Brown@65 | (not) The Least of These: Highlighting the Impact of HBCUs on Educator Preparation by Tiffany D. Pogue

Concurrent to a documented increase in the diversity of US public schools (Banks, 2004a; 2004b; Cushner, 2009; Goodwin, 2010), there is a measurable, disproportionate representation of Black teachers in the US public school teaching workforce (Albert Shanker Institute, 2015; Ingersoll, May, & Collins, 2019; Villegas & Irvine, 2010).  And, because we understand that diversity among teachers often contributes to greater academic achievement (Egalite et al., 2015), it is imperative that we address issues of recruitment, retention, and support of teachers of color, and Black teachers specifically.  

As such, the purpose of this post is to argue that in our efforts to create equitable, diverse learning environments of students, we must recognize and support existing programmatic and institutionalized structures that create the Black teachers that can serve students in desegregated spaces.  Specifically, this paper argues that scholars and stakeholders interested in desegregated, equitable learning environments must begin to give greater attention to the role Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have historically played, and strive to continue to play, in support of the equity endeavor. 

I am writing this as a faculty member of an HBCU that has a longstanding commitment to teacher education that is currently threatened by low enrollment, an understaffed faculty, and increasing costs associated with teacher certification.  I am also a legacy graduate of HBCU education and an inheritor of the ideologies Black teachers held in the Jim Crow South prior to the 1954 Brown versus Board of Education decision.  It is through this frame of reference that I plead with readers to stand in support of the continued work of HBCUs in the preparation of exceptional teachers of students of all races, creeds, ethnicities, and sexual preferences.  I present the following argument situated around a single case– Albany State University and its work in the field of teacher education.  While the information herein may not be directly generalizable to all HBCU teacher education programs, it is representative of the issues many of the schools face as documented within the extant literature.

Albany State University (ASU), like many HBCUs, was established as an institution focused on teacher training.  Founded by Joseph W. Holley in 1903 as Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute, ASU has been instrumental in producing large numbers of Black teachers throughout its history.  In fact, in 2010, ASU was designated as being the number three program producing Black teachers in the United States.  In 2014, that rank had dropped to eighth (Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 2014).  In 2019, the education programs at the university are now threatened due to low enrollment and institution-wide budget woes (Pogue, forthcoming).  ASU is not unique in its problems, but like many other HBCUs, the issues facing the whole of educator preparation as a field are magnified.  ASU’s ability to continue on its past trajectory of preparing large numbers of Black teachers is currently threatened by limited resources, high costs associated with certification requirements, and state certification requirements that do not align with our specific student population’s needs.

After consolidation with a local predominately white institution (PWI) in 2016, ASU suffered an overall enrollment drop that negatively impacted state funding to the university.  In turn, 22 ASU faculty—four from the College of Education– were issued letters of non-renewal as Academic Affairs sought to absorb budget cuts (Davis, 2016).   This left the College severely understaffed with less than eight full-time faculty dedicated to majors with hundreds of students.  Due to low faculty numbers, only limited numbers of course sections could be taught and limited access to course sections among non-traditional students—a comparatively large population at many HBCUs, occurred.  Meanwhile, alternative teacher preparation programs like Teach for America and for-profit institutions—especially those with online offerings—threaten traditional educator preparation programs’ (EPPs) nationally (Weiner, 2007) by contributing to a general decline in EPP enrollment (Sawchuck, 2015). ASU EPPs’ decline in enrollment is exacerbated by these local issues amplified by the national trends.

If we are to advocate for teacher education programs, the creation of a diverse teaching workforce, and the creation of critically conscious teachers, we should open our eyes and give our attention to the work historically done by HBCUs.

One fix used nationally to mediate the effects of declining enrollment is paid teacher residency programs (Barth, Dillon, Hull, & Higgins, 2016).  Unfortunately, due to sustained budget cuts on campus, ASU is unable to employ residency programs as a strategy for recruitment long-term. A sub-award grant awarded in 2014 from a larger predominately white institution has been used at ASU to support one such residency program but has since expired.  Due to short-staffing and course loads among faculty, locating and applying for other financial awards to cover the costs of paid residency programs has been limited.

Not only that, costs associated with certification at the state level as well as state changes to certifying exam requirements have also prevented some students from choosing teacher education as a major. For example, in the state of Georgia, teacher education majors in pursuit of teacher certification must pay the following fees beyond the normal cost of tuition:

Georgia Educator Ethics- Program Entry $30

GACE Admissions Test $125 combined or $78 each (for 3)

GACE Content Area Test $193 combined or $123 each

Georgia Educator Ethics- Program Exit $30

edTPA   $300*

In total, these fees amount to a minimum cost of $678 beyond tuition and financial aid assistance.  In fact, if a student elects (or is required) to take parts of the GACE tests separately and/or is required to re-submit their edTPA portfolio, the additional costs could far exceed $700. For some ASU** students—particularly those who are first-generation students from under-resourced communities, these fees may prohibitive, especially as viewed through the lens of low teacher pay upon graduation.  For those interested in recruiting a more diverse teaching population, these costs and the perceived return on investment associated with teaching as a career field cause the reiterative problem of discouraging a large number of minoritized students from enrolling in teacher education programs at the same time there is a decline in the number of students entering EPPs nationally (Darling-Hammond, 2016; NCES, Title II, 2015).  As such, ASU continues to struggle to find incentives to market its programs to potential EPP candidates.

ASU and other HBCUs may also be suffering this trend to a greater extent due to EPP certification requirements.  As accrediting bodies like Georgia’s Professional Standards Commission  (GaPSC) moves to increase standardized scores for certification exams (GaPSC minutes, May 8, 2014), there appears to be little consideration given to the historic mission of schools like ASU that serve populations who tend to score lower on standardized exams.  Despite data-driven position statements delivered to GaPSC from EPP leadership, the organization has moved forward on raising the minimum score on the GACE program admissions exam in such a way that it will threaten admission for many ASU teacher education majors.  While one may appreciate the rigor pursued by GaPSC and CAEP, one must also assert that their assessment for admission should directly align with the student populations pursuing admission and take into account the need to develop alternative assessment criteria where necessary. 

Despite these problems, ASU has continued to produce highly-certified Black teachers that go on to successful careers.  Like many other HBCUs, ASU has worked beyond the challenges of its context to shape in-service teachers with content knowledge, cultural literacy, and reflective practice (Lupinski, Jenkins, Beard, & Jones, 2012).  As larger, PWI EPPS begin to face the national challenges facing EPPs of all types, they should turn to institutions, like ASU, with long-standing contributions of producing highly qualified Black teachers for the US public school teaching force. ASU’s unique case should be studied by scholars interested in desegregation efforts, HBCU missions, and educator preparation programs.

In the attention that is given, scholars, faculty, and administrators can do the following to support HBCUs continued efforts towards the production of a diverse teaching workforce:

• Examine the practices employed in recruiting and retaining Black pre-service teachers; 
• Describe, document, and discuss the effects of HBCU training on pre-service teachers (is there a difference in their dispositions and/or pedagogy?); and
• Partner with HBCUs on grants not only to demonstrate diversity capacity but also to draw upon these institutions’ specialized knowledge for preparing Black teachers.

If we are to advocate for teacher education programs, the creation of a diverse teaching workforce, and the creation of critically conscious teachers, we should open our eyes and give our attention to the work historically done by HBCUs.

* These costs have been retrieved from the GACE and edTPA websites respectively.

** Albany State University services one of the poorest economic regions in Georgia

This is the final installment in our Brown@65 Series. Contributors to this series for the AJE Forum presented these pieces at the Brown@65 Conference hosted by Penn State’s Center for Education and Civil Rights and the university’s Africana Research Center.We invite you to join our conversation by commenting below, engaging us on AJE’s social media platforms, or submitting an essay of your own.

Tiffany D. Pogue is an assistant professor of Teacher Education and program coordinator of Education Foundations at Albany State University. Her research interests include Participatory Literacy Communities, Culturally Relevant Teaching, Hip Hop Based Education, and Community Engagement. Dr. Pogue is the founder of HBCUProf, an institution dedicated to celebrating and providing resources for faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Institutions.

References

AACTE. (2013). The changing teacher preparation profession. Retrieved August 1, 2019 from https://aacte.org/news-room/13-press-releases-statements/145-aacte-releases-first-national-data-report-on-teacher-preparation-profession

edTPA.  “Fees and payment options.”  Retrieved August 1, 2019 from https://www.edtpa.com/PageView.aspx?f=GEN_OperationalFees.html

Darling-Hammond, L., Furger, R., Shields, P. & Sutcher, L. (2016). Addressing California’s emerging teacher shortage: An analysis of sources and solutions. Retrieved August 1, 2019 from Learning Policy Institute: www.learningpolicyinstitute.org/addressing-ca-teacher-shortage.

Davis, J. (2016, August 1).  Enrollment declines lead to layoffs at Albany State, Darton colleges. Atlanta Journal and Constitution.  Retrieved August 1, 2019 from https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/enrollment-declines-lead-layoffs-albany-state-darton-colleges/H4YqwA1JFiGqODzqrzHJhN/.

Egalite, A. J.; Kisida, B.; & Winters, M.A. (2015). Representation in the classroom: The effect of own-race teachers on student achievement.  Economics of Education Review, (45), 44-52.

GACE. “Fees, Payment, and Refund Policy.”  Retrieved August 1, 2019 from https://gace.ets.org/about/fees.

Sawchuk, S. (2015). Steep drops seen in teacher-prep enrollment numbers. The Education Digest, 80(7), 9.

Weiner, L. (2007).  A lethal threat to U.S. teacher education.  Journal of Teacher Education, 58(4), 274-286.