At John Wister Elementary School in Philadelphia, just three of roughly 40 teachers are men.

Principal Erica Smith says she’d love to hire more male teachers and has asked her team for candidates. But she struggles to find qualified applicants.

“We don’t get a lot of men who have teaching credentials,” she said.

A generation of boys is growing up with few male role models in the classroom. Boys today are more likely than girls to have discipline problems in school and fall behind in reading. They are less likely to complete high school or enroll in college. Some research suggests that they would benefit from more male teachers, who can be less likely to see them as disruptive and may create a better learning environment for them.

In the 1970s and ’80s, nearly one in three public school teachers were men, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Education. Now, not even one in four teachers are male, according to the latest federal data.

Some research suggests that they would benefit from more male teachers, who can be less likely to see them as disruptive and may create a better learning environment for them.

In the 1970s and ’80s, nearly one in three public school teachers were men, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Education. Now, not even one in four teachers are male, according to the latest federal data.

One reason for men’s limited interest in teaching is pay, teachers say. The “teacher pay penalty,” as some researchers call it, is more severe for men than women. The typical college-educated man made $95,000 in 2023, compared with $65,000 for male teachers—a $30,000 pay gap, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of census data stored at the University of Minnesota. The comparable gap for women was $12,000.

Teachers often have perks that other professionals don’t, including more generous benefits packages, access to a pension and summers off. But unpaid summers may be less appealing for men who may face societal and familial pressures to earn more money, say researchers. 

“I worry a lot that teaching is sometimes perceived as something of a second-earner profession rather than a breadwinner profession,” said Richard Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, a think tank focused on the success of boys and men.

Teacher salary, adjusted for inflation, has been roughly flat for three decades as schools have spent increased funds on other priorities, including additional staff.

Trent Petty went to college to study engineering, but a mentor suggested he’d be good at teaching. Petty hadn’t considered that career path even though his mom was a teacher. Most of his own teachers were female and outgoing, even bubbly. “That’s not me at all,” Petty recalls thinking.