Spillover Effects of Black Teachers on White Teachers' Racial Competency: Mixed Methods Evidence from North Carolina

Seth Gershenson (), Constance A. Lindsay (), Nicholas Papageorge, Romaine A. Campbell () and Jessica H. Rendon ()
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Seth Gershenson: American University
Constance A. Lindsay: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Romaine A. Campbell: Cornell University
Jessica H. Rendon: American University

No 16258, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The US teaching force remains disproportionately white while the student body grows more diverse. It is therefore important to understand how and under what conditions white teachers learn racial competency. This study applies a mixed-methods approach to investigate the hypothesis that Black peers improve white teachers' effectiveness when teaching Black students. The quantitative portion of this study relies on longitudinal data from North Carolina to show that having a Black same-grade peer significantly improves the achievement and reduces the suspension rates of white teachers' Black students. These effects are persistent over time and largest for novice teachers. Qualitative evidence from open-ended interviews of North Carolina public school teachers reaffirms these findings. Broadly, our findings suggest that the positive impact of Black teachers' ability to successfully teach Black students is not limited to their direct interaction with Black students but is augmented by spillover effects on early-career white teachers, likely through peer learning.

Keywords: peer effects; knowledge spillovers; teacher effectiveness; teacher diversity; achievement gaps; education production function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I2 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2023-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ure
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