Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Black Educators Fight Back: Facing and Navigating Vulnerability and Stress in Teacher Development

  • Published:
The Urban Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith

(II Timothy 4:7, The New King James Version)

Abstract

This article examines Black educators’ experiences in Grow Your Own programs along a teacher development continuum at the intersection of social and human development constructs and frameworks, such as double binds and Phenomenological Variant Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST). More robust and nuanced interpretations of how Black educators grow and sustain their presence in the field of education are explored utilizing these analytical tools to determine how Black educators make their way along the teacher development continuum. Findings related to Black educators’ development as they transition as students to teachers, using double bind constructs at each stage of PVEST, are described, and research and praxis questions are extended for implications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achinstein, B., & Ogawa, R. T. (2011). Change(d) agents: New teachers of color in urban schools. New York City: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, L. M., Frank, T. L., & Davis, J. (2013). Conceptualizing the African American mathematics teacher as a key figure in the African American education historical narrative. Teachers College Record, 115, 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clewell, B. C., & Villegas, A. M. (1999). Creating a nontraditional pipeline for urban teachers: The pathways to teaching careers model. Journal of Negro Education, 68(3), 306–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dilworth, M. F., & Brown, A. L. (2008). Teachers of color: Quality and effective teachers one way or another. In M. Cochran-Smith, S. Feiman-Nemser, & D. J. McIntyre (Eds.), Handbook of research in teacher education: Enduring questions in changing contexts (pp. 424–444). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster, M. (1997). Black teachers on teaching. New York, NY: New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gershenson, S., Hart, C., Lindsay, C., & Papageorge, N. W. (2017). The long-run impacts of same-race teachers. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/161253/1/dp10630.pdf.

  • Gist, C. D. (2017). Voices if aspiring teachers of color: Unraveling the double bind in teacher education. Urban Education, 52(8), 927–956.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, A., & Tackie, H. (2017). Through our eyes: Perspectives from black teachers. Phi Delta Kappan, 98(5), 36–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grissom, J. A., & Redding, C. (2016). Discretion and disproportionality: Explaining the underrepresentation of high-achieving students of color in gifted programs. AERA Online, 2(1), 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll, R., and Merrill, L. (2017). A Quarter Century of Changes in the Elementary and Secondary Teaching Force: From 1987 to 2012. Statistical Analysis Report (NCES 2017-092). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED573526.pdf.

  • Jones, R., & Jenkins, A. (2012). Call me mister: The re-emergence of African American male teachers in South Carolina. Advantage Media Group: Charleston, SC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matkins, T. C. (2011). The black teacher shortage: A literature review of historical and contemporary trends. The Journal of Negro Education, 80(3), 417–427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mawhinney, L. (2014). We got next: Urban education and the next generation of black teachers. New York: Peter Lang.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Milner, H. R. (2006). The promise of black teachers’ success with black students. Educational Foundation, 20(3/4), 89–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddle-Walker, V. (2005). Organized resistance and Black educators’ quest for school equality, 1878–1938. Teachers College Record, 107(3), 355–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, E. A., Garreton, M. T., & Schultz, B. D. (2011). Grow your own teachers: Grassroots change for teacher education. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, M. B. (2006). Phenomenology and ecological systems theory: Development of diverse groups. In W. Damon & R. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (pp. 829–893). New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, D., & Shandasni, P. (1990). Focus groups: Theory and practice. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taie, S., and Goldring, R. (2017). Characteristics of public elementary and secondary school teachers in the United States: Results From the 2015–16 National teacher and principal survey first look (NCES 2017-072).Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017072.pdf.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arkansas, Peabody Hall 203, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA

    Conra D. Gist

Authors
  1. Conra D. Gist
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Conra D. Gist.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gist, C.D. Black Educators Fight Back: Facing and Navigating Vulnerability and Stress in Teacher Development. Urban Rev 50, 197–217 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-018-0446-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-018-0446-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation