Hiring more minority teachers in schools gives fairer perception of discipline

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/uok-hmm090215.php

Public Release: 2-Sep-2015
Hiring more minority teachers in schools gives fairer perception of discipline

University of Kansas

Black students in schools with more black teachers have more positive attitudes and higher perceptions of fairness in school discipline, according to a new study that includes a University of Kansas researcher.

The study also found white students who attend schools with a higher number of minority teachers are more likely to believe discipline from school officials is fair as well.

"Increasing the proportion of minority teachers in a school enhances all students' perceptions of school discipline fairness," said Don Haider-Markel, professor and chair of the KU Department of Political Science who was a co-author of the study. "Our findings provide empirical support for the arguments of some political theorists that the legitimacy of public institutions is enhanced when those institutions are staffed by people who look like the population more generally."

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