Who Do We See Leading Our Classrooms? An Examination of Teacher Race and Gender in American Media Representations

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Topics in Professional Identify Formation

Abstract

Representations of teachers in American television and movies play a role in society’s views of teachers and their identities. The following study utilized descriptive statistics to compare characteristics of teachers portrayed by popular media with actual teacher representations. Racial representations of teachers are generally accurate, though they vastly underrepresented he racial diversity of the U.S. In contrast, media over-represented male teachers as compared to actual practitioners. Finally, the balance among elementary and secondary teachers did not align with actual classrooms, which are fairly even. As a whole, the media portrayals of teachers skewed White, male, and older which may influence conceptions of teachers including who can and should pursue careers in education.

Authors

• Ann Jenkin LaVanway, University of Minnesota

• Amie Bergersen, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities