In contemporary American society, the nursing profession is predominantly made up of white women. Currently, males make up only 6.8 percent of the three million nursing professionals in the U.S. and they are considered gender minorities within the nursing profession and within nursing education. As gender minorities, male students are identified as experiencing nursing programs and the practice of nursing differently than their female counterparts. The purpose of this single instrumental, within site case study was to explore the learning environment for male nursing students and to investigate the nature of the interactions between nursing faculty and male undergraduate students in a Pacific Northwest medical university nursing program. Data was collected in the educational setting through observations, participant interviews, and document analysis. In addition, this study used Kanter's theoretical framework of tokenism to uncover if male nursing students were perceived as tokens in the educational environment. The findings showed that the faculty-student interactions were largely positive; they also revealed that having other males in the class was an instrumental factor in their positive perception of their educational experience. However, the male nursing students also identified areas of discomfort in the educational setting, specifically when practicing clinical skills with female peers, feeling pressured to volunteer and to expose skin during in-class demonstrations, and anticipating that they would be excluded from certain clinical situations. This research indicated that gender differences are present within nursing education and contributed to instances of discomfort for male students. Specific barriers occurred most often when men engaged with female peers and were in clinical settings. These findings provide new insight into when and where men begin to experience gender barriers in the educational environment and are pertinent to understanding the educational environment for men in nursing. Recommendations specifically geared towards assisting students in their first term are suggested for nursing faculty and administrators to ensure that the learning environment is welcoming for men. These recommendations include consciously placing males together in cohort groups and in clinical experiences, reducing instances of visibility and pressure on men in the clinical setting, building faculty awareness of perceived and real barriers for men in the educational setting, and providing faculty with tools to assess and address barriers that are present in the classroom environment.

The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of male nursing students and recent graduates of nursing school as related to their attraction to the profession, recruitment into a nursing school, retention and persistence toward attainment of a baccalaureate nursing degree. The participants in the study included male baccalaureate nursing students who were engaged in their last year of nursing school, and male recent graduates who successfully completed their baccalaureate nursing degree within the last three years. The participants were between 24 to 46 years of age. The study employed a phenomenological design. A semi-structured interview protocol was developed to conduct one-to-one interviews with six male nursing students and recent graduates regarding participants' perceptions of their lived experiences within their nursing schools and the profession. By understanding factors that influence male students' attraction to the profession, recruitment into a nursing school, and retention and persistence of male baccalaureate nursing students toward successful attainment of a nursing degree, recommendations for best practices and structural improvements within institutions of higher education can be used to mediate the nursing shortage by creating equity and access for gender inclusion in the profession.

A survey of 261 college freshman students, including both men and women, and students from a first-year nursing course and non-nursing courses, was used to better understand perceptions of nursing as a potential career path for both male and female students. Participants were asked to answer questions as though they were helping either a fellow female student (Kim) or a fellow male student (Ken) think through choosing nursing as a career path. Three male nursing students and 37 female nursing students were asked to fill out both the "Kim" version and the "Ken" version and 73 of those surveys were completed (p. 34). The students surveyed in the non-nursing classes (83 men, 105 women) were given only one version of the survey to fill out, with an equal number of the "Kim" version and the "Ken" version being handed out randomly (p. 31). Statistical analysis showed that males rated nursing significantly less likely to meet present and future needs than did their female counterparts. Surprisingly, the gender of the subject in the survey ("Kim" or "Ken") did not influence the perception of the respondent. In other words, student response did not significantly change depending on whether the student thought the survey subject they were answering questions about was male or female.

The Handbook of Gender and Education brings together leading scholars on gender and education to provide an up-to-date and broad-ranging guide to the field. It is a comprehensive overview of different theoretical positions on equity issues in schools. The contributions cover all sectors of education from early years to higher education; curriculum subjects; methodological and theoretical perspectives; and gender identities in education. Each chapter reviews, synthesises and provides a critical interrogation of key contemporary themes in education. This approach ensures that the book will be an indispensable source of reference for a wide range of readers: students, academics and practitioners. The first section of the Handbook, Gender Theory and Methodology, outlines the various (feminist) perspectives on researching and exploring gender and education. The section critiques the notion of gender as a category in educational research and considers recent trends, evident especially in the gender and underachievement debates, to locate gender difference solely within biology. This section provides the broad background upon which the issues and debates in the other sections can be situated. Section two, Gender and Education, considers the differing ways in which gender has been shown to impact upon the opportunities and experiences of pupils/students, teachers and other adults in the different sectors of education. It also includes a chapter on single-sex schooling. Section three, Gender and School Subjects, comprises chapters that cover gender issues within the teaching and learning of particular school subjects (for example, maths, literacy, and science). It also includes topics such as sex education and assessment. The chapters in section four, Gender, identity and educational sites, address up-to-date issues which have a long history in terms of explorations into gender and educational opportunities. More recent inclusions in the debates, such as disability, sexuality, and masculinities are discussed alongside the more traditional concerns of ′race′, social class and femininities. The final section, Working in Schools and Colleges, illuminates the working lives of teachers and academics. The chapters cover such topics as school culture, career progression and development, and the gendered identities of professionals within educational institutions. The contributors to this book have been selected by the editors as authorities in their specific area of gender and education and are drawn from the international scholarly community.

Case Study Research in Practice explores the theory and practice of case study research. Helen Simons draws on her extensive experience of teaching and conducting case study to provide a comprehensive and practical account of how to design, conduct and communicate case study research. It addresses questions often raised by students and common misconceptions about case research. In four sections the book covers - Rationale, concept and design of case study research - Methods, ethics and reflexivity in case study - Interpreting, analyzing and reporting the case - Generalizing and theorizing in case study research Rich with 'tales from the field' and summary memos as an aide-memoire to future action, the book provides fresh insights and challenges for researchers to guide their practice of case study research. This is an ideal text for those studying and conducting case study research in education, health and social care, and related social science disciplines. Helen Simons is Professor Emeritus of Education University of Southampton