“brother where art thou?” african american male instructors' perceptions of the counselor...

142 JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • July 2010 • Vol. 38

© 2010 American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.

“Brother Where Art Thou?” African American Male Instructors’

Perceptions of the Counselor Education ProfessionMichaelBrooksandSamSteen

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of African American male counselor educators regarding the limited number of African American male faculty members in counselor education. Implications and suggestions on how universities can recruit and retain African American male faculty members are provided.

El propósito de este estudio fue investigar las percepciones de educadores en consejería afroamericanos con respecto al limitado número de miembros afroamericanos entre el profesorado para la educación de consejeros. Se proporcionan implicaciones y sugerencias sobre cómo las universidades pueden contratar y retener profesores varones afroamericanos.

TheUnited States ismore racially, ethnically, and culturally diversetoday than ithaseverbeen(Sue&Sue,2008).Demographic shiftsinthepopulationwillcontinue,thereforejustifyingthenecessityof

amulticulturalworkforceofeducatorstosupportthehealthyintegrationofvariousethnicandculturalgroupsintoAmericansociety.Unfortunately,thenumberofdiverseindividualswhochooseeducationastheircareerisextremelylow(Orfield&Yun,1999).Inhighereducation,onlyasmallpercentageoffacultymembersatresearchordoctoralextensiveandintensivecollegesanduniversitiesareAfricanAmerican(Antonio,2002).AccordingtoaNationalStudyofPostSecondaryFaculty,asof1999,only5%offull-timeinstructionalfacultymemberswereAfricanAmerican(Sanderson,Dugoni,Hoffer,&Myers,2000).Withincounseloreducation,thenumberofAfricanAmericanfacultymembers,particularlymaleAfricanAmericans,isbelievedtobeconsiderablyless(C.Bradley,personalcommunication,March21,2009).Fornearly30years,scholarshavedebatedthereasonforthelownumberofBlackmalefacultymembersincounseloreducationandhaveofferedseveralexplanations.Themostsupportedreasonforthesparsenumbersisthelowgraduation rates forAfricanAmericans inhigh school and, subsequently,college.Thepipelinefromhighschooltocollegeandonwardtograduateschoolhassufferedbecauseofweakrelationshipswithmentorsanddeficitsinrecruitmentandretention(Johnson,Bradley,Knight,&Bradshaw,2007).

Michael Brooks, Department of Human Studies, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Sam Steen, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Michael Brooks, Department of Human Studies, School of Education, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 901 13th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294 (e-mail: [email protected]).

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The slowmovement of students into doctoral programs accounts for thelimitedpoolofAfricanAmericanapplicantsascounseloreducators.OtherexplanationsforthedearthofAfricanAmericanmalecounseloreducators(AAMCEs)arerelatedtoretention,suchasstress,barriers,limitedfinancialandmentoringsupport,challengeswhenstrivingforpromotionandtenure,andunwelcomingwork environments (Bradley&Holcomb-McCoy, 2004;Holcomb-McCoy&Bradley, 2003).Although these factorsmaypose chal-lengesforfacultymembersofanyracialbackground,theireffectonAAMCEsismorecompellingbecausesofewAAMCEsexist.Todate,thenumberofAAMCEsisdifficulttodetermine.Forexample,oneresearcher(K.Dempsey,personalcommunication,May22,2009)currentlysurveyingAAMCEs and their copingmechanismshas gathered responsesfrom55participantsbycontactingtheCouncil forAccreditationofCoun-seling andRelatedEducationalPrograms (CACREP) liaisons, departmentchairs,anddeansviae-mailandtelephone.Thisprocessproducedasampleoffull-timetenuredandtenure-accruingfacultymembers,doctoralstudents(withallbutdissertation[ABD]status)teachingattheuniversitylevel,andfull-timenon-tenure-trackindividuals.Whetherapproximateorexact,thesenumbersarediscouraging.MostoftheresearchersaddressingAfricanAmericansintheacademyandAAMCEs have focused on either their career-related experiences in theprofession (Bradley&Holcomb-McCoy, 2004;Williams&Williams, 2006)ortheirlimitedrepresentationamongseniorandtenuredmaleandfemalefacultymembers(Flowers&Jones,2003).AfewresearchershavehighlightedthephenomenonofAfricanAmericansfeelingisolatedintheirdepartments(Laden&Hagedorn,2000;Turner,Myers,&Creswell,1999)ormarginalizedwhenpursuing researchagendas that focusonracial, ethnic, andculturalissues(Alger,1998).Researchwithin thebodyof career-related literature indicates thatAfricanAmericanmenarehired less frequently thanareWhitemenforpositions inhighereducation(Jackson,2008).Furthermore, researchershave found thathumancapital (e.g., educationaldegrees, yearsof currentemployment)andmerit-basedperformancemeasuresreadilypredictemploymentforWhitefacultymembers,butarelesslikelytomeasuresuccessfulperformanceand,byextension,theemployabilityofAfricanAmericanfacultymembers(Jackson,2008).Evidenceof discrepancies in income and employment opportunities formaleAfricanAmericans in comparisonwith theirWhite peers also exists(Jackson,2008).ThegreaterdegreeofdiscriminationmaleAfricanAmeri-cansarelikelytofaceinhighereducationworkplacesisanissuethatdeservesattention.Given these factors, aswell as the limitednumberofAAMCEs,webelievethatbeginningadialoguewithmembersofthisgroupwouldbedesirable.Exploratoryresearchofthisnatureisareasonablebeginningforareasinwhichlimitedhypothesesexistorlittlehasbeendiscovered(Patton,


2002).Therefore,thepurposeofourstudywastodeterminetheperceptionsofcurrentAAMCEs.WewereinterestedinAAMCEsvoicingtheirthoughts,feelings,andideasregardingthelimitednumberofBlackmenincounseloreducationfacultypositions.Wewerealsointerestedinthereasonsgivenbyparticipants forenteringand remaining in theprofession, aswell as theirsuggestions for recruitingandretaining futureBlackcounseloreducators.Finally,weanticipatedthatparticipantswouldprovideevidenceofthecurrentstateofdiversificationwithintheacademy.

methodWeusedtheindividual interviewas theprimarymethodforourstudy.Weusedasemistructuredinterviewapproachtodiscoverarangeof issues;weanticipatethatsomeoftheissueswehavediscoveredcouldbeexploredinfutureresearch(Morgan,1998).

PARTICIPANTS

Fromapool of 32 potential participantswho confirmed their interest inparticipating,12AAMCEs(four tenuredandeightuntenured)completedtheirtelephoneinterviews.Theremaining20didnotrespondtoattemptstocontactthemforparticipation;subsequently,theydidnotprovideinformationregardingwhytheywerenolongerinterestedinparticipating.

INSTRUMENT

Wecreatedaquestionnairebasedontheliteratureregardingtheshortageofpersonsofcolorincounseloreducation(Johnsonetal.,2007).Inmostcases,previousresearchershavedescribedanumberofbarriersencounteredbyindividualswhenpursuingandobtainingtenure.Forourstudy,whichwasmoreexploratoryinnature,wewereinterestedindiscoveringhowAAMCEsperceivedtheirgeneralexperiencesaboutthelimitednumberofAAMCEs.Thequestionnaireconsistedof12items:

• Howdidyoubecomeinvolvedincounseloreducation?• Isyourdoctoraldegreeincounseloreducation?• Isyourfacultyappointmentincounseloreducation?• Whatisyouracademicrank?• Howlonghaveyoubeenatyourrespectiveuniversity?• Areyoutenured?Ifso,pleaseexplainhowyougainedtenure.• Ifyouhaveeverconsideredleavingacademia,pleasestatethe reasonswhyyouwouldleave.

• Whatarethereasonsyouremainedinacademia?• Whataresomeofthestrategiesbeingusedtoretainyou?


• Describeyourdepartment’sorprogram’sstrategyforrecruiting ethnicminorityfacultymembers.

• DoyouthinkthereisashortageofAfricanAmericanmenin counseloreducation?Ifso,howdoyoufeelaboutthisshortage?Whataresomeofthereasonsyoufeelthisway?

• Inyouropinion,howwouldashortageofAfricanAmericanmeninthecounselingprofessionaffectcounseloreducationorsocietyingeneral?

PROCEDURE

WedevelopedalistofAAMCEswhoweretenuredortenure-accruingfacultymembersinCACREP-accreditedcounseloreducationprogramsthroughouttheUnitedStates.Oureffortsresultedinalistof26potentialparticipants.Potentialparticipantswerecontactedviae-mailortelephonetodeterminetheirinterestinparticipating.Weexplainedthepurposeandintentofourstudyandverifiedtheindividual’sgenderandracialstatus(e.g.,maleAfricanAmerican)beforerequestingpermissiontoproceedwiththeinterview.Potentialparticipantsweresentinformedconsentdocuments.Usingsnowballprocedures,weaskedtheseparticipantswhethertheyknewofotherAAMCEs.WeconsequentlyidentifiedfourAAMCEs to add toourpotentialparticipant list. Finally,we contactedalloftheCACREP-accreditedprogramsviae-mailortelephonetodeterminewhetheranyfull-timetenuredortenure-accruingmaleAfricanAmericanswereintheirdepartmentsorprograms.WeconsequentlyidentifiedtwoAAMCEstoaddtoourpotentialparticipantlist.Wesentane-mailtoeachofthe32poten-tialparticipantsinquiringwhethertheywouldbeinterestedinparticipatingintelephoneinterviews.Approximatelyoneweeklater,weattemptedfollow-upcontactviae-mailortelephone.Approximatelythreemonthsafterwesenttheinitiale-mails,weattemptedfinalcontactviae-mailortelephone.

DATA ANALYSIS

Weusedstrategiestoensurethattheverificationprocessforourstudyoccurredatallstages,beginningwiththeexplorationofourperspectives(Seidman,1998).Forexample,wewerecognizantthatourrolesasAAMCEscouldpo-tentiallyinfluenceourinterpretationsoftheresults.Tominimizetheeffectofthisbias,weusedcodinganddataanalysisprocedures.Afterconductingtheinterviews,weeditedthetranscripts.Wesentpartici-pantscopiesoftheirrespectivetranscriptsforverificationandtoensurethattheirparticularperspectiveswerebeingaccuratelyrepresented(Huberman&Miles,1994).Aftercompletingtheparticipantchecks,weindependentlyreadandcommentedonthetranscriptsanddraftedpreliminarycodesforreoccurringthemes.Finally,wemettodiscussourimpressionsofandreachconsensusonemergentthemes.


resultsTheAAMCEsraisedanumberofissuesconcerningtheirperceptions,thoughts,andfeelingsregardingtheirrespectivesituations.Wediscoveredthreethemesintheirresponses:academiclifeisflexible,yetunfulfilling;opportunitiestodomeaningfulwork;andconcernsforrecruitmentandretentionofAAMCEs.EmbeddedwithinthesethemeswerecorrespondingtopicsonattractingandmaintainingAAMCEs.

ACADEMIC LIFE IS FLEXIBLE, YET UNFULFILLING

Allparticipantsstatedthattheyremainedinacademiabecauseofthework–lifebalance.Participantsexpressed that theflexibleacademic lifestyleallowedthemtobeincreasinglypassionateanddedicatedtostudentsandtheprofes-sion.Oneparticipantremarkedthattheacademiclifewasagoodlife,fulloffreedomtobecreativeandrichwithresources:“Iliketheflexiblelifestyle;theacademiclifeisagoodlife.Ienjoythefreedomoftimethatcomesalongwithbeinginhighereducation.”Regardingwhethertheyhadeverconsideredleavingacademia,participantsgavevariousresponses.Eightstatedthatsalarywouldbetheprimaryreason.Otherreasonsweretoworkinbusinessorprivatecorporatejobs.Participantsalsoviewedacademiclifeasbeingunfulfilling.Oneparticipantstatedthatabarrierassociatedwiththeunfulfillingnatureofacademiawasthe“disconnectbetweentheacademyandthecommunity.”Participantsdidnotfeelthattheircontemporariessharedtheirpassionforconnectingwithspecificcommunitiesandcommunityinitiatives.ExamplesofthelackoffulfillmentexperiencedbyAAMCEswerelowpayincomparisonwithcompensationinbusinessandscholarlyandcollegialisolation.Oneparticipantexpresseddis-satisfactionwithhisinstitutionfornotofferingasalaryreflectiveofhiswork,performance,oracademictrainingandexperience.Anotherparticipantwasattemptingtoaugmenthisperceivedlowpaywithalternativemeansofearn-ingincome:“Thereisalock-downonyourtime.Youcanonlydosomuchinyourposition.Youhavetoinformtheuniversityofanyoutsideactivitiesandtheuniversitymonitorstheseactivitiesclosely.”AnotherparticipantfeltthateducationalinstitutionsdonotrespectAfricanAmericanmalefacultymembersingeneral.Heexpresseddissatisfactionwiththepayas “amajor let-downgiven theamountofprestigeassociatedwithobtaining[adoctoraldegree].”Moreover,thisparticipantfeltfurtherinsultwhenhewastoldthat“anyadditionalopportunitiestobecompensatedthatprofessorscreateorareofferedwouldbemonitoredbytheirrespectiveschooloruniversity.”Concerningworkquality,oneparticipantcomparedcounseloreducationwiththecorporateworldregardingissuesofqualityversusquantity:“Inthecorporate setting, yougetpaid for thequalityof yourwork.”Thispartici-


pantthenreferredtothenumberofpublicationsbeing“lookeduponmorefavorably than thereputationof the journal[inwhich thepublicationap-peared].”Similarly,anotherparticipantstatedthat“regardlessofthenumberofpublicationsorthequalityofthejournal,themeritpaysystemwouldstillyieldthesamelevelofpayincrease.”Thisparticipantfoundthisrealitytobeunmotivating:“Youdon’tgetpaidbasedonyourlevelofwork.Ibelieveifyougoaboveandbeyond,youshouldgetremuneratedforyourwork.”

OPPORTUNITIES TO DO MEANINGFUL WORK

Despitesomeimpressionsthatacademiacanbeunfulfilling,someparticipantsviewedtheacademicworksettingasaplaceofgreatpotential.Forexample,aparticipantreportedthat“therearemanychancestoperformdutiesthataremeaningfultotheindividualfacultymemberandthecommunityatlarge.”Anumberofparticipants indicated thatcounseloreducationput themin thepositiontoamplifytheconcernsofunderservedgroups.Inrealizationoftheseopportunities,someparticipantsfeltastrongersenseofassertivenessconcerningresearchandscholarshiponissuesrelatedtopeopleofcolor.Accordingtooneparticipant,“AcademiagivesyouaccesstobringlighttosomeofthechallengestheAfricanAmericancommunityfaces.Therefore,[counseloreducation]pro-videsaplatformtoaddresssomeoftheseissues.”Anotherparticipantexpressedacommitmenttomentorthenextgenerationofcounselors:

Theabilitytoprepareotherstobeeffectivewithinthecounselingprofessionasaper-sonofcolorcompelsmetogiveback.AndthoughI’veworkedreallyhardtogethere,othershavehelpedmetogettowhereIamtoday.Therefore,Iamcompelledtogiveback.Icannotleavebecauseofthebureaucracy;therewouldbe[only]oneofusleft.IfIstay,Istandthechancetoimpactthesystemforthegoodofothers,particularlythoseinourcommunity.

CONCERNS FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF AAMCEs

When asked about their respective departments’ or programs’ strategiesforrecruitingethnicminority facultymembers,participantsvoicedsimilarresponses.Allparticipantsstatedthattheydidnotknowofspecificstrategiesused by their departments. Someparticipants stated that their respectiveinstitutionsusedstrategiestorecruitthem,althoughnoofficialpoliciesorpracticeswere inplace.Furthermore,allparticipantswereunawareofanyofficialretentionstrategiesorpolicies.Afewparticipantsacknowledgedthelackofeffortoftheprofession,andmoredirectly their institutions, to secure and retainotherAAMCEs.Oneparticipant cited that theacademyhasnot “typicallypursued[increasing]diversityinhighereducation.”Anotherparticipantstatedthat“Blackmales[are]notbeingrecruitedintomaster’sand[doctoral]programs.”Whenexpressing their feelings regarding the shortageofAAMCEs, someparticipantsgaveresponsesthatweregenerallylessthanpositive(e.g.,“unfortu-


nate,”“scary,”“alarming,”and“notgood”).Nineparticipantsstatedthatlackofrecruitmentwasthemainreasonfortheshortage.ParticipantsidentifiedotherreasonsfortheshortageofAAMCEs:counselingisnotasattractiveasotherprofessionsaretoAfricanAmericanmen,graduatedegreesineduca-tiondonot offer thepotential for greater compensation, and counselingrequires2to3yearsofstudybeyondamaster’sdegreetobegintoreceiveanactualbenefit.Oneparticipantstatedthat“AfricanAmericanmalesdonotseethemonetarybenefitofobtainingaterminaldegree,andfurthermore,therearefewAfricanAmericanrolemodelstoassistinthegraduateschoolprocesses.”Anotherparticipantprovidedarationaleforthelimitednumberof male African American students pursuing doctoral degrees:

Youcannotpursue something that youarenot in. If youhaveclose to400 studentsinacounselingprogram,[only]twoofthemaregoingtobeBlackmales.Iftheyarenothere,thentheycannotgoforadoctorate.Thisfieldisalsostillverydominatedbywomen;itisnotseenasamasculinefield.

ParticipantsprovidedgenerallynegativeresponsesregardinghowashortageofAfricanAmericanmeninthecounselingprofessionwouldaffectcounseloreducationorsociety.Overall,participantsfeltthatashortagewouldresultinalimitedviewoftheAfricanAmericancommunityandthepotentialcontribu-tionsofBlackstotheprofession.Morespecifically,participantsexplainedthatashortagebecomeslikea“tax”onthoseAfricanAmericanfacultymemberswhoareemployed inhighereducation.A fewparticipantsreportedbeingonseveralcommittees,havingtoteachmulticulturalcounselingcourses,andbeing frustrated thatothersmaynotbeawareof theneedsof theAfricanAmericancommunity.Accordingtooneparticipant,“Therearenotenoughofustogoaround.”

discussionWeaimed tocall attention to the lownumberofAAMCEs.Anumberofresearchers have investigated the shortage of facultymembers of color(Bradley &Holcomb-McCoy, 2004; Holcomb-McCoy & Bradley, 2003;Jackson,2006,2008),butnonehavepublishedfindingsregardingthelowAAMCErepresentation.Accordingtoourfindings,AAMCEsarerelativelycontentwiththeprofes-soriate.WefoundthatacademiaseemstoprovideaplatformforAAMCEstoinvestigateandaddressissuesthatmaybemeaningfultothemandtheircommunities.AAMCEswereconcernedwiththeperceivedlimitedeffortsinrecruitingandretainingAAMCEs.Theseconcernswerebroad,complicated,andincludedthediscrepancybetweenthenumberofqualifiedAfricanAmericanmaledoctoralstudentsandAAMCEs,coupledwiththeopportunitiesavailablewithintheprofession.Recruitmentandretentioneffortsarehamperedbythe


limitednumberofpotentialAfricanAmericanmalescholarsinthechanneltoacademia.Forinstance,thenumberofmaleAfricanAmericansisdecreas-ingateveryacademiclevel(Jackson&Moore,2008).Infact,Kunjufu(2005)statedthat98ofevery100eighthgraderswhoarepotentialAfricanAmericancollegeattendeesdonotmatriculateforanynumberofreasons,notingthatinvolvementinviolentactsorincarcerationweretwomajorreasons.Recruit-mentandretentionofAAMCEsmayalsobeaffectedbyperceptionsoflowpayandtheongoingtimecommitmentneededtoexcelincounseling,ThatAAMCEsrecommendedmoreconcertedeffortsbytheirrespectiveuniversi-tiestoincreasethenumberofAAMCEsisnotsurprising.TheseconcernsareconsistentwithfindingsofearlierstudiesexploringrecruitmentandretentionamongpeopleofcolorandbarrierstoobtainingtenureandpromotionforAAMCEs(Holcomb-McCoy&Bradley,2003).Givenourfindings,wesuggestadministratorsfocusonrecruitingandretainingAAMCEs.

RECRUITMENT

Make the recruitment of male counselor educators of color a top priority.Mostsearchcommitteeshaveclausesencouragingminoritiestoapply;however,thesestate-mentscansometimesbenomorethanwordsonasheetofpaper.Wesuggestthecreationandimplementationofpoliciestosupportsuchstatements.Toindicatethattheyareseriousaboutincreasingdiversitywithintheirdepart-ments,collegesandschoolsneedendorsementsfromhigheradministratorscoupledwithsupportingpolicy.

Take a more assertive approach to recruiting. Graduate students of color in coun-seloreducationareasscarceascounseloreducatorsofcolor.Simplelogicisthatmoregraduatestudentsofcolorwillyieldmorecounseloreducatorsofcolor.Wesuggestthatschoolsandcollegesacknowledgethelackofdiversityincounseloreducationandusethisshortagetojustifyemergencyhires,asopposedtogoingthroughalongandoftenslowsearchcommitteeprocess,toquicklyobtainAAMCEsasfacultymembersandgraduatestudents.ThisrationalecouldbeuseduntilacriticalandrepresentativemassofAAMCEsdevelopsinhighereducation.

Make sure you have the appropriate tools for swift hiring. Candidates of color are typicallyindemandforallschoolsandcolleges,andthelownumberofavailablecandidatesofcolormakessecuringacandidateofcolorquitecompetitive.Atrecruitmentfairs,representativesaresometimesunabletomakeimmediatedecisionsormustrelaymessagestoadministratorswhomaybeunavailable.Whendecisionmakers(e.g.,schoolandcollegedeans,provosts)arepresentatsuchfairs,theyareabletoacceptcandidatesonthespot,therebyembody-ingtheircommitmenttodiversity.Ininstancessuchasthis,aquickresponsesendsastrongmessagetoAfricanAmericancandidates.Inaddition,awordfromadecisionmakercanacceleratetheapplicationprocessforcandidatesofcolor,ensuringthatsuchcandidatesarenotlostintheshuffleortoan-


otheruniversity.Althoughapproval fromfacultymembergovernancemaybenecessary fornewlyhired facultymembers, deans andotheruniversityadministrators should consider suspending such formalities to adequatelyaddresstheshortageconcern.IncreasingthenumberofAAMCEsaswellasAfricanAmericanmalefacultymembersisgoingtorequirenontraditional,yetcollective,university-wideactions.

RETENTION

Recruitmentandretentionconcernsareequally important.Given the lownumberofethnicandracialminoritiesinhighereducation,administratorsneedtoensurethatcandidatesremainattheiruniversitiesandaresuccessful(e.g.,receivingtenureandpromotion).Retainingethnicandracialminorityfacultymembersbuildsstabilityintheuniversitysystem(Cambiano,Denny,&DeVore,2000).Effortstoretainethnicandracialminorityfacultymembersshouldbeanextensionofrecruitmenteffortsandshouldincludeaninstitutionalcommit-menttounderstandingmulticulturalismanddiversity.Theuniversitiesmostsuccessfulinretainingethnicandracialminorityfacultymembersarethoseuniversitiesatwhichsuchfacultymembersareabletoestablishasenseofbe-longing(Jones,2000).Havingasenseofbelongingtotheuniversityiscriticaltocreatingastrongersenseofcommunity.Thelackoffeelingconnectedtoorbeingapartoftheacademicstructureisamajorbarriertofacultymembersofcolorbeingsuccessfulinacademia(Jones,2000).Ethnicorracialminoritycandidatesforfacultypositionsmaydecidetoac-ceptoffersbutdiscoverthattheyarenotculturallypreparedforacademiaandthenormalchallengesoftenure,promotion,andpoliticalhurdlesthatcomewithhighereducationemployment.Newfacultymembersmayalsohaveadjustmentissuesorremainuncertainaboutwhattoexpect.Researchershaveshownthatethnicandracialminorityfacultymemberswhoreceivehelpintheformofmentoringfrompeersandseniorfacultymembers,instructionalguidanceonteaching,andcounselingaremorethantwiceaslikelytoremainattheuniversitythanarethosefacultymembersofcolorwithoutthebenefitoftheseservices(Nuby&Doebler,2000).Oneremedyisthecreationofacenterorofficeforethnicandracialminoritydevelopmentandsupportthatcouldimplementadditionalretentionstrategiessuchasworkshops,network-ing andmentoring opportunities, and supplemental financial support forprofessionalactivitiesandresearchopportunities(Shackelford,1996).Facultymembersofcolorshouldbeprovidedopportunitiestoidentifyandmakecontactwithoneanother.NubyandDoebler(2000)statedthatasenseofcamaraderiemustexistamongfacultymembersofcolorforretentioneffortstobesuccessful.Theinstitutionisresponsibleforcreatinganenvironmentinwhichsolidarityofgroupsisfostered.Facultymembersofcolorwhoworkatmajorityuniversities(i.e.,universitiesatwhichalimitednumberofindividu-


alsofcolorareemployed)donotknoweachotheranddonotfrequentlyhaveopportunitiestogetacquaintedwithoneanother(Shackelford,1996). Theuniversityshouldsponsoreventsthatwouldpromotebondingandallowfacultymemberstomeetotherfacultymembersofcolor.

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

Anumberoflimitationsandareasforfutureresearchexistconcerningthispreliminary study.Whereas the lownumberofparticipants isa limitation,webelievethatnothavingmoreparticipantsstressestheimportanceofourstudy.PerhapsamorereasonablesamplesizeisimpossibletoobtainbecausethepoolofAAMCEsissimplynotlargeenoughorbecauseAAMCEsdonotbelieve that talkingabout their statuswould result inpositive changes fortheirracialandgendergroupinhighereducation.Anotherlimitationisthemethodofdatacollection.Weusedtelephonein-terviews.Thismethodwasconvenient,butlackedthedepthofrelationshipsthatpotentiallyformwhenresearchersandparticipantsmeetinperson.Whenconductingin-personinterviews,researchersareaffordedtheopportunitytonotemoresubtleinformation,suchasbodylanguage,thatmayconfirmorraiseskepticismaboutwhatisbeingdiscussed.Liveinterviewingallowsresearcherstoassess,react,andadjustmoreeasilytotheinteractionsoccurring.Theinherentresearcherbiaspresentinthisstudyrepresentsanotherlimita-tion.Weareawareofthenearimpossibilityofobjectivelyviewingtheinforma-tionwegathered.Thisbiasisparticularlystronginourstudybecauseweandtheparticipantsareofthesamegenderandrace.Inotherwords,thedataresonatedwithusbecauseofourstatusaspretenuredAAMCEs.Weacknowl-edgethisbiassothatthereadermayinterprettheresultswithcaution.Futureresearchiscertainlywarrantedandcouldincludemorerobustdatacollectionstrategiestogathermorevaliddata.Forexample,researcherscouldensure that interviewers are less likely tohave obvious biases of personalidentification (e.g., women, tenured facultymembers, doctoral students)wheninterviewingparticipants.Anotherconsiderationforfutureresearchistheuseofquantitativemeth-ods todeterminewhetherrelationshipsexistbetweenspecificareasof jobsatisfaction,qualityoflife,andwell-beingofAAMCEsatvariousranksalongthetenureandpromotioncontinuumandtheperceptionstheyhaveaboutthe current stateof theprofession.Sucha study couldbe informative forthoseresponsibleforrecruiting,mentoring,andretainingfacultymemberswithincounseloreducation,especiallyifresearchersdiscover,forexample,thatcareersatisfactionincreasesasmaleAfricanAmericansprogressthroughtenureandpromotion.Exploringtheperceptionsofmalecounseloreducatorsfromacrossavarietyofracialorethnicbackgroundsmightbeafeasibleareaforfutureresearch.Inparticular,doEuropeanAmericanmalecounseloreducatorsandAAMCEsshare


similarviews?Whereasmostcounseloreducatorswouldcomplainaboutlowmeritpay,researcherscoulddeterminewhetherdifferentthemesemerge.

conclusionIdeally,thecounseloreducationprofessionwouldberaciallyandethnicallyreflectiveof its clientele.Counseloreducationprogramsneed tobemoreintentionalinmakingthisidealbecomeareality.Judgingfromthecurrentstatusquo,programsarefallingshortandmuchworkneedstobedone.Iftheyareseriousaboutpromotingdiversity,administratorsneedtounderstandthatthetimetoincreasethenumberoffacultymembersofcolor,andAAMCEsinparticular,isnow.Administratorsinhighereducation(andcounseloreduca-tioninparticular)mustseekeveryavailablemeanstonotonlyincreasethenumberofAfricanAmericanmenmatriculatingindoctoralprogramsandgaininginterestinacademicpositions,butalsoretainthosewhoarecurrentlyteachingintheacademy.

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“brother where art thou?” african american male instructors' perceptions of the counselor...

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