Black STEM Teachers' Testimony About Their Extended Educational Careers

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Racialized Feeling in Mathematics and Science Classrooms (Table 9)

Abstract

STEM teachers who self-identified as Black/African-American, and had at least ten years of classroom teaching experience, participated in three interviews over six months. Framed using socio-ecological theories (i.e., the teacher as an individual professional, as a member of a department, and a constituent within an education institution) revealed the myriad ways Black STEM teachers navigated their workplaces and profession. Themes that emerged included balancing an obligation to oneself with commitments to students, the importance of fictive kinship relationships, the value of ongoing growth opportunities, and the necessity to change workplaces when local politics degraded the school environment. From the participants it became evident that organizational structures perpetuate inequities contributing to variations in schools’ rates of Black STEM teacher turnover.

Authors

• John Settlage, University of Connecticut

• Kenya Marie Overton, University of Connecticut

• Emmanuel Dwamena, University of Connecticut