GENDER AND SECONDARY EDUCATION: TEACHER EXPERIENCES AND STRATEGIES

Abstract The main objective of this study was to analyse the eventual negative effects associated with male teachers in Portuguese secondary education as well as their strategies for integrating into a profession where women are in the majority. We carried out sixteen individual semi-structured interviews with eight male and eight female teachers and with the contents then submitted to thematic analysis. The analytical findings demonstrate how men, in this context, experience different consequences from those experienced by women facing similar situations while also identifying advantages accruing due to membership of the minority. The experiences of men and the perceptions of women suggest the existence of pressure for men to portray, as teachers, the traits of hegemonic masculinity.