Are Men Lacking Caring Qualities in Preschool Education? Perceptions About Male Preschool Teachers Versus Their Experiences as Preschool Teachers in Cambodia

Abstract

This research examines preschool actors’ perceptions of, and their influence on, men’s engagement in preschool education, as well as male preschool teachers’ experiences in the field. It employs sociological approaches to masculinity studies to analyze in-depth interview data from 20 preschool actors and two male preschool teachers, conducted from February to May 2018 in Cambodia. This research found that the preschool actors enacted Khmer cultural discourses on childcare in the gender regime of preschool education at two levels: symbolic enactment created a gendered identity of men as being without sufficient caring qualities such as patience, tenderness and gentleness; while material enactment occurred through their appointment of women as preschool teachers despite their wish to employ male preschool teachers because of their masculine qualities and skills. Such enactments constrain men’s engagement in the field; however, their narratives of caring practices in both preschool and domestic spaces reveal transformative potential. This research contributes by investigating preschool actors’ perceptions of men’s engagement in preschool education and by analysing men’s caring practices in both preschool and domestic settings.

Introduction

Globally, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) remains a female-dominated sector, shaped largely by gendered social expectations and the lower societal value ascribed to this field (Haines et al., 2024). Increasing men’s representation in this field would bring several benefits, including challenging rigid gender roles in society (Haines et al., 2024; Warin, 2018, 2019), influencing the formation of gender identity in children (Al Baqi, 2023), addressing labour shortages (Haines et al., 2024), and expanding employment opportunities for men (Haines et al., 2024). As evident in Haines et al.‘s systematic review of 120 studies conducted globally, research on men’s engagement in ECEC remains predominantly concentrated in the Global North (see also Brody, 2015; Warin, 2018; Yulindrasari, 2017).

Limited studies on men and ECEC in Africa and Asia shed some light on people’s perceptions about men’s engagement in ECEC and their engagement experience (Ossai & Ramsaroop, 2022; Yang & McNair, 2019, 2021; Yulindrasari, 2017). These studies have shown how gendered social expectations shape people’s perspectives about male preschool teachers—for example, the belief that men are not suited for this profession—and influence their engagement experiences, including a preference for teaching subjects considered masculine (e.g., Physical education and science).

No specific studies have explored perspectives of men’s engagement in ECEC and/or men’s ECEC experience in Cambodia; however, some related studies have investigated men’s caring practices in the home (My, 2023a), or explored parents’ and preschool teachers’ gendered beliefs about boys’ and girls’ aspirational education (Grace & Eng, 2019). Cambodia’s ECEC discourses are embedded in the National Policy on Early Childhood Care and Development, developed in 2010, and its related action plans. A critical analysis of these documents and others, along with the perspectives of policymakers and policy practitioners, indicated that “preschool education” and feminised “familial care” have been conceptualised as an ECEC discourse in Cambodia (My, 2023b).

This feminised “familial care” is underpinned by Khmer cultural discourses on childcare. These discourses have their roots in the traditional codes of conduct for men and women and have been reconstructed in contemporary education textbooks (My, 2021). The dominant idea about being a (successful) Khmer man positions men as the “head of the family” and the “family provider” (Brereton, 2009; Bylander, 2015; Haque, 2013; Jacobsen, 2012). In contrast, women are considered the “head of the household”, responsible for housework and caring responsibilities (Brickell, 2011). It is embedded in the traditional code of conduct for women influenced by Buddhism, the state religion (Jacobsen, 2008). Buddhists account for 96.5% of the population (National Institute of Statistics, 2025, see p. 20).

This article begins by theorising sociological approaches to masculinity studies to guide the analysis of this research. It then reviews existing studies on men’s engagement in ECEC in the Global South, and discusses research methods. In the findings section I first examine the perceptions of preschool actors (preschool directors and female preschool teachers) on men’s engagement in ECEC and their influence on men’s caring practices in the ECEC space. This section reports that Khmer cultural discourses and preschool actors’ perceptions of men’s lack of caring qualities have placed limitations on men in this sector. It is compounded by the intersecting concerns of preschool actors regarding morality and child abuse associated with men’s engagement in ECEC. I then explore men’s ECEC experiences and caring practices in the home. The narratives of men’s caring engagement were transformative, with some challenges in navigating child protection policies.

Theorising Men’s Space in ECEC

This section theorizes men’s space in ECEC as an analytical tool to examine factors constraining men’s engagement in ECEC and explores configurations of men’s childcare practices in an ECEC setting and at home. This theorizing is informed by a masculinity theory (Connell, 2000, 2005), a notion of a “continuum of caring masculinities” (My, 2023a), a theory of gendered organizations (Acker, 1990), and a notion of “gender flexibility” (Warin, 2019).

Masculinity is the “configurations of gender practice” within gender relations/ gendered social structures (Connell, 2000, 2005). It is “the process of configuring practice” or a social action (Connell, 2000, p. 28). This conception suggests that masculinity as a social practice is constrained by gendered social structures, while acknowledging the plurality and hierarchy within masculinities and between masculinities and femininities. Four intersecting dimensions of gender relations that shape masculine practices are power relations, production relations (division of labor), emotional relations, and cultural discourse (Connell, 2000, 2005, 2009). These intersecting dimensions are the major elements of any “gender order” or “gender regime” (Connell, 1987). Gender regimes usually align with the gender order, but they sometimes depart from it.

Connell’s masculinity theory enables this research to focus on the gender regime of Cambodia’s ECEC and men’s engagement in ECEC. The gender regime of ECEC focuses on the perspectives of preschool actors, which shape how men engage in ECEC. This analysis accords with Acker’s (1990) theory of gendered organizations, which suggests that a set of processes operate to create gendered organizational structures, shaping the construction of symbols and images as well as divisions along gender lines, which help to produce an individual gendered identity.

The perspectives of preschool actors and their configurations of caring practices can be shaped by Khmer cultural discourses on childcare (Anderson & Grace, 2018; My, 2023b), so examining these discourses is important. These perceptions and configurations are implicated in constructing three other dimensions of gender relations: power, production, and emotions.

Examining men’s configurations of ECEC benefits from a notion of a “continuum of caring masculinities” (My, 2023a) that examines men’s engagement in relational and non-relational (domestic work) aspects of care alongside their breadwinning roles, and the concept of “gender flexibility” (Warin, 2019) in arguing for men’s value in ECEC. The inclusion of more men in the ECEC workforce has the potential to challenge “gender essentialism” through the development of “gender sensitivity” and the “deliberate construction of a gender-flexible pedagogy” (Warin, 2019, p. 306). The notion of a continuum of caring masculinities (My, 2023a) enables this research to examine men’s caring practices beyond an ECEC setting; hence, it can analyze their caring practices in the home. This examination enables us to fully understand how caring these male preschool teachers are as husbands and/or fathers.

Men’s Engagement in ECEC in the Global South

As evident in Haines et al.’s (2024) systematic review of 120 papers conducted globally, research on men’s engagement in ECEC remains predominantly concentrated in the Global North (see also Brody, 2015; Warin, 2018; Yulindrasari, 2017). Limited studies on men and ECEC in Africa and Asia shed some light on perceptions of men’s engagement in ECEC and on their experiences. These studies show how cultural discourses shape people’s perspectives of male preschool teachers and their experiences.

The principal gendered constraints faced by male preschool teachers found in these studies include the gendered division of labour, feelings of distance in their social interactions, the influence of the intersection of a notion of men as breadwinners and relatively low status of preschool education, social perceptions of men’s lacking caring qualities, and perceived risk of men’s engagement in child sexual abuse (Ossai & Ramsaroop, 2022; Yang & McNair, 2019; Yulindrasari, 2017).

First, male teachers are expected to perform gendered labour (manual labour and/or ICT-related tasks) in addition to their preschool teaching role in China (Yang & McNair, 2019) and Indonesia (Yulindrasari, 2017). At the same time, Chinese male preschool teachers reproduce gendered roles through their view that subjects seen as masculine (such as physical education and science) are more suited to men than women, while finding reading and music classes less palatable to them (Yang & McNair, 2021). They considered preschool teaching a transition role leading to a “prestigious administrative role” such as preschool principal (Yang & McNair, 2021, p. 472). Therefore, they focused on professional development activities that would advance their careers.

Second, Chinese male preschool teachers felt some awkwardness or feelings of distance in their social interactions with female counterparts due to the gendered focus of conversations, and some difficulty with parents of their students because parents preferred direct communication with female preschool teachers (Yang & McNair, 2019).

Third, Chinese and Indonesian male preschool teachers felt that the intersection of the notion of men as breadwinners and the low status of the preschool profession negatively affected their marriage prospects because being preschool teachers made men unattractive to women (Yang & McNair, 2019; Yulindrasari, 2017). This subjective feeling corresponded to the parents’ perceptions of preschool children in one study in Nigeria; they believed that the preschool education profession was not suitable for men, and their engagement in that profession was regarded as “failure” (Ossai & Ramsaroop, 2022, p. 644).

The social perception that men lack caring qualities represented a fourth challenge. In an unpublished doctoral dissertation (Yulindrasari, 2017), most Indonesian parents of preschool students and female preschool teachers associated the preschool teaching profession with women rather than men because women were presumed to have nurturing and emotional skills. This view was also held by guardians/grandparents of preschool children in a qualitative Chinese study; they believed that men lacked “patience” and “carefulness” in teaching and/or caring (Yang & McNair, 2019).

Finally, the perceived risk of men potentially sexually abusing children was another barrier for male preschool teachers. This concern was expressed by guardians and parents of preschool children in Nigeria (Ossai & Ramsaroop, 2022) and by government officials responsible for preschool education in Indonesia (Yulindrasari, 2017).

The above challenges may contribute to Chinese male preschool educators’ focus on their career advancement as administrators (Yang & McNair, 2019, 2021). They may be responsible for men leaving and/or preventing them from entering the ECEC sector (Ossai & Ramsaroop, 2022; Yulindrasari, 2017).

Some studies, however, reported preschool teachers’ positive experiences, including support from preschool principals, a feeling of love from their students (Yang & McNair, 2019), and an opportunity to learn to be caring fathers (Yulindrasari, 2017).

While these studies point to how cultural norms shape people’s perspectives about men’s roles in the ECEC space and their ECEC experiences, their approaches have limitations. First, most studies, except for Yulindrasari’s (2017) doctoral dissertation, focused either on perceptions about men’s engagement in ECEC or on men’s ECEC experiences. Second, while some studies investigated men’s engagement in ECEC in a preschool setting, none examined men’s engagement in care work in the domestic space in terms of a continuum of men’s caring practices between preschool and domestic spaces. Without examining such a continuum, it is impossible to understand how caring men are as people or preschool teachers. This research, therefore, seeks to address these limitations by examining perceptions about men’s engagement in ECEC and their caring practices in these two spaces in the Cambodian context.

Research Methods and Data Analysis

This research employed sociological approaches to masculinity studies, focusing on the perspectives of preschool actors regarding men’s engagement in ECEC, and men’s ECEC experiences and caring practices in the home. It is based on primary data collected via in-depth interviews.

Data Collection Methods

The interview data used for this research were collected as part of my larger project investigating the link between Khmer cultural discourses, childcare policy discourses and practices, and young men’s and women’s lived experiences of childcare practices. The interview data for this paper were based on my in-depth interviews with ten preschool directors (three male directors), ten female preschool teachers, and two male preschool teachers, conducted from February to May 2018 in urban/peri-urban and rural settings in Cambodia.

The ten preschools included state preschools, community preschools (CPSs), and preschools and/or daycare centers run by NGOs (NGO preschools). The two male preschool teachers were employed at NGO Preschool C, which is part of a Christian NGO established in the 1990s with an initial focus on development projects, such as primary health care, livelihoods, and vocational training. The limited number of male preschool teachers is reflected in the national statistics in Cambodia, with the proportion of female preschool teachers and/or carers at daycare centers being almost 93 per cent (MoEYS, 2022, see p. 44).

This research data collection complied with ethical approval from the Faculty of Arts Human Ethics Advisory Group at the University of Melbourne.

Data Analysis

I translated the in-depth interview data from Khmer to English, simultaneously transcribing them. I kept some Khmer expressions due to difficulties finding equivalent expressions in English. The transcriptions and this paper contain some Khmer expressions.

The analysis of the interview data with the preschool actors and male preschool teachers, which was guided by a “reflective thematic analysis” process (Braun & Clarke, 2022), was conducted using a software program called NVivo 15. This software allows the researcher to code all interview cases (transcriptions) from different respondent types and consolidate them under each theme for each respondent type. Themes were developed to represent the ECEC stakeholders’ perspectives on men’s engagement in ECEC and men’s ECEC experiences, respectively.

Main Findings

Preschool Actors’ Perceptions about Men’s Lacking Caring Qualities and Influence on Men’s ECEC Space

The individual interviews with preschool actors focused on their perspectives of men’s engagement in ECEC and the factors that might explain the limited male presence in the ECEC sector in Cambodia. The preschool actors tended to have consensus that men were as good as women in preschool teaching but lacked essential interconnected caring qualities, including patience, tenderness and gentleness, which are required for several caring tasks. The ability to console/comfort (Luong or Luong Lom) smaller children was a central caring task that reflected tenderness and gentleness:

The male teacher just taught the lessons but did not know how to care for children. Female teachers are more tender and gentler (Ah Nhek Ah Nhok) with children. Usually, new students join the female teacher’s class first. When they were crying, female teachers tried to Luong (comfort) them. The male teacher is not good at consoling children. He instead knows how to threaten children. (NGO-I Director).

Preschool directors used the excuse that men cannot comfort children to justify their recruitment and/or appointment of women to preschool teaching roles; for example, two commune councilors with an equivalent preschool director role for CPS commented on their recruiting strategy, arguing that “We need to select those [CPS teachers] who are skillful in Luong children,” ¹ and “those who can cry or be happy [emotional skills] when needed; they need to be patient too,” ² as CPS children need to be comforted (Luong Lom) by teachers. ³ In their view, “men are tough.” ⁴

Another justification for appointing women as preschool teachers was the belief that men did not have the ability to use the word Kaun (a sweet word that parents call their children). In the directors’ view, this ability was an indication of tenderness and gentleness; its use was necessary for preschool teachers in facilitating learning among smaller children. One state preschool director likened female teachers to a mother and male teachers to a father with distinct qualities:

Female teachers are gentle and friendly (Rakteak) and use sweet words to call students their children (Kaun Anhchaes Kaun Anhchos); it is like a mother and a father taking care of their children differently. A mother is gentle with children, but a father is not. Male teachers may use harsh words (Samdey Thngun), so students do not like learning with them. So, if we had appointed male teachers for preschool, there would be no students to study. (State Preschool C Director).

The other caring quality that participants believed men lacked was patience, which was essential for several tasks ⁵ . Patience was required to “hold a child’s hand to write letters and teach children to sing a song” ⁶ or to help small children pee and/or poo, and men cannot endure these tasks. ⁷ Similar accounts were provided by other preschool directors as follows:

For children who are just three years old, we [teachers] need to help them in doing so [cleaning their butts]. That male teacher is not good at this. When we explained to him how to do this, he was smiling and put in his effort as well, but he is not as close to children in this aspect [skillful] as female teachers are. (NGO-I Director).

The firm belief that men lacked patience was also used to justify the appointment of women rather than men to teach preschool classes, ⁸ or used to justify not recruiting men into the ECEC sector. ⁹ In one NGO preschool, a man was appointed as a preschool teacher assistant due to the belief that men were not patient enough in helping children “pee and/or poo.” ¹⁰ Other NGO preschool directors echoed this opinion. ¹¹

In some participants’ view, this strong belief led them to think that men would “not be able to pay attention to detail (Roh Nhe Roh Nhai), thus not be tender (Ah Nhek Ah Nhok Chreun).” ¹² Some participants believed that “By birth, women are good at paying attention to detail and are tender (Nisay Pi Kamneuth).” ¹³ They continued, claiming that some men may possess this quality but are less skillful than women; that’s why they “recruited only female teachers” for CPSs. ¹⁴ The attention to detail ability was believed to be relevant to having more initiative in producing learning/teaching materials and “little stuff” (Kampek Kampok); they believed that women, rather than men, had this kind of initiative. ¹⁵

The above discussion illustrates the belief that men lack interconnected caring qualities and are unsuitable for preschool teaching. This gendered belief may result in men being mocked when attending preschool teacher training programs or embarking on their preschool teaching profession. One state preschool teacher recounted that “Some people also mocked them [male preschool teacher trainees] by addressing them as Neak Kru (a polite way of addressing a female preschool teacher) instead of Lok Kru (a polite way of addressing a male preschool teacher).” ¹⁶ Addressing male preschool teachers as Neak Kru is a relatively less severe way of mocking men in the ECEC sector. The most severe form of mockery is calling them Ah Nhi (it literally means a female animal, a derogatory term for men). A preschool education specialist explained that this mockery, which was the result of a gender-biased belief in Khmer social norms that childcare is women’s responsibility and not suitable for men, discouraged men from taking up a preschool teacher role. ¹⁷

This problem is compounded by the perceived low value placed on preschool education, an issue identified by a few respondents. It is well captured in the narrative of a preschool education specialist running a preschool education program in different provinces:

…people do not value preschool education as much as higher-level education [primary/secondary education]. The status of working in preschool education is very low. Our friends typically took higher-level education [primary/secondary] teachers or research, not preschool education. (NGO-J Preschool Education Specialist).

The perceived low value ascribed to preschool education is also manifest in teachers’ low salaries, which create challenges for male and female preschool teachers alike, as illustrated by one female teacher: “We need to pay more attention to preschool education. We should not focus only on primary education. We should pay more attention to preschool teachers’ needs and difficulties.” ¹⁸

The entanglement of the gender-biased belief in ECEC, which might result in men being mocked, and the perceived low value placed on ECEC may contribute to a limited number of men enrolling in preschool teacher training programs and/or men leaving this sector. Some participants recalled fewer than five men out of 100 students enrolling in their respective intakes in the Preschool Teachers’ Training Centre in Phnom Penh. ¹⁹ Further, one preschool director explained that she had one male preschool teacher for two years before he quit to run an English class. ²⁰ Two female preschool teachers observed a similar trend, giving the example of their male friend who taught preschool for a while before working at an “audit office”. ²¹

Perceptions of Men’s Masculine Qualities and Skills

The influence of Khmer cultural discourses on childcare was also evidenced in the participants’ accounts explaining why male preschool teachers were needed in ECEC because of their masculine qualities and skills. Regarding masculine qualities, the participants needed male preschool teachers to perform tasks requiring relatively more physical strength and emotional toughness. One preschool director explained that she expressed her desire to have some male preschool teachers help her and female teachers do physical tasks, such as changing light bulbs or using flagpoles. ²² Another gendered task was men’s driving skills, with one director appointing men to be assistants of female teachers to take children to the hospital. ²³

Men’s emotional toughness was considered important in supporting female preschool teachers emotionally under challenging conditions:

…If only women are in the workplace, it is not so good. They [men] can provide emotional support to women. Male teachers always have different ideas from women. For example, for a couple, a wife focuses on detail, and a husband focuses on a broader issue or picture. (State Preschool A Director).

Concerning masculine skills, two other preschool directors believed men were good at sports, English, and Information Technology (IT), so they expressed their desire to have male preschool teachers teach these subjects to children. ²⁴

The intersecting issues of morality and the risk of men’s involvement in child abuse were raised by some preschool actors as impediments to the presence of male preschool teachers. One senior preschool education specialist suggested that the limited presence of men in preschool education was associated with “morality and child protection” matters. She explained that preschool teachers needed to help small children in “urinating or pooing”, thus unavoidably touching a girl’s “private parts or vagina”, which, from a parent’s point of view, is not appropriate for men. ²⁵

Two NGO preschool directors expressed these concerns, asserting that they had child protection policies in place to build parents’ trust in their services, policies that sought to protect small children from the risk of being abused. For instance, one NGO preschool director who employed 25 preschool teachers, including two male teachers, expressed his concern about the risk of child abuse by male teachers. He explained that some necessary measures were taken to protect small children from potential sexual abuse, including assigning male teachers to teach bigger children and not permitting them to give a bath or shower to children or to change their clothes. ²⁶ He made a program manager “observe these male teachers and warn them about any form of violence [squeezing or twisting], including sexual abuse.” He added that “We review ethics linked to child rights every two weeks to ensure all preschool teachers, especially male teachers, know about children’s rights and the policy.” ²⁷

Men’s Navigation of Limited ECEC Space with Potential for Gender Transformation

Two male preschool teachers’ lived and professional experience at NGO Preschool C illuminate this section. NGO Preschool C is part of a Christian NGO established in the 1990s with an initial focus on development projects, such as primary health care, livelihoods, and vocational training. Its ECEC program started in 2014 with seven campuses in Phnom Penh catering for three child cohorts: 2–3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, and 5-year-olds. A male Dutchman initially founded the preschool where the two male preschool teachers worked as part of a Christian church; he recruited them to this role. It was later transferred to NGO Preschool C, managed by a Cambodian male director.

Demographic Information

These teachers were Christian and married, with their spouses also being teachers. Teacher 1 was in his late 20 s, and Teacher 2 was in his early 20 s, moving from a province to settle in Phnom Penh. While Teacher 1 completed grade 9 in his hometown, Teacher 2 came to Phnom Penh when he was seven years old; he was doing a bachelor’s degree in English at the time of the interview. Teacher 2 started teaching English to small children after finishing high school, spending a year teaching English before taking up a preschool teacher role.

Teacher 1 had a one-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter. He had worked as a construction worker, a security guard, and a salesperson in Phnom Penh and the provinces before starting his preschool education profession. He dropped out of a four-year Bible program at a Christian school in his hometown, then worked for a Christian orphanage center in a province. He completed a one-month course to gain a certificate in teaching. Teacher 1 also played music at churches on the weekends for extra income.

Their Christian faith provided them with opportunities to teach and care for young children at preschools operated by their churches. When asked about their motivation to become preschool teachers, both teachers cited Christian beliefs, seeing teaching children as an act of service to God. Teacher 1 continued to explain that genuine caring for small children, as in cleaning their bottoms after they poo, for example, was a gesture showing acceptance of the true teachings of God.

Social Interactions with Others as Male Preschool Teachers

These two teachers were asked to assess their social interactions with preschool colleagues, with the children’s parents, their friends and neighbors, and with family members. Their accounts suggested positive interactions with the founder and female colleagues. Teacher 2, a teacher at this preschool for a longer period than Teacher 1, explained that the founder did not have rigidly gendered perceptions about the preschool teacher role. The founder “did not care about whether men or women should teach preschool children.” ²⁸ The founder shared his experiences of teaching and/or caring for young children with Teacher 2, advising him to focus on “appreciation” when children are doing things to avoid “demotivating” or “creating fear” in them. ²⁹ These male teachers did not face any “discrimination” or “teasing” in interactions with female colleagues. ³⁰

Their interactions with the parents of their students have evolved since the start of this preschool. A male Dutchman founded the preschool with three male teachers. According to Teacher 2, it took some time for the parents to trust this school and share information about its existence with others. Teacher 2 explained that, in the first few weeks, when dropping off their children, the parents waited for others to come before returning home. He continued: “Later on, they trusted us as we did not abuse their children but provided good care. There are also female teachers, so it is not a big issue.” ³¹ The current practice at the time of the interview was that receptionists informed the parents about the existence of these two male teachers when enrolling their children at this NGO Preschool C, whether the parents asked about this or not. ³² The receptionists assured the parents about their child’s safety. Teacher 1 said, “We guarantee the safety of their children. What parents care about is whether their children are receiving good care or not.” ³³

The above description indicates that the parents initially doubted men as preschool teachers, but their perceptions changed over time to accept men teaching and caring for their children. Nevertheless, Teacher 2 remarked that being a preschool teacher was seen to be of less value when compared to other higher-level teacher roles:

Some parents do not value preschool teachers regardless of their sex…I observed this through my interactions with them. For example, when they met me at school, they did not call me Lok Kru (teacher) but Ah Oun [a lovely word used to call a little boy or a young man]. (NGO Preschool C Teacher 2).

Their Social Interactions with Friends Were Diverse Depending on Their Friends’ Professions

While Teacher 1 did not experience any teasing regarding his profession, Teacher 2 experienced it with some friends. Teacher 1 explained that his Christian friends did not care much about his preschool profession but did care about his salary. For Teacher 2, most of his friends, particularly those who were also teachers or were in lower-skilled professions, appreciated his preschool profession, while others teased him. His account suggested that this teasing was not so much criticism of men being preschool teachers but about the perceived low value ascribed to the preschool teaching profession compared with other roles, such as those of civil servants:

Some teased me by saying I worked hard to get a bachelor’s, but I am still a preschool teacher. Others did not study hard, but they got a better job. Preschool teachers are considered better than construction workers or security guards. Civil servants are considered better than my preschool teachers. (NGO Preschool C Teacher 2).

Teacher 1 faced a similar challenge, not about men as preschool teachers but about men as potentially proselytizing Christians in preschools. He explained: “My neighbors do not value me as a Christian as they think that I am teaching children Christianity.” He asserted that at this preschool, the focus was not on Christianity but on education and caring for small children.

These teachers were also asked about their family members’ perceptions of their profession. Teacher 1’s parents and parents-in-law were happy for him to be a preschool teacher. In his words, they [parents] “were happy and had the honor of having a son as a teacher.” Similarly, Teacher 2 explained that his wife was happy for him as a preschool teacher and appreciated his knowledge of small children. He continued, saying that she was the one who introduced him to teaching here at this preschool. Her satisfaction and appreciation were illustrated in the following quotation:

She told me that I initially did not want to play much; however, after I started teaching at this preschool, she sometimes cannot do as well as I have done [loving and caring for children]. (NGO Preschool C Teacher 2).

The above analysis indicates that, while these male preschool teachers had somewhat positive interactions with the founder, their female colleagues, and children’s parents, as male preschool teachers, some of their friends teased them because they ascribed little value to preschool education. Similarly, being Christian marginalised them in their interactions with their neighbors.

Navigating Child Protection Policies

As discussed earlier, some NGO preschool directors expressed a concern that having male preschool teachers creates a risk of child abuse. They put child protection policies in place to address the risk. The accounts of these male preschool teachers indicated how the outcome of child protection policies was to constrain male caring practices and thus to encourage gendered caring practices by assigning the non-relational caring aspects to female preschool teachers. Female preschool teachers were among the key enforcers of child protection policies, observing and monitoring male preschool teachers.

These male preschool teachers were fully aware of the boundaries the NGO Preschool C’s child protection policy laid down. These boundaries included not touching and/or hugging girls, not giving a bath or shower to girls, and not being permitted to help girls with their poo:

For me, as a male teacher, it may affect girls. According to the child protection policy, I cannot touch girls. However, I am also a father, so I can take care of these children as my children. When children need to poo, it is difficult for me to help them. I can help only boys, and female teachers help girls. I told the organization that as a teacher here, I am responsible for my job, and I am also a father. (NGO Preschool C Teacher 1).

For bigger girls, I asked other female teachers to help. We have a lot of internal rules. (NGO Preschool C Teacher 2).

This policy also set additional boundaries for preschool teachers when interacting with children, regardless of sex; for instance, they were not allowed to stay alone in a room with a child, irrespective of the child’s sex. Overall, the teachers accepted these restrictive boundaries but felt uncomfortable at times when their interactions with children were monitored by their female counterparts.

Positive Feedback from Parents and Encouragement from Other Male Teachers as Motivation to Remain in the ECEC Sector

As in other professions, or like female teachers, male preschool teachers sometimes felt tired and/or bored. Overall, they were happy with their children and loved their jobs. Teacher 1 said he was delighted when he saw good progress in the children who reported to their parents on his excellent care. Similarly, Teacher 2 used to think that teaching preschool education to children was a woman’s role and that he could not do it; however, with the encouragement he received from his male English teacher, who taught children with disabilities, he realized that he was not alone in this path.

Engaging in Childcare and/or Housework at Home

Both teachers were asked to elaborate on their engagement in childcare and housework at home to better understand how caring they were as husbands and/or fathers. They were married, but only Teacher 1 had children, so engagement in childcare is reflected in Teacher 1, not Teacher 2.

Teacher 1 had his mother-in-law living with him to help care for his two children. In his view, he played a role similar to that of his wife, taking turns cooking for the family, for example. He explained that, although he knew little about food, he cooked on two days each week, while his wife cooked on three days. When asked whether his wife requested him to share the housework or whether it was his initiative, he responded: “It was my idea to take turns to cook. I want to help her because she has more work to do and is as tired as I am.” He continued: “As we [men] are stronger than women, we need to help them [in housework].” They usually rose at 5.30 am and cooked some easy food like stir-fried meat. He acknowledged, however, that his wife cooked in the morning as his health was weak. He said: “I am always tired. When I get up too early, I cannot focus on my work on that day.” His wife had worked at NGO Preschool C full-time but now taught only in the morning. He usually left his house at 6.15 am, arrived at school at 6.30 am, and began class at 8.00 am. He left school at 7.00 pm and came home at 8.00 pm.

His mother-in-law helped the family care for the children. His primary roles were to help his children with homework and teach them English. His wife also helped his daughter with homework. When asked about his relationships with his children, he responded, “Both my wife and I are close to the children. I want to play more.” He honestly acknowledged that:

Sometimes, we had some friction as we had financial issues: insufficient income. I was not happy. When my wife wanted to play with me [spending some time with me], I did not have such a feeling as I focused on the money I lacked. (NGO Preschool C Teacher 1).

Similarly, the account of Teacher 2 illustrated his active engagement in housework. No relative or parent lived with him. He lived a couple life with his wife. His wife started work at 8.00 am, finished at 2.30 pm, and arrived home between 3.00 and 4.00 pm. He started at 6.30 am and left school between 4.00 and 4.30 pm. He indicated that he took turns with his wife to cook breakfast, “We cook in the morning. Sometimes, I cook, and at other times, my wife does. I know how to cook simple food, stir-frying (Sngor Cha Chean).”

These male preschool teachers’ narratives indicate a continuum of men’s caring practices between the preschool setting and the domestic space.

Discussion and Conclusion

This article has investigated how Khmer cultural discourse on childcare has shaped the gender regime of Cambodia’s ECEC in constraining men in this sector. It has also examined how men have navigated their limited ECEC space with the potential for gender transformation within the ECEC and domestic spaces.

The preschool actors enacting Khmer cultural discourses on childcare in the gender regime of Cambodia’s ECEC sector are preschool directors (both male and female) and female preschool teachers, all of whom contribute to producing a gendered ECEC sector. However, Cambodia’s national childcare discourse of ‘preschool education’ and feminized ‘familial care’ has also been responsible for producing this gendered ECEC sector (My, 2023b), which helps to create individual gendered identities (Acker, 1990).

A symbolic enactment of Khmer cultural discourses creates gendered identities, portraying men as possessing preschool teaching capacity but lacking essential caring qualities—such as patience, tenderness, and gentleness—deemed necessary for preschool caregiving tasks. Comforting small children and using the Khmer word Kaun are critical to tenderness and gentleness. A primary caring task enabled by being patient helps children urinate and go to the toilet. Being patient is also essential for preschool teachers to perform other caring tasks, including holding children’s hands to write letters, teaching them songs, paying attention to detail, and producing learning/teaching materials. This symbolic enactment appears to be context-specific to Cambodia, where men who engage in the ECEC sector are often mocked, with the most severe form of mockery being the label Ah Nhi. Nevertheless, a general notion that men are unsuitable for ECEC resonates with findings from other studies in Indonesia (Yulindrasari, 2017), China (Yang & McNair, 2019), and Nigeria (Ossai & Ramsaroop, 2022).

Further, a material enactment of Khmer cultural discourses is evident when preschool directors draw on gendered belief−portraying men as lacking caring qualities−to justify appointing women as preschool teachers and men as teacher assistants. Ironically, this gendered belief has shaped the preschool directors’ wish to recruit some men, believing that they have unique masculine qualities and skills that women lack, such as doing physical tasks, and teaching English and ICT. The expectation that male preschool teachers can perform physical tasks and/or have masculine skills is reflected in some studies from China (Yang & McNair, 2019) and Indonesia (Yulindrasari, 2017).

Symbolic and material enactments of Khmer cultural discourses on childcare within Cambodia’s ECEC gender regime, combined with the perceived low value placed on preschool education, contribute to the exclusion of men from the sector—reflected in the fact that 93% of the workforce are women (MoEYS, 2022, p. 44). Similarly, a systematic review of 120 global studies suggests that the underrepresentation of men in ECEC is primarily due to gendered social expectations and the low societal value ascribed to the field (Haines et al., 2024).

The problem is further exacerbated by measures taken by some preschools to address their concerns around morality and the perceived risks of men’s involvement in child abuse. The perceived risks of employing men as preschool teachers are mirrored in findings in studies in Nigeria (Ossai & Ramsaroop, 2022) and Indonesia (Yulindrasari, 2017).

The male preschool teachers in this study were fully aware of and accepted the boundaries set out by their child protection policies; however, they felt uncomfortable with how the policy was enacted; that is, it required their female colleagues to observe and monitor their daily activities with children.

On the positive side, men’s caring practices in the preschool and domestic spaces have challenged Khmer cultural discourses on childcare and the belief that men lack caring qualities. Men’s presentation in this space would bring numerous benefits, including challenging rigid gender roles in society (Haines et al., 2024; Warin, 2018, 2019), influencing the formation of gender identity in children (Al Baqi, 2023), addressing labour shortages (Haines et al., 2024), and expanding employment opportunities for men (Haines et al., 2024). I concur with Haines et al. (2024) in rejecting the belief that men’s underrepresentation in the field stems from a lack of men’s motivation and interest.

Positive feedback from children’s parents and encouragement from other male teachers have motivated these male preschool teachers to remain in this field. However, accounts from some preschool actors and the male teachers suggest that some men have moved on to other fields, such as English teaching. This trajectory is different from some studies in China where male teachers use preschool teaching as a pathway to a leadership role in this sector (Yang & McNair, 2019, 2021).

Further, this study examined men’s caring practices in the home; these practices can be regarded as part of a “more-caring” masculinity, the desirable end of a continuum of caring masculinities (My, 2023a). Given the limited number of male participants in this study—all of whom were Christians working at a Christian NGO preschool—future research would benefit from exploring how religious beliefs influence their experiences in ECEC.

This research (and other empirical evidence) points to a need for a joint commitment between state and non-state actors to transform the gender regime of Cambodia’s ECEC to create a more gender-transforming space where men can actively engage. This commitment requires a gender-transformative policy in ECEC, supported by concrete action plans, intervention programs, and financial investment. These initiatives should include the development of a gender-transformative ECEC workforce that collaborates closely with preschool actors and provides targeted support for male preschool teachers.