A new study by educators at the University of New Hampshire has found that public K-12 schools with a high percentage of minority students are more likely than other schools to employ a large percentage of teachers who are just starting out in the profession and have little or no teaching experience.
The data showed that 10.3 percent of all teachers at schools with a high percentage of minority students were beginning teachers. For schools as a whole, 8.4 percent of all teachers were just beginning.
The authors of the study state, “Teaching is a difficult craft, one that requires time to master. The first years of one’s teaching career provide vast opportunities for professional growth, yet new teachers have fewer experiences to draw on in planning lessons, managing classrooms, and creating assessment strategies. Therefore, beginning teachers are typically less effective than their more experienced colleagues, as measured by student achievement gains.”
