Male primary school teachers are in the minority

In 1998, the then Minister for Schools, Estelle Morris, said one reason for underachievement by boys was "the lack of male role models" in the classroom.

Just 17% of people working as primary school teachers are men.

Dr Deborah Jones, of Brunel University, west London, spoke to some female teachers to gauge the ideal type of man to fill the job.

Promotion

The main qualities they came up with were: an enthusiastic approach to teaching; an ability to listen and a lack of arrogance; humour and good teamwork; and being a strong male role model.

Dr Jones said: "Our research showed that, while most female primary school teachers totally agree with the need to increase the numbers of male teachers, there is scepticism about the value of a blanket recruitment drive.

"The common consensus is that the 'right kind of man' is needed.

"However, the teachers also recognised that, at present, there is no clear idea of the qualities needed by the perfect male teacher, 'Mr Right'."

The research also suggests a "hidden issue" of promotion.

Men's chances of becoming a head teacher were more than three times greater than women's.

Department for Education and Skills figures show that in the UK in 2001 there were 27,400 male and 141,000 female primary school teachers.

At the same time, 7,500 head teachers were men and 11,100 were women.

In 2000, the government introduced measures to narrow the achievement gap between boys and girls in schools, including the recruitment of more male staff.

Dr Jones said: "It's clear from our research that an informed discussion needs to take place to identify specific attributes more clearly. For example, what constitutes a strong male role model?