Male educators are using their presence to challenge traditional gender norms, showing children that men can excel in nurturing early childhood roles. In classrooms across Singapore, teachers wear pink shirts and counter beliefs that specific careers are restricted by gender. Despite positive strides, male staff still represent a tiny fraction of the sector and face center restrictions on physical contact when consoling students. Overcoming these hurdles relies heavily on building strong trust with parents and engaging students directly.
Key points
Male preschool teachers are actively leveraging everyday classroom interactions to disman…: Male preschool teachers are actively leveraging everyday classroom interactions to dismantle traditional gender stereotypes for young children.
Despite recent recruitment gains, men still represent a very small minority within the co…: Despite recent recruitment gains, men still represent a very small minority within the country's female-dominated early childhood workforce.
Male educators must navigate lingering parental skepticism and strict workplace rules tha…: Male educators must navigate lingering parental skepticism and strict workplace rules that restrict how they physically comfort children.
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SINGAPORE – When some children in his class insisted that pink was a colour for girls, preschool teacher Muhammad Aliff Mohamed Murat decided to prove them wrong.
The next day, he turned up in a pink shirt, much to their surprise. “I love pink,” he said, before reading them a book about how colours are for everyone.
For the 33-year-old lead teacher at My First Skool in Rivervale Crescent, it was a chance to challenge what children think boys and girls can – or cannot – do.
Some children have even asked him: Can boys be teachers?
“Why not? I’m very excited (to be your teacher) and I’m here to help and teach you,” said Aliff, who has taught for eight years.
The number of male preschool teachers in Singapore grew from about 190 in 2021 to 300 in 2025 – an increase of nearly 60% in four years, said the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).
However, they remain a rarity, accounting for only about 1% of the sector’s 28,000 educators across 1,800 preschools.
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