THE UNIVERSITY of Warwick’s new research showed that over half of primary schools have no ethnic minority teachers.
The research also showed that nearly a third of primary schools had no male teachers, and almost a quarter of schools in England having only white female teachers.
Assistant professor Joshua Fullard of Warwick Business school, said: “Diversity in the classroom matters.
“We know ethnic minority students and young boys are missing out by not having teachers that represent them.
“This will worsen existing gaps in attainment and inequality in adulthood.”
He added the data showed the highly limited progress being made on diversity in the classroom, with slow progress in achieving a representative pool of teachers.
Joshua said recent research show three in 10 teachers would be better off financially if they quit.
Research showed that children perform best if they are taught by a diverse mix of teachers, and ethnic minority students did better academically with a teacher of the same race.
Statistics show that the number of teachers in training is now hitting targets and there was a record number of educators resigning last year.
In four local authorities over half of the primary schools have no male teachers at all: West Berkshire, Northumberland, Cumbria and Windsor and Maidenhead.
