Administrator's Search for the Three Cs: New Teacher Hires' Cultural Understanding, Communication Skills, and Commitment

• In Event: 52.023 - Effective Instructional Leadership: Aligning the Roles of Teachers and Principals

Abstract

To better understand and address the challenges faced by urban districts in recruiting math teachers, this study identifies the challenges urban district and school leaders face in their new teacher recruitment and hiring efforts. In particular, the study relies upon a social justice framework to critically examine how urban administrators define ‘quality’ in math teachers. In contrast to the credentials mandated through federal and state new professionalism policies, urban administrators seek teachers with: cultural understanding, communication skills, and commitment. This lack of an alignment between policy makers’ perceptions of teacher quality and practitioners’ needs inhibits urban students from receiving the quality instruction and learning opportunities entitled to them.

Authors

• Deena Khalil, Howard University

• Elizabeth Brown, William Paterson University