Nicholas Earle — all six feet and one inch of him — towers over the tots at St. Alban’s Preschool as he tends to their winter coats and boots on this frigid Toronto morning.

He can’t help but stand out as he walks the halls, smiling and greeting all who pass.

The same way he can’t help but stand out in his chosen career as an early childhood educator — a male in a job pretty well the domain of women.

“Yes, it’s different,” he says with a grin. “I get a bit of scrutiny. But this is what I want to do. . . . I’m here to make a difference — my medium is raw potential.”

ECE workers are found in myriad environments — independent programs such as St. Alban’s, and in the kindergartens of school boards across the province.

Local stats give a clear picture of the imbalance.

Of the 559 permanent, temporary and casual ECEs working at the Toronto District School Board, 541 are female and 18 are male.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board has 196 permanent ECEs, with only four being guys.

But it’s certainly not that men aren’t wanted.

Angela Gauthier, associate director of academic affairs at the Catholic board, said a male role model, for both boys and girls, is desired in the early grades, where it’s still largely women.

She said the board sends out a clear message that men are welcome. But if there are no candidates, there are no hires.

Susan Hartwell, an ECE instructor at Oshawa’s Durham College, said the school’s graduating class for June 2013 will include 75 women and only three men.

As well, a member of the school’s public relations team said Durham isn’t actively pursuing male candidates.

Both Gauthier and Hartwell point to what some may consider a low salary for a potential “main breadwinner,” with pay ranging from as low as minimum wage to just above $30 an hour, all depending on experience and employer.

Gauthier also said a needed “societal shift” — one she believes is slowly coming — will hopefully make the job an option for men.

In a written statement, Julia Lipman of the College of Early Childhood Educators, a self-regulatory body, said: “since the college’s inception in 2008, the number of new members each year who identify themselves as male has consistently been observed at approximately 1 per cent of the total membership. . . . We are focused on the public interest and professionalism, and do not take gender into account, although it is an interesting question.”

She also said it was difficult to detect any shifts or trends regarding male interest in the occupation, considering the college only started registering members late in 2008.

The college’s records show that of 41,700 certificates, only 599 are males — 1.4 per cent.

“But at least we’re starting,” said Hartwell. “When I was at school (in 1985), there were no men.”

Earle said he’s happy with his choice. He appreciates the curiosity of the young and their “need to know” and realizes it’s a very important time in a child’s life — maybe the most important.

He has just graduated from an online program from St. Lawrence College in Brockville but has been working since 2011 as a substitute worker at the daycare operating from St. Alban’s Boys and Girls Club.

It wasn’t a “lifelong dream,” but Earle said he had an inkling he was bound for such an occupation after enjoying work as a counsellor at a kids’ camp in 2005, as well as being an au pair in 2006 in Germany, where he was in charge of 6-year-old twin boys.He realized he was stepping outside “the norm” when pursuing daycare work but was determined to “be true” to his inner calling.

“But everybody is fine with it,” he said. “My family and friends think the job’s a great fit.”

His girlfriend thinks it’s pretty cool, too.

At St. Alban’s, he tends to a gaggle of boys and girls between 18 months and 6 years and said what he brings to the table is a positive male role model, plenty of enthusiasm and tons of recreational activities.

As well, he can wipe a kid’s nose with the best of them — and does it several times a day.

“Yes, there are still a few people who are surprised when they see a male with little kids in a classroom. . . . I had one father who asked that I not change his child’s diaper,” he said. “But for the most part people are happy to see a guy in the class.”

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Like others, Hartwell believes the presence of a male role model in early classroom situations is beneficial.

But there are some who say — despite that mantra — men should be prepared for a bit of turbulence.

Western University professors Dr. Rebecca Coulter and Dr. Margaret McNay are authors of a reference article that explored men’s experiences working as teachers with young children.

Their research evolved around seven men and their experiences teaching early grades at elementary schools, but Coulter said the findings could easily be applied to male ECE workers.

The paper concludes: “valued as that rare commodity, men in elementary teaching, their motives, abilities and sexuality were nonetheless often viewed with suspicion.”

“We keep getting this mixed message,” Coulter said in an interview. “On one hand we hear people saying how good it is to have male role models in early grades . . . and then there’s the gut reaction when individuals consider (news reports) of sexual misconduct and abuse.”

She said it’s not just the parents but even some principals and fellow teachers who looked with apprehension at males teaching early grades, for myriad reasons.

“What we really, really need are good teachers, be they female or male,” she said. “Kids should see a reflection of a world of diversity and simply being a man shouldn’t be a criterion.”

But Karen Grant, 37, who oversees the St. Alban’s operation, said the preschool actually pursued Nicholas, making him the third male ECE worker at the Palmerston Ave. nursery in the past seven years.

Her experience shows both genders bring a lot to the table, but children seem to seek out nurturing from women and look to men for activity.

Mary Castel, whose children, Camille, 5 and Louis, 2, attend the daycare, said it was “surprising” to see a male worker at the centre, but she “felt good” about it.

“Kids need diversity, different people, different races and in this case it’s good to have a male presence where it’s mainly women,” she said. “I’ve talked to him about his career and it’s something he definitely wants to do . . . he’s just so serious about it.”

Camille said she especially likes the days Earle is taking care of the class. “He’s fun,” she said. “He plays games with us . . . he reads stories.”

The day is filled with crafts, music and activities that get the kids on their feet and moving.

Both Hartwell and Gauthier said the eventual rollout of all-day kindergarten by school boards in 2014 may attract more men to the role of ECE, IF they perceive the work as having more status and more opportunities.

But at this point statistics are not showing any spikes in male hiring.

Grant said of the 1,400 parents who passed through St. Alban’s doors in the past seven years, only one mother didn’t want male workers to hug her little girl, and it was because she was teaching her child absolute boundaries, not because of any suspicion about the educator.

When asked if he would give a hug to a child who was looking for one, Earle responds with an emphatic: “Yes . . . why wouldn’t I?”