With fields like teaching, psychology, and social work becoming âprogressively female,â a new effort urges higher ed to help reverse that trend. ADVERTISEMENT [The Edge Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. Iâm Goldie Blumenstyk, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering innovation in and around higher ed. This week I report on the continuing decline of men in key âHEALâ professions, and how higher ed might help reverse that trend. And my colleague Graham Vyse shares advice on ways to help low-income students complete college. ADVERTISEMENT SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Can the women-in-STEM playbook bring more men to âHEALâ fields? Campaigns encouraging women to enter STEM fields are paying off, though thereâs still a ways to go. Meanwhile, fields like teaching, psychology, and social work are becoming what the author and scholar Richard V. Reeves describes as âprogressively female.â Now Reeves and colleagues at the newly formed American Institute for Boys and Men are pressing for a comparable effort to nudge more men into such fields. âMen can HEAL,â is how Reeves puts it, deploying his preferred acronym for the health, education, administration, and literacy sectors. And, he says, higher ed needs to play a key role. The techniques that have propelled girls and women into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics â such as scholarships, early outreach, and mentorship â are directly applicable for the HEAL fields, he told me this month. âLetâs just take that playbook.â Reeves is the founder and president of the institute, which [he created]( in the wake of his 2022 book, [Of Boys and Men](. The book describes how males are falling behind in education and the workplace. (For a quick preview, check out [Reevesâs interview with my colleague Karin Fischer]( during our most recent Chronicle Festival.) Some of the stats that animate his work really are startling â and, in some cases, quite disturbing: We know that women have been outpacing men in bachelorâs-degree attainment since the early 1980s and in earning their masterâs since the early 1990s, and that many of the blue-collar jobs once held by men have been gradually disappearing. But did you know that [suicide rates among men]( are four times higher than among women? I certainly didnât. (Tragic side note: Reeves told me that when heâs speaking on these issues at campuses, more often than not, a college leader will later tell him privately about a recent student suicide.) Nor did I realize just how feminized certain professions â and the college majors that typically lead to them â have become. As recent institute research [on teaching]( and [on social work and psychology]( shows: - Men account for just 23 percent of elementary- and secondary-school teachers in the United States, down from 30 percent in 1988. More than a quarter of all students are boys of color, but only 6 percent of teachers are men of color.
- After reaching a peak in 1988, the number of active male psychologists and social workers stopped growing. Only 10 percent of masterâs-degree recipients specializing in developmental and child psychology in 2021 were men. In counseling psychology, the largest subfield for those with a masterâs, only 18 percent were men.
- Starting around the same time, the share of advanced degrees awarded to men in social work dropped from an already-low 17 percent to 12 percent (from 1991 to 2021). This matters because thereâs evidence that children do better in school when they see teachers who look like them. And Reeves said menâs reluctance to seek out mental-health care may be related to how feminized those professions have become. Through the institute, and a newer effort involving colleges called the Higher Education Male Achievement Network, Reeves is hoping to bring wider attention to these disparities, although initially, he told me, the networkâs main focus will be on increasing male enrollment, persistence, and completion generally. The enrollment crisis is galvanizing attention, he noted. âWe have one million missing men in higher ed right now.â There is also an interesting wrinkle to these efforts. Drawing attention to situations in which men are faring poorer than women, Reeves said, can sometimes trigger some reactionary responses and provoke social-media outrage claiming that the interests of men âhave been overrun by woke feminists.â That means walking a bit of a tightrope as the institute works to help build up a field to respond to the problem. âKeep it boring,â Reeves said, is one of the instituteâs internal mottoes. The United States isnât alone in seeing men faring more poorly than women. Reeves said itâs a phenomenon heâs observed in many other industrialized countries. And elsewhere, he said, the issue is beginning to garner more of the national attention (a national commission on boys and men in Denmark, a new focus by Britainâs Labour Party) that heâd like to see in the United States. Here, he said, âthere is still a lack of awareness.â Actually, I think higher ed has already begun paying some attention to the issues of male educational attainment, considering the number of initiatives I found when searching the internet on this topic just this week. (Try Googling âmale achievement in higher edâ and youâll see what I mean.) But I hope the sector also starts paying more attention to the shortages of men in those HEAL fields Reeves has highlighted, although the relative lower pay in some of these areas doesnât help. (Salaries in nursing are rising as more men join that field. âCoincidence? I doubt it,â said Reeves.) To find more men for social work, psychology, teaching, and office jobs that can often involve managerial opportunities, Reeves suggests that colleges look toward older students and career-changers, and also beef up recruiting at high schools. Western Kentucky Universityâs [Young Male Leadership Academy]( which uses outreach and scholarships to encourage high-school boys to consider careers in teaching, is just one example. (The dean of its College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Corinne Murphy, told me sheâd love to expand that to psychology if it could find the funding.) Scholarships go a long way, Reeves believes. And just as important, he said, is how the outreach is handled. âSend guys out to do it,â said Reeves of the recruiting. âKids believe their eyes, not their ears.â What low-income students need To help low-income students finish their degrees on time, colleges should work to offer generous financial aid, provide comprehensive wraparound services, and communicate thoughtfully about difficult topics, experts said during a recent Chronicle virtual forum. Here are two takeaways from â[Keeping Low-Income Learners on Track]( which was moderated by Katherine Mangan, a Chronicle senior writer, and underwritten by the Ascendium Education Group as part of [our series]( on student success. Financial aid is only a start:
âResearch shows us that providing financial support to students helps get them in the door,â said Alyssa Ratledge, a research associate focused on postsecondary education at the nonprofit MDRC. But often itâs not enough to keep them enrolled, she said, âparticularly getting to an on-time graduation.â Students also need resources like advising, mentoring, tutoring, as well as time-management and study skills, Ratledge said, plus social support and âa sense of camaraderie on campus.â Comprehensive or multifaceted support programs are the interventions with the biggest impact, Ratledge noted, because they can address multiple needs students have throughout their time in college. These efforts are often expensive, she acknowledged, but ultimately they can pay off for colleges and state governments: âYouâre getting so many more students to graduate that your cost per graduate goes down.â Try new messages â and messengers â when discussing academic probation:
Take care not to imply that negative outcomes are foregone conclusions, Ratledge urged, and avoid language that could be perceived as threatening. That might mean revising standard notifications, said Robert Ream, a professor of education and an associate dean for student success at the University of California at Riverside: âOur advisers see the power of the words we use with our students, and theyâve said we need to think differently.â Colleges should also consider, Ratledge added, that some students who are struggling academically might respond better to hearing from a trusted professor on this topic, as opposed to an academic adviser they may not know as well. âGraham Vyse Got a tip youâd like to share or a question youâd like me to answer? Let me know, at goldie@chronicle.com. If you have been forwarded this newsletter and would like to see past issues, [find them here](. To receive your own copy, free, register [here](. If you want to follow me on the site formerly known as Twitter, [@GoldieStandard]( is my handle. Or find me on BlueSky Social, which I just joined with [the same handle](. NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. Goldie's Picks WHAT IS COLLEGE FOR? [The Line Between Two- and Four-Year Colleges Is Blurring]( By Kelly Field [STORY IMAGE]( The rise of faster bachelorâs degrees raises the question of what college is for. SPONSOR CONTENT | Queen's University Belfast [Using Local Perspectives to Foster Peace in Post-conflict Regions]( WARM WORDS [The Colleges That Pay for Positive Coverage]( By Francie Diep [STORY IMAGE]( Good press for a few thousand dollars â whatâs wrong with that? DATA [Here Are 5 Things to Know About the Class of 2024]( By Audrey Williams June [STORY IMAGE]( A data snapshot highlights trends in graduatesâ wages and employment, among other factors. CAREER RESOURCES [Career Resources]( [Read the March collection]( for insights on navigating the anticipation of job offers. Explore our topics on how hiring decisions transpire, managing anxiety, and what to do if you receive an offer! ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Fostering Students' Free Expression - Buy Now]( [Get 12 Months]( [of Chronicle Reports]( [Order our new]( Digital Reports Bundle and save on a year’s worth of in-depth reports. Buy before March 31 to secure a copy of our latest release, Higher Education in 2035, plus The Athletics Advantage and A Toolbox for Deans as a one-time bonus. JOB OPPORTUNITIES [Search jobs on The Chronicle job board]( [Find Your Next Role Today]( Whether you are actively or passively searching for your next career opportunity, The Chronicle is here to support you throughout your job search. Get started now by [exploring 30,000+ openings]( or [signing up for job alerts](. NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2024 [The Chronicle of Higher Education](
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