Boser, Ulrich. 2011. Teacher Diversity Matters: A State-By-State Analysis of Teachers of Color. Progress 2050. Center For American Progress.
A 2011 analysis of the state of diversity in Education. The report posits that at some point in the next 10 to 12 years, the racial and ethnic makeup of public schools will be completely heterogeneous, and students of color will constitute more than half of primary and secondary students. Because of this, especially in states like California and Texas, policymakers are increasingly concerned about the low percentage of teachers of color working in American public schools. This study is a product of the 2008 Schools and Staffing Survey, a nationally representative survey of teachers and principals administered by the National Center for Education Statistics. The report also discusses teachers-of-color job satisfaction, their propensity to work in urban, high poverty schools, and teacher turnover. Teacher diversity is broken up by state and race in the report.
Egalite, Anna and Kisida, Brian. 2016. “The Many Ways Teacher Diversity May Benefit Students.” Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2016/08/19/the-many-ways-teacher-diversity-may-benefit-students/
Continuation of a policy piece and working paper which outlines the three hypotheses regarding the benefits of teachers of color. The first is the role-modeling hypothesis, or the idea that minority students benefit from seeing adults with a similar racial or ethnic background in a position of authority. The second theory relates to teacher expectations, and the idea that if teachers of color hold higher expectations for minority students, they might also be more likely to push students to work harder. The third theory, and the focus of this article, is the relationship between a teachers’ cultural understanding of their students and a deep interpersonal connection. Diverse teachers may subscribe to fewer cultural stereotypes, be better able to differentiate in ways that are relevant to students, and have a working understanding of the struggles minority students face which make it difficult for them to succeed in school.
Grissom, Jason and Keiser, Lael. 2011. “A Supervisor Like Me: Race, Representation, and the Satisfaction and Turnover Decisions of Public Sector Employees.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 30, No. 3, pg. 557-580. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A research article on the relationship between principals of color and teachers of color. The study found that principals of color were more likely to hire teachers of color, and these teachers were found to have better job satisfaction and longevity than their peers. Most troubling, the study also found causal relationships between supervisor race and employee pay. Uses the terminology “street level bureaucrats” to define teaching and professional staff in schools. Also outlines the ways in which having supervisors of color aids in pushing through policies which are beneficial and more considerate of minority staff.
“Tennessee Department of Education Awards Planning Grants to Spur Innovation in Increasing Educator Diversity” https://www.tn.gov/education/news/53031
In early September, Metro Nashville Public Schools announced that they received Phase 1 of a state-wide diversity initiative in the amount of $35,000. In a press release on the Tennessee Department of Education website, Nashville is listed among four other districts as part of the “Diversity Innovation Planning Grant, meant to make the teaching force reflect the changing demographics of the communities they serve. However, diversity of the teaching staff is not the only salient issue affecting schools today. The awarding of this grant brings into question all of the different ways Metro Nashville Public Schools could undertake diversity initiatives, including increasing the number of minorities on administrative staff.
Winters, Marcus, Egalite, Anna and Kisida, Brian. 2015. “Representation in the classroom: The effect of own-race teachers on student achievement.” Economics of Education Review, Vol. 45, pg. 44-52.
Using a dataset from the state of Florida, this working paper is an empirical study of the effects of teacher diversity on student achievement from grades 3 through 10. The dataset follows a cohort of students from academic year 2001-2002 to academic year 2008-2009. The study found small but significant positive effects when black and white students are assigned to race congruent teachers in reading and math. The study also examines the effects of race matching by students’ prior performance levels finding that lower-performing students also benefit from race-congruent teachers. Though this practicum is more focused on diversity of education professional staff from the for-profit and non-profit realm, articles such as this make useful comparison pieces. These studies operate under the same theory that my practicum working pieces do: that diversity matters.
Recently added:
Pitts, D. (2005). Diversity, Representation, and Performance: Evidence about Race and Ethnicity in Public Organizations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory: J-PART,15(4), 615-631. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3525684