Diversifying the teaching workforce: challenges and opportunities in initial teacher education (ITE)

Sun Yee Yip, Jeffrey Shengjun Ji

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Globalisation and migration have led to increasingly diverse classrooms. Yet teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds continue to be disproportionally under-represented in the teaching workforce. While education policies often focus on addressing student differences and diversity, the attention is rarely extended to diversifying the traditionally homogenous teaching workforce. The result is the widening diversity gap between teachers and the students they teach. This has implications for social justice, equity and inclusive education. While the benefits of a diverse teaching workforce are widely recognised, efforts to increase teachers from ethnic minority backgrounds yielded limited results. This paper discusses the challenges that support the attraction and retention of teacher candidates in initial teacher education and their transition into teaching and recommends strategies addressing structural, institutional, and environmental factors that deter them from the teaching profession.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages13
JournalGlobalisation, Societies and Education
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2024

Keywords

  • teacher diversity
  • teacher workforce
  • teacher attraction
  • teacher retention
  • pre-service teachers
  • teacher candidates

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