Abstract
The lack of diversity in the American teaching force has existed for over three decades, and is especially acute among the early childhood and elementary teachers. Schroth and Helfer explore how, over the past 30 years, the diversity of teachers in the United States has decreased, with fewer persons of color or men entering the profession. Exacerbating this problem is the rapidly increasing diversity of the K–12 student population, with over 50 percent of students now coming from low- socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds or being persons of color. This disparity is believed to be a factor in the achievement gap that exists between high-achieving students and those who struggle to succeed. While many teacher education programs have attempted to address this imbalance, few have been successful in doing so.
But the principal defect in our plan of education in America is the want of good teachers in the academies and common schools . By good teachers I mean those of unblemished reputation and possessed of abilities competent to their stations—Noah Webster, 1790
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Saluja, G., Early, D. M., and Clifford, R. M. (2002). Demographic characteristics of early childhood teachers and structural elements of early care and education in the United States. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 4(1), 1–20.
- 2.
Digest of Education Statistics, table 303.80, 2015.
- 3.
Saluja, p. 18.
- 4.
See, for example, Hill, N. E., Castellino, D. R., Lansford, J. E., Nowlin, P., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (2004). Parent academic involvement as related to school behavior, achievement , and aspirations: Demographic variations across adolescence. Child Development, 75(5), 1491–1509.
- 5.
Giani, M., Alexander, C., & Reyes, P. (2014). Exploring variation in the impact of dual-credit coursework on postsecondary options: A quasi-experimental analysis of Texas students. The High School Journal, 97(4), 200–218. doi: 10.1353/hsj.2014.0007
- 6.
Bricker, J., Dettling, L. J., Henriques, A., Hsu, J. W., Moore, K. B., Sabelhaus, J., Thompson, J., & Windle, R. A. (2014). Changes in U. S. family finances from 2010 to 2013: Evidence from the survey of consumer finances. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 100(4), 1–41.
- 7.
Macartney, S., Bishaw, A., & Fontenot, K. (2013). Poverty rates for selected detailed race and Hispanic groups by state and place: 2007–2011: American community survey briefs. Washington, DC: United States Census Bureau.
- 8.
Kendig, S., Mattingly, M. J., & Bianchi, S. M. (2014). Childhood poverty and the transition to adulthood. Family Relationships, 63(2), 271–286. doi: 10.1111/fare.12061
- 9.
Congressional Budget Office. (2016). Trends in family wealth, 1989 to 2013. Washington, DC: Congress of the United States.
- 10.
Congressional Budget Office. (2016). Trends in family wealth, 1989 to 2013. Washington, DC: Congress of the United States.
- 11.
College Board. (2017). Annual Survey of Colleges. Princeton, NJ: Author.
- 12.
Heulsman, M. (2015). The debt divide: The racial and class bias behind the “new normal” of college borrowing. New York: Demos.
- 13.
Powell, F. (2016, September 19). Colleges that claim to meet full financial need. U. S. News & World Report, 145, 26.
- 14.
Wallace, D., Abel, R., & Ropers-Huilman, B. (2000). Clearing a path for success: deconstructing borders through undergraduate mentoring. The Review of Higher Education, 24(1), 87–102. doi: 10.1353/rhe.2000.0026
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schroth, S.T., Helfer, J.A. (2018). Lack of Diversity in the American Teaching Force. In: Developing Teacher Diversity in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59180-7_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59180-7_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-59179-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-59180-7
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)