Between a rock and a hard place: Principals’ views on gender issues in teacher recruitment in Indonesian early childhood education

This study explores how kindergarten principals in Indonesia perceive gender issues in relation to the teacher recruitment process. Employing a qualitative approach, the study involved focus group discussion with four principals and individual interviews with three others, guided by socio-cultural theory. The findings reveal that although all principals recognized the value of male teachers, they faced competing challenges in hiring them. These included beliefs that the profession is more appropriate for women, fears of potential harassment, and concerns about masculine teaching styles. Deeply embedded gender stereotypes and dominant social norms that position men primarily as breadwinners further discouraged principals from hiring male teachers. Consequently, early childhood education environments remain gender-homogeneous, sustaining gender imbalances and inequality. Since this study involved only female principals in West Java, future research should include a more diverse group of participants and broader geographical contexts to better understand male teacher participation in Indonesian early childhood education.