"I'm Him": The Impact of Call Me MiSTER on Black Male Educators
Location
Boston 2&3
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
Currently, Black males comprise less than 2% of teachers nationally and 4% of teachers in Georgia. Call Me MiSTER® is a national scholarship network established to address this shortage. Georgia Southern University applied for and was licensed to operate a Call Me MiSTER® chapter in fall 2021. It has provided scholarships and learning experiences for 15 students and produced 5 graduates who currently teach in Georgia public schools. This qualitative study aims to capture how Georgia Southern’s Call Me MiSTER® program influences the experiences and outcomes of Black male students in its teacher education program. Using interview and focus group data this study seeks to address the following questions: (1) How does participation in Call Me MiSTER® influence the academic and personal experiences of Black male teacher education program participants? (2) What co-curricular experiences do Call Me MiSTER® program participants consider most impactful? Data will be obtained from five current scholarship recipients who have actively participated in the program for at least one full academic year. This research project will fill a gap in the literature by providing insights on how targeted educational initiatives can best support the academic, personal, and professional development of Black male teacher education students.
Keywords
Black male educators, Call Me MiSTER, Teacher Education Programs
Professional Bio
Calvin Walton, PhD is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading at Georgia Southern University. His primary research concerns are arts education and African American male academic identity development, African American male engagement in teacher preparation programs, and culturally relevant and responsive teaching and learning. His published works include articles in The Journal for Learning Through the Arts, The International Journal of Education and the Arts, and English Leadership Quarterly, and book chapters in Advances in Psychology Research and African American Male Students in Pre K-12 Schools: Informing Research, Policy and Practice.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Walton, Calvin W., ""I'm Him": The Impact of Call Me MiSTER on Black Male Educators" (2026). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 43.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2026/2026/43
"I'm Him": The Impact of Call Me MiSTER on Black Male Educators
Boston 2&3
Currently, Black males comprise less than 2% of teachers nationally and 4% of teachers in Georgia. Call Me MiSTER® is a national scholarship network established to address this shortage. Georgia Southern University applied for and was licensed to operate a Call Me MiSTER® chapter in fall 2021. It has provided scholarships and learning experiences for 15 students and produced 5 graduates who currently teach in Georgia public schools. This qualitative study aims to capture how Georgia Southern’s Call Me MiSTER® program influences the experiences and outcomes of Black male students in its teacher education program. Using interview and focus group data this study seeks to address the following questions: (1) How does participation in Call Me MiSTER® influence the academic and personal experiences of Black male teacher education program participants? (2) What co-curricular experiences do Call Me MiSTER® program participants consider most impactful? Data will be obtained from five current scholarship recipients who have actively participated in the program for at least one full academic year. This research project will fill a gap in the literature by providing insights on how targeted educational initiatives can best support the academic, personal, and professional development of Black male teacher education students.
