The Trajectories of Black Mathematics Teachers and Their Arc of Resistance

• In Event: Examining the Nuances of Teaching Mathematics While Black: Achieving New Possibilities for the Public Good

Abstract

This research lies at the nexus of teacher diversity and mathematics teacher pipeline conversations as we examine the state of Black mathematics teachers with respect to how the past informs current and future research and practice. The limited amount of scholarship with respect to Black teachers of mathematics highlights the need conduct research that lies at the nexus of increasing teacher diversity and increasing the numbers of mathematics teachers entering the field. Further, we push back on the notion that recruitment of teachers of color, and specifically Black teachers, is solely a contemporary issue. We posit that the dwindling number of Black teachers noted in the current news cycles and public discourse stems from a long history of systemic marginalization. Historical analyses of Black teachers in mathematics provide a meaningful foundation for understanding the contemporary racialized experiences, perspectives and practices of Black mathematics educators. Toward the centering of race, Milner (2006) offered the charge that educators and researchers should look to “Black teachers’ experiences and success both pre- and post-desegregation for insights about how all teachers can deepen and broaden their knowledge and understanding to better meet the needs and situations of students at present, particularly among Black students” (p. 90).

This XXX-funded project uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to reflect on the dearth of Black mathematics teachers, including the challenges recruitment and retention. Using a Critical Race Theory lens (Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; 1998; Solorzano, 1997; Solorzano & Yosso, 2001), we link the historical counternarratives of retired Black mathematics teachers with current educational policies for racially diversifying STEM instruction (National Math and Science Initiative, 2016; U.S. Department of Education, 2016). Integrating oral history and critical quantitative analysis via mixed methods research accommodated our interdisciplinary research questions. Specifically, we collected oral history interviews of retired Black mathematics teachers, large-scale survey data of currently practicing Black teachers, and focus group interviews with currently practicing Black mathematics teachers.

Integrating what may seem like disparate methodologies helped us to pinpoint issues related to attrition that have been intractable across time periods and schooling contexts. Further, these methods helped us to identify what we are calling Black mathematics teachers’ arc of resistance toward institutional and interpersonal racism. Our quantitative findings point to Black mathematics teachers’: (a) commitment to community uplift via mathematics teaching; (b) overwhelming experiences with microaggressions and institutional racism; and (c) attrition factors that are related to experiencing interpersonal and institutional racism. The qualitative data, from both the oral histories and the focus groups, corroborate these findings but also provide a way forward that prioritizes well-being of Black mathematics teachers and unfolds a roadmap for dismantling unjust organizational conditions that impede retention. Ultimately, the objective of the research is to amplify the content-related, pedagogical, and epistemological wealth of Black teachers, past, present and future, to guide contemporary teacher education policy and practice.

Author

• Toya Jones Frank, George Mason University