Ethnic disparities in entry to teacher training, teacher retention and progression to leadership
09 June 2025
This report, funded by Mission 44, finds that equalising the disparities in progression between applicants and teachers of different ethnic groups would significantly contribute to the Government’s goal of recruiting 6,500 new teachers.
It follows NFER’s previous research on racial equality in the teacher workforce to further explore the factors influencing ethnic disparities at three key progression points: entry into ITT, progression to leadership and retention.
Key Findings
- There are significant ethnic disparities in postgraduate ITT rejection rates among UK-domiciled applicants that are not explained by differences in applicant and application characteristics. The persistence of ethnic disparities that are not explained by the applicant characteristics that we can observe in the available data suggests that discrimination by ethnic background is likely to play a role, although we cannot definitively rule out other factors (such as differences in qualification levels or work experience).
- Teachers from Asian and black ethnic backgrounds have a significantly higher intention to apply for promotion than their white counterparts, even after controlling for differences in characteristics. This suggests that the disparities in progression rates found in our previous research were not due to a lack of interest among ethnic minority teachers and more likely to reflect a lack of opportunity or inequitable treatment in decision-making processes.
- Teachers from a black ethnic background were more likely than their white counterparts to report experiencing bullying and harassment, that they did not feel valued by their school and that a lack of support from superiors was an important reason for considering leaving. These are likely drivers for the finding that teachers from a black ethnic background are more likely to consider leaving state-sector teaching than their white counterparts.