Dissertation Defense Announcement Ed.D. Program: Valentina Arango-Correa “A Qualitative Study of Black Women Educators’ Experiences with Racial and Gendered Microaggressions”

Grounded in Black Feminist Theory and Microaggression Theory, this qualitative interview study explored the types of microaggressions Black women educators encountered, their impact, and the strategies they used to navigate racial and gendered experiences. Through this exploration, this study sought to understand the kinds of supports that Black women educators might welcome to enable them to continue to work in public schooling.

Given the study’s focus on documenting and understanding Black women’s racialized and gendered experiences with microaggressions a qualitative research design was employed. Over four months, two in-depth interviews were conducted with ten Black women educators teaching in PK-12 schools in New Jersey. To understand, analyze, and explore participants’ experiences, I employed narrative and thematic analysis. The narrative analysis focused on the stories of three educators to examine their encounters with gendered and racialized microaggressions and how their work contexts influenced these experiences. Thematic analysis was then conducted across all 10 participants’ accounts to identify connections and nuances in their stories.

Findings revealed that Black women educators frequently experienced microaggressions in their schools, with the most prevalent forms including hair discrimination, being stereotyped as “Angry,” and being subjected to an increased workload through the “inclusion tax.” This study further found that the racial demographic makeup of schools affected the types of microaggressions that participants experienced and the strategies they used to navigate them. While the responsibility of coping with and mitigating these microaggressions fell entirely on Black women educators themselves, women working in in districts with more Black women educators reported having more support and feeling less isolated in the workplace. These findings point to the need to build inclusive school cultures through the use of restorative justice practices, targeted professional development, and the creation of safe spaces for Black women educators, such as affinity groups. Further, given that the school leadership population is predominantly White, there is a need for developing critically conscious leaders and investing in pathways for Black women educators to assume leadership roles.