Pathways to Teaching: The Perspectives and Experiences of Two Black Male Teens Considering Teaching as a Career

This chapter describes a precollegiate course designed to encourage high school students of color to explore teaching and presents the findings from case studies on two Black male students enrolled in the course who are now preparing to pursue a career in teaching. The research questions guiding the two case studies include: (a) What factors influence Black males to consider teaching? (b) What roles do race, ethnicity, and school experiences play in Black males’ exploration of teaching? and (c) What aspects of the course are most influential in Black males’ exploration of teaching and related fields? The results of these case studies expose the complexity of effective recruitment of Black male teachers. The insights provided by these two teens can provide substantial guidance for the improvement of educational policy and practice in order to increase the recruitment and retention of Black male teachers.