The Perceptions of Black Teachers Regarding Their Decision to Teach and Satisfaction with Their Work Experiences in Predominantly White K-12 Schools

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Black teachers regarding their decision to teach and the satisfaction with their work experiences in predominantly White K-12 schools. A total of 118 teachers who were identified as Black and as employees of a predominantly White school were invited to complete a survey via email. A total of 56 did in fact respond. Of that 56, only 51 respondents provided enough usable data (which is defined as a survey completed in full). The data, which came from a Perceptions Survey, meant to report levels of job satisfaction as it relates to perceptions of work experiences. The primary research question was: What are the perceptions of Black teachers regarding their satisfaction with their work experiences in predominantly White K-12 schools? The subsequent sub-question was: How do those work experiences impact Black teachers’ decision to continue teaching, be promoted from teaching, or recommend a career in teaching to other Black people? The independent or predictor variables were: spirituality, cultural acceptance, interracial relationships, intra-racial relationships, mentoring, and advancement opportunities. The dependent variable was: job satisfaction. A bivariate correlation analysis was used to determine if the predictor variables should be grouped as components using their variance scores. The variance scores did indeed indicate the need to group the predictor variables as components. Those components were named as relationships, oppression, and mindset. The component named oppression had a significant correlation with job satisfaction. Overall the findings indicated that a large percent of Black teachers in predominantly White schools are not satisfied with their job. Further research about the job satisfaction of Black teachers is recommended because of the growing need to recruit and keep Black teachers in our schools. Chapter 1 In the United States, the under-representation of Black teachers continues to be a concern in public K-12 schools (Barnes, 2000; Gordon, 2005; Wilder, 2000). Every day, schools are becoming more diverse. The National Center for Education Statistics (2014) reported that White students make up 52% of K-12 public school populations while Black, Asian, Hispanic, Indian, and other students together make up 48% of the populations. Those demographics reflect a very diverse student population. Unfortunately, it’s quite rare to witness that same diversity amongst teachers. Subsequently, one of the biggest disparities in the nation’s education system is the disproportionate number of Black teachers compared to the number of Black students (Fairclough, 2004; Gursky, 2002). The general concern is that there should be a more proportionate ratio of Black teachers to represent the growing number of Black students in this country’s schools. However, the percent of Black teachers compared to Black students continues to be significantly disproportionate. The scarcity of Black teachers is often correlated with recruitment and retention issues. Clearly, the initiatives to recruit and retain Black people into teaching careers have not succeeded to date (Hanushek & Pace, 1995; Shipp, 1999). Concerning the recruitment and retention of Black teachers, an obvious struggle exists. The struggle is often believed to be the result of poor recruitment and retention attempts. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) also addressed the struggle in their Principles of Good Practice (PGP). In PGP, they stated that institutions are lacking racial, cultural, and gender diversity, and should more actively “seek a diversity of cultural, national, and ethnic backgrounds in recruitment of both teachers and administrators” (NAIS, 2012, p.6). The seriousness of the issue is confirmed by The National Center for Education Statistics (2014) who reported that America’s