We Got Y'all! Leading and Supporting Black Male Teacher Trajectories

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Critically Examining the Trajectories of Black Male Teachers From Teacher Preparation Through Induction

Abstract

Objective and Purpose: This study employs a qualitative approach informed by a narrative design that integrates the stories of Black male teachers, school leaders, and university teacher educators in the recruitment, support, and retention of Black male teachers.

Theoretical Framework: This study integrates critical race theory (Bell, 1980; Delgado & Stelfancic, 2007; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), Black teacher performance pedagogy (Brown, 2009), the double bind (Gist, 2017), and Afrocentric thought (Johnson, 2001) to advance a Teaching to Heal framework that sees Black male teachers as agents, resisters, and protectors for Black students. This framework also serves to frame Black males and teaching as a healing process, noting that Black males enter the profession as a way to heal their own schooling experiences.

Methods, Technique, Modes of Inquiry: This study employs a qualitative approach informed by a narrative design that integrates the stories of Black male teachers, school leaders, and university teacher educators in the recruitment, support, and retention of Black male teachers. This study takes a narrative re-storying of themes to develop a fictional analysis of Black male teachers.

Data Sources: Data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews of 10 participants. Participants were asked to share their stories on the experience of being a Black male teacher in K-12 public schools.

Results/Substantiated Conclusions: Findings indicate three significant themes that guide the narrative of Black male teachers in the study: a) connections, cultural connections and related validation of Blackness; b) personalized insights, intuitive style and relationships forged by common understandings; and c) challenging perceptions, navigating roadblocks to protect the integrity of self and community. These themes, and the stories that connect them, are detailed in the narratives of Mr. Jackson and Mr. Nelson.

Scientific/Scholarly Significance: This study presents a humanized conception of Black male teachers as community activists and educators that work as double agents in a system that they believe marginalizes their presence and performance styles. While we readily agree that Black male teachers are important, this work is necessary for school leaders, teacher educators, and teacher preparation recruiters to identify, support, and cultivate the uniqueness of Black males bring to the K-12 context.

Author

• Derrick Robinson, University of Memphis