Get Out!?.

Abstract

The increasing diversity of school-aged learners in the United States and the whiteness of the teacher demographic have contributed to renewed calls for the diversification of the K-12 teacher workforce, especially in recent years. Although some attention has been paid to similar issues in teacher education, the weightiness of this imperative is yet to be robustly addressed in the faculty composition and culture of teacher education programs at historically white institutions. More importantly, the pervasiveness of whiteness (not merely white bodies), and the normalcy of anti-Black misandry, have rendered Black males all but absent from teacher education classrooms—as both students and faculty. In many ways, Black males’ trajectory through the social, educational, and professional spheres of US society is replete with perceptions that they are fungible. This is evident in policies, actions, and everyday practices, including murder. Against this background, this practitioner research inquired into the experiences of five Black male doctoral student-instructors in teacher education at historically white institutions, using critical race methodology. Specifically, a BlackCrit Cultural Wealth Framework is used to gain insights into how these five Black male doctoral student-instructors navigated their experiences at the nexus of being Black, male, student, and instructor. Insights from this study reflect three themes evident in their experiences: 1) Tests: Spirit murder and the endemicity of anti-Blackness; 2) Tensions: Body, spirit, and soul work against neoliberal multiculturalism; and 3) Triumphs: Liberatory fantasy, futurities, and survivance. Together, these experiences had various meanings and messages for the Black male doctoral student-instructors to “Get Out.” There are multiple implications for Black males, teacher education, and higher education writ large, particularly regarding recruitment, retention, and persistence. Therefore, this dissertation has the potential to uniquely contribute to research, practice, and policy in various ways.