By: Layne Scherer, Program Director, American Association for the Advancement of Science
In May 2024, the country will see the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the landmark ruling that established racially segregated schools unconstitutional. The Brown v. Board of Education decision undoubtedly serves as a key moment in the history of U.S. education and civil rights; however, the implementation of desegregation created lesser-known distortions in the racial demographics of teachers in the country. At the time of the ruling in 1954, there were approximately 82,000 African American teachers in the U.S., constituting 35-50 percent of the teaching populations in the seventeen states that permitted segregation. In the following decade, over 35,000 teachers and school leaders lost their jobs in those seventeen states (Hudson & Holmes, 1994). Within the Jim Crow laws of these states, Black teachers and educators were not allowed to oversee the education of the White students that would now be enrolled in the newly integrated schools.
While the direct impact of Brown v. Board of Education on the number of Black educators in the country today is difficult to pinpoint, racial representation in the teaching population does not reflect the overall population of the U.S.:
- As of the 2020-2021 school year, the National Center for Education Statistics (2022) show there were 228,000 Black or African American teachers in the U.S. making up 6.1 percent of all teachers (approximately 3.7 million teachers total). In contrast, there were over 3 million White teachers or nearly 80 percent of the total.
- The biases are notably stark if schools are divided out by minority enrollment, as public middle and high schools with more than 50 percent White students have only 2 percent of mathematics teachers and 1 percent of science teachers that are Black (National Center for Science & Engineering Statistics).
- In comparison to the U.S. population, the Census projects that 13.6 percent of all Americans are Black or African American and 75.5 percent are White or Caucasian (US Census Bureau, 2023).
- These overall numbers do not reflect the changes in racial diversity seen in the younger generations that comprise our K-12 students, as only 47.3 percent of individuals under the age of 18 identify as White or Caucasian (Hudson & Holmes, 1994).
Some historians note that the loss of teachers not only eliminated teachers and educational leaders from the workforce, but it also removed a generation of role models. Research suggests that role models play an important factor in helping students understand their careers paths, perhaps unfortunately seen in the 66 percent decline in Black and African American students studying education from 1975-1985 (Hudson & Holmes, 1994). In addition to the loss of role models, the (White) teachers who came into the newly integrated classrooms often did not have positive beliefs about the academic potential of Black students, resulting in lower self- esteem in students and corresponding with tracking Black students into lower ability groups (Hudson & Holmes, 1994).
Other policy related factors have contributed to the limited number of Black and African American teachers as well. For example, changes in admissions policies for teacher certification and teacher education programs eliminated an estimated 21,515 Black and African American teacher candidates and new teachers (Hudson & Holmes, 1994). Challenges with certification continue today, as statistics from the National Council on Teacher Quality show for Black teacher candidates only 57 percent of mathematics and 50 percent of science pass their qualifying exams in comparison to White students at 88 and 85 percent passing rates respectively (Putnam & Walsh, 2019). These issues reflect deeper inequities in the Black students’ access to advanced preparation in STEM, as noted by the Department of Education (2023), “Black students represented 15% of students enrolled in high school, but 10% of students enrolled in AP computer science, 8% of students enrolled in AP science, and 6% of students enrolled in AP mathematics.” Figure 1 illustrates the differences in access to STEM courses between schools with low enrollments of Black and Hispanic students versus those with high enrollments, with the most notable gaps existing in advanced mathematics, calculus, and computer science.
Figure 1. Percent of high schools offering mathematics, science, and computer science courses, by course and Black and Latino enrollment.
These systemic barriers and lack of access to education for Black students creates challenges in preparation for advancing in any STEM career, including teaching.
Where do we want to be by 2094? Or, so to say, how do we invest in the next generations of students and teachers so that in 70 years’ time the issues of today are a thing of the past? While there is certainly an urgent need to make major changes to increase access to quality STEM (and beyond) education for all students and provide strong preparation for the STEM (and beyond) teaching workforce, a longer time frame can allow space for bold goals. How do we more than double the population of Black STEM teachers and ensure that there is equal distribution of those teachers across all schools? The nation will need to undertake significant efforts to the increase the recruitment and retention of Black and African American teachers.
There have been recent efforts introduced considering these challenges. H.R. 4346 CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) Act of 2022 included the authorization of a National STEM Teachers Corps 10-year pilot program through the National Science Foundation. A later section also calls out the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program specifically, with language for the National Science Foundation to support programs to expand and enhance engagement with the following types of institutions to increase diversity of participants:
- Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) (according to research from the University of Michigan, as of 2016, HBCUs graduated approximately 50% of all teachers in the U.S.) (Fenwick, 2016);
- Tribal colleges or universities;
- Minority-serving institutions;
- Institutions of higher education that are near to or serve rural communities, including EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) institutions;
- Labor organizations;
- Emerging research institutions; and
- Higher education programs that serve or support veterans.
While the implementation of this legislation has yet to pass, the call to action from our nation’s leaders around these issues demonstrates the critical need for a diverse, inclusive, and prepared STEM teacher workforce.
The STEMM Opportunity Alliance (SOA), a national effort led by AAAS, has goals related to building equity and inclusion in the teacher workforce as well. Currently, the SOA includes over 150 partners organizations and more than $1.8 billion in commitments. While the current SOA national strategy is under review to incorporate public input, the draft document includes a strategic pillar on “Developing Skilled and Diverse Educators.” One of the goals under this pillar is to “diversify the STEMM educator workforce so that it reflects local and regional demographics” with success metrics linked to doubling the participation of people from historically marginalized and excluded communities in teacher preparation programs and doubling the retention of educators from historically marginalized and excluded communities by 2040. These goals, much closer at hand than the next 140th year celebration of Brown v. Board of Education, will require partnerships between federal, state, and local governments and organizations to make progress.
These recent efforts shine a national spotlight on the pressing issues that the nation faces to ensure the future STEM teacher workforce reflects the diversity of the nation and retains skilled educators across the country. National initiatives like those announced in the CHIPS Act of 2022 and the SOA build on the legacy of engagement, research, and action already in place across the country, with great existing leadership in the ARISE network. While the unintended consequences of Brown v. Board of Education cannot be erased, reckoning with our nation’s history can deepen our understanding of the current context and present an opportunity to address the challenges directly.
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Layne Scherer, Program Director, American Association for the Advancement of Science
lscherer@aaas.org
Layne Scherer is a Program Director for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Inclusive STEM Ecosystems for Equity and Diversity. Her portfolio of work includes managing three projects that provide technical support to the following National Science Foundation programs: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE), Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, and Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics Program (S-STEM). Prior to joining AAAS, Scherer worked at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine where she served as the study director for the reports on Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations: Beyond Broadening Participation; Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Wellbeing in Higher Education: Supporting the Whole Student; Changing Expectations for the K-12 Teacher Workforce: Policies, Preservice Education, Professional Development, and the Workplace; and Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century. Before her time at the National Academies, Scherer worked in the Directorate for STEM Education at the National Science Foundation.
