Date of Award
6-19-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Ibrahim Duyar
Committee Members
Josetta Thomae; Richard Casey
Abstract
Retaining special education teachers of color within public schools remains an ongoing challenge. Although research on teacher retention has expanded in recent years, less attention has focused on how relational and organizational conditions shape the lived experiences of these teachers. Guided by the Four-Capital Theoretical Model of Teacher Retention, this qualitative phenomenological study explored how social and structural capital shaped the retention experiences of special education teachers of color. Participants included 15 special education teachers of color currently serving in K–12 roles in U.S. public schools with at least two years of special education teaching experience. Data were collected through semi-structured Zoom interviews and analyzed using a five-phase analytic process integrated with phenomenological principles. MAXQDA supported transcript organization, coding, and memoing, and trustworthiness was addressed using established qualitative criteria. Findings were organized by the study’s two research questions and included five overarching themes, comprising 13 related subthemes. Themes addressing Research Question 1, related to social capital, included (1) professional relationships shaped participants’ sense of trust and belonging; and (2) leadership recognition shaped participants’ perceptions of professional value. Themes addressing Research Question 2, related to structural capital, included (3) participants assumed additional roles and responsibilities in response to organizational conditions; (4) organizational systems were experienced as difficult to align with the demands of special education practice; and (5) participants described agency in navigating relational and organizational contexts. Participants did not describe retention as the result of consistently supportive conditions but rather as an ongoing process shaped by uneven forms of social and structural capital within their professional contexts. These findings illustrate how relational trust, leadership recognition, organizational role demands, and teacher agency interact to shape the professional sustainability of special education teachers of color.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Fargo, Barry L., "Through Their Eyes: Understanding And Enhancing Retention Among Special Education Teachers of Color" (2026). Student Theses and Dissertations. 1176.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/1176
