Abstract
While there has been ample evidence of a teacher shortage in public schools throughout the United States, one subject where there has been a continual retainment of educators has been in secondary social science. However, what is notable from the data is that social science teachers have a higher rate of White and male educators compared to that of other subjects. As a result, this research sought to evaluate the conditions and experiences which motivate or deter BIPOC students from joining the social science teaching profession. This work considered public policy, classroom curriculum, and the individual identities of the BIPOC educators in order to make recommendations on how to develop culturally responsive and sustainable practices that will engage BIPOC and all students in social science classrooms, which can allow for a future critical and diverse teacher workforce in the subject.
This research was guided by critical race methodology and utilized mixed-methods practices that resulted in participants who completed an initial survey questionnaire in addition to a voluntary dialogue with the researcher to expand on their responses and to reflect on their experiences as students and educators.
The findings from this study show that the BIPOC social science educators’ typical experiences in social science classrooms of their K-12 schooling were ones in which their teachers followed a traditionalist narrative that emphasized American exceptionalism and either minimally brought in BIPOC perspectives or they were omitted from the curriculum altogether. The curriculum, as well as their teachers’ rapport, either pushed the BIPOC educators to want to enter the field as a result of positive experiences where they were encouraged or because of low expectations held by the teachers. Thus, the BIPOC social science educators recognized, based on their own experiences, that there is a need for them to be critical educators who intentionally integrate BIPOC experiences within their own classrooms so BIPOC students can find the classes meaningful and relevant to their own life experiences as well as build the capacity to use the knowledge gathered to take social action and transform society.