Ronald E. McNair Program


Romaro Spivey 
  SCHOOL:  Rust College
  MAJOR:  Elementary Education 
  MENTOR:   Dr. Fannye Love
  EXPECTED GRADUATION DATE:  May, 2000

 
 

African-American Males and the Teaching Profession

Abstract

Nearly one-third of United States students are minorities, but only thirteen percent of teachers come from groups underrepresented in the teaching profession.  For this reason, according to USA Today (1997), recruiting and retaining males, African-Americans and Hispanics as teachers have become priorities at many schools, colleges, and universities.  The Association for the Supervision and Curriculum Development report (1999) indicated that two million teachers will be needed in the next ten years to educate our children.  It was also stated that by the year 2000, schools in the United States will educate nearly three million more children than they do today.  The purpose of this study is to examine the needs for African-American males in teacher education. The number of African-American males teaching is relatively low when compared to their Caucasian counterparts.  In examining the shortage of African-American males in education this research will focus on the following questions:

(1) Why students of color do not enter the field of education, especially African-American males?
(2) What can be done to recruit and attract students of color into the field teaching?
(3) What type programs have been dedicated to increasing the number of minority students (African-American males) into education?