Ethnic diversity in England’s education workforce 

This project will investigate ethnic disparities in the education workforce, focusing on representation, progression barriers, pay gaps, and intervention efficacy. 

Why is this important?

Ethnic diversity in the teaching workforce provides pupils with visible, diverse role models. However, in England teachers and leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds are underrepresented and face significant barriers to career progression. Few interventions aimed at reducing these disparities have been rigorously evaluated. 

The government publishes annual statistics on ethnicity in the teacher workforce. However, these statistics are not comprehensive, contextualised, or collated. There are also limited statistics available relating to ethnic disparities in pay and progression. 

What does it involve?

This research will fill this gap and present an up-to-date and comprehensive picture of ethnic disparities in the school and further education workforce. The following research questions will be addressed: 

1. To what extent are different ethnic groups represented at different stages of the career pipeline in England’s education workforce? Has representation changed since 2020? Does it differ by region/ subject? 

2. To what extent are there ethnic disparities in progression rates from one stage of the teacher career pipeline to the next? Have ethnic disparities changed over time? Do they vary by personal and institutional characteristics? Are there other differences in characteristics between ethnic groups that may be drivers of disparities? 

3. Is there evidence of ethnicity pay gaps in the education workforce? Do gaps differ most between or within quartiles of the pay distribution? 

4. Given these patterns and trends, what are the medium- and long-term prospects for equity in the workforce and which disparities are most critical for policy action to address? 

5. Has a coaching programme with initial teacher training (ITT) providers had an impact on acceptance rates of ethnic minority teacher training applicants and course completion rates? 

The research will be completed in five workstreams:   

• Assess ethnic representation across the education workforce using administrative datasets for teachers, support staff, and FE staff.   

• Examine ethnic disparities in career progression across the teacher pipeline, adjusting for contextual factors.   

• Analyse ethnic disparities in remuneration using established pay gap reporting methodologies.   

• Model workforce dynamics to forecast ethnic representation under various policy scenarios.   

• Evaluate the efficacy of an intervention aimed at improving ITT acceptance rates and course completion for ethnic minority applicants.   

How will it make a difference?

Findings will be shared with teaching unions and representative bodies, school and trust leaders, and the public to inform their understanding of ethnic disparities and how to address them. A policy roundtable will convene key stakeholders.