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Minority Teacher Retention
A July 2017 report by The Brookings Institution (Brookings) found that administrative support is strongly associated with the retention of minority teachers in schools where minorities are underrepresented. Brookings’ researchers used four cycles of data from the Schools and Staffing Survey – administered by National Center for Education Statistics – to support and release their findings in “ Workplace Support and Diversity in the Market for Public School Teachers.” They found that support from school administration reduces the likelihood of teachers moving to other schools at all levels, but is “especially pronounced for non-white or Hispanic teachers at schools where 10 percent or fewer of all teachers are also non-white or Hispanic. Focusing on teachers who are new to the profession strengthens the result.”
The findings have policy implications for principal staffing. When a school administration’s hiring goals are focused on increasing the diversity of teaching staff, it should place principals with a “demonstrated history of providing workplace support, especially to minority teachers” at the school’s helm, because those principals will be best suited to increase diversity through teacher retention.
Researchers were also careful to note the study’s limitations. The data used from the School and Staffing Survey tracks respondents’ perception of support, rather than the actual support provided. The survey also does not track where minority teachers that leave the classroom move. While it is possible that some teachers may leave their current placement for harder-to-staff schools, the study points to crude evidence that shows that teachers who move tend to go to more affluent areas, especially if they “leave a school with a high fraction of minority staff.” Brookings suggests that future studies examine the link between administrators’ support of minority teachers and student achievement, especially achievement in minority student populations.
Find a brief overview of the study and its findings on the Brookings Institution’s Brown Center Chalkboard.
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