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The purpose of this paper is to replicate prior findings on teacher-principal race congruence and teacher job satisfaction and extend the literature by investigating trends over time and if the relationship between race congruence and teacher job satisfaction differs by principal race and region.

The study sample comes from four waves of cross-sectional data, the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey, administered between 2000 and 2012. The analysis is conducted using ordinary least squares and school-year fixed effects with a comprehensive set of covariates.

The relationship between race congruence and teacher job satisfaction is attenuating over time and is likely explained by the lower job satisfaction of white teachers who work for black principals. Some evidence indicates teacher-principal race congruence has greater salience in the Southern region of the country. Find evidence that teachers with race-congruent principals report more workplace support than their non-race congruent colleagues.

Future studies should investigate why racial congruence has more salience in the Southern region of the country and for white teachers who work with black principals. At the same time, results indicate that teacher-principal race congruence might no longer be a determinant of teacher job satisfaction, although further studies should continue investigating this relationship.

Findings on the changing nature of the relationship between principal-teacher race congruence and teacher job satisfaction over time as well as the differing nature of race congruence in the Southern region of the country are both novel findings in the literature.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between student achievement and racial congruence of school personnel and students to help educators and policy makers narrow the achievement gap.

This quasi-experimental, correlational study used publicly available data from 158 elementary schools in the Houston Independent School District. The authors analyzed the level of congruence of school personnel and students in relation to reading, math and science scores with the fifth-grade students.

Controlling for the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, separate univariate ANCOVAs on the outcome variables revealed significant effects of racial congruence levels on reading scores, F(2, 153) = 3.73, p = 0.026 and math scores, F(2, 153) = 3.977, p = 0.02.

The operationalization of racial congruence had not been previously used. African-Americans and Hispanics were labeled as non-white, Asian-Americans (who do not show the achievement gap) were grouped with white students, and other minority groups were excluded. The study was a natural experiment without randomization or intervention.

Findings can be used to narrow the achievement gap by encouraging recruitment of Hispanics and African-Americans educators and influencing administrators as they decide where to place hired personnel.

Using a much larger sample size than previous studies, this study found a factor to narrow the achievement gap.

Research funded by the Albert Shanker Institute found African-American teachers leaving teaching at higher rates than White counterparts even though the former are recruited in proportionally higher numbers. Thus, while recruitment efforts appear somewhat successful, schools and school systems fail to retain teachers of color. This “revolving door” of African-American teachers portends dire consequences for school communities, creating instability of staffing that potentially upend students’ opportunities for academic success. African-American female (AAF) teachers, considered a backbone of non-White communities, are particularly sensitive to teacher mobility and turnover. Studies, however, indicate that AAF teachers are more satisfied working in urban school contexts than other teachers, suggesting that they prefer racially congruent schools which share sociocultural attributes similar to their own, and view working conditions more favorably in such environments.

Teachers’ perceptions of the workplace can be used to gauge risk for occupational stress. Commonly referred to as the transactional model, teachers’ risk for stress can be assessed by the appraising workplace resources vis-à-vis workplace demands. Stress-vulnerable teachers are associated with lower professional commitment and increased occupational burnout. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics 2007–2008 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), this chapter explored the intersections of risk for occupational stress, racial congruence, and professional commitment among AAF teachers. Findings from this chapter suggest interactions between racial congruence and AAF teachers’ perceptions of occupational stress and commitment to teaching. Implications for how these results might inform policy are discussed.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become prioritized goals of business, such as hiring more women and racial minorities. This study adds to the body of research regarding the value of diversity in organizations by examining the relationship between diversity at the workforce level and the financial performance of the organization. The empirical results of prior research have provided mixed results, finding mainly positive, but also negative, and nonsignificant relationships (Sharma et al., 2020; Vlas et al., 2022). The purpose of this study is to examine the current employment status of women and racial minorities in top US companies, then analyze if a correlation exists between a company’s profit margin and its percentage of women and racial minority employees and managers.

This study examined the top 200 companies in the Fortune 500 companies; these are the largest companies by revenue in the USA. Companies were ranked according to each variable (% of women employees, % of racial minority employees, % of women managers and % of racial minority managers) and then divided into equal quartiles. The mean profit margin for the top quartile was compared with the mean profit margin for the bottom quartile. T-tests were used to determine whether significant differences in profit margin exist between companies. This methodology of comparing top and bottom quartiles was developed in prior studies.

Fortune 200 companies have an average of 40% women and also 40% racial minorities in their workforce. Both women and racial minorities account for a smaller percentage of managers. Women account for 34% of managers, while racial minorities account for 29%. There is a significant positive relationship between profit margin and two of the variables. Companies with 45% or more women managers have a significantly higher profit margin than companies with the lowest percentages of women managers. Companies with 48% or more racial minority employees have a significantly higher profit margin than companies with the lowest percentages of racial minority employees. These findings are in-line with the existing body of research that has found mixed impacts of diversity on firm performance (cf. Hoobler et al., 2018; Leung et al., 2022) and draws attention to the need to consider the impact of gender and racial diversity on firms at various management levels within the firm to better understand the impact that increasing diversity has on firm performance (cf. Curado et al., 2022).

This paper adds to the body of knowledge by assessing the current status of women and racial minorities in top US companies and, then, analyzing if a correlation exists between a company’s profit margin and the number of women and racial minority employees and managers. Findings provide companies with further incentive to maintain DEI as a prioritized goal.

Even more than 50 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination toward a number of groups in employment settings in the United States, workplace discrimination remains a persistent problem in organizations. This chapter provides a comprehensive review and analysis of contemporary theory and evidence on the nature, causes, and consequences of discrimination before synthesizing potential methods for its reduction. We note the strengths and weaknesses of this scholarship and highlight meaningful future directions. In so doing, we hope to both inform and inspire organizational and scholarly efforts to understand and eliminate workplace discrimination.

School transitions have long been associated with drops in academic motivation. Literature is reviewed on both the transition from elementary school to middle school and the transition from middle school to high school, showing how changes in school context, combined with developmental changes in the child, may lead to either positive or negative changes in academic motivation. We summarize literature on school transitions for American youth in general as well as the limited literature on these transitions and their motivational consequences among African American youth. Contextual changes that occur with school transitions (e.g., race composition of schools and classrooms) co-occur with youths’ growing awareness of race, influencing the identity development and academic motivation of African American youth through several mechanisms. Three such mechanisms are discussed in detail. Race and gender academic stereotypes have the potential to shape youths’ self-perceptions, values, and goals. Racial discrimination occurs both at an institutional level (e.g., differences in school quality that place African American youth at a disadvantage) and at a personal level (e.g., a teacher’s failure to recommend a high-achieving Black child for an honors class). Racial identity can serve both as a protective factor and as a risk factor. Suggestions for future research include a closer study of specific aspects of school contexts that shape motivation, the role of families, ways in which school policies and pedagogical practices affect transition experiences, and the examination of ways in which school transitions are opportunities for fresh starts and positive change in African American youth.

Aims to illustrate how Japan possesses cultural characteristics to support mentoring as a relationship, as opposed to the West, whose favoured approach is to view mentoring as a strategy.

A comparative analysis of the mentoring literature from two world views; the Japanese mentoring context (primarily the senpai‐kohai relationship) is compared and contrasted with the Western mentoring context.

The US and European context for mentoring increasingly consists of formalised schemes, targeted at specific groups (such as the talented or socially disadvantaged), and forms a co‐ordinated activity of human resource departments. As Western organisations have changed, mentoring has become defined in strategic terms, and aligned with a variety of popular management theories. In contrast, Japanese views of mentoring are characterised by informality, organic growth of relationships at all organisational levels, and are based on emotional bonds between seniors and juniors.

A very useful source to explain why Western organisations find it difficult to establish mentoring relationships based on emotional bonds. The Japanese show that there is an alternative; one requiring many Western organisations to adapt their organisational cultures and re‐conceptualise their views of mentoring.

This paper brings together the few contributions by authors of the Japanese senpai‐kohai relationship (a form of mentoring exclusive to Japan). It compares a rarely examined context in the mentoring debate (i.e. Eastern views of mentoring) with the larger body of work examining mentoring in the West. Originality resides in the results of the comparative analysis, revealing one context which views mentoring as a relationship, and another which views mentoring as a strategy.

Access to higher education for Black men has increased since the 1980s, yet they are not enrolling or graduating from institutions of higher education (IHE) at a rate comparable to that of their female counterparts. Black males represent a mere 36 percent of the Black college student population in all IHEs and only 32 percent in historically Black colleges and universities. Research shows that the problems on many college campuses can be linked to the status and perceptions of Black men in society as a whole, lack of financial assistance, inadequate learning and supportive environments, and insufficient culturally appealing venues for student engagement. This chapter will delineate the salient factors that affect the success of Black men in higher education and will offer strategies that IHEs can use to increase the success of their Black male students.

This introductory chapter frames the discussion of Black female teachers, and centers their experiences as the sole site for discussion and analysis. In addition, this chapter provides an overview of the three sections of the book and the corresponding chapters. Within the pages of this volume, contributing authors discuss the historical and contemporary landscapes of Black female teachers, examine the underrepresentation of Black women in the US teacher workforce, as well as discuss innovative strategies to increase the recruitment and retention of Black female teachers in PK-12 classrooms. Ultimately, this chapter provides insight into the salience of Black female teachers in the diversification of the US teacher workforce. Moreover, highlighting implications and recommendations for a variety of educational stakeholders.