Though a noticeable gender gap exists in the College of Education, the department is currently working to amend it.
There was one male for every three female undergraduates in the College of Education at NC State in the spring 2014 semester.
NC State is not the only school to experience a gender gap in education. The School of Education at UNC-Chapel Hill has only nine male undergraduates, which comes to a ratio of 14 female students for every one male, according to the Daily Tar Heel.
NC State’s smaller gender gap is due in part to the fact that the university has a large secondary education program, which has more men enrolled than the smaller, female-dominated elementary education program.
Currently the science, technology, engineering and mathematics education program is less-gender divided than the other programs within the College of Education. Allison McCulloch, associate professor in the College of Education, said that within the STEM education program, the gender breakdown is nearly even with 55.95 percent female and 44.05 percent male students.
Even with this, the gap between male and female students within the College of Education is still extremely evident.
Michael Maher, the assistant dean for professional education, said it is important for more men to graduate with a degree in education at NC State.
“Boys need men to look up to as teachers just as much as women do,” Maher said. “Women are now being encouraged to enter into science and math fields; it’s time to encourage more men to enter into education.”
Recruiters for the College of Education are attempting to diversify the program by not only recruiting more males, but also recruiting more minority students, Maher said.
“When a gap this evident exists, schools should aspire to fill it,” Maher said.
Maher said this recruiting style has proven successful for NC State, and the gap between number of males and females within the College of Education has lessened after specifically targeting the lacking groups.
Maher said this split among male and female undergraduates stems from a few different sources.
“Historically as a society, we have viewed service jobs such as social work, nursing and teaching as female roles,” Maher said.
This societal division, however, has not always been the case in education.
“Public education, when first implemented, was a male dominated area,” Maher said. “Eventually a shift occurred, and women began to work as teachers and these men tended to take roles as principals and superintendents as opposed to teachers.”
Maher said education shouldn’t be seen as a field that is a strictly-female career choice.
“Education and becoming a teacher opens up numerous opportunities,” Maher said. “I would encourage any males that are unsure of what to major in to consider education as a possible career choice.”