Teachers of Color and Precarious Work: The Inequality of Job Security

Abstract

The teacher workforce has undergone macrostructural economic and political changes tied to privatization, deunionization, and deregulation. These forms of neoliberal restructuring have resulted in employment precarity or job insecurity for teachers, but have acutely impacted teachers of color. Drawing on the literature from economic sociology and the sociology of work, this conceptual paper outlines three defining features of precarity in teaching: (1) precarity as a process of neoliberalism; (2) precarity as a socioeconomic condition; and (3) precarity as an ontological experience. By applying these aspects of precarity, this article casts light on the historical and contemporaneous work experiences of teachers of color that render them at risk for job insecurity and social and economic vulnerability.