The Whitening of the American Teaching Force: A Problem of Recruitment or a Problem of Racism?

Part of a special issue on challenging corporate control of schools and communities. A reexamination of the problem of the whitening of the U.S. teaching force reveals that the true cause is not a recruitment problem among minorities but a racially skewed set of criteria for the initial selection of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Epstein, Kitty Kelly 1946- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2005
In: Social justice
Year: 2005, Volume: 32, Issue: 3, Pages: 89-102
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
United States. Dept. of Education
Teaching
African American teachers
Hispanic American students
African American students
Students > United States
White teachers
Teachers > United States
Teacher recruitment
Minority teachers
Description
Summary:Part of a special issue on challenging corporate control of schools and communities. A reexamination of the problem of the whitening of the U.S. teaching force reveals that the true cause is not a recruitment problem among minorities but a racially skewed set of criteria for the initial selection of teachers. The results of a selection system based on white racism, both institutional and ideological, are much more damaging than is generally acknowledged, especially for urban students. Those who are adversely affected face a struggle to create an equitable and educationally successful system in which candidates are chosen first on the basis of classroom effectiveness and then required to add to their knowledge base elements that are missing in their undergraduate education.