Toward the Development of a Black Teacher Census: Reclaiming Voice, Visibility, and Validity

• In Event: Students Placed At Promise for Academic Success! Dr. A. Wade Boykin's Talent Development Legacy

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a critical gap analysis of 18 national teacher surveys to assess how well they capture the experiences, pedagogies, and sociopolitical realities of Black K–12 educators. Anchored in the Black Teacher Collaborative’s Pedagogical Framework and Boykin’s Triple Quandary Theory, the study reveals widespread erasure of racial identity, cultural labor, and liberatory practice in existing instruments. We identify 21 key omissions across content, methodology, and representation, laying the groundwork for a new, psychometrically sound survey tool co-designed with Black teachers. This work affirms the need for equity-centered, race-conscious measurement in education research and contributes to the development of the Black Teacher Census— a national effort to reclaim data as a tool for equity and transformation.

Authors

• Christopher D. Hill, Black Teacher Collaborative

• Ashley Griffin Gilchrist, Bowie State University

• Shelly Engelman, Johns Hopkins University