Implementation of Desegregation as a Discriminatory Process

Diversifying the Teacher Workforce: A Retrospective and Prospective Analysis

“…The literature also shows that minority students taught by a samerace/ethnicity teacher are better behaved in school (Meier & Stewart, 1991), have lower dropout rates (Ehrenberg & Brewer, 1993), and are less frequently absent from school (Farkas, Grobe, Sheehan, & Shuan, 1990). Although the results of these studies cannot be considered conclusive, they provide some empirical evidence to support policies and programs for diversifying the teacher workforce, much as earlier studies reporting similar positive findings for minority students taught by minority teachers (Arnez, 1978;Beady & Hansell, 1981;Crain & Mahard, 1978) had done during the school desegregation era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.…”

“…With the dismantling of the dual school system after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, approximately 38,000 African American teachers and school administrators who had staffed segregated Black schools had lost their jobs by 1970 though dismissal or nonrenewal of contracts (Ethridge, 1979). Among those placed in desegregated schools, many were assigned to teach subjects they were not certified to teach (Arnez, 1978). Others were assigned to lower-status positions that paid less than they had earned previously (Morris, 1967).…”

“…Thus, the imbalance in the number of Black students and Black teachers became more pronounced over time. Although not advocating a return to segregation, African American scholars were quick to point out that the sharp decline in the participation of African Americans in teaching resulted in the loss of cultural linkages between home and school that had existed for African American students prior to desegregation (Arnez, 1978;King, 1993).…”

Moving From Separate, to Equal, to Equitable Schooling: Revisiting School Desegregation Policies

“…Arnez (1978) explored the impact of school desegregation on the schooling of African American students. African American parents had little political power in making decisions about desegregating schools in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1970s.…”

Administrative Discrimination in the Implementation of Desegregation Policies

“…In the more thorough case studies, however, the adoption of traditional desegregation reforms (e.g., busing, faculty integration, and compensatory programs) has been viewed as part of the school system's "organizational defenses" through which the district's insularity from "outsiders" and accountability to them (e.g., concerned citizens and minority activists) could be avoided (Gittell, 1969;Rogers, 1969). Yet if the implementation of desegregation plans is itself a discriminatory process (Arnez, 1978), then we need to analyze how a district's typical defenses are used to counter the threats posed by desegregation and the spectre of federal encroachment in local affairs. The critical insights of Professors Everett K. Wilson and Leila Sussman and the anonymous reviewers for this journal have helped me improve the quality of this paper immeasurably.…”