Why male teachers may be Kenya’s secret to better ECDE learning
A male ECDE teacher during a lesson a classroom.
What you need to know:
- In Kenya, a few brave men are redefining early education by nurturing children and challenging gender stereotypes.
- These male nursery school teachers are transforming perceptions, boosting enrolment, and promoting gender-balanced learning environments.
The morning sun filters through classroom windows as tiny hands reach up eagerly for high-fives and fist bumps. Laughter fills the air as children share stories from home, their eyes lighting up when they spot their teacher approaching with open arms. But there's something different about this scene that would surprise many Kenyans – the teacher welcoming these four-year-olds with such warmth and enthusiasm is a man.
In a profession overwhelmingly dominated by women, a small but growing number of male teachers are challenging deeply entrenched gender stereotypes in Kenya's early childhood development education sector. Their journey hasn't been easy, but their impact is undeniable.
The statistics tell a stark story that extends far beyond Kenya's borders. In Makueni County alone, barely 20 male teachers serve among the 1,000 nursery school teachers employed by the county government – a two per cent representation that, while low, actually surpasses global benchmarks.
International data reveals an even more dramatic gender imbalance in early childhood education. In the United States, only 1.2 per cent of early childhood and kindergarten teachers nationwide are men, with fewer than three per cent of preschool and kindergarten teachers being male – a statistic that has remained stagnant for decades. This contrasts sharply with other education levels: 36 per cent of secondary school teachers and 11 per cent of elementary teachers in the US are male, revealing a clear pattern where male representation increases significantly as student age rises.
Yet these pioneering men in Kenya are not just filling classrooms; they're reshaping perceptions about who can nurture and educate young children in a profession that faces similar gender disparities worldwide.
The volunteer who found his calling
Joseph Muli's teaching career began in the most unlikely of places – a Sunday school at AIC Katikomu in Makueni County. What started as volunteering to teach children songs and Bible verses would eventually transform into a celebrated six-year career at Mutanda Early Childhood Development Education centre in Kaiti Sub-county.
The 30-year-old still remembers the raised eyebrows and shocked expressions when people learned about his profession.
Joseph Muli, a teacher at Mukanda Nursery School in Makueni County, during an interview on April 8, 2025.
"Some people are still shocked to learn that a man can teach in a nursery school," Muli reflects. "Yet teaching in a nursery school is not a big deal for me. Teaching young children is the best thing to do."
His daily routine speaks to a deeper understanding of what these children need. Muli's day begins with heartily welcoming young children back to school through hugs, handshakes, fist bumps, and high-fives. He provides a listening ear to those itching to tell stories about their homesteads – a practice that has revealed troubling insights about family dynamics.
"We come to discover that some of the learners come from households where their fathers are too busy to bond with them. Others are too rigid to play with their children," he explains. "The learners are pleasantly surprised to see a father figure who is genuinely interested in them at school."
His approach extends beyond emotional support. Muli joins children during snack time, ensuring that those without food of their own share with others – a practice that has significantly reduced absenteeism. The results speak for themselves: learner enrolment at his school has grown from 17 in 2019 to 48 this year.
"Many nursery schools in the countryside are recording a steep decline in the population of learners," he notes. "A nursery school teacher who relates well with the learners and the immediate community encourages parents to enrol their children."
Despite being unmarried, Muli has taken on an unusual advocacy role. "Whenever I meet young parents, I encourage them to increase the number of children so that nursery schools do not run out of learners," he says.
Overcoming self-doubt and social stigma
At Mikisi Early Childhood Development Education centre, Jonathan Mutua beams with excitement as he monitors learners taking turns on the slide during playtime. His 12 years of teaching experience have taught him invaluable lessons about connecting with young minds.
"It is fun hanging around young children. To get along with them, you need to get to their level," Mutua explains, emphasising that play is the best way to help children learn.
Jonathan Mutua, a teacher at Mikisi Nursery School in Makueni County, during an interview on April 8, 2025.
But Mutua's journey wasn't without obstacles. Self-doubt plagued his early career. "How could I teach when I am not trained?" he wondered. More challenging was the stigma associated with being a male nursery school teacher.
"For a long time, it has been generally accepted that nursery school teachers should be women. As a man aspiring to be a nursery school teacher, this notion held me back," Mutua recalls. "Initially, I was not sure what society would say about me, a male nursery school teacher."
His salvation came from an unexpected source – his elder sister Margaret Ngina, herself a nursery school teacher at Makutano Early Childhood Development Education centre. While the rest of the family wanted to enrol the youngest member in a village polytechnic to learn metalwork and welding, Ngina saw teaching potential in her brother.
"She saw a teacher in the younger brother when everyone else in the family wanted me to learn metal work and welding," Mutua says gratefully. Ngina not only sponsored his initial training but also helped him secure his first teaching position.
"Until recently, society had been perceiving a nursery school teacher as a house maid. That is why it has become acceptable that teaching in a nursery school is a female task," Ngina explains.
"This perception has since changed. The emergence of male nursery school teachers has asserted the job as prestigious. Children require both male and female teachers as models."
The profession's growing respectability has been bolstered by government recognition. "We proudly identify as nursery school teachers after the county government hired us permanently. We easily borrow money from banks to develop ourselves," Mutua says. "However, a lot of work remains undone to make nursery school teaching attractive to men."
Mutua also grapples with contemporary challenges facing male teachers. He's increasingly aware of mistrust surrounding male teachers' interactions with girls amid rising cases of sexual abuse of children. While he gladly changes boys when they soil themselves – "I guess they see a loving father in me," he says – he seeks female colleagues' assistance for toileting girls.
The scholar who defied career advice
Alphonce Kitili stands out among his peers for more than just his gender. At 40, the father of two holds a bachelor's degree in early childhood development, making him the highest-paid nursery school teacher in Makueni County. His educational achievement represents a deliberate rejection of conventional career advice.
Like his male colleagues, Kitili's journey began in Sunday school, teaching children songs and Bible verses. When he became a nursery school teacher in 2004, having a man teach nursery school was rare.
Alphonse Kitili, a teacher at Kiu Nursery School in Makueni County, during an interview on April 8, 2025. Only a handful of men in the county teach nursery pupils.
"The society strongly believed that teaching young children is a female role. However, this did not stop me from pursuing my passion for teaching young children," he told The Voice during a workshop convened by Unicef, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, and Makueni County government.
But gender concerns paled compared to the financial challenges. Before devolution transformed the sector, nursery schools depended entirely on parental contributions to pay teachers, with the government having sidelined the sector. "My first salary was Sh3,000. Sometimes this is delayed for months. It would also reduce as the enrolment of learners reduced," Kitili recalls.
The advent of devolution in 2010 marked a watershed moment for nursery school teachers in Makueni County. Teachers were overjoyed when the county government, in 2014, placed them on renewable contracts and significantly improved their salaries.
Kitili's determination was tested when a county education official encouraged him to abandon early childhood education. "He encouraged me to consider studying to become a primary school teacher ostensibly to earn more. I ignored the advice and went ahead to enrol for a bachelor's degree in early childhood development at St Paul's University," he recounts.
His perseverance paid off spectacularly when Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo improved salaries for the county's 900 nursery school teachers last year, making them permanent and pensionable county government workers. Under the new arrangement, degree holders like Kitili earn more than Sh40,000 per month, while diploma holders take home more than Sh30,000 monthly.
"We are now motivated to serve the children better. The society now perceives us like any other teachers," Kitili says with satisfaction.
For him, the career's rewards extend beyond financial compensation. "Nothing is more satisfying to a teacher than seeing the children he introduced to schooling grow into responsible adults," he reflects.
A veteran's perspective on male colleagues
Mary Mwau has witnessed the evolution of early childhood education from a unique vantage point. The 46-year-old has been a nursery school teacher for 25 years, earning her recognition as the "queen of early childhood development education" in Makueni County.
Mary Mwau, a teacher at Kathonzweni Nursery School in Makueni County, on April 8, 2025.
At Kathonzweni Early Childhood Development and Education Centre, she greets arriving children with radiant smiles, hugs, and handshakes. Her approach mirrors that of her male colleagues – creating a nurturing environment that extends beyond traditional teaching.
"When the children arrive from home, I welcome them by greeting them and giving them a hug. They really look forward to that interaction," she explains. “At lunch break when we take snacks, I go round opening their lunch boxes. Sometimes I taste their food the way their mothers do. The intention is to draw them close just like their mothers."
Mary's career has spanned the profession's most challenging periods. When she started, teachers earned as little as Sh2,000 per month, sometimes receiving eggs and chicken instead of money from cash-strapped parents. “A burning desire to see the community thrive through education motivated me to keep going even when the salary was meagre," she recalls.
Despite her success in the female-dominated profession, Mary champions male participation. “Society has for long assumed that being a nursery school teacher is a female job. This notion needs to be challenged because it is misplaced. Teaching young children is an equal opportunity for both male and female teachers."
Interestingly, she believes men possess certain advantages in early childhood education. "Men are more vigorous than women when it comes to physical exercise. This has something to do with dressing. Men tend to be more flexible by wearing trousers. Young children love male nursery school teachers for being vigorous," she observes, citing her positive experience working alongside male colleagues.
Mary opposes the notion that male teachers shouldn't be trusted with young girls. Drawing from her professional training, she explains: "In child development and education psychology studies, we are taught that young girls are unconsciously attracted to male teachers while young boys are unconsciously attracted to female teachers. These phenomena are known as Electra and Oedipus complexes. This means that nursery school learners require both female and male teachers."
Calls for change
The gender imbalance in early childhood education has caught the attention of development partners and education experts. The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has joined other stakeholders in advocating for gender balance in nursery schools to enhance learning outcomes.
Jayne Kariuki Njuguna, a social behaviour change specialist at Unicef, has been vocal about addressing gender inequality among Kenyan nursery school teachers. "Male teachers should grab the opportunities available in nursery schools," she urged during a recent retooling program for Makueni County teachers.
The programme, designed alongside the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, expands nursery school teachers' responsibilities beyond the classroom to include championing learners' health, nutrition, and safety rights.
Oscar Kadenge, chairperson of ECDE Network for Kenya, offers a nuanced analysis of the gender disparity's roots. His organisation openly advocates for deploying both male and female nursery school teachers, and he absolves the government from blame over the glaring imbalance.
"Teaching in a nursery school is often seen as an extension of women's societal role as primary caregivers for young children within the home," Kadenge explains. "There is a widespread belief that women possess an innate inclination to nurture and care for small children, while men are perceived as lacking such an inclination."
He notes that historical factors have compounded the problem.
"At the same time, preschool teaching often has a relatively low status and poor remuneration compared to other professions. Historically, women were willing to work for less pay due to fewer employment opportunities, contributing to the feminisation of the field."
According to Kadenge, this feminisation predisposes preschoolers to harmful gender stereotypes. "Male teachers offer children, particularly boys, positive male role models who demonstrate qualities like empathy, compassion, and communication in a professional setting. For children who may lack positive male figures in their lives, a male teacher can be especially impactful."
He argues that male teachers provide crucial guidance and support while helping boys "develop a healthier understanding of masculinity beyond traditional, narrow definitions."
Research supports his position
"Multiple studies suggest that male and female teachers interact with preschoolers differently. When preschoolers observe both men and women in teaching roles, it normalises the idea that caregiving and education are roles that both genders can fulfil," Kadenge explains.
"This balanced representation can contribute to a more gender-fair learning environment where a range of gender-neutral behaviours are affirmed as acceptable for both boys and girls. This exposure can help counter stereotyped views of gender roles and promote gender equality from a young age."
