Black Male Teachers' Perspectives and Experiences in North Carolina Secondary Public Schools

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions surrounding equity and access for seven Black male teachers in a North Carolina secondary public school district. The research focused on two components of the secondary public school setting experienced by the seven participants: social context and instructional leadership. For purposes of this study, the researcher defined social context as workplace interactions between participants and their administrators and teacher colleagues. Instructional leadership roles were defined and excluded athletic director, coach, dean of students and administrator in this study. Seven of the seven participants possessed overall feelings of acceptance by administrators and colleagues. However, six of the seven participants believed that administrators expected them to manage primarily Black male student behaviors. Also, three of the seven participants neither felt heard nor felt that their cultural identity was valued in the workplace. Organizational barriers challenged Black male teachers’ preparedness for instructional leadership, and some experienced obstacles accessing instructional leadership opportunities and as instructional leaders. This study concluded with recommendations for future research as well as potential ways to address equity and access issues presented. One recommendation included restructuring of the assignment of Black male teachers as mentors to Black male students to include a criteria-based selection process from a more racially diverse teacher pool. Whereas six of the seven participants became teachers through the alternative licensure pathway, a recommendation was also presented to address the inconsistent beginning teacher support for teachers entering the profession through the alternative licensure pathway.