The retention and progression of teachers from minority ethnic groups

ANTONINA TERESHCHENKO, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, CENTRE FOR TEACHERS AND TEACHING RESEARCH, UCL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, UK PROFESSOR MARTIN MILLS, DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR TEACHERS AND TEACHING RESEARCH, UCL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, UK Reviews of the composition of the teacher workforce in England have shown a persistent shortage of black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) teachers (Haque, 2017; Joseph-Salisbury, 2020). Currently, 14.1 per cent of teachers are from minority ethnic groups, while 33.1 per cent of primary school students and 30.3 per cent of secondary students are of minority ethnic origins. This shortage is compounded by the lower retention of BAME teachers (Allen et al., 2018; DfE, 2018a). The reasons why BAME teachers leave in greater numbers than white British teachers are varied, but school demographics, culture and opportunities for career progression into senior leadership positions are particularly important (for example, see Miller, 2019). In this context, this a