A new report by the Aurora Institute, previously known as iNACOL, details the need for higher education institutions to create systematic changes within the teaching field.
Titled “Transforming Teaching: What University Presidents and Deans of Colleges of Education Need to Know about Modernizing the K-12 Educator Workforce,” recommends three main policy changes including the need to “diversify the workforce, modernize teacher preparation and promote continuous professional learning and development.”
“We know that one of the most important things we can do to improve the quality of public education across our country is to improve the quality, sustainability and livability of our teacher workforce,” said Dr. Katherine Casey, who is the author of the policy brief. “Teaching is a profession that compared to many others, has yet to evolve. Keeping in pace with the changes in the way students learn, changes in our educational reality and environment.”
According to the Aurora Institute, Black students who have one Black teacher by 3rd grade are 13% more likely to enroll in college. Those who have two Black teachers by 3rd grade are 32 percent more likely to enroll in college.
Students of color who are educated by teachers of color report higher rates of safety and belonging. Additionally, students of color who have teachers of color face lower rates of disciplinary action, the Aurora Institute reported.
“Schools are better and kids learn better when they are able to spend time with representative adults,” said Casey. “Diversifying the teacher workforce is both an ethical and a practical issue. Ethical because it aligns with values of equity and social and racial justice and practical because outcomes are better for kids. And yet, we see nationwide, very little change in the diversity of the teacher workforce.”
To increase diversity, the brief recommends that higher education institutions recruit potential teachers who hold different racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. Higher education leaders can also create a call to action to diversify the teaching workforce.
