Reflections of Preservice Teachers of Color: Implications for the Teacher Demographic Diversity Gap

Abstract

The reproduction of white supremacist culture in schools continues to marginalize Students of Color in a variety of implicit and explicit ways. A diverse teacher workforce not only helps to disrupt the direct effects of racism on Students of Color, but also prepares all students for successful democratic participation in a diverse global society. This article uses a portion of qualitative interview data from undergraduate Preservice Teachers of Color from a dissertation study completed within a College of Education at a minority-serving public university in the southwestern United States. This study adds to the literature on the complex issues that have resulted in our nation’s teacher demographic diversity gap. The findings from these data reveal meaningful teacher–student encounters that eight successful Preservice Teachers of Color have experienced during their K12 education and how these experiences affected their drive to become a teacher. The findings confirm that resolving the teacher diversity gap is more than a simple recruitment problem. Practitioners, scholars, and policy-makers must attend to the climate and culture of schools, in particular the racialized experiences of Students of Color, if we hope to begin to address the complexity of this issue. All names and places are pseudonyms. Participants chose their pseudonym, and their identifying categories listed are directly from how they identified themselves during the interviews.

Navigating the Double Bind: A Systematic Literature Review of the Experiences of Novice Teachers of Color in K–12 Schools

“…Novices shared how this led them to feel protective of students (Magaldi et al, 2016) and also led them to maintain “psychological distance” from White colleagues (Amos, 2020, p. 658). These responses were in tension with one another, as Olivia, a preservice teacher in Plachowski’s (2019) study, described:I didn’t feel like that was a place that I was welcome or respected or valued as an individual, let alone as somebody who identifies as a Black female and I didn’t feel like I could receive the education and experiences that I deserve as a student. .…”

“…In two studies, novices shared how colleagues mistook Latino/a students’ neutral behavior for gang-related activities (Amos, 2020; Téllez, 1999). A novice in Plachowski’s (2019) study, who self-identified as a Hispanic-Latina Christian, shared how a White student in her field placement was “causing the problem and disturbing the, the Black students,” but the teacher “ignored” the White student and instead “she took away the Black students and one of the girls [who was] Latina” (p. 13). She said, “I feel like white students aren’t even punished as harshly as someone of color and who are even drawn attention or humiliated” (p. 13).…”

“…Schools are often hostile racial climates (Kohli, 2018) for both teachers of color and students of color. As Olivia noted (Plachowski, 2019), this created tension between novices’ desire to transform schools into affirming spaces, and the burdens of being a person of color in an environment that required withstanding White colleagues’ racism toward them and their students. As Michelle, the novice in Kohli’s (2018) study, pointed out, novices’ subordinate position as beginning teachers created barriers to challenging colleagues’ biases.…”

“…By choosing to teach in urban schools, Haddix contends Natasha was carving out “a space where she could take on the new identity of being a teacher and assert her affiliation to African American Language” (p. 113), allowing her to “embrace her Black womanhood and her affiliation to AAL and at the same time demonstrate teaching proficiencies” (p. 113). In Plachowski’s (2019) study, a biracial novice, Olivia, reported how, after witnessing a racist interaction, she requested a new practicum site:I decided not to go back to that elementary school because I didn’t feel like that was a place that I was welcome or respected or valued as an individual, let alone as somebody who identifies as a Black female. (p. 14)…”

Experiences of Working Conditions Among Special Education Teachers of Color Serving Students With EBD

“…these students would get what they needed anyway" (p. 763). In several studies, teachers of color have highlighted how they experience more positive working conditions in schools serving more students who share their background, as they are more likely to be a community that affirms and values their identity (e.g., Plachowski, 2019). For example, in Haddix's (2010) study of two beginning teachers of color, a novice Black teacher said that in a predominately Black school she felt "comfort" and "like I can just be myself" (p. 112), but she said she would feel "miserable" in a predominantly White school (p. 113).…”