| dc.description.abstract | With the projected mass retirements of male secondary school teachers, Ontario
Ministry of Education statistics suggest that female teachers will - for the first time in Ontario
history - constitute the majority of Ontario Secondary School teachers. To date, most of the
research on the feminization of teaching has focused on the issue at the elementary school level
where the phenomenon had been very noticeable for decades. Feminization of an occupation
occurs when women move en masse into a profession or occupation and men leave it. Little
research exists on feminization at the secondary school level. The purpose of this qualitative
study was to determine in which ways feminization of secondary school teaching has occurred.
Six female secondary school Science teachers from two northern Ontario school boards were
interviewed. The study was framed around two focus questions: “What are the experiences of
women teaching in Science, a subject area traditionally dominated by men?” and, “In the
educational setting, how are these women treated by others?” Data provided by the women
suggest that feminization is occurring within secondary schools in northern Ontario. While
working in an increasingly feminized environment, these female Science teachers were
accepted as qualified and competent by those they worked with and encountered in the
educational setting. | |
