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This article takes a critical perspective on the construction of men and masculinities in vocational education and training (VET). We focus on ways in which key stakeholders in VET - teachers, heads of schools and VET experts - conceptualise men as educators and learners in VET, drawing on the case of Estonia. We identified two related discourses produced by the stakeholders which we labelled as 'the exceptional male teacher' and 'the vulnerable male student', which draw on and support the broader discourse of 'feminisation of education' prevalent in many Western societies. Treating men as exceptional, vulnerable and deserving special attention in VET leaves unchallenged and reproduces male privilege and endorses traditional ways of doing masculinity in this context. Such an institutional environment produced by the VET stakeholders may not be conducive to the emergence of more egalitarian masculinities in VET schools. More broadly, these two discourses on men in VET have important implications for gendered power relations and possibilities to advance gender equality in VET and in the labour market.

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In this paper we aim to understand how the discourse of [vocational education and training] VET stakeholders (educational administrators, school leaders and vocational teachers) reproduces and/or contests gender-typical occupational practices in VET. Drawing from interviews with VET stakeholders in Estonia, we found that, as a rule, teachers and heads of schools have noticed gender segregation both in society and in the context of their own school. However, it was typically not seen as problematic. While generally holding supportive views on gender balance in occupational fields and challenging gender stereotypes in society, the respondents' narratives tended to reproduce gender stereotypes via three different strategies: 1) attributing different abilities, dispositions and interests to male and female students and teachers; 2) emphasizing that female students were physically weaker; and 3) evoking the notion of the 'breadwinner' to explain and justify why fields occupied by male students and teachers were more paid more. We argue that VET stakeholders in Estonia do not fully acknowledge the gendered nature of VET institutions or their own role in shaping gender ideologies and practices in this context. In this paper we aim to understand how the discourse of VET stakeholders (educational administrators, school leaders and vocational teachers) reproduces and/or contests gender-typical occupational practices in VET. Drawing from interviews with VET stakeholders in Estonia, we found that, as a rule, teachers and heads of schools have noticed gender segregation both in society and in the context of their own school. However, it was typically not seen as problematic. While generally holding supportive views on gender balance in occupational fields and challenging gender stereotypes in society, the respondents' narratives tended to reproduce gender stereotypes via three different strategies: 1) attributing different abilities, dispositions and interests to male and female students and teachers; 2) emphasizing that female students were physically weaker; and 3) evoking the notion of the 'breadwinner' to explain and justify why fields occupied by male students and teachers were more paid more. We argue that VET stakeholders in Estonia do not fully acknowledge the gendered nature of VET institutions or their own role in shaping gender ideologies and practices in this context.

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