Burnout and Race-Related Stress among BIPOC Women K–12 Educators

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duhita Mahatmya ◽  
Ain A. Grooms ◽  
Jae Young Kim ◽  
DorisAnn McGinnis ◽  
Eboneé Johnson
Keyword(s):  
School Climate ◽  
Women Educators ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Racial Microaggressions ◽  
Job Burnout ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Organizational Policies ◽  
Color Experience ◽  
Race Related Stress ◽  
K 12

Understanding how best to recruit and retain Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the education workforce is critical for human resource practice and scholarship. BIPOC educators are consistently shown to positively influence student outcomes, but leave the workforce at a rate 25% higher than their White colleagues. Emerging research points to school climate as a reason that BIPOC educators leave. Relatedly, researchers find that race-based and gender-based discrimination impact job burnout. Guided by the intersectionality scholarship that acknowledges how women of color experience marginalization across multiple identities, the current study examines how race-based stressors, both in daily life and in the work environment, are associated with job burnout for BIPOC women K–12 educators. Multivariate analyses of data disaggregated from an original survey distributed to BIPOC educators in a predominantly White and rural state ( n = 145, 54.6% women) consistently isolate the effect of a racialized school climate on the burnout of BIPOC women educators. Specifically, when BIPOC women educators perceive their schools to be less open to discussing racial conflict, they report greater job burnout. Although there were no differences in the amount of burnout reported across racial groups, there were differences in the levels of daily racial microaggressions experienced. Notably, only school-based racial stressors emerged as a significant predictor of burnout. We discuss implications for organizational policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as the hiring, retention, and promotion of women of color.

Equity in high school computer science: Beyond access

2021 ◽  
pp. 147821032110630
Author(s):  
Paul Bruno ◽  
Colleen M Lewis
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Native American ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
School Students ◽  
Level Data ◽  
And Gender ◽  
K 12

Little is known about the extent to which expansions of K-12 computer science (CS) have been equitable for students of different racial backgrounds and gender identities. Using longitudinal course-level data from all high schools in California between the 2003–2004 and 2018–2019 school years we find that 79% of high school students in California, including majorities of all racial groups, are enrolled in schools that offer CS, up from 45% in 2003. However, while male and female students are equally likely to attend schools that offer CS courses, CS courses represent a much smaller share of course enrollments for female students than for male students. Non-Asian students enroll in relatively few CS courses, and this is particularly true for Black, Hispanic, and Native American students. Race gaps in CS participation are to a substantial degree explicable in terms of access gaps, but gender gaps in CS participation are not. Different groups of students have access to CS teachers with similar observable qualifications, but CS teachers remain predominantly white and male. Consequently, white and male CS students are much more likely than other students to have same-race or same-gender instructors. Our findings and the implications we draw for practice will be of interest to administrators and policymakers who, over and above needing to ensure equitable access to CS courses for students, need to attend carefully to equity-related course participation and staffing considerations.

Womanist Inquiry for Social Justice in Curriculum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina N. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Women Educators ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Survival Strategies ◽  
Multiple Systems ◽  
Informal Curriculum ◽  
Black Women Educators

Womanism is a social justice-oriented standpoint perspective focusing on the unique lived experiences of Black women and other women of color and the strategies that they utilize to withstand and overcome racialized, gendered, class-based, and other intersecting forms of oppression for the betterment of all humankind. Much of Womanist inquiry conducted in the field of education focuses on mining history to illuminate the lives, activism, and scholarly traditions of well-known and lesser-known Black women educators. Womanist inquiry focusing on the lives and pedagogies of Black women educators serves as an important corrective, adding to official historical records the contributions that Black women and other women of color have made to their schools, communities, and society. By providing insight into the ways in which processes of teaching and learning are understood and enacted from the perspective of women navigating multiple systems of oppression, Womanist inquiry makes a significant contribution to studies of formal curricular processes. Womanist inquiry related to informal curriculum (i.e., educational processes understood broadly and occurring outside of formal educational settings) is equally important because it offers alternative interpretations of cultural productions and lived experiences that open up new spaces for the understanding of Black women’s lived experiences. A common theme of Womanist curriculum inquiry for social justice involves physical and geographic spaces of struggle and possibility. Indeed, many of the culturally derived survival strategies articulated by Womanist scholars focus on the possibilities of working within the blurred boundaries and hybridized spaces of the in-between to achieve social justice goals. In addition to the provision of culturally congruent survival strategies, Womanist inquiry also provides sources of inspiration for contemporary Black women and other women of color engaged in curriculum work for social justice. The diverse forms of and approaches to Womanist inquiry in curriculum point to the fruitfulness of using Womanism to understand the intersectional thoughts and experiences of Black women and other women of color in ways that further social justice goals.

“Compliments” and “Jokes”: Unpacking Racial Microaggressions in the K-12 Classroom

2018 ◽  
pp. 276-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Kohli ◽  
Nallely Arteaga ◽  
Elexia R. McGovern
Keyword(s):  
Racial Microaggressions ◽  
K 12

scholarly journals Escalator or Step Stool? Gendered Labor and Token Processes in Tech Work

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 722-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharla Alegria
Keyword(s):  
Women Of Color ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
White Women ◽  
First Century ◽  
Engineering Teams ◽  
Color Experience ◽  
Men I ◽  
Glass Escalator ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Business And Management

Gender scholars use the metaphor of the “glass escalator” to describe a tendency for men in women-dominated workplaces to be promoted into supervisory positions. More recently, scholars, including the metaphor’s original author, critique the glass escalator metaphor for not addressing the intersections of gender with other relevant identities or the ways that work has changed in the twenty-first century. I apply an intersectional lens to understand how gender and race shape women’s career paths in tech work, where twenty-first century changes to the organization of workplaces are common. I build on theories of raced and gendered labor and the glass escalator to make sense of women’s careers in a contemporary field dominated by men. I find some evidence that white women, but not women of color, experience something similar to a “glass escalator” where they are promoted into management, but those promotions are a smaller step up—more step stool than escalator. These promotions move women out of technical positions and towards business and management, releasing engineering teams from the pressure to fully incorporate women.

Organizational Policies and Programs to Reduce Job Stress and Risk of Workplace Violence Among K-12 Education Staff

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Landsbergis ◽  
Jeanette Zoeckler ◽  
Zerin Kashem ◽  
Bianca Rivera ◽  
Darryl Alexander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Workplace Violence ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
State Legislation ◽  
Organizational Policies ◽  
Peer Assistance And Review ◽  
Peer Assistance ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
K 12

We examine strategies, programs, and policies that educators have developed to reduce work stressors and thus health risks. First, we review twenty-seven empirical studies and review papers on organizational programs and policies in K-12 education published from 1990 to 2015 and find some evidence that mentoring, induction, and Peer Assistance and Review programs can increase support, skill development, decision-making authority, and perhaps job security, for teachers—and thus have the potential to reduce job stressors. Second, we describe efforts to reduce workplace violence in Oregon, especially in special education, including legislation, collective bargaining, research, and public awareness. We conclude that to reduce workplace violence, adequate resources are needed for staffing, training, equipment, injury/assault reporting, and investigation. Third, we discuss collective bargaining initiatives that led to mentoring and Peer Assistance and Review and state legislation on prevention of bullying and harassment of school staff. Finally, we present a research agenda on these issues.

She’s Not There

2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Campbell Galman ◽  
Christine A. Mallozzi
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Women Educators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women Teachers ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Elementary Level ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Female Teachers ◽  
K 12

For this literature review, the authors asked, “What is the role of gender in research about elementary-level women teachers and preservice teachers in the past 15 years, and what have scholars learned about the gendered nature of women’s experiences in elementary-level preservice and in-service teaching in that time?” To be eligible for inclusion, works had to be published during or after 1995, study elementary preservice or practicing women educators, take place in the United States, focus on gender, and be empirical. Of the 54 articles that warranted in-depth investigation, 42 articles were excluded because teachers’ gender was subsumed under other social categories such as K–12 female students or male students and teachers. The majority of the 12 relevant articles employed small participant samples and exploratory approaches and depicted female teachers as struggling with or marginalized in the profession. A minority presented women teachers as reveling in the legacies of teaching. These findings beg for more research on women teachers’ gendered experiences.

Behind School Doors: The Impact of Hostile Racial Climates on Urban Teachers of Color

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Kohli
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Racial Microaggressions ◽  
Teachers Of Color ◽  
Urban Teachers ◽  
Majority Students ◽  
Retention Of Teachers ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Teaching Force

Despite recruitment efforts, teachers of Color are underrepresented and leaving the teaching force at faster rates than their White counterparts. Using Critical Race Theory to analyze and present representative qualitative narratives from 218 racial justice–oriented, urban teachers of color, this article affirms that urban schools—despite serving majority students of Color—operate as hostile racial climates. Color blindness and racial microaggressions manifest as macro and micro forms of racism and take a toll on the professional growth and retention of teachers of Color. These findings suggest a need for institutionalized reform to better support a diverse K-12 teaching force.

The Role of the Perceptions of School Climate and Teacher Victimization by Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (23-24) ◽  
pp. 5526-5551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis L. Huang ◽  
Colleen Lloyd Eddy ◽  
Emily Camp
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Climate ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Bullying ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Teacher Victimization ◽  
K 12

Violence directed toward teachers in schools is relatively understudied in comparison with other school-based forms of peer aggression (e.g., school bullying). Based on the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) 2011-2012, approximately 10% of K-12 public school teachers in the United States, received a threat in the past 12 months and 6% reported being physically attacked. The effects of teacher-directed violence are far reaching and affect not just the victimized teacher, but the larger community itself. In the current study, we used multilevel logistic regression models with state fixed effects to analyze the SASS data set. The analytic sample consisted of 24,070 K-12 teachers in 4,610 public schools and specifically excluded special education teachers and teachers in alternative settings (i.e., online schools, special education centers, juvenile correction facilities). Guided by authoritative school climate theory, we tested for the beneficial associations of disciplinary structure and administrative support with the reduced likelihood of a teacher being threatened or physically attacked by a student, while controlling for teacher (e.g., gender, years of experience, race/ethnicity), school (e.g., school size, percent minority enrollment), and state-level factors. Results indicated that teachers who felt supported by the administration and worked with others (i.e., the principal and other teachers) who enforced the rules consistently were less likely to be victims of threats of injury or physical attacks. Although school climate has been shown to have a positive effect on student outcomes, the current study also suggests that school climate, characterized by consistent rule enforcement and supportive administrators and teachers, may play a role in reducing the likelihood of teacher victimization.

African American Males Navigate Racial Microaggressions

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan K. Hotchkins
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Males ◽  
Black Males ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
White Teachers ◽  
Racial Microaggressions ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Navigation Strategies

Background/Context High school educational environments find Black males experience systemic racial microaggressions in the form of discipline policies, academic tracking and hegemonic curriculum. Black males in high school are more likely than their White male peers to have high school truancies and be viewed as intentionally sinister. African American males are labeled by White teachers and administrators as deviant for issues like talking in class, dress code violations and being tardy. Deficit perceptions about African American students as held by White teachers and administrators serve as racial microaggressions within K–12 context. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Racial microaggressions based on prejudicial White beliefs of teachers impedes the learning process of participants. Racial microaggressive acts are problematic due to being a symptom of the overarching campus racial climate, which is often indicative of the negative historic treatment of Black males by Whites. The cumulative impact of racial microaggressions on Black males negatively impacts self-image, academic performance, and social navigation skills. Examining how Black males responded to racial microaggressions by White teachers and administrators at culturally diverse high school settings was the impetus for this study. Research Design To understand how African American male students responded to racial microaggressions qualitative research was used. Conducting a study that focuses on multiple individualistic lived experiences, I am mindful that “human actions cannot be understood unless the meaning that humans assign to them is understood.” This comparative case study allowed for narrative expression, which informed the experiential meanings participants assigned to enduring racial microaggressions by gathering in-depth information through multiple sources to understand participants’ real life meanings to situations. Conclusions/Recommendations Participants’ engaged in pro-active navigation strategies to minimize and counter racial microaggressions. Navigation strategies were influenced by in- and out-of-class interactions with White teachers and student peers. Analysis of the data gathered during interviews, focus groups, and observations confirmed the racial microaggressive lived experiences of participants. Three themes emerged: (1) monolithic targeting; (2) integrative fluidity; and (3) behavioral vacillation. Participants avoided monolithic targeted racial microaggression(s) by creating meaningful alliances within other racialized student populations by utilizing social and extracurricular relationships as protective barriers to lessen the adverse effects of racial microaggressive experiences.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document