Pathways to Teaching: An Examination of Black Females’ Pursuits of Careers as K-12 Teachers

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Black Women’s Experience in Higher Education Spaces

Abstract

The education field is dominated by White, female, middle-class teachers. As a result, Black female teachers are underrepresented in the teaching field. Statistically, Black female teachers represent 7.7 percent of the United States teaching force, while White female teachers make up over 60 percent of the American teacher workforce. To reverse this common trend, this study explored the lived K-12 and collegiate educational experiences of Black female in-service teachers in order to gain insight about their vocational choices to become educators. Six major themes were derived from the analysis of data. The results of this study have implications for classroom teachers, teacher education programs and educational policy.

Authors

• Abiola A. Farinde, University of Pittsburgh

• Jennifer K. LeBlanc, Texas A&M University

• Amanda S Otten, Texas A&M University - College Station