Male Representatives of the African American Community in the Education

Introduction

Bailey-Walker (2018) claims that special education programs for African American boys often result in teaching below grade level or nonexistent altogether despite their best intentions. These accomplished African American males, who were labeled as special education students throughout their K-12 schooling, were the focus of this phenomenological narrative. The researchers conducted an ethnographic study of six African American boys who had been effective special education students in the K-12 environment. Students who finished and graduated from a postsecondary school were considered successful African American men in this research.

Overview of the Study

Critical issues concerning instructional leadership development programs and global-sensitive leadership were the driving force for the research project. It is based on the experiences of African-American male elementary school administrators in Atlanta’s high-performance Title I primary schools in terms of how they see their roles as instructional leaders. As a consequence, the study’s foundational questions were answered. The research study’s data and conclusions answered both questions in complete and thorough detail. A deliberate sample technique was used to identify principals who exhibit culturally sensitive leadership qualities. The study’s goal was to identify the main experiences contributing to current understanding.

There were two main research issues that this study attempted to answer:

1. Are African-American male principals at high-performing Title I primary schools in Atlanta’s metropolitan area having a positive or negative impact on their students’ education?
2. Describe the experiences of the African-American male school principals at high-performing Title I primary schools in metropolitan Atlanta as instructional leaders regarding the substance and significance of their roles.

Discussion

Results Related to Research Questions

The acquired data provided a comprehensive response to the study questions. According to the information gathered from participants, there was a pressing need for diversity, mentoring, intentional recruiting possibilities, and methods to foster upward mobility. Moreover, it included a desire to act as instructional leaders, despite political influence and prejudice. When asked about the need to increase the number of African-American men working in the district leadership and the basic rules, the most common answer supported this initiative. Rather than confining African American male leaders to jobs that included culture, sports, and discipline, districts must be more intentional in giving possibilities for teaching positions.

More diversified participation was agreed upon as a solution to the underrepresentation of African American men in the workforce. More than half of the participants said that they joined the administration to represent young African American men better and diversify the administration workforce. They thought that students of color could benefit from seeing more African American male representatives in leadership positions (Speaks, 2018). On the other hand, administrators must reflect critically on how diversity affects education. Students can learn to respect people of all backgrounds by learning about the different perspectives others have on them.

Individuals must take responsibility for their actions and learn from one another to be diverse. Trust, humility, patience, and the ability to truly listen while letting go of anger, fear, and the need to be correct are all necessary ingredients (Bailey-Walker, 2018; Machamer, 2018). As a result, African American males are less likely to become district or school principals because of various factors. According to the available data, African American males are underrepresented in school leadership roles (Dixon et al., 2019). These circumstances underline the fact that the educational system fails to provide all the opportunities for black men.

White American men outnumber their African American male counterparts in the workforce, causing some African American male administrators to worry that they will fall short of preexisting expectations or have to prove their leadership abilities in the workplace. Baker (2018) discovered that African American administrators believed they had to prove their leadership abilities constantly. For African American males moving into traditionally white spaces, learning how to navigate White society has become increasingly important (Bolden, 2019). Some institutions have yet to develop a framework for cultural competency despite district initiatives to promote racial and gender diversity, educational opportunities, and equity systems. It is challenging for African American men to succeed in the workplace when there are not any structures to help them succeed.

Implications

However, there are many implications that have to be considered when researching such topic. In light of the increased emphasis on placing African American males in special education in the K-12 context, understanding how to overcome the negative stigma associated with being a special education student may be advantageous (Chaitra, 2018). Denson (2019) proposed this self-determination notion and said that one’s well-being was linked to one’s ability to progress intellectually and socially. For African American males, the more postsecondary education and qualifications they have, the better their future earning potential (Corneille et al., 2020). As a consequence of this research, it will provide information about what it is like for African American males in the special education system from kindergarten through high school.

Consequently, the knowledge gleaned from this research will help influence the postsecondary goals of African American boys currently enrolled in special education. African American boys may benefit from the participants’ tactics to achieve success in postsecondary education by learning the required components to overcome the negative connection with the special education designation. To better serve students with disabilities in postsecondary education, here are some promising ideas:

• The ARD committee in high school should urge students to seek assistance while in college.
• Counselors in special education should encourage pupils to use the abilities they have already shown.
• Teachers should be required to attend mandatory training on cultural integration in the classroom.
• Colleges and universities should provide faculty members with specialized training to better services for students with special needs.
• Postsecondary schools should provide mentoring to all new students to ensure their success.
• For students with impairments, postsecondary schools should have support systems in place.

The idea that most African American men are incapable of designing a successful educational system has been perpetuated by recognizing that black males achieve great and productive results in pedagogy. As a result, the educational system has propagandized the idea that African American males should be acknowledged as instructional leaders, ensuring that they are underrepresented in district leadership or principal positions. “School leadership is vital to school performance and student development,” said Dobashi-Taylor (2022). When it comes to rules and directives and the school’s overall direction, leadership is responsible. An educational organization’s ability to aid students and the larger community mainly depends on the leadership team’s well-thought-out plans. There has been an unforeseen shift in educational leadership (Genothan, 2021). Therefore, African American male school building leaders are not sufficiently supported by present principal preparation and leadership development methods based on color evasion, power evasion, and hegemonic formulation and design.

In previous studies, it has been shown that Black men have been relegated to non-instructional positions. However, research stated that “the U.S. Department of Education stated its mission is to ensure equal educational access, foster educational excellence” (Williams, 2019, p. 1). Because of their lack of educational possibilities, participants felt that the general perception that African American males are incapable of serving as instructional leaders had been maintained. Physical rather than cognitive roles have been so firmly entrenched in the US educational system that African American males have been devalued throughout many professions and positions, not only in the sphere of teaching (Grace & Nelson, 2018). Participant responses revealed a solid willingness to serve as instructional leaders at the district or site level, regardless of their position.

Political Influence

Participants in this study said that political influence significantly impacted how these African American men were perceived in the school system. The system typically places the male representatives of the Black community seeking administrative positions in fields where they would be best suited to the educational objectives of the White system. As a pioneer in critical race theory, Derrick Bell argued that the impact on African Americans’ employment prospects was due to the “interest convergence” theory (Garces et al., 2017). The dominant group must understand how the disparities serve their interests, according to interest converging, for subordinate groups to be entirely accepted. Blacks’ desire for racial equality can only be accommodated if it aligns with Whites’ desires, according to Hullett (2021). These are just a few barriers that prevent African Americans from rising to the top of the corporate ladder. There is a lack of information on African American men’s internal and external obstacles when seeking leadership positions in educational institutions. Studies of the African American male voice and experience and how they can help address this problem are even more limited in scope.

Bias

African American men face discrimination because of persistent negative stereotypes about their race regarding professional opportunities. Prejudice and prejudice are a significant threat to modernity, which hinders the full development of society. This factor also concerns the educational sphere in which diversity and inclusion should be achieved. In addition, this aspect is essential, as it helps to raise a generation that has an awareness of the racial, cultural, and national characteristics of all peoples. However, nowadays, more and more people express their dislike for others, adapting to see everything through the prism of a stereotype, so black representatives already have little access to the educational system, and many of them cannot even get higher education because of prevailing prejudices.

Stereotypes like these can put them at a disadvantage in their professional endeavors. The number of black professionals at the highest levels of society is disproportionately low (Juanna, 2019). Unacceptable depictions such as criminality, violence, and hypersexualization are part of these stereotypes. When it came to encountering bias, two of the participants had lighter skin tones than the rest of the group. Because they are perceived as intelligent and unthreatening, opportunities can be misunderstood as easy to obtain.

Social class may impact how African American men view skin-tone discrimination. Due to their fair skin and green eyes, these two men had a unique experience navigating the educational system compared to the other participants. The main reason might be because both participants can be perceived as White. White America’s belief that race does not matter is known as colorblind racism (Mervil, 2021). Most people of the dominant race in the United States are ignorant of their racial prejudice and how it contributes to the marginalization of African Americans due to institutionalized colorblind racism (Onoriode, 2021). Discrimination and bias in the workplace have been exacerbated by colorblindness rather than reduced, despite being designed to fight and diminish it.

When assessing their reason for becoming instructional leaders, participants evaluated both internal and external impediments. Because they were continually trying to refute racial prejudices, participants commonly expressed exhaustion. It is challenging to overcome these impressions while navigating a system that repeatedly presents African American male leaders as non-instructional because of negative prejudices about the members of the Black community.

Purposeful Opportunities for Recruitment

Those who want to improve their professional abilities can take advantage of administrative mentor programs. Nevertheless, the people who took part in the study thought that these resources were not always available. They believed that providing mentoring by other African American males currently employed in positions relevant to the mentees’ career goals would be more beneficial because they could gain valuable, firsthand knowledge. According to Ruwe (2019), mentors have a dual role: disseminate knowledge while guiding their mentees. A mentor and mentee connection should be compassionate and helpful, and the mentee’s success should be the primary purpose of the relationship. When questioned about their mentors, 90% of participating administrators said that their mentors helped them achieve their career development (skill-development) goals. However, only half of those polled claimed that they and their mentor had the same racial identity.

Furthermore, some respondents exhibited skepticism in confiding to a primary colleague. But had greater security in chatting to someone of the race who has a higher ranking position (Taiisha, 2021). (Taiisha, 2021). Participants agreed that mentors should be available to African American male educators who want to move into leadership positions. Building a career and educational development program for mentors would help them progress in the chosen field. Despite their efforts to advance their careers, few mentors supported or challenged the participants.

Recommendations

Aspiring school leaders might be sparked by African American male teachers and assistant principals who have a passion for serving their communities. As crucial as political knowledge, leadership qualities, and outstanding communication skills were participants, made it clear that ethnicity was the most critical factor. African American men are underrepresented in leadership roles, despite districts’ efforts to increase diversity in hiring competent minority applicants. There are not enough African Americans in leadership roles in postsecondary schools, according to a study by Tasha (2019). The research examined 22 years of full-time administrators in higher education institutions. In 2003, there was a 51% increase in administrative positions, according to their figures.

However, minorities like African Americans and Hispanics were underrepresented in positions of authority. Only 10.39 percent of the employees were from racial minorities; Caucasians made for 89.61 percent of the workforce. Even though this study is almost 17 years old, the findings are still supported by current demographic data. Participants agreed that increasing the number of African American males in teaching positions is dependent on school districts making a concerted effort to attract African American male applicants to the field at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

They also found very few initiatives aimed at attraction of African American men. Just one participant fits the description of a single-parent household and poor socioeconomic position. The parents of most of the participants were either educators or business leaders. With the stability of their families, these children developed a strong work ethic and understood how the system works when they put in the significant effort (Thomas, 2019). On average, African American boys perform worse than their white counterparts in financial and professional success, no matter their parents’ wealth. It is estimated that, on average, Black males born into the 75th percentile of the income distribution cannot be compared to the White guys by 12 percentiles.

Earning many postgraduate degrees or doctorates is not enough for African Americans to acquire equal standing with their white counterparts and “climb” the administrative ladder. A frequent issue was that some members of the dominant culture at their institutions viewed diversity as a goal but were unwilling to give up authority. It was highlighted that although little changes are happening in specific departments, African Americans are still underrepresented as assistant principals in discipline, athletics, and other specialty programs. The respondents showed little optimism for African American males who aspire to more significant leadership roles.

The qualitative nature of this study limited the generalizability of the findings, even though they provided in-depth accounts of participants’ experiences. The researcher believes districts should consider adopting systematic mentorship programs for African American males who aspire to become district leaders or principals. The establishment of district-wide committees comprised of district and school employees, focusing on African American males, should be a top priority alongside implementing strategic mentorship programs (M. Wasserberg, 2018). Suppose that managers want to hire qualified African American men, especially those with instructional pedagogy and leadership expertise. In that case, they should consider creating and maintaining effective and efficient leadership programs specifically designed to address district leadership positions. To encourage more African American males to enter the field of administration, educational institutions in the area should work hard to create and maintain a pipeline with local colleges and universities. This will help students gain the administrative skills and credentials they need while also emphasizing this profession’s excellent pay and benefits.

A mentoring program should be implemented to help African American males become more self-confident to take on educational leadership roles outside of the typical non-instructional positions for their specific population. It is also recommended that mentorship opportunities for African American males be implemented to emphasize developing self-efficacy. In the long run, self-efficacy can help African American men interested in becoming instructional leaders.

According to the data gathered in this study, perceptions about their instructional inadequacy have significantly impacted how African American men have been evaluated for site and district-level administration responsibilities. Because these representatives of the color community are not considered instructional or curriculum experts, their administrative eligibility often reaches the level of disciplinarian or director of sports (M. J. Wasserberg, 2018). Because the number of African American men enrolled in special education is on the rise, researchers must keep looking for ways to help them overcome the obstacles that stand in their way of earning a postsecondary degree. As districts develop policies for the best practices regarding hiring qualified African American males, especially those with experience in leadership and instructional pedagogy, it is recommended that they build and maintain efficient and effective leadership programs specifically designed to address district leadership positions.

Recommendations for Future Research

The following studies should be carried out:

1. Research the success percentage of former special education African American males who attend a historically black college or university compared to those who attend primarily white institutions. 2. 3. 4.
2. Examine why African American men are reluctant to admit that they were formerly students with special needs.
3. A third study focuses on successful African American women who worked in unique education settings in the K-12 school system.
4. Examine the challenges African American males’ face who did not complete their secondary education because of the negative perceptions of being in special education throughout their primary and secondary school years.

The respondents emphasized the importance of diversity while working to increase the number of African American males in the workforce. They concluded that having more black men in positions of authority would be helpful to African American youths. More African American men need to be in leadership roles for students of color to see leadership as a viable career route. The majority of those who took part in the discussion said they joined the administration to increase the number of African American males in leadership positions. In the end, however, managers must consider the impact of diversity on the educational system. Administering leaders may help students understand why they are seen differently by others while also encouraging their respect for people of all ethnicities.

As a result, there is a widespread misperception that African American men are not capable of producing excellent educational materials. In this article, research needs to look at the difficulties that African-American men have encountered in completing their secondary education because of the stigma attached to receiving special education services throughout their elementary and secondary school years. There is no evidence that African American males can create an educational system that works.

African American males are underrepresented in district leadership and principalships despite their desire to be acknowledged as instructional leaders by the school system. “School leadership is essential to school performance and student achievement,” said Wayne in 2021. It is the responsibility of the school’s top administrators to set the overall tone and culture of the school and to ensure that those policies and directives are carried out. The leadership team’s planned tactics significantly impact how well a school can serve its students and the greater community. In unforeseen ways, the nature of educational leadership has changed (West, 2021). Leadership development for African American males in schools receives only limited support in training for school building-level principals. This is because current methods promote a colorblind racial ideology, evidenced through color-evasion, power-evasion and hegemonic formulation and design of leadership.

According to previous research, African American males have been limited and categorized into non-instructional jobs. African American males have been placed in athletics, punishment, and other low-level educational opportunities to foster a systematic belief that they are incapable of becoming instructional leaders. Black males have been devalued in many spheres of society because of the physical rather than the cognitive function they’ve played throughout the history of the United States school system. According to those who participated in this poll, there was a deep-seated desire to serve as a site principal or district-level educational leader.

Starting with African American male teachers and assistant principals who have a passion for improving their communities, the development of future administrators begins. Participants made ethnicity the most critical factor as important as political knowledge, leadership qualities, and good communication skills. There are still significant barriers preventing more African American males from holding leadership positions in local government, despite districts’ efforts to diversify the pool of qualified minority candidates. A study conducted by Young (2020) found that African Americans make up a disproportionately small percentage of postsecondary leadership positions. The study was a 22-year study of full-time administrators at colleges and universities. According to their data, a 51% increase in administrative functions was found in 2003. However, when it came to administration positions, African Americans and other minorities were underrepresented. There was 10.39 percent of new hires from racial minorities; Caucasians made up 89.61 percent.

Even though this study was conducted over a decade ago, current demographic data supports the findings. Participants agreed that increasing the number of African American males in teaching positions is dependent on school districts making a concerted effort to attract African American male candidates to the field at the undergraduate and graduate levels. They also found that very few programs were specifically designed to attract African American men.

The first advice is to perform an additional investigation. Further study to investigate African American male primary teachers’ opinions and lived experiences about their underrepresentation in the educational profession is encouraged. The researcher’s objective was to identify the causes behind the absence of African American male professors and activate approaches believed to eradicate the issue. Further study implies more data might be collected, processed, and provided to the educational profession.

The second guideline is firsthand observation. Direct observation is an extra proposal that might aid the study as well. Direct observation would offer the researcher a close visual examination of a phenomenon in a natural context (Bailey-Walker, 2018a). Direct observation delivers contextual data about surroundings, interactions, and persons while allowing them the option the cross-checking of information. It gives the possibility to observe any disparities between what the participant expresses in other modes of data gathering, such as interviews, and what they do (Bailey-Walker, 2018b). The third suggestion is to perform a questionnaire.

Investigating a research study with various data-gathering sources provides a thorough appraisal of the occurrence. The possibility of completing a questionnaire would allow the researcher to establish whether the participants stated very thoughts and perspectives regarding specific topics without getting into in-depth inquiry (Baker, 2018). The questionnaire would be a spacious entryway to access and restrict the emphasis of the information from participants. The fourth proposal is an increase in funds. As Bolden’s (2019) study revealed, an increase in funds proved necessary. Increasing funds is a signal for encouraging more men into the teaching profession. Raising the wage will give more significant operational budgets for the African American men who are supposed to be the bread earner and head of the home.

Extra funds would allow the improved possibility for African American men to stay at home rather than being compelled to take on additional jobs to make ends meet. In addition to improving resources, school divisions might provide Tuition aid or tuition reimbursement programs for students seeking education as their vocation. The last proposal is the excellent advancement of African Americans males working in the field. Black people should be appreciated and not tolerated for other individuals to see the importance of their participation. The positive promotion should include full engagement on Facebook, websites, billboards, videos, and advertisements but not be confined to good interactions. The photographs should be accessible for all media sources focused on good interactions of African- American men daily and weekly.

Summary and Conclusion

Individuals must accept responsibility for their actions and learn from each other to achieve true diversity. The capacity to listen and let go of one’s pride, ego, and need to prove one’s righteousness are all necessary ingredients to achieve greatest success. Thus, this research work aimed to study how increasing accessibility for African-American students can have a positive impact on the educational process. In many ways, this factor contributes to increasing the effectiveness and satisfaction of sulfur students. This is due to the fact that they see that people of different backgrounds can occupy leadership positions.

Conclusion

The educational sphere is one of those areas in which diversity and inclusion should occupy one of the first places. This is because the representation of representatives of different races, traditions, values, faith, and culture will help spread knowledge about the diversity of the world among students. Moreover, with regard to academic positions, managers and heads of schools, universities and colleges should pay attention to the inclusion of representatives of minorities, which include the African-American population. This part of society has been under pressure from Whites for a long time, which is still evident at the present time. Thus, the black community is deprived of access to many professions and educational opportunities. The introduction of African Americans into the educational process will help to show students that diversity plays a crucial role in the formation of a healthy and prosperous society. Moreover, the appointment of representatives of the black community to the positions of leaders and managers can expand access to such professions in other areas of people’s activities.

Therefore, it must be underlined that several obstacles exist that make it difficult for African American men to rise to leadership positions in their communities. Still, they may potentially prohibit them from doing so. It is clear from these features that the educational system is oriented toward the failure of African American males. Existing data shows that the proportion of African American men in school leadership is different. As White American men outnumber African American males in the workplace, African American male managers are concerned about not meeting a previously established norm or establishing their competence to manage in the workplace. African American administrators said that they had to justify their leadership abilities regularly. For African American males who find themselves in positions traditionally held by whites, learning how to navigate White society has become more critical. Despite the district’s attempts to foster diversity in race, gender, learning opportunities, and appropriate methods, cultural competency is still lacking in certain institutions. An environment with insufficient support mechanisms to increase achievement and develop leadership duties is more difficult for African American males.

There has been a spike in emphasis on the lack of African American males in leadership or principal jobs in school systems. Efforts to enhance the number of African American male educational leaders who have ambitions for professional growth may be accomplished by concentrating on targeted recruitment and the formation of mentoring programs. These strategies have the potential to increase the number of African American men in positions of leadership and keep them there. There have been many complaints in the educational community and beyond that mentorship programs and school districts haven’t fully tapped into the required resources to help prospective African American male candidates flourish as leaders on their campuses and in their communities.

Summary

Thus, this study proved the importance of including male representatives of the African American community in the educational process to promote diversity. In addition to promoting the empowerment of black people, it also contributes to an increase in the desire to achieve leadership positions. Researchers interviewed African American males who had previously been special education students in the K-12 setting for this phenomenological narrative study project. The research showed that African American men with positive self-perceptions might overcome the negative image associated with special education. As a result of the research questions that prompted this study, certain inferences are drawn from the interview results. For starters, the research shed light on the perspectives of African American men who were K-12 special education students and then got a postsecondary degree. Insight into the necessity of overcoming obstacles was gained by studying African American men’s experiences and thoughts. It is essential to tell how one overcame obstacles to inspire others in the unique education system.

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