The Absent Voice of Minority Educators

887 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Minority as a diversity in education

Quality training and instruction is a critical factor for educators, more specifically those who belong to minority ethnic groups. As the PK-12 population continues to increase in the number of minority students, education programs of Historically Black Colleges and Universities have become a focal point of education reform. In “Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Teacher Education Reform”, Mary E. Dilworth inadvertently poses the question what have Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) done to improve the presence and retention of minority teachers in the classroom. According to Dilworth, minority students are inclined to prosper under the guidance of someone who has similar racial or ethical backgrounds (as cited in Goldhaber and Hansen, 2010). The increase of minority students in PK-12 classrooms validates the need for a greater number of minority educators. At roughly sixteen percent, a significant decrease from the twenty six percent years ago, the presence of minority educators in the classroom is considerably low. Although education programs of HBCU’s have thrived and introduced minority educators to the classroom, efforts and goals of these institutions have failed to prepare educators for a successful occupancy in the classroom.
Throughout the article, Dilworth reiterates the idea that HBCU’s are a viable avenue to advance minority educators. Unlike many predominately white institutions whose education objectives steer students to become proficient in their abilities to teach, many education programs of HBCU’s seek beyond this and encourage students to utilize their talents within the community at large. Intending to service the community, the manner in which future educators are prepared d...

... middle of paper ...

...tention and turnover rates for minority teachers highlight the discrepancy that exists in education programs that are unsuccessful at keeping educators in the classroom. Dilworth makes a bold move by addressing these concerns as the problem currently has failed to be acknowledged or directed.

Bibliography
Bower-Phipps, L., Homa, T. D., Albaladejo, C., Johnson, A. M., & Cruz, M. C. (2013). Connecting with the "other" side of us: A cooperative inquiry by self-identified minorities in a teacher preparation program. Teacher Education Quarterly, 40(2), 29-51. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1496077064?accountid=15070
Dilworth, M. E. (2012). Historically black colleges and universities in teacher education reform. The Journal of Negro Education, 81(2), 121-135. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1034740109?accountid=15070

Show More
Related

  • The Role of HBCUs in American Society

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    For almost two hundred years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities or HBCUs have played a pivotal role in the education of African-American people, and negro people internationally. These schools have provided the majority of black college graduates at the Graduate and Post-Graduate level; schools such as Hampton University, Morehouse University, Spellman University and Howard University are four universities at the forefront of the advanced education of blacks. For sometime there has been a discussion on whether or not these institutes should remain in existence or if they are just another form of racism. There were also concerning the quality of education provided at these institutions. In my opinion, from the evidence provided in our own world today, HBCUs are very important and significant in the education of black people throughout the nation, and are essential to our society.

    Read More

  • Courageous Conversations About Race by Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    Authors Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton in Chapter Five of Courageous Conversations About Race broach the topic of race, by asking the reader to evaluate his or her own consciousness of race. According to the authors, in order to address the achievement gaps between African American students and White students, educators should shift their energy towards focusing on the factors that they have direct control of inside the classroom rather than on the factors that influence this achievement disparity between races outside the classroom.

    Read More

  • James Meredith and the University of Mississippi’s Integration

    2745 Words  | 6 Pages

    When a person presently looks at university school systems, one never imagines the struggle to obtain such diverse campuses. With Caucasians, Asians, Latinos, and African Americans all willing and able to attend any institution, it is difficult now to envision a world where, because of one’s skin color, a person is denied university acceptance. In actuality, this world existed only fifty years ago. In a time of extreme racial discrimination, African Americans fought and struggled toward one of many goals: to integrate schools. As a pioneer in the South, a man named James Meredith took a courageous step by applying to the University of Mississippi, an all white university. After overcoming many legal and social obstacles, the University of Mississippi’s integration sent positive effects rippling among universities across the nation.

    Read More

  • Planning to End Ableism through Universal Design for Learning

    2133 Words  | 5 Pages

    While differentiating instruction and being able to design lessons geared towards the needs of diverse learners are currently highly prized skills for teachers, this has not always been the case. The history of education in the United States is a history of segregation. Even today, schools and curriculum are designed to meet the needs of a core group of students, which does not include students with disabilities (Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, & Jackson, 2002). In the past, learners who were different, out of the mainstream, or did not fit into the mold to which teachers taught (were not part of the core) learned how or lost out on learning. This is not to say that teachers of the past did not care about their students, about being effective teachers, or about student learning. However, as schools are mirrors reflecting mainstream societal norms (Chartock, 2010; Delpit, 2006)—and, given that our society has not always valued diversity in people, be it due to disability, class, culture, or race—teachers in the past have largely focused their efforts where they could earn the largest return on their investment: the average student .

    Read More

  • HBCUs: Relevance in 21st Century

    2163 Words  | 5 Pages

    Roebuck, Julian B., and Komanduri S. Murty. Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Their Place in American Higher Education. Westport: Praeger, 1993. Print.

    Read More

  • African Americans Should Not Be Allowed In Schools Essay

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    Data proves that America does not have enough African American males teaching in today’s schools. As a matter of fact, only 2% of America’s nearly five million teachers are black men (Bryan 1). In our American society, more and more African American females are fiercely taking over both public and private classrooms. Although this might be a great accomplishment, school officials believes that if more black males teach, it would reduce the numbers of minority achievement gaps and dropout rates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 44% of students nationwide are minorities, but nearly 90% of teachers are white. Polls and surveys further read that if there were more African American male teachers, the dropout rate would decrease while the graduation rate increases. In urban societies most African American teens would be more likely to succeed if there were more black males instructing secondary classrooms.

    Read More

  • Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege And Male Privilege

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    The. Landsman, Julie G., and Chance W. Lewis. White Teachers / Diverse Classrooms: Creating Inclusive Schools, Building on Students' Diversity, and Providing True Educational Equity. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2011. Print. The.

    Read More

  • Importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    The issue of whether HBCU’s are still needed have been occurring constantly in today’s nation. HBCU’s have been in existence for almost two centuries now. Their principal mission is to educate African Americans, and they have. HBCU’s graduate more than 50% of “African American” professionals and public school teachers. But, HBCU’s have been facing challenges such as their decrease in diversity, financing, and graduate rates which has caused a speculation of their importance in today’s communities. I believe that HBCU’s are still needed.

    Read More

  • Racial Diversity at Rocky Mount Academy

    2273 Words  | 5 Pages

    Over the semester I have done a great deal of listening, reading, reflecting, and a good bit of talking as well. I realized early on in this course that in order to look toward the future, I had to dig through the past. I began by examining myself and the looking into the history of the independent school movement. I examined my own feelings about race and privilege, the founding of Rocky Mount Academy (RMA), and spoke with Tony Shanks, RMA’s first Black student. I came to the conclusion that in order to shape the future of RMA, I must accept who I am, examine the history of the school, and proactively transform who we were into who we can become. I believe we should continue to strive to be the finest school in Rocky Mount by providing the best education to students regardless of race, religion, class, or economic status. Although I still have more to learn and more to do as an educator, I feel I have begun an important journey to help me be a part of a transformation at my school.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography on Racial Diversity

    1936 Words  | 4 Pages

    Those efforts improve students' learning and experiences by cultivating key behaviors and knowledge and by providing a unique educational context. Published in the American Educational Research Journal, this paper gives insight into how racial diversity stretches beyond educational engagement and social composition. The significant difference made by diversity-related efforts, such as hybridized racial interactions and policies, is fully explored. The findings of the study presented can be generalized to the argument of institutional racism, as this piece presents rationale against it. The limitations of this paper are the insufficient detail regarding educational context needed to illustrate the steps institutions can take to apply diversity.

    Read More

  • The Struggle Of African American Students

    2041 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper examines the struggle African American students are more likely to face at a predominantly white institution (PWIs) than at a historically black college or university (HBCUs). Each author has his or her own take on this hypothesis; most of the author’s studies suggest that African American students have a hard time adjusting to an environment at a PWI (Littleton 2003). However, African American students at HBCUs tend to be at ease with their learning environment. Though many of the author’s agree with one another there are other authors whose studies come to the conclusion that race is not a factor in college education anymore. That being the case on average African American population is approximately four percent at PWIs (Littleton 2003).

    Read More

  • Deep Brain Learning Healing The Heart Analysis

    1777 Words  | 4 Pages

    Young minds are some of the most important in our society today. For this reason, children should have positive representations of themselves in their education system. In America, most children of color do not have these adult figures in their schools. According to the article “US teacher are no where as diverse as their students” Jesse J. Holland says that almost half the students attending public schools are minorities, yet only 1 in 5 of their teachers are nonwhite. African Americans have a much more difficult time getting employment in the U.S school system today.

    Read More

  • A Significant Issue in Education: Teacher BIAS

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2004) reported that Black students continue to trail White students with respect to educational access, achievement and attainment. Research on the effectiveness of teachers of Black students emphasizes that the teachers’ belief about the Black students’ potential greatly impacts their learning. Teachers tend to teach black students from a deficit perspective (King, 1994; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Mitchell, 1998). White teachers often aim at compensating for what they assume is missing from a Black student’s background (Foorman, Francis & Fletcher, 1998). The deficit model of instruction attempts to force students into the existing system of teaching and learning and doesn’t build on strengths of cultural characteristics or preferences in learning (Lewis, Hancock...

    Read More

  • Diversity in the Classroom

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... Several teachers do not know how to receive the support they need. Diversity in classrooms is both positive and negative. However, if teachers are provided with the right resources and keep an open mind, their students can become successful civil human beings.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Diversity In Education

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is very important for teacher educators to develop self-awareness of cultural biases and discriminatory practices as well as to exam the effects of their beliefs, their attitudes, and expectations for teacher

    Read More

More about The Absent Voice of Minority Educators

Open Document