ABSTRACT
Researchers (Banks, 1996; Easton-Brooks, Lewis, & Zhang, 2010; Foster, 1990, 1997; Gay, 2000; Holmes, 1990; Irvine & Irvine, 1983; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Lewis, 2006; Lynn, 2006; Milner, 2006; Ogbu, 2003; Shipp, 1999) have argued that diversifying the teacher education profession can open up opportunities to discuss the challenges of connecting diverse home cultures with school culture, as well as assisting in effective policies for promoting better school environments and outcomes for students. Further, some researchers and policy makers hold to the fact that schools and teachers account for less than 10% of the changes in the academic outcomes of students, with factors outside of the school accounting for roughly 90% of the difference in the academic outcomes of students (Easton-Brooks & Davis, 2009; Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2002). However, in this chapter, I present evidence that shows that if students are in schools with teachers of their same ethnicity, this process can account for or explain up to 17% of the difference in academic outcomes of ethnic minority students.
