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Fewer than one in seven of Europe's primary teachers are men. Governments aim to recruit more of them but struggle to find suitable candidates. In April last year, then UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called for more men to become teachers amidst the popularity of the Netflix series Adolescence. Since 2010, England's teacher numbers grew by 28,000, yet only 533 were men – just 1.9 percent.

Overall, only one in four teachers are men, falling to one in seven in nurseries and primary schools and one in 33 in early years. Men are needed as strong role models for boys, especially as toxic online influencers rise. The Department for Education's 2025-26 census of trainee teachers showed the male share of postgraduate primary trainees falling from 16 percent to 14 percent, despite Phillipson's request for more men in the profession.

Some schools have no male teachers at all, and 24 percent employ none (30 percent in Wales). Eurostat's 2024 primary education figures for the EU show 273,000 men teaching in primary schools against 1.6 million women, a male share of 14.4 percent, below 10 percent in nine member states. Lithuania has only 3.9 percent, while Denmark leads with 32.8 percent of primary teachers being men.

The situation for pre-primary teachers is even worse, with 95.1 percent women in the EU and 99.7 percent in Romania. Despite schemes aiming to increase male teachers, success has been limited. In Germany, the Mehr Männer in Kitas programme ran from 2011-2013 with 13.25 million euros from federal and European Social Fund, aiming for 20 percent men in primary teaching, but only 2.9 percent were men when it started.

By 2025, the number was up to eight percent, still below the target. The Netherlands attempts structure by splitting the primary teaching degree into a young-child and an older-child track, set to start in September 2029. Britain's efforts are comparatively minimal, with Scotland's Men in Early Years Challenge Fund worth only 50,000 UK pounds, increasing the workforce only four percent male.

Across Europe, blockages to training and hiring men in primary and pre-primary education are similar and often start with pay – three in ten English classroom teachers would be better off out of the profession, according to Dr Fullard's earlier work. Male trainees in primary schools are often the only man in the building, facing isolation and suspicion.

The thin evidence that male teachers improve boys' results adds to the challenges. Despite these obstacles, training and recruiting more male teachers is still necessary, given the lack of effort in many countries.