Who Should Teach Black Students? Research on the Role of White and Black Teachers in American Schools

At seventeen per cent, Black students represent the second largest school age minority population in public schools in America, while Black teachers make up only six per cent of the nation's teachers. Research explored in this paper demonstrates why there is a discrepancy between the per centage of Black students and teachers and how racial mismatches between teachers and students have negative implications for Black students' academic achievement and behavior evaluations. There is a specifi c focus in the paper on a lack of 'cultural synchronicity' between White teachers and their Black students and how this disconnect may aff ect the existence and persistence of the racial academic achievement gap on standardized national achievement tests. Recommendations for recruitment and instructional strategies are presented.