This brief was developed using Microsoft Copilot and edited by Charlotte Sutcliffe, Duke undergraduate research assistant; for full text and references see
Sanderson, M. (2021). How same-race teaching could change our education system. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/docview/2543499421?accountid=10598&cid=CID:20250515202509692:564872&fromOL=true&fromopenview=true&parentSessionId=tE5wrcx6o1b5gMnqEH%2F38VW%2FLHArc2gMgwZLLGhWBLw%3D&pq-origsite=gscholar&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals
Background:
In the United States, educational strategies have significant impacts on student outcomes, creating complex challenges due to the diversity of educational approaches across states. This complexity is especially pronounced in low-income Black and Brown communities seen by low graduation rates in high school and college. Despite these challenges, one educational intervention - same-race teaching - has emerged as a promising factor with long-term benefits for student achievement. Same race teaching occurs when an ethnic or racial background is shared by both the student and teacher.
Findings:
This study investigated the effects of same-race teaching, focusing on the relationship between Black students and Black teachers. Using two major datasets: the Tennessee STAR experiment (1985) and administrative data from North Carolina (2000–2005). In the STAR study, Black students randomly assigned to Black teachers in early grades were 9 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school and 6 percentage points more likely to enroll in college, compared to their peers who did not have Black teachers. Importantly, these benefits were not observed among white students, suggesting a race-specific effect.
The North Carolina data reinforces and expands upon the STAR findings by analyzing a larger dataset with multiple cohorts from the entire state and has more emphasis on gender. Data showed that among disadvantaged Black boys, the presence of a Black male teacher had three times the effect on college aspirations than a Black female teacher. This suggests that both cultural relevance in teaching methods and identity-based role modeling are critical mechanisms behind the observed outcomes.
The researchers propose that Black teachers may be more effective with Black students due to shared cultural understanding and community ties. They also highlight the "role model effect," where students are inspired by teachers who reflect their own identity. This effect is amplified when both race and gender are shared between teacher and student.
Takeaways:
The study concludes that increasing the presence of Black teachers in classrooms – specifically for Black students - can yield substantial educational benefits. These findings provide evidence on the necessity of increasing the diversity of the teacher workforce in order to close achievement gaps and promote equity in education.