Abstract:

The phenomenon of drop-out is often caused by social changes within the collective or as a result of external influences (Räsänen et al., 2020; Gunn et al., 2021; Kostelecká & Valášková Vincejová, 2023). These include the growing intensity of feminization and the subsequent decline in the attractiveness of the school profession (Dončevová, 2023; Duarte et al., 2023; UNESCO & International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, 2024). External determinants have a direct impact on subjective job satisfaction (Guoba, Žygaitienė, & Kepalienė, 2022). The aim of the qualitative study was to identify, through participant observation, semi-structured and narrative interviews, the qualitative aspects of the relationship between the gender structure of the school environment and everyday life in the elementary school at the macrosocial (management) and microsocial (teaching staff, school-based support team) levels. We were interested in how the predominance of women and the lack of men affects the school climate, social interactions and relationships, and how the intensity of turnover in school professions can be positively influenced. Over the course of three months, our research in the field of school ethnology focused on participant observation of what takes place in the workspace of the teaching staff, support team, and management of one elementary school (before the start of classes, during breaks, lunch, after classes, during work meetings, etc.). The research included semi-structured interviews with school management (n:3) and narrative interviews with teaching and specialist staff (n:10). In the process of subsequent analysis (discursive, thematic, and narrative) and open coding, the findings were processed in tandem to ensure the validity of the findings through triangulation.

We found that:
- women who are satisfied with their work in Slovak primary schools are mainly women who do not have to face the dilemma between economically disadvantageous work and the need to secure decent living conditions; in Slovakia, due to the deteriorating economic conditions in education, the myth of the female teacher who can afford to work in a school thanks to the financial support of a better-earning partner persists (Minarovičová, 2009),
- there is a growing interest among men in working in schools after completing their active careers in other areas of the labor market; they have achieved their career expectations, are financially secure, and their only professional desire is to be useful in passing on their experience to young people (Alharbi, 2020).
- an important motive for women and men to remain in the teaching profession is flexible working hours, which allow them to devote time to their children/family/leisure activities after work and to take collective leave during school holidays.

Given the shortage of men in teaching professions, we have observed a trend toward favoring male candidates regardless of their professional qualifications and work skills. Recommendations based on our findings could be proposed to change the current situation, such as the use of supportive self-development tools through which school management can positively motivate men to remain in teaching professions while strengthening the professional and personal competencies of women.

Acknowledgement:
The study is part of the VEGA MŠVVaŠ SR project No. 1/0316/22 Multidisciplinary aspects of feminization of education.

Keywords:

Gender structure of the school staff, drop-out syndrome, school supervision, school and peer mediation, educational coaching.