Principal Perspectives on Teacher-Student Race Congruence: A Mixed-Methods Study of Texas Schools

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Racialized and Gendered Educational Experiences: Resisting Leadership Norms

Abstract

This article presents a mixed method study of seven hundred and two public schools in central Texas. OLS regression analyses were employed to measure the relative effect of teacher-student race congruence on student attendance. The results of these analyses indicate that teacher-student race congruence made a statistically significant independent contribution to the variance in student attendance. Then interviews were conducted with the top 1% of principals identified as having the most diverse group of faculty within this region. A constructivist approach was used to identify common themes for how principals recruit and retain a diverse faculty. Three themes emerged from these interviews: recruitment of diverse faculty is deliberate; a climate of teacher support is fostered; and cultural congruence is paramount.

Authors

• Lawrence Lowell Scott, Texas A&M University - San Antonio

• Sean Kearney, Texas A&M University - San Antonio

• Elisabeth M. Krimbill, Texas A&M University - San Antonio

• Nicholas Hinojosa, Texas A&M University - San Antonio