Image: © Sal Burciaga
Michael Massart is one of 310 men in Upper Austria who work in childcare and child education. More than ten years ago, the current kindergarten teacher from Engerwitzdorf decided not to remain an electrician for the rest of his professional life and had himself retrained – first as a helper and then as a kindergarten teacher. Since then, the 34-year-old father of two daughters has looked after the children in the Linzerberg kindergarten. He spoke to the OÖN about his job.
OÖN: Unfortunately, there are still far too few male kindergarten teachers. How is it for you, as a man, to work in a, shall we call it, a women’s domain?
Michael Massart: Working as a man in a women’s domain is very exciting. I notice that in everyday life. We are a young team of women and men. We benefit from each other because everyone can contribute their interests and strengths.
What were the reactions of your circle of friends and family to your career choice?
The people around me reacted very positively, be it in my circle of friends or in my family. I received a lot of positive feedback. That also gave me a lot of encouragement, because it’s not something that can be taken for granted. Men are still in short supply in this professional field.
Why do you think there is a need for more men in this profession?
Many people find a male caregiver important in early childhood education. Each of my colleagues has different interests, approaches and a different role model function. I think it’s the healthy mix that makes the difference. Men and women both play their part in education.
You did an apprenticeship as an electrical power engineer. How did you get into the job of kindergarten teacher, which is so very different?
I realized that this wasn’t my dream job and decided to change. I found myself as a seeker and asked myself: What can I do, how can I develop further, what are my interests, and I saw that the social sector is definitely a professional field for me where I can find myself. And then I asked my current employer, the Diakonie, whether they were looking for someone, and then I came across the Linzerberg kindergarten. I then thought, yes, interesting, I’ll take a look. First as a helper, later as a teacher. From the beginning it was nice to work with the children.
What are the positive aspects of your job?
I enjoy working again. There are many further training courses, you can constantly develop your personality. I can learn a lot from the children – to be enthusiastic about little things, for example. On the other hand, I can contribute my interests and strengths, for example on the musical and sporting level. These are topics that I am also very interested in privately. We all benefit from each other.
Source: Nachrichten
