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I'm proud to share a new open access article, with @TravisJBristol @berkeleygse, in @AERAOpen: “Taking Care of Your Own”: Parochialism, Pride of Place, & the Drive to Diversify Teaching. Here’s a thread about it. Whole article, free to download, here: https://twitter.com/AeraOpen/status/1314293576566628352?s=20 1/
There’s consensus that Teachers of Color benefit all students, esp students of color (see this 2016 US DOE report, https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/report-state-racial-diversity-educator-workforce). My co-author, @TravisJBristol, has also written a lot about this. 2/
The benefits of teacher diversity take on added importance given demographic shifts over the last 20 years. Students of color are now a majority of the US student population, while the teacher workforce remains overwhelmingly White. 3/
Despite research on the benefits of teacher diversity, there are many hurdles to realizing its promise, including barriers in teacher ed, teacher licensure policies, & teacher working conditions. 4/
Our paper explores another barrier to teacher diversity (& one we think is less studied though just as pernicious): the insular social networks among (largely White) hiring personnel. 5/
Put plainly: teachers who want to “come home” to teach may receive preferential hiring treatment over outsiders. In rapidly diversifying districts—districts that have been predominantly White—this pattern may inhibit the hiring of a more diverse teacher corps. 6/
The social process at work in places like this, we argue, is a form of what @Harvard prof @RobertDPutnam called “bonding social capital.” 7/
“Bonding social capital” refers to our enduring social ties to people *like us*. And, well, it’s complicated. On the one hand, it promotes group solidarity. But it can also promote division. The thing about having an in-group is there must be people left on the outside. 8/
The “in-group”/”out-group” dynamic as it related to teacher diversity and hiring, at least in the community we studied, was both georgraphically and ethnoracially bound. 9/
During 2017-2018, we interviewed 65 individuals (admin, teachers, staff, students) in Millbridge (a pseudonym), a small urban district that had experienced a rather swift & significant demographic shift in its student population. 10/
We built a sample roughly equivalent between People of Color and White people, but another important category emerged in the course of the interviews: those who were born in Millbridge and those who were “outsiders.” 11/
Most interviewees—insider and outsider, regardless of ethnoracial identity—agreed that teacher diversity was important and should be a priority. Which is great. And yet… 12/
For some, their belief in teacher diversity was in tension with a belief in colorblind meritocracy. Said one White Townie administrator: “We want the best teacher, period. I don’t care if they’re purple.” 13/
The ideal of meritocratic hiring breaks down a bit when it comes to geography. A large number of teachers were hired in Millbridge based—at least in part—on their social ties to the community & to fellow insiders. Here’s two. 14/
Just as insiders understood (even tacitly) that the parochial system benefitted them, outsiders saw how it disadvantaged them & how it worked at cross purposes to the goal of teacher diversity. A White district administrator put it this way… 15/
Moreover, the advantages of being an insider tended not to be experienced the same way based on ethnoracial identity. People of color appeared to face more resistance to being hired, even when they were “Townies.” 16/
Consider Grace Pérez (a pseudonym). Born & raised in the city’s housing projects & alum of Millbridge HS, she’d been hired as the district’s first Latina administrator. But there was a vocal minority who thought her Latina identity played too prominent a role in her hiring. 17/
The superintendent, an outsider who was pressing for increased teacher diversity district-wide, took note of the resistance to Pérez’s hiring. 18/
Another difference among Townies, by ethnoracial identity, was their motivation for “coming home.” White alums felt a responsibility to the place while alums of color tended to feel a strong responsibility to the people, especially the growing numbers of students of color. 19/
For example, a connection to the growing number of ELL students was a big motivator for Grace Pérez to come back. 20/
But this responsibility to students was perhaps as protective as it was altruistic. Students of color we interviewed reported multiple incidents of racist microaggressions & pointed to an anonymous social media account circulating at the school documenting racist abuse. 21/
Looking to the diverse student body, some adults wondered whether the bonding social capital could work to their advantage. Said one district admin: “now, with the growing diverse population of kids growing up & graduating …they’ll come back & we can hire them.” 22/
At least two TOCs at Millbridge HS were alums, each expressing a strong connection to the school and its students. But ensuring they become the norm & not the exception means attending to the school culture & students’ experiences of racist abuse. 23/
The year of our study, efforts were underway across the district to integrate professional learning on equity, implicit bias, and cultural proficiency. At least one (POC, outsider) teacher thought it was having a positive impact. 24/
A few implications… 25/
For theory: this study affirms @RobertDPutnam's idea of bonding social capital (& the “hunkering” instincts it promotes) & applies it to orgs like schools. Also, parochialism may be helpful studying how power structures in increasingly diverse suburbs resist change. 26/
For research: we think that the use of parochialism & social network analyses are insightful for studying teacher diversity efforts and are eager to see studies like this replicated. (Our data are not available to share, but our protocols are!) 27/
For policy: it would be helpful to find ways to mitigate some of the discretion that benefitted (White) Townies and marginalized (POC) outsiders. A community agreed-upon rubric for hiring is one possible approach. 28/
For practice: in addition to PD work on implicit bias (which esp benefits White teachers), districts like Millbridge should boost support for teachers of color, including racial affinity groups. For more, see @TravisJBristol's new piece in @TCRecord: https://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=23235 29/
Educators born & raised & working in Millbridge (& places like it) are proud of the education they received and the work they’re doing. Efforts to diversify the teaching corps should be mindful of their pride in the community and their work. At the same time… 30/
Frank Russo, alum and principal of Millbridge HS, understood that his pride in the past and present should not stand in the way of the school and district’s future. “We’re not going back as a school,” he said.
Balancing pride of place and a commitment to equity is not easy. But it is imperative. 32/
Finally, thanks to anyone who read this far.
Speaking of pride, we’re very proud of this paper and glad it’s in the world. Please be in touch if you’d like to know more. @TravisJBristol 33/33
Speaking of pride, we’re very proud of this paper and glad it’s in the world. Please be in touch if you’d like to know more. @TravisJBristol 33/33
