Examining the racial attitudes of white pre-k–12 educators

As the racial/ethnic makeup of the U.S. student population becomes increasingly diverse, the teaching force has remained primarily white. Given this mismatch, and the consequences that educators’ racial attitudes have for stu-dents’ academic and developmental outcomes, it is important to understand the racial attitudes of white educators and how those attitudes differ from those of racially minoritized Americans. Using nationally representative data from 1975–2016, we find that compared with racially minoritized respondents, white educators are less supportive of government equalizing efforts, hold more negative racial stereotypes of African Americans, and express more social distance from minoritized groups. Through future research, we must develop a greater understanding of how these attitudes manifest in the classroom to affect students and how problematic attitudes of educators can be improved.