Date of Conferral

5-30-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Jane Coddington

Abstract

Recruiting and retaining Black educators is a problem in the United States. Research into specific subgroups within this population, such as Black LBGTQ educators, can help identify ways to address this problem. In this qualitative study, five individuals were recruited who self-identified as Black or African American, LGBTQ, hold a current teaching certificate, have taught more than three years, and were 30 years or older. Data were collected from participants through semistructured interviews, and those data were analyzed. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to allow for their voices, perspectives, and experiences to be heard directly. Findings revealed 11 themes associated with how participants experienced climate and culture, and factors attributed to their experience of organizational climate and culture: (a) sweep it under the rug, (b) supportive atmosphere, (c) exclusionary experiences, (d) being overlooked, (e) silenced and ignored, (f) positive environment, (g) consistent contradictions, (h) covert communication, (i) bigoted remarks, (j) deficiencies in leadership, and (k) hush, hush vibe are the resulting themes. The findings exemplify the dynamic nature of climate and culture in organizations seen in supportive relationships, deficits in leadership, being unheard, and unspoken or covert communications within the workplace. A proliferation of diversity in organizations calls for practitioners of industrial and organizational psychology to be intentional in the application of a cross cultural framework for practice. The findings of this study could have implications for positive social change through helping devise a cross-cultural framework to develop policies and procedures, outline advocacy actions, and promote social justice.

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