Tokenism and the experiences of minority teachers in predominantly white schools

Tokenism: The Role and Experiences of Minority Teachers in Predominantly White Schools

The Problem and Its Setting

Anticipated Findings

The past generation has seen the integration of America's public schools. Such integration has presented challenges and opportunities not only for the Minority students now enrolled in predominantly White schools, but also for the Minority teachers who find themselves assigned to those same schools. While opening up new horizons for many Minority educators, the purposeful placing of Minorities in majority White schools has also raised the issue of tokenism. The question remains as to whether these Minority teachers are being treated equally with their White counterparts, and whether their assignment to mostly White schools is based upon real ability and genuine need, or whether such assignments are merely reflective of well-meaning social policy gone awry. Many capable Minority teachers find themselves to be victims of the same sort of discrimination that the system of school integration purports to prevent, their abilities and talents wasted in what is little more than a multicultural and multiethnic "show." This paper will discuss the experiences of these Minority teachers, and also attempt an evaluation of their situation with an eye toward providing recommendations regarding the widespread practice of Minority teacher integration in predominantly White schools.

Tokenism: The Role and Experiences of Minority Teachers in Predominantly White Schools

I. The Problem and Its Setting

Introduction

It was only yesterday that segregation reigned supreme across much of the United States. Throughout the South, Black students attended Black schools, and White Students attended White schools. In general, these "separate but equal" institutions were nothing of the kind. Black schools were underfunded and understaffed. Standards and expectations were often significantly lower than those in place in White schools. Blacks taught Blacks and Whites taught Whites, an arrangement that suited a White-controlled society in which the color of a person's skin was the determining factor in his choice of career, his social and economic status, and even his right to express himself politically.

Everything changed, however, as a result of the Civil Rights Movement and the calls made for justice and change by such outstanding spokesmen for human rights as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a host of other political and social activists. Jim Crow was abolished, and schools across America were desegregated. Judges all over the country ordered the busing of school-age children to schools that were often far from their homes. The aim was to create schools with student populations that reflected the genuine racial and ethnic make-up of America and of its local communities. From now on, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and other Minorities would learn side by side with Whites.

Yet, the aim of an integrated society in which all races and ethnic groups shared equally in the promises of American democracy could not be created simply by the establishment of a multiracial and multicultural student body. The educators themselves would have to come from different backgrounds as well. Only a Minority teacher could be expected to bring a true Minority perspective to the classroom. Only a Minority teacher could serve as an example of the good that education could accomplish for Minorities. The issue then, was one of finding appropriate role models for the new integrated society. Minority instructors would serve as an example to White Students of the good that Minorities could do, and of the positive contributions they could make to society. They would be authority figures who would demonstrate that knowledge and talent were colorblind. And for Minority students, they would serve an additional purpose - that of demonstrating to these youths the fact that a person with the same background as themselves could achieve all that their White brothers and sisters could achieve.

The Problem

This at least, was the theory. All too often unfortunately, these attempts at the integration of faculty and staff were only half-hearted, and involved little more than the sprinkling of a few Black or Hispanic faces among a lily-white cadre of educators. While most acute in districts with little Minority student representation, a related problem afflicted predominantly Minority schools as well. Since integration of students could only take place within the boundaries of actual school districts, the plan to create reasonably diverse student bodies failed in localities that were either largely White, or largely Black or Hispanic. Furthermore, the announcement of a plan to bus Minority children to previously White schools generally served as a clarion call to White parents to move their children out of the public school system altogether. In many large cities - cities that contained large populations of both Minorities and Whites - White students left the public school system in droves. The following table (Fig.1) illustrates the strikingly high numbers of Black and Latino students who continue to attend highly segregated schools, that is, schools in which they - the Minorities - comprise the great majority of the student population:

Percentage of African-American and Latino Students Attending

Predominantly Minority and 90-100% Minority Schools

Predominantly Minority

90-100% Minority

African-American

Latino

1968-69

1972-73

1980-81

1986-87

1991-92

1994-95

Fig 1. (Massey and Denton, 2000)

Note that these numbers remain high despite more than thirty years of busing and similar attempts at integration. And, according to a recent speech by First Lady, Laura Bush, "About 42% of all public schools in the United States have no Minority teachers. The percentage of Minority teachers is expected to shrink to an all-time low of 5%, while 41% of American students will be Minorities." (Bush, 2002)

The problems inherent in these figures are obvious. Many American students, both White and Minority, have little or no exposure to Minority instructors. Such a glaring lack of diversity on the instructional level means a gross lack of multicultural and multiracial exposure for the vast majority of students, and also a glaring absence of appropriate role models, in particular, for African-American and Latino children. Whites too, grow up thinking that only Whites are qualified to hold such positions of trust and authority, positions that require substantial amounts of education and training. Furthermore, for the small number of Minority teachers in America's public schools, the problem is one of isolation coupled with a feeling of purposelessness and frustration.

Significance of Study

Based upon the above evidence regarding the vast disparities between the numbers of Minority students on the one hand, and the numbers of Minority teachers on the other, it is essential to determine if these disparities do indeed give rise to the problems described. Minority instructors were assigned to White schools for the specific purpose of achieving a fully integrated educational environment, one in which both students and faculty would benefit from exposure to persons of different races, and cultural backgrounds. However, the current situation, in which Minority teachers are grossly underrepresented as compared to their White counterparts, gives rise to several concerns. First among these, is the question of whether students, be they White, Black, Latino, or Asian, actually benefit from having a handful of Minority role models? Do the White students obtain any advantage from their exposure to Minority instructors, noting especially that these instructors are very few in number? Do the Minority teachers themselves feel that they are making a positive contribution to the education and to the general social and intellectual development of their students, both Minority and Non-Minority? And last, but certainly not least, do Minority teachers feel that they are genuinely accepted by their White peers? In other words, do they believe themselves to be a legitimate part of the school fabric, and are they perceived as such by White faculty?

Integration slammed black teachers, as well as students, into white schools with white colleagues and administrators who often saw their new colleagues as somehow inferior, and waited for them to fail. Concurrently, black teachers faced white parents who could not conceive of their children being taught by a black person. There was little of the casual exchange in teachers' lounges that often amounts to a teacher training system and source of support to go on after a bad day. Administrators, ordered to make integration succeed, or at least quiet, were reluctant to make constructive criticism and felt unable to engage disciplinary measures. The black community correctly saw black teachers as the sole model for black kids, and sometimes the only understanding allies a black child could find in a fundamentally hostile environment. And in that environment, where in many circles it is still quietly understood by white people that blacks will never measure up, the presence of black teachers serves both as a defense and a constant reminder that someone nearby just might react sharply to racist comments. (Gibson, 1992)

This study will focus on such attitudes as these to determine the extent to which they are true. And, should it be discovered that these attitudes, are indeed generally held, then it shall explore the consequences of these attitudes for Minority faculty and the perceived effects of these attitudes on their respective teaching styles, involvement in faculty and student affairs and activities, and in the their overall feeling of effectiveness in their jobs. Account too will be taken of Minority teachers' feelings of personal satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their positions.

Research Questions random selection of Minority teachers in predominantly White (more than 85%) schools will be supplied with questionnaires containing the following five questions:

How would you rate your overall effectiveness as a teacher based upon your students' performance?

On a scale of 1 to 10-10 being the highest.

Do you find a significant difference in the students' response to you depending upon whether those students are White, or members of a Minority group?

Student responses rated as follows:

Strongly Negative, Somewhat Negative, Neutral, Somewhat Positive, Strongly Positive

Do you find that your presence in the classroom inculcates a greater sense of understanding, and compassion for, Minorities and their concerns on the part of White students in your classroom?

Strongly Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Neutral, Somewhat Agree, Strongly Disagree

How would you rate your overall level of acceptance by White faculty members and staff in your school?

On a scale of 1 to 10-10 being the highest.

Do you find that your presence on the faculty in your school inculcates a greater sense of understanding, and compassion for, Minorities and their concerns on the part of White faculty members and staff?

Strongly Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Neutral, Somewhat Agree, Strongly Disagree.

Assumptions of Study

This study will make the assumption that the environments and populations at the schools studied are broadly similar. As well, the backgrounds - educational levels, years teaching, economic level, and upbringing - of the participating teachers will be assumed to be comparable in most respects. Teachers participating in the study will also be deemed to have had similar experiences in regard to instances of racial prejudice and bias directed personally against them, and to have similar conceptions of the attitude of White majority society towards them as members of a Minority group. These incidents and conceptions in the background of, and on the part of the participating teachers will be considered as normative experiences, not deviating in any substantial way from what might be considered to be the "usual" experiences of the "average" Minority individual raised in comparable circumstances. Lastly, the participants in this study will be reckoned as open-minded, and not overly given to subjecting their responses to study questions to preconceived ideas of either what the administrators of the study wish to hear, or of what they, as Minorities, might be expected to feel or expect.

Limitations of Study

Just as this study is enhanced by the open-mindedness of the participants, it is also limited by the natural human inclination to provide expected, or perceived "appropriate" responses to the questions at hand. Also, while every effort will be taken to select candidates who are not themselves overtly prejudiced against their employment as Minorities in a majority White school, and who do not nurture any specifically anti-White sentiments, or harbor any strong, pre-conceived bias against the idea of Minority students and faculty mixing freely with White students, it is recognized that a certain amount of ingrained, subjectivity is unavoidable. All people are creatures of their environment, and the teacher participants in this study are no exception.

Definition of Terms

Minority - a Person of Color, African-American, Latino, or Asian

Majority White School - a school whose student body is at least 85% White

Token - a Minority (see above) teacher who is employed at a Majority White School (see above), the teaching faculty and administration of which school consists of fewer than 5% Minorities.

Student Attitude - the manner in which students react to their teacher; their attitude as reflected in their academic performance, and behavior in the classroom in so far as that behavior conforms with or deviates from generally accepted norms.

Teacher Satisfaction and Acceptance - a measure of the degree to which a Minority Teacher feels that he or she is performing a worthwhile task by teaching at a Majority White school; a measure of the Minority teacher's feeling that he or she is successfully educating and broadening the horizons of his or her students; a measure of the teacher's level of satisfaction with his or her sense of inclusion into the body of Majority White teachers - do they feel a part of the group? Or are they outsiders?

Minority Acceptance - the opening up of White teachers and students to the special and specific problems of their Minority peers; an understanding on the part of Whites of the culture and circumstances of Minorities; an understanding of the attitudes of Minorities towards them, and of their own, perhaps previously unrecognized negative, or biased attitudes toward Minorities.

II. Literature Review

A. Overview

Numerous studies have been done on the problems facing Minority teachers in majority White schools. As already mentioned, many of these teachers have faced the problem of White prejudice or aversion. These attitudes on the part of their White peers have been occasioned both by pre-existent ideas regarding the character and aptitudes of Minorities, as well as by a deep-seated bias against the very idea of a "token." In such cases, the token is immediately taken to be a person of inferior abilities and qualifications; a person who was selected for no other than his or her color or ethnic background. This attitude is similar to that held by many Whites in regard to Affirmative Action programs in general, whether at colleges and universities, private businesses, government agencies, or as in this case, public schools. In addition, many analyses have been done in regard to the change in level of performance achieved by Minority students when taught by Minority teachers, and also of the relative broadening of the horizons of White students, and their increasing levels of acceptance and understanding of their Minority counterparts. Too, many studies have looked at the overall importance of inculcating, in all students, a sense of the importance of multiculturalism, and of living in a multiracial society, especially as not only the United States, but also the world as a whole becomes progressively less and less a place under absolute domination by White males.

B. General Broad-Field Literature Review

As many Whites take issue with the supposed poor qualifications of "token" Minority teachers, it would be of use first to take a look at some of the assumptions upon which these ideas are based. Catherine E. Walsh's, Education Reform and Social Change: Multicultural Voices, Struggles, and Visions, discusses the poor performance by Minority educators on standardized tests. Such low tests scores are frequently taken by Whites as just another sign of Minority incompetence, and are often used to disparage Minority teaching abilities regardless of other more positive assessments such as those gained through actual observation of such Minority teachers, or evaluations of their actual on-the-job performance. Similarly, White stereotypes of Minorities are not greatly altered even by many of the new approaches to including Minority issues - culture and history - in school curricula. As Antoine M. Garibaldi, Wornie L. Reed, and Charles V. Willie explain in, The Education of African-Americans, such forays into Black, or Latino history, for example, are very often treated as curricular sidelines, tangents that have little or nothing to do with the mainstream of American culture and history. The theme of White educators' attitudes toward Minority culture, and toward Minority educators specifically, is continued in, The Handbook of Schooling in Urban America, by Stanley William Rothstein. Mr. Rothstein's point is that the very Minority points-of-view that Latino, African-American, Asian, and other teachers bring to the educational experience are denigrated in favor of accepted majority White norms. On the other side of the equation, one must, of course, examine the attitudes of the students toward these token Minority instructors. The concept of "Cultural Competence" is elaborated by Roxana Ng, Joyce Scane, and Pat Staton in, Anti-Racism, Feminism, and Critical Approaches to Education.

Analyzed are the general lack of any real understanding of the cultures and concerns of ethnic and racial Minorities by Whites, and the corresponding importance of exposing White youths directly to People of Color and to persons of other ethnic backgrounds. The idea is continued in The National Association for Multicultural Education's Seventh Annual Name Conference where the idea of de facto racial separation is discussed at some length. Whites, and Non-Whites and other Minorities, while brought together in the classroom setting as a result of legal attempts at integration, still continue to lead almost entirely separate lives outside of school. Lastly, as a way of rounding things out, Karen B. McLean Donaldson's, Through Students' Eyes: Combating Racism in United States Schools, is a collection of accounts by students of all races, colors, and ethnic backgrounds regarding their own experiences with racism and cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity. The redactions make interesting reading, and provide a fascinating window on the state of race relations in modern-day America.

A. Research Design

As this case study is hypothetical, the design of the experiment will be as outlined above. In the case of an actual study having been conducted, the following would have served as a description of the participants:

Minority instructors were assigned to White schools for the specific purpose of achieving a fully integrated educational environment, one in which both students and faculty would benefit from exposure to persons of different races, and cultural backgrounds. However, the current situation, in which Minority teachers are grossly underrepresented as compared to their White counterparts, gives rise to several concerns. First among these, is the question of whether students, be they White, Black, Latino, or Asian, actually benefit from having a handful of Minority role models? Do the White students obtain any advantage from their exposure to Minority instructors, noting especially that these instructors are very few in number? Do the Minority teachers themselves feel that they are making a positive contribution to the education and to the general social and intellectual development of their students, both Minority and Non-Minority? And last, but certainly not least, do Minority teachers feel that they are genuinely accepted by their White peers? In other words, do they believe themselves to be a legitimate part of the school fabric, and are they perceived as such by White faculty?

The participants would have completed survey questionnaires as described above in Section I.D. The school or schools chosen for the purposes of this study would have had populations reflective of norms for their region and for their particular location, be it in a major metropolitan area, a suburb, a rural town, or whatever the case may have been. That is to say that, while each school would have been at least 85% White, the remainder of the population would have been typical of the Minority population in the school's local area. Minority teachers, or tokens, as well would have corresponded in number and make up to that local Minority community.

B. Population and Sample

Example:

School

Location Percentage White Students Percentage White Teachers Percentage Minority Students Percentage Minority

Teachers Main Street HS

Northvale, NJ 89-96-11 4 HS 95

Chicago, IL 85-95-15 5 Los Estudios HS

Clermont, CA 91-98 9-2 Fig. 2

C. Data Needed and Method of Gathering Data

As described above, a questionnaire consisting of five questions would have been distributed to each participant. These questions would have corresponded to the data required for the case study. Participants would have been selected according to the various criteria described in Sections I.D-F. Completed questionnaires would have been analyzed by the persons conducting the study, the results tabulated and assembled into reports and graphs.

D. Specific Treatment of Data for Each Sub-Problem

In accordance with the stipulations in Section I.B., reports detailing the accumulated responses for each sub-problem would have been prepared. There would have been one report for each school with a listing of responses to each question, and an overall report listing responses from all schools. Graphs would then have been prepared based upon these responses.

Example:

Question #1: How would you rate your overall effectiveness as a teacher based upon your students' performance?

Fig. 3

IV. Anticipated Findings

Once again, as this case study was only hypothetical, its conclusions can only be based upon such research as has been done prior. Based upon this research, it would be the expectation of this case study that the opinions of the participants would be on the whole somewhat negative as regards the current state of Minority Teacher/White Teacher relations, and Minority Teacher/White Student relations. A more positive situation would be expected to obtain between Minority teachers and Minority students. It would also be expected that most of the participants would see the current state of affairs as showing some progress toward the goal of improved Minority education, and better understanding between different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. It would be hoped that the Questionnaires would be followed by a second stage of study during which the results culled would be applied to a more in-depth investigation of the participants responses, perhaps including detailed interviews in regard to why a respondent had supplied such and such a rating. Combining the initial reports and graphs with such a further detailed study and interview process should provide quite a sizeable mass of data from which real conclusions can be drawn. These conclusions should serve as the basis for a genuine, and proactive plan of action which plan would be designed to put into actual effect steps toward creating as ideal a situation as possible for all students and teachers. The more we can prepare our youth for the increasingly multicultural, and multiracial and multiethnic world of tomorrow, the better that world will be.