Diversifying the Teacher Workforce: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Adolescent Career Expectations

• In Event: Engaging K–12 Students About Teachers, Teaching, and Education

Abstract

Research on the shortage of teachers of color focuses on gaps in college enrollment, completion, and academic major. This study explores whether leaks in the pipeline begin earlier by examining expectations to become a teacher among students in grade nine. Results from nationally representative data show American Indian (1.2%), Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI, 1.3%), Black (2.4%), Latinx (2.9%), and multiracial (2.6%) students are statistically less likely to hold teaching career expectations than White students (4.9%). The disparities are associated with differences in individual backgrounds and teacher characteristics, except for AAPIs. Although racial gaps in teaching career expectations do not explain later disparities in college education majors, the study has implications for recruiting different minoritized racial groups into teaching.

Authors

• North Cooc, The University of Texas at Austin

• Grace MyHyun Kim, The University of Texas at Austin