Teachers Who Look Like Them: A Critique of the Evidence for Neo-Segregationist Approaches to Educati

Since the mid-twentieth century, Americans inside and outside of the education field have called for more ethnic and racial diversity among the faculty of the nation's schools. But over the last ten years, and especially after the upheavals of 2020, many commentators now insist that "students need teachers who look like them." By this, they mean that students from demographic minorities cannot reach their full academic potential unless they are taught by people who share their racial or ethnic identity. Indeed, there is a broad consensus among the educated public that this is a well-demonstrated, empirically validated truth. This study offers a critique of the "teachers who look like them" thesis and the neo-segregationist vision of education that it supports. An analysis of the most commonly cited scholarly research that purports to prove that students need same-race teachers shows that, in fact, there is very little strong evidence indicating that students need teachers who look like them. After exposing key issues regarding the study design, argumentation, and data in the qualitative and quantitative research on the topic, this essay concludes with a broader critique of neo-segregationist theories of education.