Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

There is not a single teacher of color on staff in approximately 40 percent of U.S. schools (Bireda & Chait, 2011). This qualitative study was designed to explore the racialized experiences of BIPOC students in a predominately white career technical school district with a teaching staff that comprises less than 4% teachers of color district-wide. Several themes emerged from the research findings: participants valued their career tech education, overwhelmingly described the teaching staff as supportive and helpful, emphasized culturally relevant instruction was lacking, and having a teacher of color was rare, however when they did they viewed them as more understanding and relatable. A pipeline program between Central State University (CSU) an HBCU, and Greenville Career Campuses is being proposed where CSU students can complete their teaching practicum requirements and seek full-time employment at Greenville. One of the concerns with implementing this program is that there is a fairly small number of BIPOC students enrolling in teacher education programs each year. Therefore, many school districts are choosing to implement Grow Your Own (GYO) programs as a means to diversify the workforce. Additionally, mentoring programs are critical to retaining teachers of color as they are disproportionately more likely to leave the profession.

Committee: Greg Smith (Committee Chair); Carol Rogers-Shaw (Committee Member); Shelley Webb (Committee Member) Subjects: Minority and Ethnic Groups; Secondary Education