The shortage of teachers from underrepresented groups has been an ongoing problem in school districts nationwide, including Tennessee. Research shows that Tennessee teachers do not represent the students they serve. Studies also show students are more likely to succeed academically when exposed to teachers of diverse races. The underrepresentation of minoritized groups has been an ongoing challenge on most higher education campuses in the United States. Presenters’ institutional data shows that admission of minority students has been consistently low in the past few years. This reveals the need for university leaders to address diversity issues as they consider their mission and vision to increase diversity on their campuses. To this end, Tech’s institutional goal includes increasing minority enrollment to 22% by 2025. In this mixed-methods ongoing research, we are partnering with diverse secondary schools in middle Tennessee by bringing diverse students to campus and engaging them in meaningful activities to bring awareness to teacher licensure programs. The research question is, “Will bringing diverse middle and high school students to the Tennessee Tech campus influence their decision to consider education as a career and to apply to the College of Education?” A Qualtrics survey will be administered to collect data about perceptions, any barriers students see to becoming teachers, and choosing to come to Tech. Therefore, our research aims to take concrete action to foster diversity in the College of Education at Tennessee Tech and encourage students of underrepresented groups to consider teacher education and to find their place at Tech.

Authors:
Queen Ogbomo, Tennessee Technological University, United States
Stephanie Richards, Tennessee Tech University, United States
Perihan Fidan, Tennessee Tech University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Queen Ogbomo is a University Associate Professor/Lecturer at Tennessee Technological University in United States

Connect on Linkedin
https://linkedin.com/in/queen-ogbomo-4a834670

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Queen-Ogbomo

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