Introduction

Australia’s population is culturally, linguistically and racially diverse. In 2021, 29.1% of the population was born overseas, with 7.5 million immigrants living in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022). For students in Australian schools, 21.8% of students speak a language other than English at home (Australian Government, 2022). In contrast, recent reports on the Australian Teaching Workforce Data (Australian Institute for Teaching & School Leadership [AITSL], 2021a) indicate that only 17% of teachers in Australian schools were born overseas, with approximately 10% of schoolteachers speaking a language other than English (LOTE) at home. This number is similar to a previous report of the proportion of teachers born overseas (McKenzie, et al., 2014), indicating that the current lack of diversity is not new and is not shifting. Given the widespread recognition that a diverse teaching population has positive impacts on school engagement and student learning (AITSL, 2021b; Australian Government, 2023; Education Ministers Meeting, 2022; Hattie, 2021), there is an urgent need to address this longstanding issue.

This article surveys the literature addressing the experiences of culturally, linguistically and racially diverse (CLRD) teachers in Australia. We have adopted this alternative acronym rather than the more traditionally-used ‘culturally and linguistically diverse’ (CALD), because it opens a discussion of how teachers who ‘look different’ experience discrimination in schools, even when they do not identify as or meet typical definitions of being culturally or linguistically diverse. It is critically important to recognise that ‘race’ is a social construct, rooted in colonialism and white supremacy, rather than a genetic or biological marker of difference. However, as the Diversity Council of Australia (DCA) identifies:

While race may not be ‘real’ in the genetic sense, it remains important because people believe it is real and act on it, resulting in people’s physical characteristics (e.g., skin colour, hair texture, facial features, accent, name, religion, and religious dress) being a trigger to racism. This results in very real and powerful consequences for those negatively deemed racially ‘different’. (DCA, 2023b, n.p., emphasis added)

Second, Australia has historically exhibited a persistent hesitation in recognising pervasive systems of racism, opting instead to employ terms such as ethnicity and culture (DCA, 2023a). The reluctance within Australia to discuss race leads to challenges in engaging in informed and restorative conversations about race overall but especially in education, as well as in recognising and responding to calls for improvement (DCA, 2023a).

Third, the use of multiple dimensions of diversity—cultural, linguistic and racial – allows for a nuanced discussion of the ways these dimensions compound when they intersect (Crenshaw, 1989). For example, research has reported that accent discrimination is experienced acutely by teachers (Kalantzis & Cope, 2020; Yan, 2021), however, a teacher who speaks with an accent and is visibly non-White is likely to experience more frequent/significant discrimination than a teacher who is White. As Leckie and Buser De (2020) propose, the strength of an intersectional approach ‘lies in its flexibility to include different dimensions and understand the interactions between them while remaining dynamic and relational, rather than hierarchical’ (p. 119).

Recent policy initiatives would suggest that the need for a more culturally diverse teaching workforce is a critical issue for education jurisdictions in Australia, connected with the urgent need to increase teacher supply and retention. Despite this, existing research on the experiences of CLRD teachers in Australia is limited to small case studies. International research can be relevant, but there are specific demographic features of the Australian context that must be considered. There is a clear need for further evidence on the experiences of CLRD teachers, to guide initiatives and programs that will support the diversification of the Australian teaching workforce. This literature review was guided by the following research questions:

  1. 1.

    What are the policy and practice barriers to a more culturally, linguistically and racially diverse teaching workforce?

  2. 2.

    What are the unique experiences and contributions that culturally, linguistically and racially diverse teachers make to their school communities?

Positionality

This research was undertaken by a team from diverse backgrounds, including researchers from Chinese-Australian, Irish-Australian, Australian-South Asian diasporic backgrounds, and Chinese and American immigrants living in Australia, but does not include Australian First Nations researchers. We acknowledge that any conversation about diversity and race in Australian education must include a recognition of the First Nations histories of this place, and the ongoing struggle for workplace equity that First Nations teachers still face. We further acknowledge with gratitude the First Nations scholars who have made significant contributions to our understandings of the work undertaken by Indigenous teachers (see for example, Buckskin, 2016; Hogarth, 2019; Hogarth & Bunda, 2021; Shay, et al., 2022). The discussion in this paper has relevance for First Nations education, and increasing diversity in the teaching workforce must, of course, include increasing the number of First Nations teachers. However, we also recognise that the specific needs and contributions of First Nations teachers must not be lost in a broader discussion of cultural diversity. As Williams (2014) cautions, if First Nations people are grouped into an umbrella of cultural diversity, there is a risk that being treated as ‘just another culture’ (p. 311) could serve to undermine the distinctive and important position of First Nations peoples within that nuanced scholarly discussion. With this in mind, we have drawn on the important work that considers First Nations teachers, within the discussion of cultural diversity, but stress the importance of other scholarship that considers the experiences of First Nations teachers specifically.

As stated previously, this review article has adopted an intersectional approach to cultural, linguistic and racial diversity, acknowledging the unique and multiple forms of disadvantage, marginalisation, oppression or privilege faced by each individual. Crenshaw introduced intersectionality in Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics (1989), initially examining the ways in which the legal system handled race and sex discrimination claims, observing that Black women were at the intersections of race, gender and class privilege, resulting in them consistently having their discrimination claims denied. Intersectionality is now a widely used frame to illustrate overlapping forms of discrimination and marginalisation. In an educational context, an intersectional lens clarifies the relationships between power and privilege and the ways that these relationships manifest and evolve in institutional settings. Here we acknowledge that, within cultural, linguistic and racial diversities, a teacher’s proximity to power enables or obstructs their access to autonomy, status and influence within the school environment and beyond, as has been well established (Bradbury, et al., 2022; DCA, 2022; Gatwiri, 2021; Li, 2019).

Current lack of diversity in the teaching workforce in Australian schools

There is an increasing recognition of the benefits to Australian schools of a more diverse and inclusive teaching workforce, and the issue is receiving attention at the policy level (AITSL, 2021b; Australian Government, 2023; Education Ministers Meeting, 2022; Hattie, 2021). Where the level of diversity in the student population in Australian schools far exceeds the diversity of the teachers, the majority of teachers have monolingual, White-Anglo and middle-class backgrounds (Forrest et al., 2016), and are more likely to be born in Australia than the general population. Within the small number of immigrant teachers, most are from Britain, New Zealand and other English-speaking, Commonwealth countries, while most recent immigrant teachers are from China, India and other Asian countries (ABS, 2022; McKenzie, et al., 2014; Yan, 2021). In short, the teaching workforce is markedly less diverse than the communities in which they work. This is not unique to Australia, with similar patterns identified in other countries with consistently high immigration rates, such as Canada (Marom, 2018), United States (Boser, 2014) and New Zealand (Martin, 2020). For example, in areas of Canada, where most immigrants are from non-Caucasian backgrounds (Government of Canada, 2015), the mismatch between the homogenous teaching workforce and diverse student populations is severe (Marom, 2018). Similarly in the United States, where students of colour made up more than 40% of the school-age population, teachers from non-Caucasian backgrounds represent only 17% of the teaching workforce (Boser, 2014). In New Zealand, where it is predicted that non-White students will outnumber the present Anglo majority in the future, the demographic of teaching workforce mostly remains unchanged (Martin, 2020).

The lack of diversity of teacher candidates in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) has also become a concern in Australia (Australian Government, 2022). The supply of university graduates in ITE has important implications for the teaching workforce (AITSL, 2019). The expectation of university ITE programs is that they will supply a workforce of teachers that has the capacity to meet the needs of the student population in Australian schools. However, the demographics of students in ITE do not match the cultural diversity in Australia (AITSL, 2019; Australian Government, 2022). For decades, the overwhelming majority of ITE students have been female from an English-speaking background (AITSL, 2019), with only 2% of all ITE students from non-English speaking backgrounds in 2016, while people with a non-English speaking background make up more than 20% of both the Australian population and Australian school students (Australian Government, 2022). In 2019, only 1% of ITE students were from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background while 6% of school students were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Programs like the More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative (MATSITI) (Buckskin, 2016) tend to be funded for limited periods, even when the outcomes are promising.

Understanding the level of diversity in the teaching workforce is crucial for promoting inclusivity and addressing proven disparities. The report on the Australian Teacher Workforce Data (ATWD) published in December 2021 did not collect specific information regarding racial and cultural identities of the current teaching workforce (2021a; AITSL, 2019), only language spoken at home and country of birth. Reporting on the ATWD has acknowledged this limitation, and the need for more comprehensive data collection efforts in future.

Barriers to the teaching profession

Global conversations about ‘race’ and racism have increased in recent years, resulting in calls for organisations to do better to confront and address racism in the workplace. Although some Australian organisations have realised the importance of addressing workplace racism and taking necessary responsive actions, they often struggle to do so because of a lack of guidance specific for an Australian context (DCA, 2022). Racism is embedded in everyday culture through structural, behavioural and cognitive practices that reinforce existing power dynamics (Akin-Sabuncu, et al., 2024; Gatwiri, 2021; Li, 2019). The still-pervasive notion of race-neutral workplaces does not align with the experiences of Black, Asian and CLRD professionals in Australia (Gatwiri, 2021; Li, 2019).

Not all racism is obvious or large-scale. Racial microaggressions occur in the form of suspicion, questioning, constant scrutiny and doubt, all of which constitute psychological distress and cause racial battle fatigue to employees of colour (Gatwiri, 2021). Bias and discrimination in the workplace can often be observed through subtle and seemingly harmless acts which are, nonetheless, highly racially coded interactions. They can be seen as an integral element of the larger macrostructure that sustains racial inequality (Senter & Ling, 2017). People of colour often feel forced to conceal their true identity and suppress their uniqueness by adopting behaviours that align with Whiteness, aiming to assimilate and conform to the dominant cultural norms (hooks, 1997). These daily microaggressions are perpetuated through institutionalised racism, which involves structures, systems, and processes (Gatwiri, 2021; Li, 2019), which, while they may appear minor to outside others, have a cumulative negative impact on well-being, health, and socioeconomic outcomes (Gatwiri, 2021).

While the benefits of a CLRD teaching workforce are widely acknowledged, there are numerous challenges in recruitment and retention, with barriers that impact CLRD teachers often being overlooked. One major difficulty faced by many overseas teachers who wish to migrate to Australia is the arduous credential requirements for professional accreditation. While evidence of qualifications may seem reasonable, applicants (even those who are experienced teachers with a long work history) also need to provide evidence of a minimum of 45 days supervised teaching practice (AITSL, 2023). If this supervised teaching practice is not formally documented, or a significant time has passed since the supervised practice, documentation may not be able to be provided. Overseas teachers who cannot provide the documentation or whose skills are assessed as unsuitable are ineligible for a Skilled Migration Visa, and if they wish to teach in Australia, they must complete their ITE certification from an accredited university in Australia.

Overseas teachers are also required to provide English language proficiency reports unless they have completed a full four years of university study in an exempt country, including Australia, New Zealand, Britain, United States, Canada, or the Republic of Ireland (AITSL, 2023). For applicants who have not completed four years of higher education in an exempt country, an International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS) test report with a minimum score of at least 7.0 for both Reading and Writing, and a score of at least 8.0 for both Speaking and Listening. This language requirement for teacher candidates from non-exempt countries is higher than what is expected in other fields. For comparison, the IELTS requirement for doctors with overseas specialist qualifications is 7.0 (Medical Board of Australia, 2015), and for provisional accountants is 6.0 (Certified Practising Accountant, 2023).

We argue that this language requirement is both linguistically and racially discriminatory because the requirement does not apply for native English-speaking teachers (Nigar, et al., 2022). In addition, it is noted that other English-speaking countries in Africa and Asia, as well as some small countries in Europe, are not in the exempt country list. There has been increasing research interest in how educational policies and values placed on language proficiency are impacting learning and teaching in Australia (Bense, 2014; Faez et al., 2021). Language requirements have come into conflict with the desire for cultural diversity and equity of opportunity for successful participation in an Anglo-Australian mainstream culture (Galloway & Numajiri, 2020; Leung et al., 2014).

The credential requirements act as a ‘gatekeeper,’ restricting access to the teaching profession for the teachers qualified overseas, especially English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) candidates (Sadeghi et al., 2020). Most immigrant teachers reported feeling traumatised by the demands of the process of being allowed to teach in Australia (Nigar, et al., 2022) and suggest there are ways to make the teaching accreditation process easier and more streamlined for new immigrant teachers (Datta Roy & Lavery, 2017; Yan, 2021).

While CLRD students undertaking ITE programs in Australia do not face the same additional barriers with their qualifications, applicants from non-English speaking backgrounds are required to demonstrate the same English language test scores. In addition to the English Language requirements, like all ITE candidates, CLRD students need to pass the national Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE). CLRD candidates usually achieve lower scores than the majority English-speaking teacher candidates on these tests (Sharifian et al., 2021). This may make sense in the literacy test; however, the same is true for the numeracy test. While CLRD candidates may have the required numeracy skills, research has found that they are unable to present that competence because of the linguistic complexity of exam questions (O’Keeffe, et al., 2017). More broadly, studies suggest that standardised exams for teacher selection have a negative impact on the diversity of the teaching workforce (Budría & Martínez-de-Ibarreta, 2021; Hilton & Saunders, 2023).

Further, research has highlighted the significant issue of retaining diverse candidates in teacher education (Andrews et al., 2019; Gist, 2018; Hearn & Funnell, 2021; Kwee, 2020). Teacher education programs are part of historically White institutions of higher education, in which predominantly White teacher educators are training primarily White teacher candidates through White-centred curricula (Souto-Manning & Emdin, 2020). Most ITE programs are structured in a way that further promotes White teachers and White privilege (Chung & Harrison, 2015), and there is widespread resistance by White teacher educators (Alvaré, 2018; Nigar et al., 2024) and White preservice teachers (Shim, 2018; White et al., 2022) to engage with the issues of race or racism. CLRD preservice teachers have been found to leave teacher education programs at a higher rate than their White counterparts (Farinde-Wu & Griffen, 2019; Kohli, 2018). The issues of recruitment and retention of CLRD students in teacher education programs have raised concerns about social justice and diversity in teacher education and highlight the need to address the lack of inclusivity therein.

Experiences of CLRD teachers in the workforce

Many CLRD teachers also face a range of challenges after becoming a registered teacher in Australia. One of the primary difficulties that CLRD teachers encountered is securing work. Prior to the current teacher shortage, it was common for immigrant teachers to be employed as a temporary or casual staff in public teaching sectors (Yan, 2021). To gain a full-time job, they often had to accept the employment in non-preferred rural areas or ‘Difficult to Staff’ schools (Datta Roy & Lavery, 2017; Yan, 2021), considered less attractive to new Australian-trained teachers (Datta Roy & Lavery, 2017; Dos Santos, 2021). This brings its own challenges for people from CLRD backgrounds. Immigrant teachers often experience stress and loneliness, as many have had to leave their families in the cities to secure teaching positions in unfamiliar remote regions (Datta Roy & Lavery, 2017). In addition, research conducted in the United States has shown that teachers of colour in particular, are more likely to be dispatched to the schools in low-socioeconomic areas that are under-resourced (Gist, 2018; Ingersoll & Merrill, 2017). At the beginning of their teaching career, they are often placed in the most challenging working environment (Schweitzer et al., 2021 Schweitzer), with intense working conditions forcing teachers of colour to exit the teaching profession (Simon & Johnson, 2015).

Racism and discrimination remain common problems identified by CLRD teachers (Kohli, 2018; Yan, 2021). In a survey about the experiences of immigrant teachers in New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia, half of CLRD teachers observed racism in their schools, including many who perceived discrimination in employment and promotion (Yan, 2021). The national report of Staff in Australia’s schools showed that on average, it took 37 years for immigrant teachers to gain experience in Australian schools before obtaining a leadership position (McKenzie et al., 2014).

Other perceptions of discrimination were related to teachers’ accents (Kalantzis & Cope, 2020; Yan, 2021). Non-native English-speaking teachers reported feeling that their knowledge had been depreciated and they were devalued as a person, because of the discrimination triggered by their accents in classroom settings (Yan, 2021). A study about Asian immigrant teachers in Western Australia identified accent as the greatest cross-cultural communication barrier (Kalantzis & Cope, 2020). The study showed that students often used the excuse of ‘I cannot understand what you are saying’ when the Asian immigrant teachers questioned their poor behaviour in classes. Similarly, because of the teachers’ accents, there was also a lack of respect from parents. Some teachers have reported instances of complaints and verbal abuse from parents when addressing their children’s disruptive behaviours in the classroom. These negative attitudes and responses made the teachers felt disrespected, disempowered, frustrated, and even depressed, negatively impacting teachers’ overall well-being and job satisfaction (Kalantzis & Cope, 2020; Yan, 2021).

CLRD teachers often face additional expectations from school leaders, excessive workloads and increased responsibility (Santoro, 2015), a form of cultural taxation (Hogarth, 2019; Hogarth & Bunda, 2021). They are more likely given responsibility for organising multicultural activities, and are more frequently asked to incorporate culturally diverse perspectives into the school’s curriculum beyond their teaching areas (Hogarth & Bunda, 2021). These responsibilities are all in addition to a normal teaching load (Santoro, 2015) and are additional responsibility without additional remuneration (Hogarth & Bunda, 2021). There is a high expectation placed on CLRD teachers to address all issues related to CLRD students and CLRD education within the school (Santoro, 2015; Shay et al., 2022). As demonstrated in the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011), all teachers need to be prepared for teaching in the context of cultural and linguistic diversity, through ITE programs and in-service professional development (AITSL, 2022; Santoro, 2015). It is crucial to emphasise that promoting cultural responsiveness teaching and supporting CLRD students are a shared responsibility among all educators.

Contribution of teachers from diverse backgrounds to school communities

While there are barriers to teachers from diverse backgrounds gaining entry to the teaching profession in Australia, there is a wide acceptance that a diverse teaching workforce has benefits for students and school communities. Research has shown that promoting diversity in the teaching workforce can better serve the learning needs of CLRD students and make substantial contributions to the education of students (Buckskin, 2016; Santoro, 2015). After families, teachers are the number one influence on the learning lives of young people, critical in shaping their thinking, identities and future (Chen et al., 2020). Students perceive schools as more inclusive and welcoming environments when they see teachers who have similar racial and ethnic backgrounds (Boser, 2014). These factors contribute to schools becoming integrated within their communities.

Research has shown that students from marginalised groups experience a safer learning environment and better support for their social and emotional development when they are taught by teachers who share their cultural background (Bristol & Martin-Fernandez, 2019; Ladson-Billings, 2009). Teachers of cultural minorities can act as role models for minority students, and students may perceive CLRD teachers as being able to better support them than non-CLRD teachers, in navigating cultural stereotypes (Cherng & Halpin, 2016; Fitzpatrick et al., 2014). Based on teachers’ own experiences as CLRD students, they can better understand their students’ cultural practices and beliefs and how they grow as learners (Santoro, 2015). As insiders to the experiences of racism, they are valuable in the fight for educational and social justice (Kim & Cooc, 2023). These findings have remained relatively stable over the past 40 years, despite increasingly culturally diverse student bodies. Thus, we argue for an urgent (yet continuing) need to attend to the disparities between teacher workforces and student bodies.

But more than this, the benefit of a diverse teaching workforce for all students cannot be underestimated. CLRD teachers tend to possess greater multicultural awareness compared to their White counterparts, and the higher level of multicultural awareness can lead to a more favourable classroom environment (Cherng & Davis, 2019). In diverse communities, it is necessary for all students to interact with individuals who differ from them in appearance, beliefs and behaviour, and this fosters social trust and nurtures a broader sense of community (Boser, 2014; Martin, 2020). Cherng and Halpin (2016) found that CLRD teachers are often more likely to discuss the topics related to race relations and social justice, in safe and constructive conversations that can help guide White students to understand how they can contribute to social justice positively (Nevarez et al., 2019).

Research in Australia reflects international trends, suggesting that a diverse teaching workforce will strengthen diverse cultural perspectives on learning and teaching in schools. CLRD educators can at times be cross-cultural mentors for their ‘mainstream’ colleagues and students (Santoro, 2015), although this may also take the form of cultural taxation. They are valuable assets to education due to their distinct experiences and their ability to offer students a different worldview (Gist, 2018). CLRD teachers can play a crucial role in preparing students to become responsible global citizens who possess an understanding of the world beyond their immediate surroundings and viewpoints. By sharing their diverse perspectives, these educators contribute to a more comprehensive, egalitarian and inclusive education that broadens students’ horizons and promotes global awareness (Gist, 2018; Santoro, 2015).

Conclusion

There is a broad consensus that diversity in the teaching workforce is important (AITSL, 2021b; Hattie, 2021), will have significant benefits for students’ learning (Boser, 2014; Buckskin, 2016; Gist, 2018; Martin, 2020; Santoro, 2015), and is an issue that is still not being adequately addressed. The literature reviewed in this paper illustrates barriers to CLRD teachers’ entry and success in the teaching profession, the challenges that they face while working in schools, and the negative impact on CLRD teacher retention. On the macro level, this creates an unacceptable risk to teacher retention and workforce sustainability, while also impacting CLRD teachers’ professional identity (Nigar et al., 2022) and wellbeing (Datta Roy & Lavery, 2017), but on a micro level it represents a gross injustice in equal employment opportunities.

AITSL (2022) continues to highlight the need for teachers to possess high levels of cultural competency. While a focus for building cultural competency in Indigenous knowledges must be central to all cultural equity work, we offer this review of literature as a foundation for showing a broader need for intersectional understandings between in/equity and educational attainment with racial, cultural, and linguistic diversities, a requirement for optimising and retaining high quality teachers and students alike.

The contribution of this foundational survey paper is, we hope, helpful to those teacher educators and scholars who are working to help create the conditions for more equitable and diverse teacher workforces in Australia today. While much has been written since the COVID pandemic about the urgent need for teacher retention and wellbeing, very little has been systematically documented and critically analysed to assist the growth of safety and sustainability for non-White teachers at all levels in the Australian education sector. We hope this essay will go some way toward advancing that agenda.