Behind School Doors: The Impact of Hostile Racial Climates on Urban Teachers of Color

2016/03/11 by Rita Kohli · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Critical Race Theory in Education #Education Discipline and Inequality #Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

paper · doi:10.1177/0042085916636653

crossref issued 2016/03/11 · crossref published 2016/03/11 · crossref published-online 2016/03/11 · openalex publication_date 2016/03/11 · crossref created 2016/03/11 · crossref published-print 2018/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/05/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01 · crossref indexed 2026/08/01

Abstract

Despite recruitment efforts, teachers of Color are underrepresented and leaving the teaching force at faster rates than their White counterparts. Using Critical Race Theory to analyze and present representative qualitative narratives from 218 racial justice–oriented, urban teachers of color, this article affirms that urban schools—despite serving majority students of Color—operate as hostile racial climates. Color blindness and racial microaggressions manifest as macro and micro forms of racism and take a toll on the professional growth and retention of teachers of Color. These findings suggest a need for institutionalized reform to better support a diverse K-12 teaching force.

Citations

• The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers
• Teachers, please learn our names!: racial microagressions and the K-12 classroom
• Diversifying the Teaching Force: An Examination of Major Arguments
• Preparing Teachers for Culturally Diverse Schools
• From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt: Understanding Achievement in U.S. Schools
• “Assume the Position . . . You Fit the Description”
• Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education
• The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers

Cited by

• Can We Say the “r” Word?: Identifying and Disrupting Colorblind Epistemologies in a Teacher Education Methods Course