Spillin' tea: critical heuristic narratives of Black educators in white school spaces

Black educators across the nation represent a small percentage of the teaching and leadership workforce in PK-12 public education, in environments predominantly white and female, contrasting with a majority of students of color. In these majority white staffed settings, Black educators felt disconnected from their schools and experienced a lack of belonging. This critical heuristic narrative study examined secret, sacred, and cover stories of Black educators in white teaching environments through multiple one-on-one semi-structured interviews, focus groups, analyses of public written documents, and social media posts. Grounded in the Three-Dimensional Narrative Inquiry Model, Critical Race Theory, BlackCrit, and elements of Heuristic Inquiry, the study gathered experiences from eight participants across PK-12 rural, urban, and suburban schools.The study identified a gap in existing literature regarding Black educators’ experiences in predominantly white school settings. Findings indicated that (a) Black educators described their experiences ranging from racialized microaggressions and violence to moments of strength and joy; (b) their perceptions of themselves included resiliency and communities rich in support and cultural influence; (c) Black educators described the culture of these spaces as challenging, as they worked to overcome obstacles; (d) they lacked critical support but extended support to others regarding leadership, systemic issues, identity, empowerment, and student advocacy; and (e) they faced significant challenges such as limited collaboration, micromanagement, monitoring, targeting, feelings of isolation, and systemic barriers. The findings underscored the need to cultivate safety and belonging through authentic fugitive spaces for Black educators, for school districts to adopt strategic and innovative approaches to increasing representation and recruitment, and to incorporate meaningful, culturally responsive professional development. Additionally, school environments must promote understanding of cultural differences beyond deficit perspectives, create spaces where all students and families are authentically represented, and provide avenues for educators to access mental health support that is normalized and stigma-free.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education (UMKC)

Grantor

University of Missouri--Kansas City

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Johnson, Natalie R.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Davis, Donna M. (Donna Marie)

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10355/112348

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/112348