Diversifying the Teacher Workforce: A Retrospective and Prospective Analysis

Abstract

The topic of accountability has generated considerable attention in public discussions of education during the past ten years. Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, however, the focus on accountability has become even more intense. No Child Left Behind requires that all students, not just some, make adequate progress toward meeting challenging academic standards, as determined by scores on standardized tests. This expectation, a significant departure from past practice, has profound implications for those concerned with teacher workforce issues.As part of its mandate, No Child Left Behind calls for a "highly qualified" teacher in every classroom in the nation. Meeting this requirement is particularly challenging in the context of the shifting demographics of the student population. During the past 30 years, schools in the United States have become increasingly diverse. In 1972, students from racial/ethnic minority groups accounted for only 22% of total K-12 enrollments. By 2001, such students represented nearly 40% of all those served in elementary and secondary schools. A peek at the future shows that students from all minority groups combined will constitute the majority of the K-12 student population by 2035 (NCES, 2002e; U.S. Department of Commerce, 1996). Historically, schools have not succeeded in educating students of color 1 on a par with their White peers, as evidenced by numerous outcome measures, including scores on achievement tests (Lee, 2002) and high school completion rates (NCES, 2002a). Although this achievement gap is not new, the growing presence of racial and ethnic minorities in

How Different Are They? Comparing Teacher Preparation Offered by Traditional, Alternative, and Residency Pathways

“…Alternative routes have been fueled by the prospect of attracting a new population of prospective teachers into teaching (Grossman & Loeb, 2008; Stoddart & Floden, 1995; Zeichner & Hutchinson, 2008). By offering reduced tuition rates and fewer entry requirements, they are often designed to recruit prospective teachers of color (Villegas & Lucas, 2004), subject matter experts (Stoddart & Floden, 1995), and other academically talented individuals who may not have otherwise considered teaching (Darling-Hammond et al, 2005). 4 In New York City, the strategy appeared to work—newly hired teachers from alternative pathways were more racially diverse, had stronger academic credentials, were more likely to teach in science and math, and work with marginalized students (Boyd et al, 2008).…”

The Ethnic Proportionality of Teachers and Students and the Link to School-Level Outcomes

“…These initiatives have been launched in each home country, including England [1], Wales [2], and Scotland [3]. Similar policies have been proposed or implemented in the US and elsewhere [4,5].…”