Black men teaching: toward a theory of social isolation in organizations

ABSTRACT

While there continues to be increasing research about Black male teachers’ school-based experiences, there is less empirical evidence on the variation in these experiences for this subgroup. Drawing on Kanter’s Theory of Numbers and Group Composition, the researcher used the qualitative method to compare the perceptions of Black male teachers in schools that employ just one Black male teacher versus schools with larger numbers of Black male teachers. A theory of social isolation in organizations is proposed to explain differences in the variation of school-based experiences for Black male teachers. When compared to Black men in schools with larger percentages of Black male teachers on the faculty, those Black men who were the only Black male teachers on their faculty were more likely to describe feeling socially isolated and disconnected from their colleagues.

KEYWORDS:

• School organizational context
• social isolation
• urban schools
• black male teachers

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Tolani Britton, as well as the peer-reviewers for providing feedback on earlier drafts.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. In 2012, while the data collection process was underway, Trayvon Martin, a Black male teenager, was murdered by George Zimmerman in Florida. Zimmerman justified killing Martin in self-defense because he feared Martin who was wearing a hoodie.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by thank the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation and the Albert Shanker Institute.