Date of Award
Spring 3-30-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ed.D. Transformational Teaching and Learning
Department
Secondary Education
First Advisor
Dr. Amber Jean-Marie Pabon
Second Advisor
Dr. Helen S. Hamlet
Third Advisor
Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder
Abstract
In Pennsylvania, the disparity of Teachers of Color in relation to Students of Color is three times higher than the national disproportionality rate (Stohr, Fontana, Lapp, 2018). Fontana and Lapp (2018) suggest this makes Pennsylvania “one of the most disparate states in the country” (p. 2). Specifically, for the Latinx community, the disparity is even greater. In the context of this study, the percentage of Latinx students is more than 70%, while the percentage of Latinx educators is less than one percent. This context provided an opportunity to gain knowledge from educators who learned and worked in spaces where they were both overrepresented and underrepresented. This qualitative research study explored the experiences of five Latina educators as they traversed educational institutions and followed their career pathways into the field of education. A multilayered data analysis utilizing the lenses of Critical Race Theory, Latinx Critical Race Theory, and Community Cultural Wealth uncovered how the participants lived experiences related to family, education, motivation, support networks, language, career pathways, encounters with injustice, and work as educators. Additionally, the testimonios exposed counternarratives, which highlighted the participants’ strengths and silenced realities. The findings suggest the need for social change, targeted professional development, social justice education, and increased efforts to attract and recruit Latinx educators in secondary schools.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Little, Leila, "How We Got Here: Testimonios of Secondary Latina Educators" (2020). Education Doctorate Dissertations. 6.
https://research.library.kutztown.edu/edddissertations/6
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Secondary Education Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
