Why don't more boys want to become teachers? The effect of a gendered profession on students’ career expectations

Gender differences in teaching career expectations were explored among 15-year-old students in 49 countries participating in the 2015 cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Results revealed that boys were generally less likely than girls to expect to work as teachers, but the magnitude of the gender gap varied across countries. Boys were more likely to expect to work as teachers in countries with a greater representation of male teachers and in countries with higher teacher salaries. In countries with more egalitarian gender beliefs (i.e., beliefs and attitudes toward gender equality), both boys and girls were less likely to expect teaching careers, but this negative association was stronger for boys than for girls.