No One Told Us: Recruiting and Retaining African American Males in the College of Education Program from the Urban and Rural Areas

Abstract

African American male teachers are increasingly becoming an endangered species among the profession of education in the public, private, and higher sectors. Working with African American males at a predominately white institution (PWI), these students are often overlooked and overburdened with outliving stereotypes that are expected of them via the media montage that has been presented by mainstream America. Fortunately, these men often arise and surpass the status quo and become what W.E.B. DuBois surmises as the talented tenth. In a candid interview with the two African American males, out of the 1,200 students who are in the teacher education program at this PWI, the students talk explicitly on how to recruit and retain African American males, like themselves, through examples, mentors, and role models that will affect the decision of future male teachers and cultivate the African American male teachers who are currently in the program. Using a qualitative research design, the students will answer several hypotheses that will allow one a closer look into the world of young African American male teacher perspectives in the PWI.