Fun guy and possible perpetrator : An interview study of how men are positioned within early childhood education and care

Many countries call for more men to be teachers in early child-hood education and care (ECEC). In Sweden, the issue has beendiscussed since the early 1970s, but despite these discussionsthere is little Swedish research that examines the notions andexpectations associated with male teachers. International researchhas found that perceptions of men in ECEC can be very ambivalentand that physical contact between the male educator and childrenis a sensitive issue. By focusing on the interaction between edu-cators and children, the purpose of this study is to investigategender-specific beliefs about male preschool teachers. The empiri-cal material consists of interviews with 50 informants. Of these, 17are men and 33 are women. The results show that“the fun guy”and“the possible perpetrator”are two gender-specific positionsthat male informants are subjected to. The article discusses howmen take up and resist the two positions, and argues for the needto further challenge gendered stereotypes in preschool