Date of Award

Spring 2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Committee Chair

Steve Stone

Abstract

A lot of research has been written on why African American males decide to leave the field of education; factors such as pay, job satisfaction, prestige, and lack of growth opportunities are major influencers on their decisions. A number of studies noted that African American males face job discrimination in a variety of subtle and not-so-subtle ways which contribute to their leaving the profession. This research surveyed African American male teachers who left the classroom to share personal reflections that led to leaving the classroom and what steps could have been taken to retain them in the classroom. The research found that participants shared the same reasons for leaving the field as supported by prior research. Additionally, the research showed that participants had a deep connection with teaching and desired to remain in the classroom. The research found that participants felt a strong desire to be role models and to provide support for minority students often missing in our public schools. Even though they left the profession, they understood the vital importance of African American children and other minority children having teachers of color and specifically male teachers of color. The study offered timely suggestions school districts could adopt for improving the retention of African American males in the classroom.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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