A drastic shortage of black men exists within the United States’ teaching workforce. Centered on the assertion that both unsatisfactory, institutional conditions and racial insensitivity play key roles in black men’s decisions to exit the teaching profession, this portraiture case study, framed by Critical Race Theory, deeply examines this issue...

1. Education’s Silent Exodus:
A CRITICAL EXPLORATION OF RACE AND THE SHORTAGE OF BLACK MEN IN TEACHING
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis
Chukwuma Ekwelum
Final Oral Exam
May 07, 2019
Dr. Peter Miller
Committee Chair
Dr. John Diamond
Committee Member
Dr. Martin Scanlan
Committee Member
Dr. Bianca Baldridge
Committee Member
Arthur Rainwater
Committee Member

2. Introduction – Research Question
Have other black
men teachers
have/had similar
experiences?
Are these
experiences
shared by all
teachers or are
they unique,
shaped by notions
of race and
racism?
Might these
experiences be
linked to the
shortage of black
men in teaching?
*In what ways
do both
institutional and
racial factors
contribute to
black men
teachers’
decisions to exit
the teaching
profession?
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3. Review of Literature – The Reality
 “…Black men are the least represented demographic in teaching,
making up just 0.6% of teachers” (as cited in Kohli, 2016, p. 16).
 “Black male teachers are consistently positioned in teacher
recruitment and teacher education discourse as the potential
solution to a myriad of social and educational problems.
However, the expectations of Black male performance are at times
predicated on limiting and oppressive assumptions” (Woodson
& Pabon, 2016, p. 57).
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4. Conceptual Framework – Critical Race Theory
Historical
Context
• Legal studies, 1980s
• Compensation for “…the lack of attention paid to race in critical legal scholarship” (as cited in Lynn et al.,
2002, p. 4).
Purpose
• Oriented towards “...help[ing] us understand the extent to which our society has in fact been ordered and
organized along racial lines” (Lynn, 2002, p. 120).
Contemporary
Use
• Used by scholars, Gloria Ladson-Billings & William Tate (1995), to problematize issues specifically
pertaining to education
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5. Conceptual Framework – Critical Race Theory
5 Key
Tenets*
 The centrality and intersectionality of race and
racism
 The challenge to dominant ideology
 The commitment to social justice
 The centrality of experiential knowledge
 The interdisciplinary perspective
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*Cited from Solórzano (1997)

6. Methods – Research Design
 Qualitative research design (portraiture + case study = fluidity)
 Depth over breadth…
Researchers must seek to “…enliven rather than report, to render rather than represent, to
resonate rather than validate, to rupture and reimagine rather than faithfully describe…”
(Vannini, 2015, p. 15).
 *Participants → 5 black men from the Northeast (all former schoolteachers)
*Recruitment strategy ala Aaron Perry’s strategy at JP Hair Design, here in Madison…
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7. Methods – Recruitment 6
Convenience
Sampling
(churches, gym,
barbershop, &
social media)
10 Black Men
*Screening
Process
5 Primary
Participants
Snowball
Sampling
8 Secondary
Participants
*Criteria: Black man, former K-12 teacher of 4+ years

8. Methods – Data Collection & Analysis
Semi-Structured
Interviews
Documents Data Analysis
• 1:1 • From secondary participants • Transcription (denaturalized)
• Approx. 1 hour each
• From Mario Shaw, CIO at
Profound Gentlemen
• Inductive
• At location of each
participant’s choosing • Deductive (using CRT)
• Three per participant • From educational agencies (one
SEA, one LEA)
• Coding (axial & open)
• Thematic • *Memos
*Note: Recording these helped me to ensure trustworthiness.
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9. Findings – Emergent Theme #1
Participants
had their
self-
challenged.
Demonized and
alienated for
decrying child
negligence.
Encouraged to be
passive and to
accept
undeserved
culpability. “Wore masks” as
shields against
stereotypes.
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“…when I started giving [students]
voice and showing them how to use
that voice, then I became everyone’s
enemy.” - Dorian
“It’s like seven women, all in the group
(including the principal) and they all look
at me. And I’m like, ‘Alright, here’s the
bad guy.’ But I also say to myself, ‘If I
can’t do what I just did then there’s no
need for me to be in education.” - Cole

10. Findings – Emergent Theme #2
Participants
actions and
inactions
through
racialized
lenses.
Unpacking
realities faced by
black and brown
children.
Reading “between
the lines” of
micro-
aggressions. Building allies for
the black struggle
among staff and
students.
9
“…this older white woman came up to me
on my first day during training and asked
what I was teaching and I told her, ‘No, I’m
not a teacher…I’ll be evaluating teachers
and doing all that.’ And she just kinda
gave me that look.” - Eric
“She got excused for her behavior…at
the end of the day, she’s still hitting the
children…I’m telling you…people do
really grimy stuff to children, especially
[to] children of color…” - Dorian

11. Findings – Emergent Theme #3
Participants
could not
the intentions
of peers or
superiors.
Dealing with tokenism
and placation.
Discerning differences
between “real social
justice” and “cosmetic
social justice.”
10
“’Oh, we value you,’ but then you’re
trying to put 50,000 things on my back
because you gave me a hug. Now you
feel like you [can] give me all this work
to do.” - Julius
“[I was] just given a textbook and
[told], ‘Here. Just go and do what
you do…’ You ask for feedback and
they sort of [say], ‘Hey, you’re doing
well. Just keep on doing what you’re
doing.’ But that’s not feedback…” -
Nate

12. Critical Race Theory – Application to Findings
5 Key
Tenets*
 The centrality and intersectionality of race
and racism
 The challenge to dominant ideology
 The commitment to social justice
 The centrality of experiential knowledge
 The interdisciplinary perspective
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*Cited from Solórzano (1997)

13. Implications for Future Research
 The role that upward mobility
plays in black men’s decisions to leave
teaching, but not necessarily the field of
education…
 A comparative study between
multiple groups of exited men
teachers…
(e.g., black men teachers vs. white men teachers)
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14. Implications for Practice (6)
 Meaningful leadership opportunities…
 Clearly-defined, mutually-agreed upon job roles…
 Ongoing mentoring initiatives…
 Commonplace discussions on race and implicit bias…
 Socioemotional support…
 Consistent use of exit interviews and the data they yield…
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15. References
Kohli, R. (2016). Behind school doors: the impact of hostile racial climates on urban teachers of color. Urban Education, 1–27.
Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995). Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education. Teachers College Record, 97(1), 47–68.
Lynn, M. (2002). Critical Race Theory and the Perspectives of Black Men Teachers in the Los Angeles Public Schools. Equity &
Excellence in Education, 35(2), 119–130. http://doi.org/10.1080/713845287
Lynn, M., Yosso, T. J., Solórzano, D. G., & Parker, L. (2002). Critical Race Theory and Education: Qualitative Research in the New
Millennium. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 3–6. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800402008001001
Solórzano, D. G. (1997). Images and Words that Wound: Critical Race Theory, Racial Stereotyping, and Teacher Education.
Teacher Education Quarterly, 24(3), 5–19.
Vannini, P. (2015). Non-representational methodologies: Re-envisioning research. New York, NY: Routledge.
Woodson, A. N., & Pabon, A. (2016). “I’m None of the Above”: Exploring Themes of Heteropatriarchy in the Life Histories of Black
Male Educators. Equity & Excellence in Education, 49(1), 57–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2015.1121456
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