Increasing the Diversity of Teachers in Mathematics and Science Partnerships
Abstract
This study examines teacher diversity in a federally-funded mathematics and science partnership program. Each of the partnerships in the program provided preservice and/or inservice education for teachers in mathematics, science, or both. Researchers used qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the effect of strategies implemented by the partnerships to influence teacher diversity and the relationship of strategy implementation to changes in teacher diversity. There were no significant changes in teacher diversity for the program overall; however, there were significant changes in individual partnerships. Researchers identified categories of strategies for increasing teacher diversity among the partnerships and found that some partnerships employed numerous strategies in a comprehensive manner. While there were no significant relationships between strategies implemented and changes in teacher diversity, the findings suggest the potential for relationships to be revealed with further longitudinal study. Particularly useful among these findings is the identification of a typology of specific strategies known to influence changes in the diversity of mathematics and science teachers.
