“It wasn’t A Romantic Marriage”: A Metaphor Analysis of Male Early Childhood Educators’ Career Narratives

Abstract

This research represents a breakthrough in studies examining men’s career trajectories in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). While past research examined men’s personal career narratives using thematic tools of analysis, the current study employs metaphorical analysis that provides deep insight into men’s intentions and understanding of themselves, as expressed to others. Two men’s metaphorical concepts found in their career narratives were identified and contrasted. One man’s metaphors were drawn from his experience in the American counter-culture of the 1960s; while the other’s emanated from his Protestant German upbringing. This process revealed their motivations to choose a traditionally female career and their agentic coping with difficulties engendered by crossing into a female gendered territory. A socio-cultural perspective enabled a wider interpretation. This research suggests that metaphorical analysis be used for research employing men’s narratives to aspects of their lives and their professional practice.