What is the importance of diversity in Education and how can we address the lack thereof
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Aniyah Dingle
College:
College of Liberal Arts
Major:
Political Science
Faculty Research Advisor(s):
Erell Germia
Abstract:
This research analyzed how the lack of diversity among educators in New York and New Jersey may contribute to educational disparity. As of 2019, 18,000 of New York teachers are black. However, 180,000 of New York's teachers were white (NYSED.GOV). This is a ratio of 1:10, not only do white teachers have a majority in schools, but outnumber black educators on a massive scale. In New Jersey, 56% of students are people of color, yet only 16% of teachers are. I collected my data by analyzing teacher requirements, racial demographics in teacher preparation programs and schools, and the potentially associated outcomes among students. Additionally, I studied the history of affirmative action programs as well as suggestions for more programs to further diversity. Lastly, I conducted interviews with four New York State educators to further examine their perceptions about the current state of diversity among teachers and the actions taken to narrow the gap. Findings show that the Grow Your Own (GYO) Teacher programs and rethinking recruiting strategies are the most effective and tangible solutions to address the lack of diversity among teachers. Both the literature and the interviews show that GYO and other related teacher project programs may help increase enrollment of people of color in teacher preparation programs and hiring of teachers of color. Though long-term benefits are yet to be recorded, most current research on this solution has pointed in positive directions. Increasing funding towards Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and affirmative action legislation to achieve higher quality education and better scholarship opportunities for HBCU students in teacher programs were found to be ineffective. Further studies are needed to determine how funding and affirmative action legislation could be properly allocated or implemented to increase diversity among educators.