In Search of the "Right Type": A Historical Examination of Black Teachers and Quality, 1956–1969

• In Event: The Power of Black Teachers and the Public Good: Histories of Resistance, Agency, and Activism

Abstract

Objectives
In 1953, segregated public schools for Blacks in Washington D.C. were a source of pride for Black educators. Schools for Black students were considered nearly equal to White schools in terms of teacher pay and instructional resources (Diner, 1990). When Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overturned the ‘separate but equal’ ideology upon which the nation’s schools had been structured, the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) became racially desegregated. White families left D.C., resulting in a predominately Black student body and teacher workforce. Public discontent with the perceived quality of teachers rose in the years that followed, creating an uptick in teacher-quality related policies. Education officials reported that recruiting enough ‘qualified’ teachers was a difficult task (Diner, 1990). Drawing upon the findings of archival research, this study problematizes ‘teacher quality’ and considers how race helped shape teacher policy in DCPS following school desegregation.

Theoretical Framework
Critical race theory (CRT) underpins this study. The tenets of CRT address how race and racism operate in American society—including the myth of colorblindness, meritocracy, and neutrality under the law. A political theory of race emphasizes questions of power, race, and racial politics, and their influence in policy design and implementation (Colleagues & Author, Forthcoming). In examining historical trends related to teachers in DCPS, this study considers how race shaped discussions about quality.

Methods
All documents are situated within an historical context; they are representations of facts, events, and ideas relative to a point in time. Analyzing historical documents includes an investigation of primary sources to contextualize past events and weave patterns among them (McCulloch, 2004; Rapley, 2008), resulting in thoughtful ways of considering present-day questions. This study employs a historical disciplinary framework to investigate calls for higher standards of teacher quality following school desegregation.

Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
Archival data include artifacts from the Charles Sumner Museum and Archive such as teacher recruitment materials, board meeting transcripts, and teacher evaluations. Other data include United States census data and historical newspapers to better frame the landscape of Washington, D.C.

Results
Educational leaders in DCPS increased the standards for its teachers following school desegregation. Criticisms of the District’s teachers, however, took on racialized overtones that were not prominent prior to school desegregation. Archival data reveal efforts to improve the quality of the teaching force by both shifting its racial composition and hiring the ‘right type’ of Black teacher, as evidenced by strident policy changes in teacher recruitment, hiring, and evaluation.

Scholarly significance
Robust debate on the need for enhancements to teacher recruitment and licensure continue (Cochran-Smith, Piazza, & Power, 2013; Darling-Hammond, 2010). Aside from a set of pre-determined criteria such as the number of years in the classroom, or the accumulation of education credits, to what extent has meeting prescribed benchmarks provided assurance that a teacher meets the standard of ‘quality’? To what extent does race impact perceptions of quality? This study offers insights for present-day debates on teacher quality by considering how racial perceptions create lasting impacts on education policy.

Author

• Andrea Guiden-Pittman, Grovider