An Examination of the Lived Experiences of Black Women Instructional Coaches (k-12)

The underrepresentation of Black women notably impacts the landscape of educational leadership as a result of a predominantly White workforce within the teaching profession (N. N. Johnson & Fournillier, 2021). This inequity not only highlights systemic inefficiencies as evidenced by worsening educational experiences for African American students following Brown v. BOE but also underscores the silence within studies exploring the experiences of Black women faculty in instructional leadership roles (Brown, 2005; Foster, 2005; N. N. Johnson, 2024; N. N. Johnson & Fournillier, 2021). The role of instructional coaches in shaping teacher practice positions them as integral to instructional leadership; it is critical to illuminate and understand Black women’s barriers in this field. Hermeneutic phenomenology as a methodology in this study serves two primary purposes. First, provide intentional space for exploring the lived experiences of Black women’s instructional coaches (BWICs) and utilize Black Feminist Thought (BFT) to interpret their experiences. Second, hermeneutic phenomenology offers a framework for delving into the challenges these instructional coaches encounter and how they navigate them. As a result, the findings reveal that BWICs challenge negative stereotypes and serve as instructional leaders and advocates while confronting deficit mindsets among their colleagues. BWICs implement strategies to establish themselves as intellectual contributors in their roles while navigating resistance. This study contributes to the literature by centering the voices of Black women instructional coaches, identifying the challenges they encountered, and proposing recommendations to improve representation and visibility within instructional leadership.