Uncovering the Black Box: Cross-Case Analysis of Hiring Black Educators for Principalship in Suburban Contexts

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 3:35 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Building a High-Quality, Racially Diverse Educator Pipeline: Hiring, Satisfaction, and Support for Students (Table 11)

Abstract

Research shows that common hiring practices are racially biased (Avery, 1979; Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2003), but few studies focus on hiring school principals at the district level (Palmer & Mullooly, 2015). Equitable hiring is crucial for Black educators, who are underrepresented in principal roles despite the growing number of Black students in K-12 schools (Williams & Loeb, 2012). Diverse and equity-focused principals, particularly Black principals, can improve educational opportunities for Black students (Bartanen & Grissom, 2019; Kelley, 2012; Lomotey, 2019; Williams & Loeb, 2012). This paper is a cross-case analysis of hiring practices in two suburban school districts through racialized organizational theory (Ray, 2020), examining hiring policies, application rates, and placement demographics to promote equitable hiring of Black principals.

Author

• Kimberly Clarida, Michigan State University