assistance of adults as compared
to what they are able to do on their own, called the actual developmental level.
Vygotsky claims that the actual developmental level depicts what mental
processes have already matured within a child, and thus does not need any more
developing. The Zone of Proximal Development, however, houses concepts and
skills that are still in the process of constructing and developing. This may prove
useful in constructing developmentally appropriate practices that will address
concepts and processes found in the Zone of Proximal Development and not the
actual development level (Vygotsky, 1978). Another term that is closely related to
the Zone of Proximal Development is scaffolding. Although scaffolding was not
introduced by Vygotsky in his theory, its proponents introduced this concept to
better visualize how one should teach within the Zone of Proximal Development.
Scaffolding is when teachers provide support for the learner until such a time
when the learner is able to complete the task on his or her own (Wood, Bruner,
Ross, 1976). One study focused on how mentors used the concept of scaffolding
to aid and prepare their mentees for more difficult tasks in the future (Sakamoto &
Tamanyu, 2014).
The study used Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory in analyzing the results,
specifically how a child’s environment influences the formation of their concept
of male preschool teachers. The concept of the Zone of Proximal Development
may also be taken note of to possibly determine if a child’s concept of male
preschool teachers have already solidified or are still under formation.

Conceptual Framework
Preschool Children’s
Concept of Male Teachers
Preschool Children Roles
Age (4, 5, 6) Activities
Sex (Male, Female) Experiences
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework. This describes the process of the study and will
incorporate concepts posited in Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory.
The leftmost box of Figure 1 depicts the participants of the study,
preschool children from four to six years old, both male and female. This figure
shows how the aim of this research is to determine the concepts of preschool
children of their male preschool teacher. Some indicators that could concretize the
ideas are who the teacher is to the child, what they do in the classroom, and the
child’s experiences with the teacher. This is based on the argument of the
Sociocultural Theory that children learn concepts initially through their
environment and interaction with adults. The three age groups and two sexes are
taken into consideration as these factors may affect the indicators of their concept
of male preschool teachers.
Operational Definition of Terms
The study used several terms in order to define different variables that are
relevant to the research. These terms are the following:

1. Preschool Children. Preschool children, for this study, shall be defined as
male and female children from four to six years old as of January 2019,
and are currently participating in an early childhood development
program.
2. Concept. For the purposes of this study, a concept is defined as how
children explain and describe their male preschool teacher, either with
abstract and logical reasoning or with factual evidence and experiences.
4.3.Male Teacher. A male teacher shall be defined as someone who is
biologically assigned to the male sex at birth, identifies as a male, and is
currently employed as an early childhood educator.
5.4.Roles. These shall be defined as the tasks that male preschool teachers do
inside the classroom.
6.5.Activities. Activities, for the purposes of this study, are defined as events
that the preschool children do with their male teachers.
6. Experiences. Experiences shall be defined as the activities and interactions
that the preschool children remember experiencing with their male
teachers.
Scope and Delimitation
The scope for this research is limited to preschool children enrolled in
selected preschools within the National Capital Region, Philippines. This is to
minimize the differences of male preschool teachers as well as the participants.
The study took into consideration the sex and the age of the children in selecting
participants. The study did not include factors such as the socio-economic status
and family structure of the participants. Moreover, the research did not take into
consideration the philosophy of the preschools that the children and teachers are
part of, due to the limited population of male preschool teachers in the
Philippines.
The research was conducted among preschool children in preschools with
male teachers within the National Capital Region, Philippines. This study did not
include socio-economic status and family structure into its variables, and only
seeked to define a child’s concept of a male preschool teacher on its own, without
comparing it to their concept of a female teacher. Furthermore, the research did
not take into account any other variable concerning the male teacher, besides the
teacher needing to be currently handling the participants. Lastly, the study did not
include the children’s concept on female preschool teachers.
Research Approach and Design
As the study aims to determine how children view their male preschool
teachers, this research is descriptive and qualitative in nature. This is to be able to
extract how children describe and explain their personal experiences and
perspectives on male teachers using their own words. Furthermore, this is to
address the limitations of having children as the participants, who are not yet
developmentally prepared to participate in other, more structured research
instruments such as surveys. The research aims to make meaning with the content
that will be given by the participants through interviews and participatory drawing
(Flick, 2014). This study also approached the data using a thematic analysis,
wherein the researcher will attempt to identify patterns across the data in making
sense of the information obtained (Maguire & Delahunt, 2017). Participatory
drawing was also conducted in order to give the children another avenue to
express their thoughts if they are unable to express them verbally. This method is
also appropriate for children as this aids the interview in becoming less tense,
allowing the child to become more relaxed in answering the researcher’s
questions (Literat, 2013).
Research Locale
The participants were from four selected preschools within Metro
Manilathe National Capital Region. The researcher decided to keep the locale
within Metro Manila becauseThis is because the researcher aims to retain similar
characteristics among male preschool teachers and participants to reduce variables
that may affect the answers of the participants. The National Capital Region, also
known as Metro Manila, is comprised of sixteen urban cities and with twelve
million residents, it is the densest region in the whole country (Bersales, 2016).
Although similar at the core, the chosen preschools have several characteristics
that set them apart from the others. One of the selected preschools is a progressive
laboratory preschool wherein one of its main focuses is understanding the child
through the context of his or her family and social spheres. This preschool is
situated in a prestigious university. Another preschool is a Montessori that
promotes play as an important tool for discovery as well as a nurturing
environment. The third preschool is one of the oldest early childhood education
establishments in the Philippines and is committed to promoting progressive
hands-on learning, with a child-centered approach to ensure that children are
given the proper foundation. The fourth and final preschool provides a play-based
program that caters to the needs and individualities of each child, striving to
maintain a stimulating yet safe learning environment for the students.
Research Participants
The participants for the study were male and female children aged four to
six years old, are currently taking preschool educationenrolled in a preschool, and
are currently handled by a male teacher. Each age group had a sample size of ten
and had five participants for each sex. This is to ensure that each age group and
sex will be well-represented in the study.
Table 1
Sampling of Participants Commented [Office2]: Check the format of labels for tables
f and figures. I think I have discussed this during our last
Male Female meeting.
n=30
4 Years Old 5 5 10 Formatted: Font: Italic
5 Years Old 5 5 10 Formatted: Font: Italic

6 Years Old 5 5 10 Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5"
Table Formatted: Font: Italic
Sampling Design
The study adapted a stratified sampling method to select its participants.
The method involves dividing the possible participants into groups, with similar
characteristics. Afterwards, each stratum was subjected to simple random
sampling without replacement. The research used such method in order to provide
equal representation in each group of age and sex (Banning, Camstra, &
Knotterus, 2012). In this study, the possible participants were divided into three
strata according to age. Within these strata, they were stratified further according
to sex.
Furthermore, the sampling is purposive due to the study specifying
specific variables beforehand that may prove useful in varying the answers.
Furthermore, it is because the researcher has selected different variables that
characterize the participants of the research. The aim of purposive sampling is not
to claim generalizability for the results, but rather to minimize sample bias and to
be able to examine data across different characteristics (Patton & Cochran, 2002).
Research Instruments Commented [Office3]: Please elaborate on the description

of the research instruments
The researcher produced an interview guide that was developed to assist Formatted: Indent: First line: 0"
and direct the flow of the interview to the research field and allowed the
researcher to gain information from the participant relevant to the study. The
guide has four parts, namely the introduction, a few warm up questions, questions
asking about the participants’ personal information, the main interview, and the
synthesis. The main interview questions include asking the participants if they ask
help from their male teacher and the activities that they do in school with their
male teacher, among others. Furthermore, the researcher had the interview guide
validated by experts from the field of early childhood education as well as pilot Commented [Office4]: The field of what?
test it in a preschool. The researcher also provided a piece of paper as well as
colored markers for the children to use in the participatory drawing.
The study will adopt a snowball (method for the sampling of participants. This is due to
the fact that male teachers in early childhood education are rare. This method may prove
helpful for the researcher in locating possible participants.
Ethical Considerations
There are multiple ethical concerns that one has to consider especially
when including children in research. Children have the right to decide on any
action that involves them and, as such, need to give informed consent and assent
on the study they may participate in. Informed consent has many different factors
(Graham, Powell, Anderson, Fitzgerald, & Taylor, 2013).
First, the researcher must be able to explain the purpose and process of the
research to the children in simple terms so that the children may be able to
comprehend whether or not to participate in the study. This includes answering
any questions that may be asked by the children. This also applies to the
children’s parental guardians and caretakers as well. Furthermore, consent must
be given by the children on their own volition, and must not be influenced by
anyone else. Lastly, it must be explained to the children that their consent may be
withdrawn at any given time before, during, and after the study (Graham et al.,
2013).
The researcher must also consider the privacy and security of the children
participating in the research by ensuring that all information gathered will be used
only for the study and will be kept confidential, including the participants’ names
and other private details (Graham et al., 2013).
The aforementioned considerations that are important to take note of
during research concerning children were used stringently by the researcher. The
researcher provided enough information of the study for the consent of the school,
the teacher, and the parents. Afterwards, the researcher made sure to explain the
research purposes to their participants before asking for their consent. Finally, the
participants as well as their male teachers were given fake names in this study to
protect the identity of the participants.
Data CollectionGathering Procedure
Before utilizing the tool for the actual study, the researcher implemented
the data gathering tool in a pilot testing with two participants. Before the
interview as well as throughout the whole duration of it, the researcher aimed to Commented [Office5]: Check the format of these two lines.
establish rapport with the participants in order to allow the children to warm up
and get comfortable with the interview. The two participants were one male and
one female, and were five-years-old and four-years-old, respectively. The tool
proved useful in gathering data from the participants, although it could be further
developed by including more warm up questions for the participants. One
participant refused to participate in the drawing activity due to the lack of flesh-
colored crayons available. This was taken note of by the researcher and was
addressed by providing colored markers instead. After the interview and drawing
activity, the researcher gave snacks to the participants as a gesture of appreciation.
The data was collected through a one-on-one interview with the
participants. In order to determine possible participants for the study, the
researcher contacted multiple preschools which currently employ male preschool
teachers. Out of the many preschools that were contacted, four agreed to the
study. After contacting the school, the researcher coordinated with the male
teacher in order to provide informed consent forms to the parents of the randomly
selected children. The researcher initially had trouble in acquiring consent from
the parents, and had to randomly select new participants from the pool of children.
This proved to be taxing and incredibly time-consuming. Because of this, the
researcher gave consent forms to all parents of all the strata instead, interviewing
the participants as soon as the parents returned the consent forms. This proved to
be a faster method, and did not affect the integrity of the stratified sampling
method, as the researcher did not have control of which child would be given
consent to interview. The data gathering procedure lasted for five weeks.
- Establishing Rapport
- How we did it sa pilot testing
- Put a timeline (target dates)
Give a token Data Analysis
The research used thematic analysis in interpreting the data gathered from
the participants. Thematic Analysis involves connecting answers of participants

by associating concepts related to them. This allows the researcher to examine the
data and compare it across the other information gained (Alhojailan, 2012).
CHAPTER 4
Results and Discussion

The data gathered by the researcher will be presented in this chapter
through tables and themes that the researcher deemed relevant in the data
acquired. This chapter will first present the results of the study before proceeding
to the discussion of its findings. The names that are used to pertain to specific
participants and teachers are not their actual names in order to preserve the
security and privacy of the participants. This chapter will start by presenting the
results for the first objective of the study, which will be followed by the second
objective.
The researcher was able to follow the set number of participants per
variable, namely the age group and both sexes, which were met with a total of
thirty participants. Moreover, fifteen of these participants were from the first
preschool, while the remaining fifteen were evenly divided among the other three
preschools. Therefore, the three age groups of both sexes have five participants
each. This was due to the availability of their parents’ consent. The researcher
encountered difficulties in acquiring the consent of the parents per sample, and
decided to release consent forms for all children instead of randomly sampling to
select participants and interviewed the children whose parents gave consent.
Despite this, the researcher garnered ten participants for each age group and
fifteen participants for each sex. On the other hand, out of the thirty participants,
only seventeen participated in the drawing activity and produced drawings
relevant to the study. The participants were all asked to draw what they enjoy
doing together with their male teacher. The reason why there were only seventeen
relevant drawings was because some children did not want to participate in the
activity, and some simply produced drawings that are not relevant to the study
such as stars, unicorns, and shapes. Again, fictitious names were used to pertain to
the thirty participants as well as their four teachers. These names were also used
in the vignettes and direct quotes. Below is the table that presents the age range of
each age group in this study as well as the amount of participants interviewed for
each age and sex group:
Table 2
Summary of Participants
Age Range (as of January 2019) f
Male Female
n=30
4.0 – 4.11 Years Old 5 5 10
5.0 – 5.11 Years Old 5 5 10
6.0 – 6.11 Years Old 5 5 10
Data Results
With the data gathered from each participant, the researcher determined
the responses deemed relevant to the study, based on the previously defined
variables: the roles, activities, and experiences. In order to answer each of the
objectives indicated in the study, the researcher organized the data and managed
to find patterns across the information. From the responses, six themes were
formulated, with several subthemes within most of the themes. The table below
presents the themes formed from the data and the number of children, divided by
their sex and further by their ages as of January 2019, who view their teacher as
that concept:
Table 3
Concepts of Preschool Children of Their Male Teacher
Frequency of Males Females f
4 yr 5 yr 6 yr 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr %
Concepts n=30
old old old old old old
Adult Companion 4 3 22 4 2 4 22 24.4%
Learning Guide 2 3 18 3 2 3 18 20%
Task Helper 4 2 17 4 2 2 17 18.9%
Routine Facilitator 2 5 15 1 4 1 15 16.7%
Classroom Manager 3 3 13 0 1 3 13 14.4%
Promoter of 1 0 5 2 1 0 5 5.6%
Independence
Total Total=90* 100%
*Multiple responses by the respondents
As presented in the table above, the participants provided a variety of answers,
showing that they view their teachers in different ways. This shows that children
have many concepts of their teachers and are not just limited to just one.
For the first objective of the study, which is to describe the concept of
preschool children of their male teachers, the data was analyzed without taking
into consideration the participants’ age and sex. Looking at the numbers, it
appears that most of the data gathered from the participants were classified into
the themes named Adult Companion, Learning Guide, and Task Helper. This
shows that, at least for the participants of this study, most of the instances recalled
by the preschool children about their male teacher revolve around these three
themes. As stated before, each theme is further divided into subthemes in order to
provide a better understanding of the classification.

Male preschool teachers as adult companions. The theme with the most
responses is named Adult Companion, which is the group of responses that show
the different roles, activities, and experiences that show the strength of student-
teacher relationships, as well as the responses that show the children enjoying the
company of their teachers in different activities. Below is a table that shows the
frequency of the theme as well as its subthemes:
Table 4
Concepts Related to Adult Companion
Frequency of the Males Females f
Aspects of an 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr %
n=30
Adult Companion old old old old old old
Partner in Singing 2 2 2 3 0 3 12 38.7%
and Dancing
Playmate 1 1 4 2 1 1 10 32.3%
Friend 1 1 3 1 1 2 9 29%
Male preschool teachers as partners in singing and dancing. Many
participants stated that their teacher sings and dances with them, as this subtheme
has the highest frequency among the three subthemes found in the theme Adult
Companion. This particular concept includes not only observations of the
children, but also the activities that include singing and dancing with their teacher.
The frequency of this subtheme is relatively consistent across the groups, with the
exception of the female six-year-olds.
Male preschool teachers as partners to four-year-olds. Out of the ten four-
year-old participants, five shared observations and experiences with singing and
dancing with their teachers. Two male four-year-old participants provided
answers showing how they view their teachers as partners in singing and dancing.
Karl, a male four-year-old participant, is one of the children who was able to
recall experiences of their teacher singing and dancing with them. Karl answers
the following in response to what the teacher does during Circle Time:
He sings Awimbawe. (Karl, Male, 4 years and 8 months old)
David, on the other hand, chose to show this concept through a drawing, where he
drew himself dancing together with his teacher:
Figure 2. Dancing together. (David, Male, 4 years and 5 months)
Three of the five four-year-old females were also able to mention
experiences and observations of their teacher singing and dancing along with
them. Therese states that her teacher “sings and dances” with the class when they
do so. In addition to this, Louise said “He sings also,” pertaining to her male
teacher. Cai, the final participant in this group to mention this concept said “I just
sing with him.”
Based on the responses of both sexes in this age group, both male and
female participants are able to view their teachers as partners in singing and
dancing. Both sexes had a fair amount of responses regarding this subtheme.
Male preschool teachers as partners to five-year-olds. In this study, none
of the female five-year-olds mentioned singing and dancing together with their
teachers. However, two male five-year-old participants shared their observations
of their teachers singing and dancing with them as seen below:
“Sumasayaw din.” [He dances too.]

(Joshua, Male, 5 years and 5 months old)
Teacher Matthew dances also. (Joseph, Male, 5 years old)
Besides talking about singing and dancing, Joseph also drew the following
drawing to show that one of his favorite activities to do with his teacher is
dancing with him:

Figure 3. Dancing with the Teacher. (Joseph, Male, 5 years old)
Male preschool teachers as partners to six-year-olds. For the six-year-
olds, the female participants had more responses related to this with four
accounts, in contrast to the two accounts of the males. The two responses of the
males were short and simple. When the researcher asked Gab and Andrew what
their male teachers do in school, they answered “He dances,” and “We sing
together,” respectively.
There were three female six-year-olds who view their teachers as partners
in singing and dancing. Some of their statements can be seen below:
We sing songs at Circle Time. (Chase, Female, 6 years and 4 months old)
I just like dancing with him. (Josette, Female, 6 years and 3 months old)
He dances and he plays the music. (Julia, Female, 6 years and 5 months
old)
Both male and female six-year-olds stated observations and experiences
regarding this subtheme. Most of the answers about this concept are similar, while
Josette was the only one who stated that she enjoyed the act of dancing together
with her teacher.
Based on the data gathered, it seems like children generally view their
male teachers as people they can comfortably sing and dance with in the
classroom. This is true for all ages, which may show that singing and dancing are
memorable activities in the classroom. Moreover, there were no observed
differences between the male and female responses as well besides the five-year-
old age group, where there were no females who talked about singing or dancing
with their teachers.
Male preschool teachers as playmates. Based on the data gathered,
children seem to frequently recall playing with their teachers, and many were able
to verbalize actual anecdotes of their experiences playing with their teacher.
Male preschool teachers as playmates to four-year-olds. Only one male
four-year-old provided answers that pertained to him viewing his teacher as a
playmate. David, the four-year-old, cheerfully shared an experience he had
playing with his teacher when the researcher asked him what he enjoys doing with
his teacher. He said the following:
I give him snacks, then I take it back. (David, Male, 4 years and 5 months
old)
This is considered as playing because David seemed to giggle as he said this,
suggesting that he was tricking his teacher by pretending to give his snack to the
teacher. David also shared a time when his teacher played with them in the
playground:
But Louise wanted to swing so high with Teacher Luke and he swinged
him so high… (David, Male, 4 years and 5 months old)
In contrast to the responses of David, the responses of the two female
four-year-olds who provided answers regarding this concept consisted entirely of
physical play. When the researcher asked Therese what her favorite activity to do
with her teacher was, she promptly answered “Swimming.” She also participated
in the drawing activity and drew herself and her teacher swimming together:
Figure 4. Swimming with Teacher. (Therese, Female, 4 years and 11 months)

Similar to Therese, Elaine also provided a drawing that depicts this particular
concept. She drew her class as well as her teacher going to the playground
together:
Figure 5. Going to the Playground. (Elaine, Female, 4 years and 11 months)
Based on the answers of the two sexes, there were several similarities and
differences. All three participants were able to recall instances of their teachers
physically playing with them, although the male participant was also able to
provide another experience of non-physical play with his teacher. Besides this,
only the female participants showed this particular concept through their
drawings. Finally, the male participant expressed his thoughts and shared his
experiences with phrases and sentences, in contrast to the females who either
answered with one word or simply depicted the concept through a drawing.
Male preschool teachers as playmates to five-year-olds. The five-year-old
age group only had one child mention this concept of their teacher. Joshua
recalled that the activities that he does with his teacher were “Swimming” and
“Play.” In addition to this, he also gave a drawing showing his favorite activity
with his teacher:
Figure 6. Swimming. (Joshua, Male, 5 years and 5 months)
Similarly, only one child from the five-year-old females provided an
answer about this concept. When she was asked what her teacher does when they
play outside, Eunice answered with a short “Nag-p-play.” [Playing.] She also
showed this through a drawing:

Figure 7. Playing with Teacher. (Eunice, Female, 5 years and 2 months)
The answers of the male and female five-year-old participants are similar
with each other. They both expressed that their teacher plays with them, although
the female participant did not specify what type of play she does with her teacher,
whether physical or not.
Male preschool teachers as playmates to six-year-olds. The age group
with the most responses concerning this theme is the six-year-olds, particularly
the males. Four out of the five male six-year-old participants gave an answer
related to play, as seen in the vignettes below:
We run around and play and throw balls. And one time we played
dodgeball. (Alfred, Male, 6 years and 4 months old)
Playing dodgeball. (Sean, Male, 6 years and 2 months old)
Going to the active play. (Alex, Male, 6 years and 5 months old)
He’s running because he’s catching me. (Gab, Male, 6 years old)
Again, the children were able to not only recall interactions of physical play, but
non-physical play as well. Alfred talked about one of the games that they played
in school and said the following:
We played bingo with Teacher John and I won. (Alfred, Male, 6 years and
4 months old)
Besides verbal answers, one of the male six-year-old participants also provided a
drawing portraying this concept. Alfred drew his favorite activity with his teacher,
dodgeball:
Figure 8. Throwing a ball. (Alfred, Male, 6 years and 4 months)
On the other hand, the females of this age group only had two responses about
play, with only one child to share both instances. Chase was the only participant
in this group to mention play through her answers. Chase answered the following
after the researcher asked her what her teacher does when they play outside:
We play sometimes, but not all the time. (Chase, Female, 6 years and 4
months old)
Play was again mentioned when she talked about what she likes doing with her
teacher:
Playing with him in Active Play. (Chase, Female, 6 years and 4 months
old)
At first glance, it is clear to see the differences between the many
responses from the male six-year-olds and the few responses from the female six-
year-olds. It appears that the male participants in this age group recall playing
with their teachers more as compared to the females, which might suggest that
playing with their teachers is a memorable experience for the males, and not the
females.
Overall, each of the age groups were able to recall specific experiences or
observations that they have of their teacher that show that they view their teacher
as a playmate. The many responses pertaining to physical play may show
consistency with the study of Sandberg and Pramling-Samuelsson (2005), who
stated that male teachers are more inclined to choose physical play over sit-down
play (Sandberg & Pramling-Samuelsson, 2005). This does not mean to say that
male teachers are not capable of non-physical play, however, as some children,
namely David and Alfred, were also able to share answers of this type of play.
Male preschool teachers as friends. Apart from the previous subthemes,
other means of teachers interacting with their students were brought up as well.
The third and final subtheme includes responses in which the children answered
events with verbal interaction with their male teachers as well as other interactions
that showed the bonds between the children and their male teachers. The
statements found here show that children also view their male teachers as adults
whom they are able to comfortably interact with.
Male preschool teachers as friends to four-year-olds. Both male and
female four-year-old groups had one participant each who shared experiences
showing that they view their teachers as a friend. The male participant, in
particular, shared a conversation that he had with his teacher, recalling as well the
topic of their conversation as shown in the following vignette:
I like talking to him. I talk about the things that I do in the house. (Jolo,
Male, 4 years and 4 months old)
On the other hand, the only female four-year-old participant who gave an
answer related to this, showed this particular concept through her drawing below:
Figure 9. Talking to the Teacher. (Louise, Female, 4 years and 5 months)

Though both male and female four-year-olds stated that they enjoy having
conversations with their teachers, only the male shared the topic of their verbal
interaction.
Male preschool teachers as friends to five-year-olds. Similar to the four-
year-olds, only one participant for each sex mentioned experiences that show their
concept of their teacher as a friend. Raffy is the only male participant in this
group who gave a response regarding this concept. Additionally, he did not
provide context for this and simply said “Talking” when the researcher asked him
what he enjoys doing with his teacher. He did, however, provide a drawing that
showed this concept as well:
Figure 10. Talking to the Teacher. (Raffy, Male, 5 years and 6 months)
In contrast to the previous answers found in this theme who described
their experiences in talking to their teacher, the sole female five-year-old who
view her teacher as her friend provided an experience of her showing physical
affection to her teacher. This can be found in the vignette below:
I like sitting with Teacher Luke. (Annie, Female, 5 years and 1 month old)
Besides this, Annie also stated another experience that showed her trust and
comfort with her teacher through her drawing below:
Figure 11. Making a Rainbow while Teacher Watches. (Annie, Female, 5 years
and 1 month)
There are distinct differences between the answers of the male and female
five-year-old participants. The male participant shared how he enjoys talking to
his teacher, while the female participant expressed her trust in her teacher through
her responses mentioning physical affection and the comfort of her teacher being
around her.
Male preschool teachers as friends to six-year-olds. In contrast with the
other two age groups, there are five six-year-olds who talked about experiences
that show their concept of their teacher as a friend. The three males in the six-
year-old age group who stated answers related to this concept had varied answers,
with one sharing a conversation that he and his teacher had before, another
sharing an activity that he enjoys doing with and for his teacher, and the other
simply stating his appreciation for his teacher. These were presented in the
following:
I tell him about my pet bunny. (Alfred, Male, 6 years and 4 months old)
I like being friends with him. (Alex, Male, 6 years and 5 months old)
I like writing letters for Teacher John. Always “I love you.” (Andrew,
The two female six-year-olds, on the other hand, shared experiences that
showed their bonds with their teacher. Similar to the male six-year-olds, the two
children gave different answers that portray their teachers as their friends. One of
the participants shared a conversation that she had with her teacher, while the
other shared what she likes doing together with her teacher. The answers can be
found below:
…About the stuff that he says. About our graduation and about the time
when we had our field trip to the national museum. (Patricia, Female, 6
years and 4 months old)
I like holding hands with him. (Chase, Female, 6 years and 4 months old)
Additionally, Chase drew herself holding hands with her teacher as seen in the
following drawing:
Figure 12. Holding hands. (Chase, Female, 6 years and 4 months)
Both sexes had various answers that portrayed their teachers as their
friend. The only similarity between the sexes is that there was one response each
that shared experiences of the child talking to the teacher.
Looking at the responses above, across the three ages, the children were
shown to be comfortable in talking to their male teacher about various things
ranging from experiences in the house to experiences in school. Moreover, both
sexes shared experiences that show their closeness with their male teacher, albeit
through different means. The male participants mostly shared experiences of
verbal interaction with their teacher. The female participants, on the other hand,
also shared experiences of them showing physical affection in addition to verbally

interacting with their teachers. The presence of this theme across the three ages as
well as both sexes shows that the children do view their teachers as socio-
emotional support. These findings are inconsistent with Mukuna and Mutsotso’s
(2012) study, wherein the adults that were interviewed believed that male teachers
are not as trustworthy as females, and that they are not as nurturing especially
towards female children (Mukuna & Mutsotso, 2012). In addition to this, none of
the participants, male or female, mentioned teacher being a male to justify certain
roles, activities, or experiences.
The variety of answers gathered in the theme Adult Companion shows that
the children who participated in this study perceive their male teachers to be a
trustworthy adult that they are able to be comfortable enough to play with, interact
with, and show affection to. Because this concept was one of the two concepts
that were most mentioned among all the others, this may show that these
experiences make the biggest and most memorable marks on the children. This
may lead to consistency with Besnard and Letarte’s (2017) study which
concluded with their claim that male teachers positively influence the social skills
of their children (Besnard & Letarte, 2017).
Male preschool teachers as learning guides. Another concept that was
given by the children is their perception of male teachers as learning guides. This
theme is comprised of the group of responses that the children used to describe
their male teachers as adults who can guide them in learning different skills and
concepts. The information found in this theme show that children view their male
teachers as respectable adults who they can learn various kinds of knowledge
from. This theme is different and separate from the Task Helper theme as the data
here talk about much more abstract observation and experiences, as well as
activities where they claimed to have learned something from, as compared to the
Task Helper theme which is focused on actual and direct task assistance. There
are also responses here which are recollections of the teachers teaching. From this
theme, a number of subthemes were formed as well, which the table below
presents:
Table 5
Concepts Related to Learning Guide
Frequency of the Males Females
f
Aspects of a 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr %
n=30
Learning Guide old old old old old old
Skill Builder 1 1 5 1 2 3 13 40.6%
Provider of Learning 0 1 0 1 1 2 10 31.3%
Experiences
Facilitator of 0 1 0 1 0 1 9 28.1%
Knowledge
Male preschool teachers as skill builders. The most frequent subtheme
within this theme is Skill Builders. While some children did not specify what
lessons they learn from their teacher, many were able to recall previous lessons
and skills that their male teacher taught them. These skills were part of many
different subject areas, possibly showing that the teachers who handled these
children conducted a wide variety of activities to address different kinds of

themes and concepts as well. The diversity of subject areas was observed in the
different responses of the children.
Male preschool teachers as skill builders to four-year-olds. This subtheme
was barely mentioned in the younger ages, and only one of the five male four-
year-olds shared an answer that pertained to this. Noel, the sole male four-year-
old participant who talked about this, was able to recall an actual skill or concept
that his teacher teaches to him during an activity with the rest of the class:
Counting numbers. (Noel, Male, 4 years and 11 months old)
The female four-year-old also had one participant who provided some
responses about this. Just like Noel, Maria was also able to pinpoint a certain skill
that she learns from her male teacher:
I learn how to write my real name. (Maria, Female, 4 years and 4 months
old)
Looking at the two responses from both participants, both were able to
provide context as to what they learn from their teacher, albeit in different areas.
The low frequency of this subtheme in the four-year-old group may be attributed
to the abstract activity of learning. There are some children, however, who are
able to concretize their learnings, as shown in the two responses.
Male preschool teachers as skill builders to five-year-olds. Similar to the
four-year-olds, the five-year-old age group only had a small number of children
who talked about learning from their teacher. The only male five-year-old who
mentioned this subtheme was Joseph, who detailed his experiences in the
following vignette:
He teach. He teach what to do…and then also rules. (Joseph, Male, 5 years
old)
In relation to this, there were only two female five-year-olds who
mentioned her teacher being a builder of skills. Carla provided an observation
regarding this during their Activity Time:
He’s teaching about the activity. (Carla, Female, 5 years and 4 months old)
Bea, on the other hand, specified what she learns from her teacher, as seen below:
I learn to read and write. (Bea, Female, 5 years old)
Both male and female participants gave answers that portray their teachers
as adults who they learn from. Similar to the four-year-old group, there were
varying concepts mentioned here, with one female participant mentioning that she
learns about the activity from her teacher as well.
Male preschool teachers as skill builders to six-year-olds. In contrast to
the other age groups, the six-year-olds were shown to have talked about this
particular concept of their male teacher much more frequently. The males, in
particular, all mentioned their teachers teaching a certain skill or subject area at
least once. The responses by the males mention various concepts throughout the
developmental domains and subject areas. The responses range from numbers, to
reading and writing, and even music and movement, as seen below:
He teach us how to dance. (Alex, Male, 6 years and 5 months old)
Learn how to paint and learn how to story. (Sean, Male, 6 years and 2
months old)
I like to learn with Teacher John. (Andrew, Male, 6 years and 3 months
old)
He likes teaching us and we do activities. (Alfred, Male, 6 years and 4

months old)
I like writing. I write big numbers. He teach me a lot of that. (Gab, Male, 6
years old)
Andrew also expresses how much he enjoys learning with his teacher through his
drawing and writing below:
Figure 13. I like to learn with Teacher. (Andrew, Male, 6 years and 3 months)
The three female six-year-olds who had answers regarding this concept
also had various answers related to this, with an array of skills targeted as well.
These responses are shown in the following:
Learning how to measure things. (Chase, Female, 6 years and 4 months

old)
Just learning from him. (Julia, Female, 6 years and 5 months old)
He taught us rules. (Patricia, Female, 6 years and 6 months old)

Two of these participants, namely Patricia and Julia, also showed this concept
through their drawings:
Figure 14. He Draws on the Blackboard. (Patricia, Female, 6 years and 6 months)
Figure 15. Teaching Something on the Board. (Julia, Female, 6 years and 5
months)
It is clear to see how the answers of the six-year-old group are different
from the other two ages. The frequency of the answers alone suggest that older
children view their teachers as skill builders more than the younger ages. The
males all mentioned learning from their teacher, showing that the experience of
learning made a mark on all the male participants. Though there were only three
female six-year-old participants who talked about learning from their teacher, this
frequency is still comparatively higher than any of the younger ages’ frequencies.
These statements may be indicative of the impact of the different activities
that are done in the classroom, and that the children understand the purpose of
such activities. To strengthen the argument that these experiences are indeed
instrumental to the learning of the children, one can look to Vygotsky’s
Sociocultural Theory. These simple experiences that the children will undergo
and remember could possibly help form their concepts on previously unknown
knowledge, as they take in information from their environment around them
before internalizing it all and making their own concept (Vygotsky, 1978). And as
seen through the variety of responses, children are able to absorb different types
of information coming from different fields and areas.
Male preschool teachers as providers of learning experiences. Besides
teachers of concepts, another concept that surfaced was children viewing their
male teachers as the ones who process their many different learning experiences.
These responses are characterized as activities that the children did in school in
order to learn a particular skill or idea. These activities were, of course, facilitated
by the male teacher, who processed the experiences of the children as well. These
responses were not grouped with the Helper theme because the children did not
mention that they asked for assistance from the teacher in completing these
activities.
Male preschool teachers as providers of learning experiences to four-
year-olds. This subtheme did not surface much from the answers of the four-year-
olds, as only one female participant talked about this. The sole female four-year-
old participant who gave an answer pertaining to this concept was able to recall an
actual activity that they did in school. Therese talks about this in the vignette
below:
Planting the grass. (Therese, Female, 4 years and 11 months old)
Male preschool teachers as providers of learning experiences to five-year-
olds. The only male participant who shared an experience regarding this concept
of their teacher is a five-year-old. Mark was able to detail his experience in
school:
We cooked pancakes with Mommy Mary, that’s Bart’s mother and Bart’s
grandpa and we just helped only like punas the eggs. (Mark, Male, 5 years
and 8 months old)
Mark was also able to recall another activity in class. But instead of sharing this
verbally, he shared this through his drawing:

Figure 16. Doing the Activity While the Teacher Watches (Mark, Male, 5 years
and 8 months)
Similar to the male five-year-olds, only one female five-year-old participant
shared a learning experience in school. Carla was also the participant to mention
her teacher teaching them about the activity. She shared the activity that she was
talking about through her drawing below:

Figure 17. Planting with Teacher. (Carla, Female, 5 years and 4 months)
Looking at both sexes, both Mark and Carla chose to portray this
particular concept of their male teacher through their drawings. However, Mark
shared another activity that he did in the class with his teacher besides his
drawing.
Male preschool teachers as providers of learning experiences to six-year-
olds. There were only two six-year-olds who talked about this particular concept
of their teacher. These were both female, and they both talked about two different
activities with their teachers, ranging from assessment to hands-on activities in
class.
I guess stuff with him. (Patricia, Female, 6 years and 6 months old)
Measuring. Things in class. (Chase, Female, 6 years and 4 months old)

Patricia described her experience in assessment to the researcher during her
interview and said:
Sometimes when I have assessment with him I try to tell the stories with
the cards and check the ones and stuff. (Patricia, Female, 6 years and 6
months old)
This subtheme shows that children appreciate the different activities that
target many different subject areas especially when their teacher is able to process
the information that they gain through these learning experiences. The responses
show how children rely on their teachers to synthesize the learnings for their
benefit. Moreover, most of the responses came from the females, specifically the
six-year-olds. This may show that this concept may be more memorable to the
older female participants of this study compared to males.
Male preschool teachers as facilitators of knowledge. Finally, the
subtheme with the least mentions is named Facilitator of Knowledge. The
children who gave responses pertaining to this subtheme expressed how listening
to their teacher is one of the things that they enjoy doing together with the teacher,
because of the things that they learn after listening to their teacher. Only three
participants responded with answers related to this, with one coming from a male
and the other from females.
Male preschool teachers as facilitators of knowledge to male four-year-
olds. There was only one four-year-old who shared answers related to this.
Though Cai did not specify what her teacher says when she listens to him, she
gave this answer in response to the researcher asking her what she likes doing
with her teacher:
I listen to Teacher Luke. (Cai, Female, 4 years and 5 months old)
Male preschool teachers as facilitators of knowledge to five-year-olds.
There was only one response regarding this subtheme from the five-year-olds.
Moreover, the only response from all male participants is found in this group.
When Ralph, a five-year-old was asked what he enjoyed doing with his male
teacher, he answered with “Listening”. He also showed this in his drawing:
Figure 18. Listening. (Ralph, Male, 5 years and 11 months)
Male preschool teachers as facilitators of knowledge to six-year-olds.
Similar to the female five-year-olds, none of the male six-year-olds discussed
their experiences in listening to their teachers. The sole participant in this group
who mentioned listening to her teacher was Julia. Her answer to the question
“what do you like doing with your teacher?” can be seen below:
Listening to him. (Julia, Female, 6 years and 5 months old)
The amount of responses that characterize this theme could be an
indication that the children look to their teachers for learning new things. Their
ability to recall these specific experiences and observations shows how much they
value learning from their teachers. The study of Peisner-Feinberg et al. (2001) sides
with these findings because of their own findings that early childhood education
with an enriching environment and close student-teacher relationships allow for a
long-lasting impact with the children (Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001). Once again,
this is a reminder towards teachers in general about their responsibility to provide
an environment conducive for learning for the children.
Male preschool teachers as task helpers. The third most frequently
talked about theme based on the answers of the participants is the theme Task
Helpers. The responses that make up this theme portray male teachers as adults
who help children with tangible activities and tasks that they are unable to complete
on their own. None of the children produced drawings that are related to this theme.
Similar to the previous themes, this was also broken down into subthemes. As said
before, the children are able to view their teachers in multiple ways. The subthemes
are shown in the following table:

Table 6
Concepts Related to Task Helper
Frequency of the Males Females f
Aspects of a Task 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr %
n=30
Helper old old old old old old
Activity Helper 1 2 2 3 1 0 9 52.9%
Arts and Crafts 2 0 1 1 1 2 7 41.2%
Helper
Helper in Changing 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5.9%
Clothes
Male preschool teachers as activity helpers. One of the most prevalent
subthemes of Task Helper, Activity Helper, includes answers stating previous
activities that the participants had in school with their male teacher and the whole
class, as well as activities that were conducted one-on-one. Many of the children
explicitly stated that they do certain tasks with their teacher because the tasks are
too difficult for them to complete on their own. Some children also shared that
one of the enjoyable experiences that they had with their teacher is whenever they
would work on challenging activities. Throughout the three ages, many of the
participants talked about experiences with their teacher in completing difficult
tasks.
Male preschool teachers as activity helpers to four-year-olds. There were
four four-year-old children who were shown to view their teachers as activity
helpers. Only one participant in the male four-year-old group talked about his
teacher helping him in activities. Karl shares to the researcher his experience with
this through the anecdote below:

I like Teacher Matthew to work with me. If I don’t know how to work,
Teacher Matthew will help me. (Karl, Male, 4 years and 8 months old)
His statement shows that Karl enjoys doing tasks, or work, with his teacher. He is
also aware that his teacher will assist him if the task proves to be too difficult for
him to accomplish on his own.
The female four-year-olds, in contrast to the males of the same age, had
three children mentioning this theme. Their responses regarding this are shown
below:
When I work with him. But not the pencil case because that is a hard work.
(Louise, Female, 4 years and 5 months old)
He’s looking at me write my name. (Elaine, Female, 4 years and 11

months old)
When Teacher Jaya is working with somebody, I have to work with

Teacher Matthew. (Maria, Female, 4 years and 4 months)
It appears that although these participants are aware of their teachers being there
to help them with work or activities, they did not express their appreciation or
enjoyment towards it, and Maria even said that her male teacher is not her first
option. Additionally, Louise did not express a desire to complete hard tasks even
with the help of her male teacher.
Although there was only one male four-year-old participant who talked
about his teacher helping him, he is the only participant in this age group to state
that he enjoys doing hard work with the teacher. This preference is different
compared to the answers of the females, wherein none of the responses showed
that they enjoy doing hard tasks with their male teachers.
Male preschool teachers as activity helpers to five-year-olds. There were
three five-year-old participants who shared experiences and activities portraying
their concept of their teachers as activity helpers. Two out of this three are males,
and they were able to share some experiences regarding this subtheme. One
account states that he performs difficult activities with his teacher as well, similar
to some responses from the younger ages:
We do everything together. Hard things. (Ralph, Male, 5 years and 11

months old)
The children do not just recall the activities when they find the tasks difficult,
however, and Mark shared his recalled specific activities that he does with his
teacher as well.
We just washed the plates and we got wet and we were wearing aprons
And then we washed clothes and then we dried them and then next time
we just fold them. (Mark, Male, 5 years and 8 months old)
The female participants of this age group, on the other hand, only had one child
answering a response this. The researcher asked Eunice if her teacher helps her in
school, which she answers with “Opo. Magsulat.” [Yes. Writing.] This response
was categorized as helping because of the context of the answer, which was the
teacher helping her write.
Male preschool teachers as activity helpers to six-year-olds. Only two six-
year-olds, both male, gave answers which showed their concept of their teachers
as Activity Helpers. They do not mention any activities being too difficult for
them that they need the assistance of their teachers, though they still shared how
they enjoy working with their teacher. These responses are shown in the following
vignettes:
I like he’s working with me everyday. (Gab, Male, 6 years old)
I like doing activities. (Alfred, Male, 6 years and 4 months old)
The absence of responses about difficult activities from the six-year-olds
may be due to their older age group and that they are already able to do many
activities on their own, or may also be because the teachers provide more
challenging activities for the younger children. In general, the number of
responses concerning this subtheme may be indicative of how comfortable the
children are with their male teacher, that they are open to difficult activities when
done together with their teacher.
Male preschool teachers as arts and crafts helpers. The second
subtheme, Arts and Craft Helper, does not only include responses declaring actual
activities involving artwork and handicraft, but also the tasks that teachers do to
prepare for these art-related activities.
Male preschool teachers as arts and crafts helpers to four-year-olds. Out
of the ten four-year-old participants, only three gave answers concerning this
concept. The male four-year-olds had two participants who provided responses
about arts and craft-making with their teachers. These responses had different
focuses as seen below:
He can give papers to anyone. With big ones for me. (Karl, Male, 4 years
and 8 months old)
We made a project that’s a jetpack. (David, Male, 4 years and 5 months

old)
One of these responses pertained to the role of their teacher giving art materials to
the children, while the other talked about an actual art activity that the child did
with his teacher.
On the other hand, the sole response of the only participant in the female
four-year-old age group to mention this concept is an answer to the question
“What do you like doing with your teacher?”. Maria’s answer to this is in the
following vignette:
Probably the drawing. (Maria, Female, 4 years and 4 months old)
Male preschool teachers as arts and crafts helpers to five-year-olds. Only
one out of the ten participants in the five-year-old group mentioned how her
teacher helps her in arts and crafts. Bea, to answer what she enjoys doing with her
teacher, answers the following:
Paint. He give paint and paper. (Bea, Female, 5 years old)
Male preschool teachers as arts and crafts helpers to six-year-olds.
Moving on to the six-year-olds, Sean was the only male participant who provided
answers pertaining to art-making in class. He not only said that they do art with
their teacher, but he also shared one of his favorite experiences with his teacher:
Paper guitar…and a penguin. (Sean, Male, 6 years and 2 months old)
Finally, the responses of the two female six-year-olds who mentioned this
concept were both about the role of their teacher in helping them make and
display their art. Patricia and Carla were able to recall these seemingly mundane
observations, showing that they are indeed able to observe even the most trivial of
behaviors of the teachers:
He’s the one who’s gonna put it in the window. (Patricia, Female, 6 years
and 6 months old)
Sometimes I ask him to give me a big paper. (Carla, Female, 6 years and 4
months old)
The male and female participants of this age group had varied answers
regarding arts and crafts making with their teacher. While the male participant
talked about an art activity that he did with his teacher, the female participants
talked about how their teachers help them before and after the actual artmaking.
The presence of this subtheme in the answers of the children may prove to
be contradictory to the findings of Brandes et al. (2015), wherein they claimed
that male teachers generally do not prefer handiwork and arts compared to
females (Brandes et al., 2015). On the other hand, this may actually show
consistency in the said study due to its low frequency compared to other, more
physical activities. Nonetheless, teachers were able to make art activities
memorable enough for the children to effectively remember and retrace.
Additionally, both male and female participants gave answers about this theme,
suggesting that no matter the sex, the participants view their male teachers as
helpers in making art.
Male preschool teachers as helpers in changing clothes. The final and
least frequent subtheme is the children’s concept of their teachers as helpers in
changing clothes, wherein only one child gave an answer pertaining to it. It is no
surprise that at their age, the participants should already be able to change their
clothes with little to no assistance from the teachers. Nonetheless, there may be a
few outliers that still request for assistance, possibly due to the fact that they are
not yet confident in their skills. The single response pertaining to this came from a
four-year-old, the youngest age group in this study. The response of that one
participant can be found below:
He sit down also help us to change our clothes. (Therese, Female, 4 years
and 11 months old)
In summary, the Task Helper concept is comprised of data that paint male
teachers as assistants for the children, providing scaffolding for them as well as a
range of activities in the hopes that the children will be able to accomplish these
independently in the future.
Male teachers as routine facilitators. Another theme that had less
responses concerning it is the concept of teachers as routine facilitators. The data
found in this theme describe what the teachers do in order to make sure that the
routine of the class is being followed and is being smoothly implemented. Only
two subthemes were made for this, and it is divided into responses detailing the
teachers’ attempts at transitioning to one part to another, and the teachers’ actual
facilitation of the routine itself. Below is the table accounting the frequencies of
these subthemes:
Table 7
Concepts Related to Routine Facilitator
Frequency of the Aspects
Males Females f
4 yr 5 yr 6 yr 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr %
of a Routine Facilitator n=30
Routine Manager 2 4 0 0 4 0 10 55.6%
Transition Manager 2 2 2 1 0 1 8 44.4%
Male preschool teachers as routine managers. The answers situated in
this subtheme are the answers of the participants wherein they recalled times
when the teacher would lead and execute the actual routine, ensuring that
everything goes as planned. None of the six-year-old participants mentioned these
types of responses, and this subtheme came mostly from the answers of the
younger age groups, specifically the five-year-olds. This concept also includes the
responses of the participants who state that their teachers read to them during
story time. These were not grouped in another theme because these are simply
observations of their teachers that the children stated during the interview.
Male preschool teachers as routine managers to four-year-olds. There
were only two four-year-old participants who provided observations of their
teachers. One of these male participants talked about how he enjoys the different
parts of the routine, possibly showing the effectivity of the teacher’s
implementation and facilitation of the routine in the classroom. When asked what
he enjoys doing with his teacher, Angelo answers the following:
Doing the writing and story time, and what else? Circle Time! And
Meeting Time. (Angelo, Male, 4 years and 11 months old)
Besides this, Angelo also stated an observation of his teacher during story time.
This was also mentioned by the other male participant. The responses that showed
this are the following:
He tells a story. (Angelo, Male, 4 years and 11 months old)
He read us. (Noel, Male, 4 years and 11 months old)
Male preschool teachers as routine managers to five-year-olds. The
answers given by two of the five-year-old males simply recalled what they
observed their teachers to do during certain parts of the routine, specifically
meeting time and story time.
We both teach because I’m the little teacher. (Joseph, Male, 5 years old)
We do something and he will call us to get things. (Ralph, Male, 5 years

and 11 months old)
We help him. When there’s only one teachers. (Ralph, Male, 5 years old
11 months old)
Teacher Matthew are reading the book. (Ralph, Male, 5 years and 11
months old)
Additionally, when the researcher asked two other male four-year-old participants
about who reads to them and to their classmates, they said the following:
Teacher Matthew or any teacher. (Mark, Male, 5 years and 8 months old)
Si Teacher Matthew. (Joshua, Male, 5 years and 5 months old)
Similar to the male five-year-olds, the female five-year-olds also recalled
their observations of what their teachers do during certain parts of the routine,
such as snack time, meeting time, and story time.

Nagbibigay ng pagkain. [He gives food.] (Eunice, Female, 5 years and 2

months old)
Siya yung nagbabasa. Ako yung pipili. [He’s the one who reads. I’m the
one who chooses.] (Eunice, Female, 5 years and 2 months old)
Just guides us and counts for us…asks classmates and raises their hand.
(Annie, Female, 5 years and 1 month old)
He reads for us. (Annie, Female, 5 years and 1 month old)
To add to these responses, when Sophie was asked who reads the stories for her
and her class, she answered with “Si Teacher Matthew po.” Similarly, Carla
answers what his teacher does during Story Time with “Read.”
Both male and female five-year-olds were observant towards their
teachers during the different parts of the routine in class. Both sexes mentioned
several parts of the routine, with the males having more responses about meeting
time and the females having a fairly balanced amount of responses about meeting
time and story time.
Male preschool teachers as transition managers. Responses regarding
observations of how teachers transition into the next part of the routine is found in
the aptly-named subtheme, transition manager. The children were able to pick up
and describe the behaviors of their teachers about this, and they understand the
different events that signal the next part of their routine. This may show how the
teachers were able to establish a fixed routine for the class. Most of the responses
came from the three age groups of the male participants, while only two responses
were given by the female participants.

Male preschool teachers as transition managers to four-year-olds. There
were three four-year-olds who talked about the actions and behaviors that their
teachers exhibit in order to move on to the next part of the routine. Two of these
are male while the other one is a female. The two male four-year-olds mentioned
experiences that show how they view their teachers as transition managers. The
males of the four-year-old age group were able to not only state their
observations, but they were able to provide possible reasons for their observations
as well. This could be seen from the following quote:
He always says five more minutes and after five minutes it’s already time
to pack away. (Jolo, Male, 4 years and 4 months old)
He tells us to pack away then we go to Meeting Area. (Karl, Male, 4 years

and 8 months old)
The sole female four-year-old who gave a response regarding this stated an
observation but she did not give a reason as to why her teacher exhibited this
particular behavior, in contrast with the responses of the males who provided
explanations. The answer of the female four-year-old can be seen below:
Teacher Matthew said pack away. (Therese, Female, 4 years and 11

months old)
Male preschool teachers as transition managers to five-year-olds. The two
five-year-old participants, both male, who gave answers regarding this particular
theme did not provide reasons as to why their teachers do these particular actions,
unlike the previous responses from the male four-year-olds. They simply stated
what they saw and heard. This is observable from their responses below:
Nag-sising ng pang-rest time. [He sings songs for rest time.] (Joshua,
He plays music when it’s time to rest. (Raffy, Male, 5 years and 6 months
old)
Male preschool teachers as transition managers to six-year-olds. In
contrast to the five-year-old participants, it appears that the six-year-olds, both
male and female, show signs of perceptiveness when it comes to transition
techniques employed by their teachers. Many of the participants answered a
variety of observations and behaviors that they see their teachers doing. Two male
six-year-olds provided multiple answers regarding this. Alex, in this response,
talks about what his teacher does after rest time:
We open the lights and Teacher John tells us to wake up. (Alex, Male, 6
Alex, as well as Sean, also talks about what the teacher does with the class before
snack time:
We pray first to eat. (Alex, Male, 6 years and 5 months old)
Teacher John prays and also everyone prays. (Sean, Male, 6 years and 2
months old)
On the other hand, there was only one female six-year-old who shared an
observation that suggest that she views her teacher as a transition manager. Her
answer can be found below:
He plays the music after we play. (Julia, 6 years and 5 months old)
The responses of both male and female six-year-olds show how they are
able to associate the behavior of their teachers to a certain action or a certain part
of the routine, though there were more male six-year-olds who mentioned this
compared to females.
The answers relevant to this subtheme may say that the older the children
are either more observant towards these small actions, or that they are much more
able to express themselves verbally. Moreover, it was seen that the children are
able to understand why their teachers exhibit certain behaviors or actions.
In summary, this particular theme shows how the children view their male
teachers to be a person of authority in the classroom. It is possible that the
children see the teachers as the people who control the flow of the routine, and
also as the ones who will tell them what to do, and when to do them. In terms of
sex, nine of the males showed this theme through their answers, while the females
only had six whose answers were related to routine facilitation. Moreover, the
large amount of responses concerning this theme may show that the children are
receptive to their surroundings and show that they are observant of the people
around them.
Male preschool teachers as classroom managers. Though the last two
concepts are relatively less frequent compared to the first three, the researcher still
deemed them relevant to the study as they show other views that the children may
have towards their teachers. Their concept of their teachers as classroom managers,
for example, is defined as the group of indicators that show how the children view
their male teacher as someone who they can rely on to maintain order in the
classroom when other children become disruptive, and who they can call on when
conflicts arise. Below is the table that shows the subthemes that make up this
theme:
Table 8
Concepts Related to Classroom Manager
Frequency of the Males Females
Aspects of a f
4 yr 5 yr 6 yr 4 yr 5 yr 6 yr %
Classroom n=30
Manager
Observer 2 2 2 0 1 2 9 56.3%
Rule Enforcer 1 1 1 0 1 0 4 25%
Conflict Mediator 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 18.7%
Male preschool teachers as observers. The most frequent subtheme,
Observer, is fairly straightforward, as the participants who had responses for this
subtheme simply recalled what their teacher would do when they would have time
to play outside. All responses here were roles of the teachers stated by the
children. The children view their teachers to have this role in the classroom and
had different reasons as to why their teachers do not join them during outdoor
play and just watch over them instead. Among the participants in the different
groups who provided answers about this theme, six of the participants were males
while only three were females.
Male preschool teachers as observers to male four-year-olds. Only the
male four-year-olds provided answers that show their concept of their teachers as
observers. These two male participants had responses that were different in terms
of the depth of observation of the role of their teachers. One of the children only
stated his observation while the other child was able to provide a reason as to why
he thinks his teacher watches over them during playtime:
Bantay. [Watches over] (Noel, Male, 4 years and 11 months old)
Watch over us if we get hurt or if they’re fighting. (David, Male, 4 years

and 5 months old)
Male preschool teachers as observers to male five-year-olds. Out of the
three five-year-olds who mentioned this concept in their interview, two were male
while only one was female. The two male participants shared observations that
show this concept of their teachers being observers. Mark, in particular, gave his
own understanding of what his teacher does when he and his classmates play
outside:
He just lets everyone play in the outdoor play or in the work play. (Mark,
Joseph, another five-year-old, also recalls what his teacher does when he and his
other classmates swim, but did not provide a reason for his teacher’s actions.
Teacher Matthew just watches. (Joseph, Male, 5 years old)
Sophie, the only female five-year-old who stated an observation about this, also
gave a reason to justify the behavior that she observed of her teacher during play
time:
He watching us. Gusto lang niya panoorin kami. [He watching us. He just
wants to watch us.] (Sophie, 5 years and 4 months old, Female)
It appears that both Sophie and Joseph rationalized their teachers watching over
them as just a voluntary action that the teachers did for no particular reason.
Male preschool teachers as observers to six-year-olds. Moving on to the
oldest age group, there were two participants each in both male and female six-
year-old groups who mentioned this observation during play time. The answers of
the male six-year-olds can be seen in the vignettes below:
Teacher John just stand or play a game with Teacher John. (Sean, Male, 6
Um the teachers, they’re working and they watch. (Alex, Male, 6 years and
5 months old)
Similarly, the female six-year-olds had two participants who talked about their
teacher watching over them as they play. Similar to the males of the same age
group, they did not provide reasons.
Nothing and just sees us. (Alicia, Female, 6 years and 5 months old)
He watches me play. (Julia, Female, 6 years and 5 months old)
This concept shows that the children are not only able to observe things in
their surroundings even if they are preoccupied with other things, but that some
are also able to give reasons as to why certain things happen, or as to why people
perform certain behaviors. However, the latter was only observed in younger
children, as the older children did not justify their observations with their own
reasoning.
Male preschool teachers as rule enforcers. The next subtheme talks
about the different actions that the male teachers do to make sure that the class
does not become chaotic. These management techniques are also observed by the
children, and they are also able to rationalize why the teachers exhibit these
behaviors in the classroom. Most of the responses that make up this subtheme
came from the male participants, with only one response from a female.
Male preschool teachers as rule enforcers to four-year-olds. The sole
four-year-old participant is a male whose answer focused on what his teacher does
to motivate the children to pack away their toys when they do not want to.
When the children does not pack away the toys and then Teacher Matthew
counts. (Angelo, Male, 4 years and 11 months old)
Male preschool teachers as rule enforcers to five-year-olds. Joseph is the
only male five-year-old to mention answers related to this concept. He also shared
his observations when he watches his teacher try to control and calm down the
class. His response depicts his teacher reminding the class to listen as well as to
follow the rules:
He makes the classmates listen and also the rules. (Joseph, Male, 5 years
old)
The sole female participant that gave an answer to this particular concept,
five-year-old Sophie, talks about this when she was asked what she enjoys doing
with her teacher. Similar to Joseph, she talked about her teacher reminding the
class to listen to him when he talks. She said the following:
‘Pag di nakikinig friends ko sumisigaw siya ng “listen!” [When my

friends don’t listen, he shouts “listen!”] (Sophie, 5 years and 4 months old,
Female)
Male preschool teachers as rule enforcers to six-year-olds. The one
participant from the six-year-old group who provided an answer for this concept
had similar observations of his male teacher with the other children, but his
observation was about taking care of the toys in the classroom.
Say “gentle hands” because he might broke. (Andrew, Male, 6 years and 3
months old)
Because of the responses that were found to be related to this subtheme,
it may show that children are aware of why their teachers exhibit certain
behaviors, say certain words, or illicit certain directions. They are able to
comprehend the meaning of the actions of the adults around them. However, this
could only be said to the male participants, as the females, again, only had one
response.
Male preschool teachers as conflict mediators. This final subtheme may
be the most indicative of how the participants view their teachers as mediators
who they can rely on to intervene during conflicts between children. Only the
male participants provided statements that seem to be connected to this subtheme,
as they were detailing past experiences of their teacher disciplining the children.
Male preschool teachers as conflict mediators to five-year-olds. Only one
five-year-old talked about his experience that showed his concept of his teacher as
a conflict mediator. Ralph recalls this through the statement below:
I’ll tell Teacher Matthew that Raffy is teasing me. That’s not right…He
will talk to Raffy. Sabi niya “when I hear that again I’ll talk to you ah.”
[He said “when I hear that again I’ll talk to you, okay?”] (Ralph, Male, 5
years old and 11 months)
Male preschool teachers as conflict mediators to six-year-olds. Two male
six-year-olds were able to recall observations and experiences that show their
teachers as conflict mediators. The two responses can be found in the following
vignettes:
After someone cry, Teacher John knows who did it. (Sean, 6 years and 2
months old, Male)
He helps when someone gets hit. (Gab, 6 years old, Male)
Even with its relatively low frequency compared to the other themes, the
the children’s concept of their teachers as classroom managers is still significant
to the objectives of this study as it describes the views of the participants in a
different way. These show how the children are not only comfortable enough to
play and learn with their teachers, but they trust their teachers enough to turn to
them in times of disruptions. This is consistent to the claims of Searle et al. (2014)
which were that teachers are not only meant to be facilitators of learning and
providers of learning-conducive environments, but they are also to be interveners
of arising possible problematic socio-emotional behaviors and should aim to
address these (Searle et al., 2014).
Male preschool teachers as promoters of independence. The theme
promoters of independence received the least number of responses involved in it,
possibly due to the age group of the participants. Because the children are already
at an older age range and that most of them are already being prepared for
elementary school, it is no surprise that their teachers would not focus on self-help
skills as much as they would towards younger children. However, there were still
a few children who shared their observations regarding these. Since the theme
only had five responses, the researcher decided not to make subthemes for it.
Moreover, three of the five responses were from four-year-old participants, while
the other age groups had one response each.
The responses found in this theme basically revolved around the teacher
encouraging the children to do certain things on their own, namely reading books,
packing away, and changing clothes.
Male preschool teachers as promoters of independence to four-year-olds.
The sole male four-year-old participant who talked about this theme talked about
packing away:
Only my classmates help pack away. He does not pack away. (Jolo, Male,
4 years and 4 months old)
In contrast to the male four-year-olds, the two female four-year-olds who
shared answers pertaining to this shared how their teacher does not read to them:
No. I read on my own. (Louise, Female, 4 years and 5 months old)
My classmates read alone. (Therese, Female, 4 years and 11 months old)
The previous statements are different to the responses given by the older
participants as these younger children simply state that their teachers do not help
them in accomplishing these particular tasks, without giving a reason why.
Male preschool teachers as promoters of independence to five-year-olds.
The only five-year-old to give an answer relevant to this concept is a female who
did not merely state that their teacher does not help them in certain tasks, but also
implied that it is because she is able to mostly do it by herself. This can be seen
below:
Pagkatapos, nagcchange ng clothes kami tapos nap time tapos uuwi

na…No. Di ko lang kaya pag sa likod may zipper. [Afterwards, we change
our clothes and then nap time and then we go home…No. I can’t do it only
if there is a zipper at the back] (Sophie, Female, 5 years and 4 months old)
Male preschool teachers as promoters of independence to six-year-olds.
Similar to the lone female five-year-old participant, Alex, the only male six-year-
old that was shown to see his teacher as a promoter of independence, explained
why his teacher does not help him change his clothes anymore:
We change only alone by ourselves because we’re old enough. (Alex,

The researcher decided to form a theme about this despite the low
frequency is because the data put the male teachers in a different light. It may
show how the participants are not dependent on their teachers with the tasks that
they are already able to handle on their own. The fact that the teachers do not
assist the children in doing things that they can already do alone may also be a
manifestation of one of the components of Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory: The
Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky, 1978). Since these particular tasks are
already independently done by the children, they are not found in the Zone of
Proximal Development anymore, and as such, are not given focus by the teachers
as compared to other areas that the teachers can help the children accomplish
together.
Discussion
Concepts of preschool children of their male teachers. Looking at the
themes formed from the data gathered by the researcher, it appears that male and
female children aged four to six years-old view their male teachers in many ways.
They see their teachers as someone not only as a supporter in difficult tasks that
they cannot do on their own, but as well as a trustworthy figure that they can be
comfortable and build strong bonds with. Additionally, they also view their male
teachers as vessels of knowledge in which they can learn an array new things
from, who they can expect to encourage them to do certain tasks on their own.
Finally, they describe their teachers as persons of authority in the classroom who
are able to maintain order in the classroom and resolve all sorts of conflict,
ensuring that the plans for the day are efficiently conducted.
The concepts that were present in most of the children are their concepts
of their teachers as adult companions, learning guides, and task helpers. These are
the most prevalent concepts across the thirty participants and are also present in
all age groups and sexes. Again, this contests the beliefs of the adults interviewed
in the study of Mukuna and Mutsotso (2012), which say that male teachers are
viewed as untrustworthy and not nurturing towards children. Furthermore, this
supports Chang’s (2012) study that emphasizes the role of adult interaction in the
children’s learning of different concepts (Chang, 2012). This is shown through the
interplay of two concepts: Task Helper and Learning Guide. The Task Helper
theme houses the activity helper subtheme, which shows how many of the
participants enjoy working on challenging activities with their teachers. This is in
synergy with the Learning Guide theme where the children detailed the many
different activities that they do with their teachers to learn a wide variety of
concepts and skills.
Contrary to the views of the people involved in the study of Owen (2003),
the male teachers of the schools who participated were not seen by the children as
role models because of their sex. In fact, none of the participants attributed their
observations or experiences with the sex of their teacher. They simply saw them
for who the male teachers are in their lives and what they do in school. These
conclusions are in line with the argument of Gold and Reis (1982), that because of
the little to no differences in the teaching styles of male and female teachers, male
teachers do not make much of an impact in the classrooms simply because of their
sex (Gold & Reis, 1982).
The participatory drawing provided another avenue for the children to
describe how they view their teacher other than verbal communication. This
activity seemed invaluable during this study as there were a number of
participants who were not comfortable with talking and were more open to this
activity instead. This is in line with Literat’s (2013) article that presents the
purpose of participatory drawings as another way for the children to express
their thoughts as well as lessen the tension between the participant and the
researcher (Literat, 2013).
Concepts of preschool children of their male teachers based on sex.
This study also aimed to determine how male and female children view their male
teachers. Generally, both sexes had similar results in this study, although the male
participants had a few more relevant drawings. This, along with the frequency of
their responses may show that the perspectives of both boys and girls are not
remarkably different from each other. Both had similar trends when regarding the
data gathered from their interviews. Both groups have the same top three themes
that surfaced in their responses, showing that their perception and behavior
towards their male teachers are not as different as many people claim it would be.
The comparatively lower amount of responses given by the female participants as
opposed to the male participants may be because the researcher was not able to
establish as much rapport with them compared to the other group and not because
the female participants had less views on their male teacher. Nevertheless, these
findings do seem to debunk the misconceptions that were stated in the study of
Mukuna and Mutsotso (2012). Each sex is on opposite sides of the spectrum when
it comes to male teachers, and many gender stereotypes were manifested through
this. The preconceived notion that male teachers are untrustworthy especially
around young girls are challenged in these findings, as the data show that the
children, both male and female, place a substantial amount of trust on their male
teachers (Mukuna & Mutsotso, 2012). Similarly, beliefs that male teachers are to
be put on special pedestals as incredibly remarkable figures in the classroom were
challenged as well (Owen, 2003). The data shows that the behavior and
perspectives of male and female children are similar, and that the male
participants do not necessarily view their male teachers as role models because
they are of the same sex. In fact, none of the participants, male and female,
mentioned the fact that their teacher was a male, and none of them attributed the
teacher’s sex into their observations and experiences.
Furthermore, the boys who participated in this study did not put the fact
that both them and their teacher are males in a special light. They did not mention
anything about copying their teachers’ behaviors because they were both males,
contrary to studies that claimed that male teachers were to be male role models to
the children (Cunningham & Watson, 2002). At the same time, the female
participants did not show any signs or gave any response indicating that they did
not trust their male teachers. Their responses were similar to the male participants,
which are not consistent with existing stereotypes that male teachers are found to
be untrustworthy around children (Mukuna & Mutsotso, 2012). The results of this
study say that the children who are under these male teachers do not take into
consideration the fact that their teacher is male, and as such, view their teacher as
a regular, functioning teacher. They have neither a bias for nor against their male
teacher because of his sex. This is in line with the wishes of the interview male
teachers in the study of Wilson (2011), who expressed their simple wish to simply
be seen as a teacher, and not as a male teacher (Wilson, 2011).
Concepts of preschool children of their male teacher based on age.
The consistency of the data gathered across the three ages is a good sign that at
any within the three ages, male teachers can definitely make an impression and
leave a mark on the children. The existing differences of the data across the age
groups, such as the relatively larger amount of Task Helper responses of the four-
year-olds and the larger frequency of both Adult Companion and Learning Guide
themes from the six-year-olds are possibly because of their age’s skills and
developmental needs. It would seem that throughout the ages, all participants
were able to provide their own concept of who their male teacher is. The three age
groups are also able to view their teachers in different ways, and none of the age
groups’ concepts are limited to just one. This means that male teachers have an
opportunity to instill to the children what it really means to be a teacher. They are
able to show that teachers do not have to be female. Moreover, they can exhibit
values and behavior that give the children an impression of what a good teacher,
and what a good person should be like. Beyond the fact that they are male, male
teachers should be role models to all of the children in being good-natured people.
This study determined the way preschool children view their male
teachers. Based on the data collected, the children see them as supporters, as
facilitators, as guides, as persons of authority, and as mediators. This study did not
find any remarkable differences concerning the views of the male children and the
female children, as well as the views across the age groups.
Utilizing the Sociocultural Theory. Throughout the presentation of the
results as well as its discussion, Lev Vygotsky was referenced many times in
order to put the information into perspective and understand it. This study aimed
to see how the children view their male teachers through a series of questions.
The participants answered their observations and experiences, which could be
explained further using the Sociocultural Theory. Looking at the results, it is

apparent that the children made use of their surroundings as well as their
interactions to make sense of who their male teacher is and what his roles in the
classroom are. This is in line with the focus of the sociocultural theory, that
children learn different concepts through their social and physical environment
(Vygotsky, 1978). Moreover, it was shown in the responses, particularly in the
Learning Guide theme, that the children are aware that they are able to learn
different concepts and skills by taking in information from their environment and
adult interaction. These simple experiences that the children will undergo and
remember could possibly help form their concepts on previously unknown
knowledge, as they take in information from their environment around them
before internalizing it all and making their own concept (Vygotsky, 1978). This
stresses the importance of the teacher being able to provide a suitable
environment that allows for optimal learning for the children, as well as adult
interactions that will help them form concepts of the things around them.
Another key concept from the Sociocultural Theory that this study used in
its analysis is the Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotsky used this concept to
describe the relationship between the child’s learnings and their environment. It
was used to emphasize that adults must find a balance between what the children
can do on their own, and what they cannot do yet. Teachers in particular should
tackle the skills that the children can learn given the proper assistance (Vygotsky,
1978). Many of the male teachers in this study seemed to follow this in their
activities in school because several of the participants actually shared how much
they enjoy doing and completing difficult tasks with the help of their teacher, as
seen in the responses that were previously shown. Moreover, this may explain
why a number of participants view their teachers as promoters of independence.
This may be because the teachers are already aware of the skills that the children
can do on their own, and therefore do not offer assistance anymore.
Vygotsky’s theory stresses the importance of early childhood experiences
in initial concept-building among children. He states that children first build
pseudoconcepts of the things around them through gaining information from their
physical and social environment, before internalizing everything and forming their
own concept (Vygotsky, 1967). And even though children begin taking in
knowledge of concepts early on, Vygotsky claims that their pseudoconcepts do
not solidify until adolescence (Vygotsky, 1978). This was seen in this study, as it
is apparent that across the three age groups, the participants are still receptive to
their physical and social environment in terms of utilizing these to make sense of
their male teachers. As stated before, this means that their concept of their male
teacher is still malleable and can still be influenced by the people around them.
Given this, early childhood may be one of the best opportunities to show the
children how teachers are supposed to be, male or female. Beyond this, early
childhood may also be the best time for teachers to become role models and show
the children what it means to be a value-driven person of our society.

Chapter V
Conclusions, and Recommendations
Conclusions
In order to achieve its objectives of describing what a preschool child’s
concept of their male teacher is, as well as determining the concepts across age
groups and between the two sexes, the researcher interviewed thirty participants
who came from four preschools with different philosophies and focuses. Aside
from the interviews, the researcher also conducted a participatory drawing activity
with the participants to give them other options to express their thoughts on their
teacher.
Based on the interviews and the participatory drawing, the researcher was
able to determine and describe how exactly the children view their male teachers.
The children, as shown in the results, view their teachers in a variety of ways,
such as supporters of both cognitive and socio-emotional development, as well as
facilitators in the classroom. However, despite the numerous ways of how the
children view their teacher, they do not view their male teachers as teachers who
are of the male sex. They do not factor in this fact into their different perceptions
and observations. This is true for both male and female participants. The study has
shown that male children do not put male teachers on top of a pedestal and do not
seek to model their characteristics because they are of the same sex. At the same
time, the results show that female children treat and view their male teachers the
same way as male children, and they are not hesitant nor cautious in trusting their
teachers because of the fact that they are males.
Besides looking into the sex of the participants, the study also determined
the concepts of the children across their ages. The study determined that no
significant difference was seen in the results, and that all three age groups had
similar views towards their male teachers. These results show that teachers are
able to influence a child’s concept of them and what a teacher is supposed to be,
strengthening the call for responsibility in building children’s concepts of what it
means to be value-driven and good. This does not mean to say that male teachers
must become role models to the children because of their sex, but rather they must
be role models to the children without taking their sex into consideration. They,
along female teachers, are able to control what the child observes and takes in the
information that will be used when they internalize and build their own concept of
what a teacher is as they grow older.
Normally, adults are called to be examples of the children, and rightly so,
as this paper has shown how children are perceptive of their surroundings.
However, this paper adds to this call, and challenges adults to follow the examples
of children. The findings of this paper show that the children who participated in
this study did not factor in the sex of their male teachers in any of their concepts
of them. This shows that the sex of their teacher is not important to the children in
terms of their concepts of their teachers. Similarly, society ought to seek age-old
gender stereotypes and gender roles that were imposed on everyone. Instead of
limiting concepts based on the sex, society ought to focus on the individuality and
uniqueness of every person.
Recommendations
Methodological. Future studies may choose to take into account the
characteristics of the male teachers such as their teaching experience, educational
background, and the like. This is because these factors may also have a role in
their choice of activities and routine. Similarly, future studies may also choose to
take note of other characteristics of the participants such as their family
background and socio-economic status to provide a different view in the results.
Moreover, it is recommended to further build into the foundation of questions and
answers that this study produced to gain better understanding of the research
objectives. More studies may be done in order to provide deeper understanding
regarding this issue. Further studies may want to take a look on younger children
as well and see if they view their teachers differently compared to the older
children tackled in this research. Finally, some may choose to provide a
comparative analysis between the concepts of preschool children of their male and
female teachers to determine whether or not they see male and female teachers
differently.
Theoretical. Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory proved useful in
understanding the observations and experiences of the participants of this study.
Because of the incorporation of its different components, the data gathered was
broken down and interpreted through this theory’s lens. However, some responses
of this study showed that the children were actually able to process what was
happening around them, giving reasons and justifications for their teacher’s
different actions and behaviors. This seems contradicting to Vygotsky’s claim that
children, before processing and understanding information within themselves,
start by gathering information from around them. If they are able to comprehend
and justify actions at a young age, does it mean they were already able to
understand and process the information? This study recommends a research that is
similar to this but with a different theoretical framework, to address and shine
some light into this topic.
Practical and social implications. For future studies, this paper
recommends a few things to ensure more efficient implementation especially
during the data gathering procedures. First, it may be more efficient to send out
consent forms to all parents in the classroom before randomly selecting
participants. This could allow for a faster data gathering and less adjustments
should the parents not allow their child to be interviewed. Another
recommendation would be to provide many color options for the children to
choose from in doing the participatory drawing.
This study was able to provide first-hand insight on how children view
their male teachers. This could possibly change age-old mindsets of people who
think that male teachers are not fit for this particular career field. Moreover, this
may provide validation to male teachers and teachers in general that children
notice and acknowledge even the most trivial of actions. However, because the
children were seen to be observant, this implies that teachers, as well as other
adults within the children’s social sphere, must be wary of their words and
actions, as the children are able to observe and potentially copy them.
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Appendix A
Interview Guide
I. Pambungad
Magandang umaga! Ako si Paolo Castillo at isa akong mag-aaral estudyante
sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman. Maraming salamat sa pag-sang-ayon sa
pagtulong sa aking aral na “Concept of Preschool Children of Male
Preschool Teachers”, o ang konsepto ng mga bata ukol sa kanilang lalaking
guro. Magtatanong ako sa iyo ng ilang tanong tungkol sa iyo at sa iyong guro.
Nais kong sabihin na maaari tayong tumigil at huminto nang kahit kailang
punto ng pakikipanayam. Ibig sabihin nito ay hindi mo kailangan tumuloy
kung ayaw mo. Ito ay tatagal ng sampu hanggang labing-limang minuto.
Lahat ng sagot at impormasyon na ibibigay mo sa akin ay gagamitin lamang
para sa aking aral. May tanong ka bang nais banggitin?
II. Panimulang Katanungan
1. Kamusta naman ang pakiramdam mo ngayon?
2. Ano ang ginawa mo sa paaralan mo ngayon?
III. Personal na Impormasyon
2.3.Ano ang buong pangalan mo?
3.4.Ilang taon ka na?
4.5.Ano ang pangalan ng iyong guro?
IV. Panayam
Bago tayo magpatuloy, nais ko lamang ipaalala na ito ay kusang-loob lamang
at hindi mo kailangan gawin kapag ayaw mo na. Ngayon naman ay
magtatanong ako tungkol sa iyong guro. Ito ay dahil nais kong malaman kung
paano nakikita ng isang bata ang kanilang lalaking guro. Bibigyan rin kita ng
pagkakataon gumuhit. Pwede po ba tayo magpatuloy?
1. Ano ang ginagawa ng guro mo sa eskwelahan?
a. Ano ang ginagawa ng guro mo sa iba’t ibang parte ng klase?
i. Tuwing circle time?
ii. Tuwing kainan?
iii. Tuwing naglalaro sa labas?
2. Tinutulungan ka ba ng guro mo sa eskwelahan? Ang mga tanong sa
instrument matrix at sa mismong instruments ay dapat makapareho. Please
make the instrument matrix and the instrument itself congruent. Please
revise accordingly.
a. Sa aling bagay ka tinutulungan ng guro mo?
b. Paano ka tinutulungan ng guro mo?
3. Ano ang mga aktibidad na ginagawa mo kasama ang iyong guro?
4. Ano ang paborito mong gawin kasama ang iyong guro?
a. Maaari mo bang guhitin ito para sa akin?
V. Pagbubuo
Dito nagtatapos ang ating pakikipanayam. Maraming salamat sa pagsama at sa
pagsagot ng aking mga tanong hanggang sa dulo. May nais ka pa bang itanong
para sa akin? Kung wala na, tanggapin niyo sana ang aking munting regalo
bilang simbolo ng aking pasasalamat sa iyong tulong.

Appendix B
Pilot Testing
The researcher conducted a pilot test of the research instrument in order to
determine the effectivity of the tool. This was conducted on December 3 and 4, 2018. The
researcher contacted the preschool and requested for two possible participants for the
pilot testing. The school administration kindly presented two participants; one female
four-year-old and one male five-year-old. Both children are currently handled by a male
teacher. Before the pilot testing, the researcher presented his informed consent form and
tool to the administrator for approval.
The male child was the first to be interviewed. He did not have a hard time
warming up to the researcher and gave fairly straightforward answers to the questions.
With that being said, there were some questions that the participant had trouble
answering, such as the questions asking if the teacher helps the participant in school, and
the activities that they do together. The researcher determined that in order to further
improve the tool, the words must be further simplified for the children to easily
comprehend and hopefully answer. The participant created a drawing of him and his
teacher, albeit it was merely of him shouting beside his teacher because he is excited for
class. It may be more effective if the researcher further explains the mechanics of the
drawing activity.
The second participant, the female, was considerably more reserved and timid at
the forefront. She did not show signs of reluctance, but it could be observed that she was
being cautious and careful. Initially, she did not elaborate on much of her answers, and
merely gave short phrases. Eventually, however, the researcher decided to go off-topic
and talk about her interests: her family. After talking about her family, the participant was
evidently more comfortable with the interview and was able to answer more confidently.
She did not, however, participate in the drawing activity because she claimed that the
crayons provided did not have any “skin-tone” colors. After the interview, the researcher
determined a few points for improvement. First, the tool must have more warm-up
questions to cater to more hesitant participants in the future for them to ease into the
conversation. Second, to include questions asking about the teacher’s appearance, for the
participants to have something concrete and easy to recall facts to answer. Finally, to add
a variety of colors for the drawing activity to minimize the reluctance to participate in the
activity.
Overall, the pilot testing was quite insightful and helpful to the development of
the tool. The researcher will take into consideration all points and concerns raised over
the pilot testing for a more effective and appropriate research instrument.
Appendix C
Informed Consent Form
February 2019
Para sa mga magulang at tagapag-alaga ng aking mga kalahok,
Magandang araw! Ako po si Al Paolo D. Castillo, isang estudyanteng nag-aaral ng BS

Family Life and Child Development sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman. Sa kasalukuyan
ay mayroon akong FLCD 200, ang aking thesis class.
Upang tapusin ang itong gawain, ako ay gagawa ng isang pilot test upang isuri ko ang aking
research tool para sa aking aralin na kung tawagin ay “Concept of Preschool Children of
Their Male Teachers”. Ang nais kong malaman sa aralin na ito ay kung paano nakikita
ng isang bata ang kanilang lalaking guro sa iba’t ibang aspeto katulad ng aktibidad ng
kanilang guro, at ang kanilang mga karanasan kasama sa kanilang guro. Ito ay upang
makapagbigay ng bagong perspektibo tungo sa mga lalaking nagtuturo ng maliliit na bata.
Para makolekta ko ang impormasyon na kailangan para sa aking aralin, nais ko po sanang
makipag-panayam sa iyong anak, na tatagal lamang ng sampu hanggang labing-limang
minute para matapos. Nais ko rin po sanang tanungin ang inyong anak na guhitin ang
kanilang paboritong aktibidad na kasama ang kanilang guro, upang bigyan ng ibang paraan
ng pagsagot sa mga tanong ko.
Kung sakaling sumang-ayon kayo sa aking aralin, tiyak na nakatago ang identidad ng iyong
anak at lahat na nakolektang impormasyon ay magiging kompidensyal at gagamitin lamang
para sa aralin na ito. Ang paglahok ninyo at ng inyong anak ay kusang-loob lamang at
maaaring tumigil at tumanggi kahit kalian. Maaari ko ding bigyan kayo ng kopya ng
proposal sa dulo ng mag-ayos ko ng impormasyon.
Kung may mga tanong pa po kayo, maaari niyo po akong abutin sa 0927 550 4348 o kaya
naman sa alpaolodcastillo@gmail.com. Marami pong salamat sa inyong oras at aabangan
ko po ang inyong sagot!
Maraming salamat,
FLCD Researcher
CONSENT FORM
Ako, si _______________________, ay pinapayagan ko ang aking anak na lumahok sa
aralin na
(Pangalan ng magulang, tagapag-alaga)
Concept of Preschool Children of Their Male Teachers.
Ako, si ________________________, ay pumapayag na lumahok sa aralin na
(Pangalan ng kalahok)
Concept of Preschool Children of Their Male Teachers, na magaganap sa
_________________ sa _____________________________.
(Petsa ng panayam) (Lugar ng panayam)

Appendix DC
Assent Form
Study title: Concept of Preschool Children of Male Preschool Teachers

Investigators: Al Paolo D. Castillo
Bakit ako nandito?
Nais kong kausapin ka tungkol sa iyong gurong lalaki. Nais kong malaman kung
paano mo siya nakikita, kung ano yung sa tingin mong ginagawa niya sa klase ninyo, at
kung ano ang iyong mga karanasan kasama siya. May tanong ka ba para sa akin?
Bakit ko ginagawa ang aralin na ito?
Nais kong malaman kung paano ba nakikita ng isang bata ang kanilang mga
gurong lalaki. Malinaw po ba?
Ano ang mangyayari sa iyo?
Kung nais mong sumali sa aral ko, eto ang mangyayari sa iyo:
1. Tatagal ng sampu hanggang labing-limang minuto ang ating usapan.
Bibisitahin kita sa inyong eskwelahan para magtanong ng ilang
tanong.
2. Magtatanong lang ako tungkol sa iyo at sa iyong guro, at pwede ka rin
gumuhit para sumagot sa aking tanong.
3. Irerekord ang iyong mga sagot.
Paano kung may mga tanong ka?
Pwede ka magtanong sa akin, o kaya naman sa iyong mga guro o pamilya.
Sino ang makakaalam sa mga sagot mo?
Lahat ng sasagutin mo sa mga tanong ko ay itatago ko at hindi ko ipapagkalat.

Gagamitin ko lamang ito sa aking aralin. Hindi ko ibabanggit ang iyong pangalan at ang
makakaalam lang na ikaw ay kasama ditto ay ang iyong guro at pamilya.
Kailangan ba na sumali ka sa aral?

Hindi mo kailangang sumali sa aral na ito. Walang magagalit kung ayaw mo

gawin. Kung ayaw mo ipagpatuloy ang aral na ito, sabihin mo lang sa akin. Kahit na nais
ng magulang o guro mo, pwede ka parin tumanggi. Kahit na sumali ka ngayon, pwede ka
parin tumigil mamaya.
Mayroon ka bang mga tanong?
Assent
Nais kong sumali sa aral na ito. Alam ko na maaari akong tumigil sa kahit anong
punto ng panayam.
_________________________ Verbal assent given Yes 

Pangalan ng bata
Written Assent
______________________ __________ _______________

Lagda ng Bata Edad Petsa
____________________________ _________________________
Pangalan ng Magulang o Lagda ng Magulang o

Tagapag-alaga ng Bata Tagapag-alaga ng Bata
Patibay ito na ipinaliwanag ko ang aral sa aking kalahok sa kung saan

maiintindihan niya, at sumang-ayon ang kalahok na sumali sa aral.
____________________________ _________________________
Pangalan ng Tagapag-panaliksik Lagda ng Tagapag-panaliksik

Appendix E
Profile of Participants
Profile of Participants
Participant Age (as of Jan 2019) Sex
Noel 4 years and 11 months old Male
Angelo 4 years and 11 months old Male
Karl 4 years and 8 months old Male
David 4 years and 5 month old Male
Jolo 4 years and 4 months old Male
Ralph 5 years and 11 months old Male
Joseph 5 years old Male
Mark 5 years and 8 months old Male
Joshua 5 years and 5 months old Male
Raffy 5 years and 6 months old Male
Gab 6 years old Male
Alfred 6 years and 4 months old Male
Alex 6 years and 5 months old Male
Sean 6 years and 2 months old Male
Andrew 6 years and 3 months old Male
Cai 4 years and 5 months old Female
Therese 4 years and 11 months old Female
Elaine 4 years and 11 months old Female
Maria 4 years and 4 months old Female
Louise 4 years and 5 months old Female
Carla 5 years and 4 months old Female
Bea 5 years old Female
Eunice 5 years and 2 months old Female
Annie 5 years and 1 month old Female
Sophie 5 years and 4 months old Female
Chase 6 years and 4 months old Female
Alicia 6 years and 5 months old Female
Julia 6 years and 5 months old Female
Patricia 6 years and 6 months old Female
Josette 6 years and 3 months old Female
Total 30
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Concept of Preschool Children of Their Male Teachers

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CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

OF THEIR MALE TEACHERS

A Thesis presented to the

In Partial Fulfilment for the Degree of

University of the Philippines

May 2019December 2018

COLLEGE OF HOME ECONOMICS

Bachelor in Science in Family Life and Child Development

Concept of Preschool Children of Their Male Teachers

Asst. Prof. Excelsa C. Tongson

Student’s Signature and Date:

Asst. Prof. Excelsa C. Tongson

We hereby grant the University of the Philippines non-exclusive, worldwide,

Specifically, we grant the following rights to the University:

a) to upload a copy of the work in the theses database of the college /

The thesis attached hereto, entitled, “CONCEPT OF PRESCHOOL

ASST. PROF. EXCELSA C. TONGSON

MR. RAMON JERICHO C. SANTOS MR. ERICKSON M. MACLID

DR. AURORITA T. ROLDAN

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the children I

thesis, and for making a long-lasting mark in my life.

and encouraged to become a better person because of you all.

To Daddy, thank you for raising me to be a God-fearing and independent young

the day when I can see you again up in heaven.

in light of prevailing gender-stereotypical mindsets towards males in early childhood

classroom managers and facilitators, and promoters of independence. Additionally,

CHAPTER 1 Commented [Office1]: Put line numbers

Background of the Study

many studies aimed at clarifying misconceptions surrounding male preschool

teachers in early childhood education (Owen, 2003), the group remains

stereotyped and generalized by society. Society disapproves of males joining the

different results such as negative stereotyping, mistrust, and the general

childhood education, possibly to address societal concerns and judgments, as well

dangers of tokenizing male preschool teachers (Murray, 1996; Wilson, 2011).

concept of preschool children of their male preschool teacher.

This paper aims to view male preschool teachers through a different

dissolution of society’s misconceptions towards male preschool teachers, but also

to encourage more males to enter the field.

Statement of the Problem

being a workforce dominated by women statistically shown by UNESCO,

showing that female teachers make up 90.97% of the population of early

childhood educators in 2016 (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, n.d.). The studies

the parents or other teachers in order to accomplish their research objectives.

findings of other studies.

Objectives of the Study

This research aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. To describe the concept of preschool children of their male teachers

2. To determine the concepts of preschool children of their male teachers based

on their age and sex

Significance of the Study

of early childhood education programs by incorporating more men in the

preschool teachers and how children perceive them.

The study is beneficial to the discipline of Family Life and Child

Development and will prove the significance in further studies concerning

concept-building of children and could allow for more developmentally

appropriate early childhood practices both at home and in school. Furthermore, it

may be possible to positively influence parents and their perspective on male

and in the workforce.

study aims to emphasize the importance of daily interaction in the concept-

understanding some facets of children’s everyday lives such as their environment

Finally, the results of this research may prove to be significant in the

promotion of one of the seventeen sustainable goals of development, gender

to be confined to the characteristics that society expects them to have.

of achieving a truly gender equal society.