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The Urban Review

, Volume 48, Issue 4, pp 628–646 | Cite as

It’s Hard To Be Who You Don’t See: An Exploration of Black Male High School Students’ Perspectives on Becoming Teachers

  • Ramon B. Goings
  • Margarita Bianco
Article
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Abstract

The goal of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of high school age Black males (N = 22) regarding factors that influence or deter their consideration of becoming teachers. Participants were enrolled in a yearlong, pre-collegiate course designed to introduce high school students to the teaching profession. Qualitative analysis of students’ interviews revealed that negative school experiences, including low expectations, racial stereotypes, and microaggressions, deterred consideration of becoming a teacher. Positive interactions with encouraging teachers and the opportunity to have direct teaching experience in the community helped students see themselves as potential future teachers. Implications for practice are discussed.

Keywords

Black male teachers Pathways2Teaching Pre-collegiate teacher pipeline Teachers of color 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Education Specialties Department, School of EducationLoyola University MarylandTimoniumUSA
  2. 2.School of Education and Human DevelopmentUniversity of Colorado DenverDenverUSA

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