The Influence of Intuition on Human Resource Officers’ Perspectives on Hiring Teachers of Color

Abstract

There has been growing scholarly discourse on the topic of diversifying the teacher workforce. However, the perspectives of human resource officers (HROs), who are often involved in the hiring of teachers, are excluded. As a result, this qualitative study explores 12 school district HROs’ perspectives on diversifying the teacher workforce and how intuition specifically influences their hiring decisions of teachers of color. Findings suggest HROs use intuition in determining a candidate’s fit for the organization, but they have conflicting perspectives on whether intuition should be used in hiring decisions. The participants admit teacher diversity is not always their primary goal in hiring decisions while also acknowledging the importance of a diversified teacher workforce. These findings first point to the importance of including HROs in the scholarly discourse on diversifying the teaching profession as in many ways they operate as gatekeepers for teacher candidates. Moreover, given that participants earned their advanced degrees in educational leadership, findings from this study signal the importance of educational leadership programs being intentional in providing coursework on equitable hiring practices, so hiring decisions are not based only on intuitive hunches, but rather on data.