Men's motivation, well-being and perceived options in female dominated working environments

1. Men's motivation, well-being and perceived options in female dominated working environments Assistant Professor Rune Storli Queen Mauds College of Early Childhood Education Norway

2. Background and relevant research • 5% of skilled pre-school teachers (Tønder, 2003) and 9% of primary school teachers at 1. – 4. grade are men in Norway (SSB, 2005). • Men have encountered a substantial pressure to occupy stereotypic roles in pre-school. • Gender differences in motivation, sense of well-being and achivement/ effort among 1.year pre-school and teacher students in Norway.(Bratterud et.al, 2003)

3. Theory • Motivation theory (Deci & Ryan, 1991; Maehr & Braskamp, 1986) • Organisation- sociological theory (Theory of relative numbers; Kanter 1993)

4. Performance Situation Personal experiences Age/ stage Sosio-cultural context Information MEANING Sense of Self (need of self-determination) Personal Goals/Goal-orientation (need of competence) Sense of Relatedness (need of belonging) Perceived Options/Choices (need of autonomi ) PERSONAL INVESTMENT/INTRINSIC MOTIVATION EFFORT SENSE OF WELL - BEING WORK PERFORMANCE ACHIEVEMENTS Figure 1 Antecedents of Perceived Meaning and Intrinsic Motivation, as a Foundation for Sense of Well-Being, Work Effort, Work Performance and Achievements in a Work Setting (From Bratterud, Børresen, Holthe, Lillemyr and Tangen, 2003; based on Maehr & Braskamp 1986 og Deci & Ryan 1991)

5. Approach • In what degree is being in minority (male in female dominated working environment) decisive for motivation, sense of well-being and perceived options at work?

6. Sample: • All men employed in pre-schools in the county of Sør-Trøndelag (ST). • All male teachers in primary schools in the city of Trondheim + 4 selected municipalities in the county of ST. • Respons: All over 47% • 77% pre-school teachers (n = 48) • 40% teachers (n = 109)

7. Methods Methods • Questionnaire • Questionnaire

8. Background variables age seniority education/ profession gender distribution at place of work leisure-time interests • Experience of meaning expressed as • Perceived options • Personal goal: mastery/ sense of competence • Belonging • Personal investment (involvement) expressed as • Intrinsic motivation • Well-being • Effort Model of analysis/ Design

9. Analysis • SPSS(Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) • Frequences • Correlations • Mean differences (t-tests)

10. Results: • Our findings confirm the theory, indicating strong relations between experience of meaning and personal investment. • According to our findings, to be in a minority position is not decisive for the experience of motivation, sense of well-being and perceived options for male pre-school teachers or male teachers in primary school.

11. Male pre-school teachers experience significantly stronger perceived options and more sense of well-being at work than male teachers in primary school. • Male pre-school teachers does not report any significant changes in sense of well-being, effort or motivation in regard of seniority/ length of service. • Male teachers in primary school with seniority less than 7 years report a significant drop in motivation from their first year till today.

12. Conclusions: • Our investigation confirms the theory model of a combination of Deci & Ryan (1985; 1991) and Maehr & Braskamp (1986) that there is a relationship between strong experience of meaning and personal investment.

13. However, we did not find that being in a minority position (as a male) had a negative effect on motivation at work, on sense of well-being or on perceived options at work. • Nevertheless, our study can be seen as a contribution to a more differentiated view of the theory of relative numbers (Kanter, 1993). • For a more thorough examination of these reseach problems, qualitative post-studies would be recommended.