Breaking roles among teachers in ECEC: a chance for a sustainable and inclusive education?

The aim of this presentation is to address the male shortage in early education and teaching professions, through an interdisciplinary frame. Critical studies on masculinities and literature on role models in ECEC and primary schools are here in dialogue with pedagogical perspectives on hidden curriculum studies and inclusive education theory. My proposal describes a theoretical framework and research project in its early stages aimed at investigate whether a more diverse teaching staff may increase inclusion in education, understood as the never-ending commitment to developing better ways of responding to diversity. Although international literature is quite attentive to minority teachers, the Italian scenario does not look so rich of theory or empirical study. While reframing the male shortage definition in an intersectional framework, including gender identities, but also considering ethnicity, (dis)abilty, religious or cultural backgrounds, I intend to investigate if a diverse teaching staff may challenge the mainstream curricula and pedagogical practices, and increases the level of inclusiveness of schools in a diverse society.