Addressing the inequalities in the teacher workforce is a big passion of mine!
I think it is important that we look at the causes for inequality in hiring practices, training, and retention. Students who do not have access to diverse educators at left at a disadvantage and miss out on experiencing new cultures in the classroom. Some students are even left without role models in school who look like them.
This is a link to the 2018 report on Diversifying the Teaching Profession by the Learning Policy Institute.
This report discusses the state policies that are effective at recruiting and retaining teachers of color. It also talks about the barriers that exist for teachers of color, and the many successful approaches for overcoming those barriers.
This is a link to the National Council on Teacher Quality
https://www.nctq.org/policy-area/Teacher-Diversity
This council gives a startling statistic, “Fewer than half of all public school students in the nation are white, yet four out of five teachers are white.” It is imperative that we begin to address the leaky pipeline in teacher retention. This report mainly discusses factors that increase the problem.
This is a link to an article by The Brookings Institution
This article talks about the effects of the teaching force not reflecting the demographics of the student population. It suggests that outcomes like test scores, attendance, and suspension rates are all affected by demographic differences between teachers and students.
www.brookings.edu/research/the-importance-of-a-diverse-teaching-force/