Are the gates open to all? Teacher licensure accessibility at a large Midwestern urban university
The percentage of ethnically and linguistically diverse teachers in public education is very low, especially when compared to students. This is problematic for a number of reasons. First, the racial mismatch between the student body and teacher workforce in public schools perpetuates the achievement gap. Second, research shows that not only ethnically and linguistically diverse students, but also White students benefit from being taught by ethnically and linguistically diverse teachers. Third, ethnically and linguistically diverse teachers reduce the acute shortage of teachers that typically exist in high-minority urban schools. Many states have therefore developed policies to recruit more ethnically and linguistically diverse students into the teaching profession. This study examines whether a large, Midwestern, urban university prevents students from ethnically and linguistically diverse groups from completing a teacher licensure program and therefore from entering the work force. Chi-square tests of independence were conducted at each of the four gates, admission into a teacher licensure program, admission into a professional cohort, student teaching, and program completion/obtaining licensure. Results show that ethnically and linguistically diverse students are only disproportionally denied progression to student teaching. Additionally, the study explores whether certain variables are reliable predictors of performance in a teacher licensure program. A full model with all predictor variables was tested against a constant-only model for all four gates and found that GPA at the end of junior year reliably predicted whether or not a student was allowed start a student teaching position: χ2 (1, N=74) = 8.78, p=0.003. Race came close to being a reliable predictor for admission into a teacher licensure program and student teaching: χ2; (1, N=54) = 3.591, p=0.058 and χ2; (1, N=74) = 3.64, p=0.056.
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