Across the country, the story is similar. Four of every five students who graduated with a teaching degree in 2009-10, the latest year for which data was available, was white, according to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
While there is little data to prove having diverse teaching ranks will have a positive, direct impact on academic achievement, the social and emotional effects on academic motivation and engagement can help, said Dorinda Carter Andrews, professor at Michigan State University’s Department of Teacher Education.
“And also a sense of belongingness,” she said. “I have a greater sense of belongingness as a kid of color if I know there are adults in the environment that look like me. It sends a message that you do belong here in this learning space.”
White students need to see positive adults of other races in positions of authority in order to participate in a “global society,” she added.