Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

Addressing the limited up-to-date evidence on the relationship between the academic success of African American and Latinx students and the diversity of the educators is important since the insights could provide guidelines to educational leaders on the interventions that can be taken to reduce the widening achievement gap. This study addressed the existing knowledge gap by assessing if and to what extent there is a relationship between minority (African American and Latinx) students academic success and educator diversity. The study utilized a quantitative methodology and employed correlational design to examine the relationship between students of color academic success and educator diversity. The study targeted all Latinx and African American educators and students from selected public schools in Indiana with data via the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). A sample of 58 student-teacher matched data were used. Using Pearsons correlation analysis, it is evident that the there is a statistically significant, moderate positive correlation between the number of African-American teachers and the proficiency of African-American students, r (59) = .395, p = 0.002. Multiple regression modeling significantly predicted the proficiency of African-American students, F (2, 56) = 9.29, p < .0005, adj. R 2 = .22. The multiple regression model significantly predicted proficiency of Latinx students, F (2, 56) = 5.251, p = .008, adj. R 2 = .128. Based on the outcomes of this study, it is concluded that a significant association exists between academic success and the diversity of a school/district in Indiana.

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