Purpose Much of the extant research literature on the initiatives to attract, inspire and recruit Black males to the teaching profession has focused on middle and high school students. Black boys’ socialization into dominant narratives regarding who can and cannot become teachers occurs as early as in early childhood classrooms; however, little attention has been given to ways to attract, inspire and recruit them to the professional teaching ranks where a paltry 2 per cent are Black men. Design/methodology/approach This paper explores the concept of imaginative play experiences with respect to Black boys and unearths possibilities for future Black male teachers through culturally relevant play. Findings Based on findings from the literature, this conceptual paper makes connections between the early childhood play literature and the Black male teacher recruitment and retention literature to create possibilities to inspire Black boys to enter the teaching profession. Originality/value This paper presents a nuanced integration of imaginative play and culturally relevant pedagogy with specific attention to Black males.

中文翻译：

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“玩耍的学校”：通过与文化相关的游戏来创造机会激发未来的黑人男教师

目的大量有关吸引，启发和招募黑人男性进入教学行业的倡议的现有研究文献都集中在中学生和高中生。黑人男孩早在幼儿教室就被社会化为关于谁可以成为教师和不能成为教师的主要叙述。然而，很少有人关注吸引，启发和招募他们进入专业教职队伍的方法，在这些职业中，只有2％的黑人是黑人。设计/方法/方法本文探讨了关于黑人男孩的富有想象力的游戏体验的概念，并通过与文化相关的游戏为未来的黑人男性教师发掘了可能性。调查结果根据文献调查结果，这份概念文件将幼儿戏剧文学与黑人男教师招募和留用文学联系起来，为激发黑人男孩进入教学职业创造了可能性。独创性/价值本文介绍了富有想象力的游戏和与文化相关的教学法的细微融合，特别关注了黑人男性。