A sistah circle of seven : Black women's self-perceptions of their teach for america (TFA) experiences in the U.S. mid-atlantic region / Patricia Joann Lesesne.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Lesesne, Patricia Joann, author.

Contributor:

Thomas, Ebony E., degree supervisor.

University of Pennsylvania. Department of Educational Leadership, degree granting institution.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Educational leadership.

Teacher education.

Black studies.

Educational administration.

Educational sociology.

Education policy.

African American studies.

Ethnic studies.

Educational leadership--Penn dissertations.

Penn dissertations--Educational leadership.

Local Subjects:

Educational leadership.

Teacher education.

Black studies.

Educational administration.

Educational sociology.

Education policy.

African American studies.

Ethnic studies.

Educational leadership--Penn dissertations.

Penn dissertations--Educational leadership.

Genre:

Academic theses.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (147 pages)

Contained In:

Dissertations Abstracts International 82-07A.

Place of Publication:

[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] : University of Pennsylvania ; Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2020.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

The opportunity gap, disproportionately disadvantaging Black students in the United States, has persisted for over sixty years. For the past three decades, education reform organizations characterized as neoliberal, such as Teach for America (TFA), have attempted to address these problems. Although TFA has had significant influence on the education of Black children through their strong political power and financial backing supporting their training and placement of teachers in predominantly Black schools, the effectiveness of their efforts has been met with less than stellar success. Concurrent with the efforts of TFA, the numbers of Black public school teachers are diminishing. Black teachers comprise less than seven percent of public school teachers, and the attrition rate among Black teachers is significantly higher than white teachers. This is concerning because research has determined Black teachers to be generally more effective with Black students than white teachers. This effectiveness appears to stem from certain characteristics, roles and embodiments exhibited by successful Black teachers, referred to herein as the Black Teaching Tradition (BTT). This study adds to body of research on the BTT. Through centering the experiences of seven Black women, former TFA Corp Members (CMs), it also seeks to reveal the state of the BTT within neoliberal teacher training and placement organization, TFA. This qualitative study employs life histories methodology, including in-depth interviews with each participant and a focus group. Nine salient elements of the BTT constitutes the conceptual framework. Three findings emerged: 1. Black women enter TFA with ideals aligned with the BTT. 2. The enactment of these ideals is not affirmed by TFA staff. 3. Mentoring from Black veteran teachers, who are not TFA staff, is crucial for the affirmation and effectiveness Black women CMs. Together, these findings point to opportunities for TFA to improve their impact on the education of Black children by engaging veteran Black teachers versed in the BTT to mentor Black women CMs and lead staff in recognizing, developing and affirming BTT competencies.

Notes:

Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 82-07, Section: A.

Advisors: Thomas, Ebony E.; Committee members: Diane Waff; Lisa Delpit.

Department: Educational Leadership.

Ed.D. University of Pennsylvania 2020.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175

ISBN:

9798557023863

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.

This item is not available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.