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The impact of Connecticut legislators on teacher diversity

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The impact of Connecticut legislators on teacher diversity

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Content Running head: TEACHER DIVERSITY 1

THE IMPACT OF CONNECTICUT LEGISLATORS ON TEACHER DIVERSITY
by
Rebecca J. Good

A Dissertation Proposal Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 5, 2019

Copyright 2019 Rebecca J. Good

TEACHER DIVERSITY 2
DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to every child that dreams of becoming a teacher.

TEACHER DIVERSITY 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge my chair, Dr. Jenifer Crawford for dedicating her time and
expertise to guide me along this journey. In addition, to the guidance provided by my committee,
Dr. Helena Seli and Dr. Larry Picus. Your feedback guided my dissertation to new heights and I
am eternally thankful.
My sincere appreciation to the Global Ed.D faculty and staff. Dr. Mark Robison, thank
you for encouraging me to think beyond the moment. Dr. Ruth Chung, thank you for opening up
her home, heart, and love for quantitative data. Thank you Dr. Cathy Krop for bringing a light to
each class through your smile. Thank you Dr. Anthony Maddox for inspiring me to see beyond
the universe. Thank you Dr. Artineh Samkian for teaching me the power of the phrase “it
depends.” Thank you Dr. Tracy Tambascia for the incredible feedback on every assignment you
made me a better scholar and you showed me what is possible as a mom shopping for the very
best souvenirs around the world. Thank you Dr. Sabrina Chong for every piece of advice along
this journey. You propelled us through to the very last moment and you held my hand when I
needed it the most.
I am grateful to Relay Graduate School of Education for supporting and allowing me the
flexibility to further my education and experience the world. Never have I worked for an
organization so supportive of its employees. More specifically, I want to thank Dr. Nichelle
Bowes, Dr. Jennifer Gomes, Dr. Alaina Harper and Dr. Mayme Hostetter for being fantastic role
models of what those who have been historically marginalized are capable of, when we break
through barriers and fly. I would also like to acknowledge, Challa Flemming, Brittney Cross, Dr.
Tonya Claiborne, and Sarah Harvey for being pillars of support throughout my journey.
TEACHER DIVERSITY 4
I would like to acknowledge, Cohort 6 and my RAACS, for the comradery, friendship,
debates, and exciting adventures ahead.
Acknowledgments to my dear friends and mentor, Dr. Cheryl Franks for demonstrating
such excitement through this journey, to the Butler/Bailey family for always keeping an open
invitation to join you in the fun, and to Dr. Amanda Simson for reminding me what I am capable
of and what I deserve.
Most importantly I would like to acknowledge my family. Much gratitude to my mom,
Laura Greendyke, for always being my stump angle. To my dad, Richard Good, who would
never let a week go by without giving me a call and checking in on my progress. To my brother,
Lexy Good and cousin Arlena Winn your unconditional support has been incredibly affirming.
To my two incredible stepsons, Onyx Rivera and Genuel Rivera, thank you for being curious and
allowing me to be part of your journey into college. To my daughter, Laila Rivera Good, I
appreciate you always encouraging me to be my best and I promise you Lovey this dissertation is
the best of my best.
Lastly, to my husband, Manuel Rivera. It is with deep appreciation that I recognize all the
steps you took in these last few years to support me along this academic journey. Your ability to
always look into the future and see an endless path of possibility, inspires me. I love you!

TEACHER DIVERSITY 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 8
List of Figures 9
Abstract 10
Chapter One: Introduction to the Problem of Practice 11
Background of the Problem 13
Importance of Addressing the Problem 16
Organizational Context and Mission 18
Organizational Performance Status 20
Organizational Performance Goal 21
Description of Stakeholder Groups 22
Stakeholders’ Performance Goals 23
Stakeholder Group for the Study 24
Purpose of the Study and Research Questions 25
Conceptual and Methodological Framework 26
Definitions 26
Organization of the Project 27
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature 28
Historical Context 28
Before Brown v. Board of Education 29
After Brown v. Board of Education 30
Current Demographic Trends 31
Barriers to Increasing Teacher Diversity 32
The Achievement Gap 33
College Enrollment, Persistence, and Graduation 34
Certification Requirement 35
Discriminatory Practices 36
Retention 37
Benefits of Teacher Diversity 37
Student Achievement Benefits 38
Social and Emotional Benefits 39
Community Benefits 40
Programs Increasing Teacher Diversity 41
Federal Programs 41
Local State Programs 42
Teacher Preparation Programs 42
Cultural and Racial Theoretical Perspectives 43
Cultural Theories 43
Critical Race Theory 44
Legislators Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences 45
Knowledge and Skills 45
Motivation 51
Organizational Influences 54
TEACHER DIVERSITY 6
Conclusion 57
Chapter Three: Methods 59
Participating Stakeholders 60
Interview Selection Strategy and Rationale 61
Interview Selection Criterion and Rationale 62
Data Collection and Instrumentation 63
Interviews 63
Documents 64
Artifacts 65
Data Analysis 66
Credibility and Trustworthiness 67
Ethics 68
Limitations and Delimitations 71
Chapter Four: Results and Findings 72
Stakeholder Demographics 72
Results and Findings for Knowledge Influences 75
Interview Analysis of Declarative Knowledge 77
Interview Analysis of Metacognitive Knowledge 89
Interview Analysis of Procedural Knowledge 90
Document Analysis Supporting Knowledge Findings 94
Artifact Analysis Supporting Knowledge findings 95
Synthesis of Knowledge Findings 97
Results and Findings for Motivational Causes 97
Interview Analysis of Motivational Influences 98
Document Analysis Supporting Motivational Findings 105
Artifact Analysis Supporting Motivational Findings 107
Synthesis of Motivational Findings 108
Results and Findings for Organizational Causes 108
Interview Analysis of Organizational Findings 109
Document Analysis Supporting Organizational Findings 115
Artifact Analysis Supporting Organizational Findings 116
Synthesis of Organizational Findings 117
Results and Findings of Critical Race Theoretical Framework 117
Lack of Recognition of Racism 118
Counter-stories 120
Challenging the Dominant Ideology 121
Synthesis of Critical Race Theory Findings 122
Summary of Research Results and Findings 123
Chapter Five: Recommendations, Implementation and Evaluation 125
Summary of Gaps and Assets 126
Proposed Recommendations 129
Recommendation 1: Capitalize on Assets, Existing Legislation, and Mandated Diversity
Training 130
Recommendation 2: Develop an Impact Analysis Report 132
Recommendation 3: Create Accountability Measures 133
Summary of Recommendations 135
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Implementation Strategy 136
Recommendation 1: Implementation Strategy 136
Recommendation 2: Implementation Strategy 139
Recommendation 3: Implementation Strategy 141
Evaluation Plan 144
Level 1: Evaluation of Reactions 145
Level 2: Evaluation of Learning 147
Level 3: Evaluation of Behavior 148
Level 4: Evaluation of Results 149
Summary of Evaluation Plan 149
Limitations and Delimitations 151
Future Research 152
Conclusion 153
References 155
Appendix A: Interview Protocol for Knowledge, Motivation, Organizational-Related
Influencers 173
Appendix B: Document Protocol for Knowledge, Motivation, Organizational-Related
Influencers 175
Appendix C: Artifact Protocol for Knowledge, Motivation, Organizational-Related
Influencers 177
Appendix D: Informed Consent Form 179
Appendix E: Interview Script 181

TEACHER DIVERSITY 8
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Goal, and Stakeholders 24
Table 2: Assumed Knowledge Influences and Types 50
Table 3: Assumed Motivation Influences and Constructs 54
Table 4: Assumed Organizational Influences and Categories 57
Table 5: Overview of Knowledge, Motivation, Organization Influences 58
Table 6: Possible Causes for Knowledge Gap 76
Table 7: Assumed Motivational Influences Validated and Not Validated 98
Table 8: Assumed Organizational Influences Validated and Not Validated 109
Table 9: Assumed Critical Race Theory Influences Validated and Not Validated 118
Table 10: Knowledge, Motivation, Organizational, and Critical Race Theory Gaps 126
Table 11: Synthesized Gaps 127
Table 12: Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Assets 128
Table 13: Synthesized Assets 129
Table 14: Proposed Implementation Strategy for Capitalizing on Assets 137
Table 15: Proposed Implementation Strategy for Capitalizing on Existing Legislation 138
Table 16: Proposed Implementation Strategy for Capitalizing on Diversity Training 139
Table 17: Proposed Implementation Strategy for Impact Analysis Report to Address
Motivational Gap 140
Table 18: Proposed Implementation Strategy for Impact Analysis Report to Address
Knowledge Gap 141
Table 19: Proposed Implementation Strategy to Address the Critical Race Theory Gap 142
Table 20: Proposed Implementation Strategy for Creating Accountability Measures to
Address Motivational Gap 143
Table 21: Proposed Implementation Strategy for Challenging Systems of Oppression 144
Table 22: Summary of Evaluation of Proposed Recommendations 150
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: CSDE minoritized teacher recruitment goals. 21
Figure 2: Demographic data of legislators who participated on the Education Committee
and/or on the Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force. 73
Figure 3: Demographic data of participating legislators. 74
Figure 4: Sample Likert scale survey to assess satisfaction with impact analysis report. 146

TEACHER DIVERSITY 10
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the role of Connecticut legislators
in supporting the Connecticut State Department of Education, in increasing the percentage of
minoritized teacher in the state to 10% by September 2021. To support the state wide goal
legislators need to pass legislation that supports programs prioritizing minoritized teachers,
mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and eliminates barriers along the teacher
pathway. This study applied the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework, a conceptual
framework used to identify the gap between the current performance level and the preferred
performance level of the legislators. In addition, through the lens of critical race theory there was
an assessment of the historical, cultural, and structural factors established in maintaining White
power and privilege in the teaching workforce. Using interviews from 16 out of 38 potential
interview participants as the primary data collection instrument, supported by ten years of
legislative documentation, and over 15 hours of video and audio artifact analysis, the knowledge,
motivation and organizational influences of the legislators were analyzed. Based on this analysis
three research-based recommendations were made, legislators need to (1) capitalize on assets,
existing legislation, and diversity trainings (2) develop an impact analysis report (3) create
accountability measures to assess the impact of legislative efforts. Using the (Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2006) evaluation framework, each recommendation and complementing
implementation plan was evaluated to ensure progress toward meeting the goal.

TEACHER DIVERSITY 11
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM OF PRACTICE
The United States has experienced significant demographic changes within the student
population in public elementary and secondary schools. According to the U.S. Census Bureau
(2017a), between 1996 and 2016 elementary and secondary student enrollment increased by 3.3
million students. In 1996 65% of students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools
identified as White (Snyder, de Brey, & Dillow, 2018). As of 2017, approximately 48% of
students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools identified as White, 15% as Black, 27%
as Hispanic, 10% as Asian/Pacific Islander, Native, or multiracial (National Center for Education
Statistics, 2016). As enrollment has increased, so has the racial and ethnic diversity of the
student body. However, the culturally rich demographic shift in the student population is out
pacing the demographic changes amongst the teaching population.
Teachers working in public elementary and secondary schools have experienced stagnant
demographic growth for decades. The demographic representation of the teaching workforce
does not reflect the demographic diversity of the students in classrooms. The National Center for
Education Statistics (2016) reported that, of the 3.6 million teachers leading instruction in
elementary and secondary classrooms, 82% identified as White. In 2016, Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Education, John B. King, Jr., declared that diversifying the teaching workforce
was essential in the development of an equitable educational system. While leading the federal
government’s educational initiatives, Secretary King sought strategic pathways for the nation to
meet the demands of its diverse student population. In addition, a study conducted by Villegas,
Strom, and Lucas (2012) identified 31 of the 50 states, in 2010, had created targeted policy to
recruit and retain a diverse teaching workforce. Given the demographic changes within the
student population, it is imperative to ensure elementary and secondary teachers reflect the
TEACHER DIVERSITY 12
changing demographics. Therefore, there needs to be a concentrated effort to increase the
percentage of minoritized teachers.
The term “minoritized” has been used as an alternative descriptor for the term “minority.”
Benitez (2010) described his use of the word “minoritized as opposed to minority to refer to the
process [action vs. noun] of minoritization” (p. 131). In the context of this study, minoritized
teachers have been negatively impacted by structural and institutional discrimination throughout
history. Benitez (2010) suggests that the term minority is a social construct developed over time,
not fully representing the experiences of those individuals the term is meant to represent. Given
this explanation the term “minority teacher” does not accurately recognize how the act of
minoritization on teachers, exemplified by limitations to employment access or a lack of
presence in the workforce, continues to be a dominant experience for those individuals who
identify with a minoritized group.
Connecticut, like many other states, has a growing minoritized student population. In
2016, the Connecticut State Board of Education adopted a Five-Year Comprehensive Plan,
Ensuring Equity and Excellence for All Connecticut Students, this plan sought to develop
strategies committed to increasing the number of minoritized teachers in the state (Connecticut
State Department of Education, 2018). As of the fall of 2017, 47% of public elementary and
secondary students identified as a minoritized students. The 47% represented a 3% increase,
from the previous year, in the minoritized student population, with the largest growth being
amongst the Hispanic student population (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2018).
Similar to national demographic gaps, Connecticut has struggled with a demographic gap
between teachers and students. The Connecticut teaching workforce has not benefited from an
increase in diversity amongst teachers, as it has with students. According to the Connecticut
TEACHER DIVERSITY 13
State Department of Education (2018) Connecticut has experienced a .8% increase of
minoritized teachers over the past 8 years. In 2017, the Connecticut State Department of
Education (CSDE) established a goal to increase the statewide percentage of minoritized teachers
from 8.3% to 10% by 2021; this would translate to maintaining the 4,393 minoritized teachers
and adding 907 to the Connecticut teaching workforce between 2016 and 2021 (Connecticut
State Department of Education, 2017). The teacher-student demographic gap will take
significant efforts to close. Research has shown that a teaching workforce that lacks diversity
has a negative impact on achievement for minoritized students and does not promote the benefits
of living in a multicultural society (Ahmad & Boser, 2014; Gershenson, Hart, Hyman, &
Papageorge, 2018; Gershenson, Hart, & Lindsay, 2017; Gershenson, Holt, & Papageorge, 2016;
Gershenson & Papageorge, 2018; Montes, 2012; Noguera, 2009; Papageorge, 2017; Parks &
Kennedy, 2007). Montes (2012) conducted a simulated study and found that students whose
teachers reflected the same race experienced moderate academic gains. Furthermore,
Papageorge (2017) found that exposure to at least one Black teacher in grades 3 through 5
increased a student’s intent to pursue higher education by 19% overall and 29% more for Black
males (Papageorge, 2017, p. 3). Researching efforts within Connecticut to gain a better
understanding of this demographic imperative may provide insight on how key stakeholders can
make a difference in increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state.
Background of the Problem
The occupation of teacher was a highly respected and sought-after role in minoritized
communities, especially when discriminatory practices limited occupational choices. However,
the occupation has diminished in prestige and is not highly sought after as more opportunities
have come available to minoritized community members. The lack of diversity within the
TEACHER DIVERSITY 14
teaching workforce has increasingly become a concern across the United States as the diversity
in the classroom increases. Therefore, in more recent years, policies have been implemented to
increase diversity within the teaching workforce. However, prior to understanding what is being
done to remedy the lack of diversity, it is imperative to understand some of the systematic
initiatives that have created a majority White teaching workforce.
The exclusion of minoritized teachers within the educational workforce is represented
through (1) the historical purging of minoritized groups from the teaching profession, (2) limited
access to the educational opportunities needed to enter into the teaching profession, and (3) bias
within hiring practices. Goldstein (2014) claims that, between 1954 and 1971, the federal
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare estimated that 31,584 teaching positions held by
Black teachers were eliminated under a barrage of discriminatory policies (Goldstein, 2014, p.
119). The nation has not yet recovered from the historical purging of Black teachers during this
time. In addition to tactics used to purge Black teachers, tactics have been used to exclude
minoritized groups from the profession. According to Quilliana, Pager, Hexel, and Midtbøen,
(2017) discrimination, at the point of hiring, has remained unchanged in the past 20 years. Even
when accounting for education, gender, local labor markets, and occupational groups, Black and
Hispanic community members continue to experience significant racial discrimination in gaining
access to jobs in the United States. Goldstein (2014) emphasizes that specific measures were
taken to exclude minoritized groups from the teaching workforce. These measures included
requiring standardized tests for teacher candidates, which White candidates were known to be
more successful on and reassigning teachers to subjects they lacked expertise in, so that they
would earn negative evaluations and, therefore, be dismissed. The efforts to exclude minoritized
TEACHER DIVERSITY 15
groups and the continued racial discrimination in hiring practices, contributes to the lack of
diversity within the teaching workforce.
The evolving job market, in addition to the discriminatory practices and purging of jobs
has moved minoritized community members to seek alternate professions. This has occurred
during a time when additional job opportunities have become more available to minoritized
people. Boser (2014) suggests that with the evolving job market, minoritized communities are
experiencing increased access and seeking opportunities beyond the teaching profession. In
addition, Ingersoll and May (2011) found that the teaching profession has a low turnover rate,
given the benefits of tenure and retirement within the profession. Therefore, entering the
profession in certain communities can be particularly challenging if a high percentage of teachers
are working in districts until retirement. Ingersoll and May (2011) further suggested that when
minoritized teachers enter the profession they are highly likely to enter into schools serving a
higher percentage of minoritized students; these schools have a tendency to have undesirable
working conditions including a lack of instructional autonomy, limited influence within the
larger school community, and lack of support. These less-than-ideal working conditions may
lead to minoritized teachers leaving the profession or not seeing the profession as a viable career
move.
Despite the challenges, there have been many initiatives in the past 40 years to diversify
the teaching workforce. Organizations across the nation have declared ambitious goals in
increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers, with a common premise that there is a positive
impact on student achievement when minoritized students see their racial, ethnic, and linguistic
identities reflected in their teachers (Boser, 2014; Egalite, Kisida, and Winters, 2015; U.S.
Department of Education, 2017). Multiple states have enacted a variety of legislative policies to
TEACHER DIVERSITY 16
remove barriers that minoritized teachers experience along the teacher pathways. Since 2013,
multiple states have passed legislation to specifically improve the recruitment and retention of
minoritized teachers. Some of the legislation includes requiring departments of education to
conduct studies and develop strategies to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers,
initiating pilot programs, scholarship programs, loan forgiveness, data collecting and reporting,
progress reporting on statewide teacher preparation programs, alternative certification, and
minority teacher loan forgiveness programs (Education Commission of the States, 2017).
Ahmad and Boser (2014) suggested that more must be done to increase teacher diversity and that
the foundation of the problem might truly be a political one. Connecticut is a state that has been
recognized for passing recent legislation in an effort to increase minoritized teachers. However,
despite ambitious legislation, change has been incremental.
Importance of Addressing the Problem
Closing the teacher-student demographic gap is important because students of all racial
and ethnic backgrounds benefit from having a diverse teaching staff. The U.S. Department of
Education (2016b) recognized that the nation is stronger when diverse groups come together and
that “diversity and inclusion breed innovation” (U.S. Department of Education, 2016b). There
are three key reasons why addressing this problem is important: (1) minoritized teachers are role
models for all students; (2) minoritized teachers help support the academic achievement for
minoritized students; and (3) minoritized teachers help increase culturally responsive teaching
practices which are particularly effective with diverse student populations.
The literature supports the benefits of having a diverse teaching workforce for all
students, so that the teaching communities are a reflection of the diversity within society (Casey,
Di Carlo, Bond, & Quintero, 2015). Minoritized teachers serve as important role models for
TEACHER DIVERSITY 17
students (U.S. Department of Education, 2016b; Villegas et al., 2012). Minoritized teachers’
ability to serve as high-quality academic role models has been shown to narrow the achievement
gap between minoritized students and White students (Egalite, Kisida, & Winters, 2015). Boser
(2014) agreed with the positive effect that minoritized teachers have on all students and adds that
minoritized teachers, particularly those that share in the racial and ethnic identities of their
students, can contribute to students feeling more welcomed in the school environment. Moore,
MacGregor, and Cornelius-White (2017) studied 158 fifth grade students in the Houston
Independent School District and found that there was a significant positive impact on reading
and math achievement scores when Hispanic and Black students were matched with teachers that
reflected there racial and ethnic identity.
As the teaching workforce lags behind in diverse representation, communities are seeing
widening achievement gaps across racial and social-economical classifications. The literature
has shown that a lack of diversity among teachers has a negative impact on achievement for
minoritized students (Ahmad & Boser, 2014; Gershenson et al., 2016; Gershenson et al., 2017;
Gershenson et al., 2018; Gershenson & Papageorge, 2018; Montes, 2012; Noguera, 2009;
Papageorge, 2017; Parks & Kennedy, 2007). While researchers like Villegas et al. (2012),
caution against assuming minoritized teachers are the solution to the achievement gaps
experienced within the country; they do recognize closing the teacher-student demographic gap
as an important component in addressing the gaps.
An additional reason for addressing the shortage of minoritized teachers is that
minoritized teachers help increase culturally responsive teaching practices. Geneva Gay
describes culturally responsive teaching practices as those practices a teacher uses in the
classroom that leverage the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perceptions of students
TEACHER DIVERSITY 18
(Gay, 2000). Minoritized teachers are able to leverage cultural connections. Mercado (2011)
explained that Hispanic teachers, with “institutional knowledge” are uniquely positioned to help
Hispanic students, especially those at risk of failure, to navigate the educational system
successfully. This cultural connection is particularly influenced by the likelihood that
minoritized teachers have experienced in their lifetime more similarities to minoritized students
than their White counterparts (Villegas et al., 2012). Having cultural connections can increase
empathy, and empathy allows a teacher to create a welcoming and emotional safe learning space
for students.
Organizational Context and Mission
In the mid-1900s, Connecticut was considered a state of opportunity. This opportunity
was a beacon of hope to Black people experiencing the harshest of racist conditions in the South
(Close, 2015). It was in 1944 that a young Martin Luther King Jr. experienced an integrated
community for the first time during his summer working in Connecticut (Close, 2015). Given
the progressive approach of Connecticut throughout history, it is not a surprise that the state has
been recognized as one of 31 states that has dedicated legislative policies supporting the
recruitment of minoritized teachers (Villegas et al., 2012).
Legislators, those who make the states laws, have sought to increase opportunity for
minoritized groups throughout the years. The Connecticut Legislative Black and Puerto Rican
Caucus seeks to increase economic potential and empowerment for minoritized communities
(Connecticut General Assembly, 2018b). The Commission on Equity and Opportunity is
charged with improving, promoting, and increasing opportunities for minoritized communities
(Connecticut General Assembly, 2018a). The caucus and committee members provide services
and information throughout the state. The Education Committee of the General Assembly is
TEACHER DIVERSITY 19
responsible for drafting, reviewing, and passing education related regulations. Within the
Education Committee, with the passage of Public Act No.15-108 (2015), a taskforce was
established “to study and develop strategies to increase and improve the recruitment, preparation
and retention of minority teachers…in public schools in the state” (Connecticut General
Assembly, 2018d, para.1). This task force is named the Minority Teacher Recruitment and
Retention Task Force. Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force provides an
opportunity for community members and legislators to purpose legislation to close the teacher-
student demographic gap. The mission of the General Assembly, the larger organizational
institution that the Education Committee works within, is to “enacts laws dealing with the
collection and allocation of funds, public welfare, the environment, education, public works,
civil and criminal law and other matters” (Connecticut General Assembly, 2018c).
The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) is the organizational focus for
this study for they are responsible for addressing “the full continuum of talent management and
human capital development strategies” across 206 school districts in the state of Connecticut
(EdSight, 2018). The CSDE Talent Office is one organizational branch of the CSDE that falls
under the management of the Commissioner of Education, who is appointed by the governor.
The CSDE Talent Office is responsible for addressing the talent management and human capital
development strategies of 52,641 certified school staff in the public school system (EdSight,
2018). One of CSDE’s strategic goals is to, “Prepare, attract, and retain diverse, high-quality
teachers and leaders to Connecticut’s highest-need content areas, schools, and school systems”
(Connecticut State Department of Education, 2018). A key initiative within the CSDE is to
address the lack of racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the teacher workforce, with a focus
on identified shortage areas, such as secondary science and math (Connecticut State Department
TEACHER DIVERSITY 20
of Education, 2017). This key initiative is aligned to the mission of the organization, “to develop
and deploy talent management and human capital development strategies to districts and schools
state-wide so that the most effective teachers are in every school and classroom and all students
are prepared for college, career and life” (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2016,
para.1). The CSDE is the organization that creates mechanisms for implementation of legislation
passed by the General Assembly. CSDE ensures that laws that are being passed in connection to
education related issues are effectively implemented across all districts in the state.
Organizational Performance Status
Despite strategic initiatives towards recruiting and retaining minoritized teachers, CSDE
is still facing a performance problem: a lack of diversity in the teaching workforce. According to
the U.S. Census Bureau (2017) 19.4% of the population in Connecticut identified with a
minoritized group. In the 2016-17 school year, there were 538,893 students registered in grades
kindergarten through 12
th
grade, and 44% of the students identified with a minoritized group
(EdSight, 2018). That same year, 8.3% of teachers in Connecticut identified with a minoritized
group, that reflects a 0.6% increase over 10 years (EdSight, 2018). With a 35.7% demographic
gap between teachers and minoritized students, the CSDE is not fulfilling its mission of ensuring
that Connecticut schools have the most effective teachers to prepare students for college, career,
and life (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2016). As demonstrated in the Moore et
al. (2017) study and Egalite et al. (2015) research, minoritized teachers provide a positive
academic benefit to minoritized students. According to the Connecticut Coalition for
Achievement Now (2018) Connecticut continues to have one of the largest achivement gaps in
the country, where minoritized students in Connecticut are reportedly achievement performance
is three grade levels behind White students, with even wider gaps demonstrated in 8th grade
TEACHER DIVERSITY 21
math and 4th grade reading. It is important that CSDE continues to take steps toward closing the
teacher-student demographic gap. Failure to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers will
have a negative impact on the preparation of Connecticut students.
Organizational Performance Goal
In 2017, CSDE established a goal to proactively work with stakeholders in the
community to address the shortage of minoritized teachers. CSDE determined that by 2021,
based on their efforts, there would be a 1.7% increase in the percentage of minoritized teacher,
which would represent 907 new minoritized teachers in Connecticut public schools. This
increase would be more than twice the increase the state experienced between 2006 and 2016.
CSDE outlined a trajectory towards the goal with yearly benchmark goals to increase the
statewide percentage of minoritized teachers. Figure 1 represents the benchmark goals developed
by the CSDE in 2016.

Figure 1. CSDE minoritized teacher recruitment goals (Connecticut State Department of
Education, 2018)

TEACHER DIVERSITY 22
The talent director was identified as the CSDE team member to take the lead on ensuring
implementation of the strategies over the course of the five-year plan. In addition, demographic
data, to assess progress toward the goal, was scheduled to be collected each year through the
state’s education data portal, EdSight. The organizational goal of the CSDE is to ensure 10% of
the state’s teaching workforces identifies with a minoritized racial and/or ethnic group by
September 2021.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
Multiple stakeholder groups can be identified in supporting CSDE in reaching the 10%
by September 2021. The first stakeholder group members are minoritized teachers. Dafina-
Lazarus (2013) categorizes this group of teachers as racially and ethnically minoritized, which
means they are often subjected to deficiencies in cultural capital, underprepared, and at risk for
not reaching certification due to various barriers in navigating teacher pathways. In addition,
Dafina-Lazarus (2013) insist that the pathway into teaching is often impacted by systematic,
structural inequities contributing to uneven patterns of persistence and achievement. The success
of minoritized teachers in navigating the teacher pathways are dependent on multiple factors:
obtaining a high school diploma, obtaining a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited
institution, graduating from a state approved teacher preparation program, earning a passing
score on multiple certification assessments, paying multiple application and testing fees, and
being hired by a elementary or secondary school.
An additional stakeholder group identified were teacher preparation programs. The
Connecticut teacher preparation programs represent the second stakeholder group. According to
the CSDE (2017), the entity responsible for the approval of teacher preparation programs, each
program is evaluated to ensure it meets Connecticut regulations related to teacher preparation,
TEACHER DIVERSITY 23
Connecticut general statutes and national accreditation standards. Teacher preparation programs
are not charged with meeting specific enrollment goals; however, they are expected to show
growth in enrollment of minoritized candidates over time. It is imperative that teacher
preparation programs implement strategies that increase the diversity of students in their
programs and improve the completion rates for minoritized students.
A third stakeholder group are local elected state politicians (legislators), specifically
legislators that serve on the Education Committee of the General Assembly. Moreover, some of
these legislators participate in that Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force. These legislators
are responsible for drafting and approving legislation that can either support or create barriers for
CSDE to meet their organizational goals. Legislators need to understand why the teacher-student
demographic gap is a demographic imperative. In addition, they need to gain a better
understanding of the scope of the problem so that they can help the organization develop
strategies to increase and improve the recruitment, preparation and retention of minoritized
teachers, as defined in section 10-155l of the general statutes.
Stakeholders’ Performance Goals
There is a growing gap between the diversity of the country’s student population and the
teaching workforce. Connecticut is a state seeking innovative ways to address this demographic
imperative in hopes of increasing the percentage of minoritized teacher to 10%. There are
multiple stakeholders seeking to support CSDE in achieving this goal. Table 1 provides a
summary of the CSDE mission and the related goals. In addition, Table 1 provides a summary
of the stakeholders and stakeholder’s goals that could be studied in supporting CSDE in meeting
the larger goal of 10% by September 2021.
TEACHER DIVERSITY 24
Table 1
Organizational Mission, Goal, and Stakeholders
Organizational Mission
The mission of the CSDE Talent Office is to develop and deploy talent management and
human capital development strategies to districts and schools statewide so that the most
effective teachers are in every school and classroom and all students are prepared for college,
career, and life.
Organizational Goal
By September 2021, the CSDE will increase the statewide percentage of minoritized teachers
to 10%.
Stakeholders
Minoritized Teachers Legislators
Teacher Preparation
Programs
By school year 2020-2021,
907 individuals who identify
with a minoritized group will
obtain their teaching
certification and be hired
within an elementary of
secondary public school in
Connecticut.

By May 2020, legislators will
review, draft and approve
legislation that supports
programs prioritizing
minoritized teachers,
mandates equity in school
district hiring practices, and
eliminates barriers impacting
aspiring minoritized teachers
along the teacher pathway.
By school year 2020-
2021, all Connecticut
teacher preparation
programs will increase the
enrollment and
completion rate by 15
students who identify
with a minoritized group.

Stakeholder Group for the Study
A complete analysis of the performance problem would have involved all stakeholder
groups; however, given the scope of this study, the main focus were legislators within the
Education Committee of the General Assembly and the Minority Teacher Recruitment and
Retention Task Force. According to the Connecticut Commissioner of Education, it is the
legislators that review, comment, approve, and deny proposed changes to “regulations and other
standards concerning the approval of teacher preparation programs and teacher certification”
(Wentzell, 2017, p. 1). There are multiple opportunities for the Commissioner to provide
recommendations for legislation, with a focus on teachers, teacher preparation programs, or
TEACHER DIVERSITY 25
school administration. If the legislators are not informed about the role they play within
addressing the teacher-student demographic gap by diversifying the teaching workforce, it will
be challenging for the CSDE to move beyond vision setting and into action toward
accomplishing the organizational goal. Therefore legislators, by the end of the 2020 legislations
session must pass legislation that supports programs, mandates equity in hiring, and eliminates
barriers for minoritized teachers.
Purpose of the Study and Research Questions
The purpose of this study is to conduct a gap analysis to examine the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences that impact Connecticut legislator’s abilities to meet
the proposed goal. The legislator’s goal is in support of the CSDE meeting their goal of
increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state to 10% by September 2021. The
research will begin by generating a list of hypothesized knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences needed by legislators to accomplish the intended goal. Each influence
was analyzed to determine if the influence represented a gap or an asset in the legislator’s
knowledge, motivation or within the organization. While a complete gap analysis would focus
on all stakeholder groups, for practical purposes the stakeholder group to be studied was
legislators.
The following questions were used to guide gap analysis:
1. What knowledge and motivation do Connecticut legislators have related to their ability to
pass legislation that supports programs prioritizing minoritized teachers, mandate equity
in school district hiring practices, and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway?
2. What is the interaction between the cultural and organizational context of the Education
Committee and the Connecticut State Department of Education’s and how do these
TEACHER DIVERSITY 26
organizational cultures impact legislators ability to pass legislation that supports
programs prioritizing minoritized teachers, mandates equity in school district hiring
practices, and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway?
3. What are the recommended knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences
needed for Connecticut legislators to pass legislation that supports programs prioritizing
minoritized teachers, mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and eliminates
barriers along the teacher pathway?
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis was the conceptual framework used to identify the
gap between the current performance level and the preferred performance level of the legislators.
The methodological framework of this study was a qualitative case study with descriptive
statistics. By researching the knowledge, motivation and organizational influences that interfere
with the legislators reaching the preferred performance level; this study was able to make
research-based recommendations, which were evaluated in a comprehensive manner. Using
interviews as the primary data gathering tool, supported by document and artifact analysis, the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of the legislators was analyzed.
Definitions
CSDE: An acronym used for the Connecticut State Department of Education.
Demographic Imperative: A term used to refer to the importance of the characteristics of
a population as they relate to racial, ethnic, linguistic, age, gender, and income patterns due to
domestic and international migration (Martin & Nakayama, 2010).
Diversity: A term used to express the inclusion of different types of people (such as
people of different races or ethnicities) in a group or organization (Diversity, 2018)
TEACHER DIVERSITY 27
Legislation: A term used to describe laws establish by state and federal branches of
government.
Legislators: A term used to describe an individual that makes laws and is an elected
member of a political group, such as the Connecticut General Assembly
Minoritized: A term used to describe a racial or ethnic group of people that have been
subjected to structural and institutional actions that have led to a lack of presence of the racial
and ethnic group (Benitez, 2010).
Teacher-Student Demographic Gap: A numerical difference between the percentage of
students of color and minoritized teachers.
Organization of the Project
This study has been organized into five chapters. Chapter One has provided the reader
with the key concepts, historical context, and terminology commonly found in a discussion about
diversity in the teaching workforce. In addition, this chapter described two organizations with
the study, their missions, goals, and the stakeholders involved in achieving those goals. Chapter
Two provides a review of current literature, the theoretical frameworks used within the scope of
the study, and the assumed knowledge, motivation and organizational influences used to frame
the study. Chapter Three describes the methodology used in selecting interview participants,
data collection, and the process of analysis. Chapter Four, is a narrative of the data and results
assessed and analyzed. Chapter Five provides recommendations based on data and literature, for
addressing the identified gaps, as well as recommendations for implementation of the
recommendations and an evaluation plan of those recommendations.

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CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Chapter Two reviews the historical context contributing to the teacher-student
demographic gap within the United States and the barriers that aspiring minoritized teachers face
in entering the profession. The literature reviewed in this study demonstrates the benefits of
having minoritized teachers in the classrooms and the different types of local, state, and national
programs being used to increase teacher diversity. In addition, this chapter describes the
theoretical approach of cultural related theories and critical race theory, to assist in understanding
the complexity of the teacher-student demographic gap. Finally, there is a review of Clark and
Estes (2008) gap analyis framework and a description of the knowledged, motivation, and
organziation factors needed by the Conneticut legisltors in order for them to pass legislation that
supports programs prioritizing minoritized teachers, mandates equity in school district hiring
practices, and eliminates barriers adversely impact aspiring minoritized teachers along the
teacher pathway.
Historical Context
To understand the demographic imperative of diversifying the teaching workforce, this
section expands upon recent literature addressing a specific historical period. This historical
context includes the connection between teacher diversity and the seminal Supreme Court case
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954). In looking at teacher demographic trends before
and after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) there is increased understanding of the
systemic structures put in place that have impacted the current demographic trends in teacher
diversity.

TEACHER DIVERSITY 29
Before Brown v. Board of Education
The teaching workforce within the United States has been dominated by those who
identify as White and female since the early 1800s. Goldstein (2014) suggests that the
feminization of the teaching profession in part was a way to infuse cheap labor into an
occupation where White men were becoming increasingly disenchanted. Goldstein (2014)
continues by explaining that during 1863-1877, a new educational focal point took shape.
During the Reconstruction era, more formal education pathways were developing for those
member of society that had formally been enslaved. Though there was very little financial
support for these educational initiatives, by 1915 there Black students were attending schools,
led my Black teachers and administrators.
In southern states, until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Black people and White people
lived under de jure segregation where laws were established to separate Black and White people.
Solidified in legal precedence with the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling. An unintended benefit of
de jure segregation was that Black students continued to attend Black schools taught by Black
teachers. Goldstein (2014) describes the role of a teacher was seen as a positive middle-class
role in the Black community. In the northern states, de jure segregation was not part of the
political landscape. However, as more Blacks from the South migrated to the North, de facto
segregation took shape as northern White flight became rampant. Despite the different forms of
segregation, Black students were exposed to a high level of representation of Black community
members leading their classrooms, unfortunately Black schools were underfunded and under
resourced (Goldstein, 2014). With the help of the National Association for the Advanced of
Colored People (NAACP) many of the inequities were being challenged throughout the 1900s,
TEACHER DIVERSITY 30
including then law student Thurgood Marshall, who had been working on challenging the
unequal wage gap between Black and White teachers (Library of Congress, 2018).
Kearney (2010) believed that the role of a teacher was an important profession within the
Black community as it was seen as the leading profession amongst college-educated Blacks. She
adds that “in 1954, approximately 82,000 African American teachers were responsible for the
education of 2 million African American public school students” (Kearney, 2010, p. 6). In
1947, the Mendez v. Westminster (Mendez, et al v. Westminister School District of Orange
County, et al , 1946,1947) court case began the journey towards Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954). Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka ruled racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, however the teacher-
student demographic gap was not part of the national political conversation. Students who
attended school, were taught in racially segregated schools, by teachers and school leaders that
matched their cultural identities (Ahmad & Boser, 2014; Gist, 2010; Kuo, 1998; Tillman, 2004).
Goldstein (2014) suggests that, despite the necessary steps toward integration, concern started
brewing about the negative impact integrated schools may have on minoritized teachers.
After Brown v. Board of Education
The impact of Brown v. Board of Education has had unintended consequences on the
teaching profession (D'amico, Pawlewicz, Earley, & McGeehan, 2017; Delpit, 1995; Goldstein,
2014; Payne, 2004; Weinberg, 1977). In the decades following the Brown v. Board of Education
ruling many Black schools were closed as Black students, not Black teachers, were integrated
into White schools (Ahmad & Boser, 2014; Gist, 2010; Tillman, 2004). An unintended
consequence of Brown v. Board of Education was the backlash on Black teachers who
TEACHER DIVERSITY 31
experienced significant job loss due to these school closures and lack of access to positions in
formerly all-White schools (Tillman, 2004).
Unfortunately, school districts across the country are still grappling with segregated
schools. However, now the majority of the teachers in those segregated schools no longer
represent the racial or ethnic identities of their students. In large part due to de facto segregation,
the Brown v. Board of Education ruling has yet to actualize into integrated school systems. It is
difficult to gather accurate enrollment data prior to 1972. Villegas et al. (2012), explain that
large-scale demographic data was not collected by the U.S. Department of Education until 1972,
which leaves gaps in the accuracy of diversity of students. However, when they reviewed the
data from 1987–2007, when demographic data such as race and ethnicity was reported, they
found little movement in the closing of the teacher-student demographic gap. Villegas et al.
(2012), highlighted an increase in Hispanic teachers entering the teaching workforce during this
time, which aligned with an increase of Hispanic students entering schools. However, they noted
a steady decline of Black teachers. The impact of discriminatory policies and racist actions adds
to the complexity of increasing minoritized teachers within the workforce.
Current Demographic Trends
Current trends forecast a slow increase of diversity within the national teaching
workforce; between 2000 and 2013, there was a 2% increase in minoritized teachers across the
country, with 82% of teachers in 2013 identifying as White (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2011; U.S.
Department of Education, 2016a). Current trends in student demographics show a much faster
increase in diversity amongst students (U.S. Department of Education, 2016b; Villegas et al.,
2012). Conservative estimates suggest that by 2030, the majority of the students will identify
TEACHER DIVERSITY 32
with minoritized racial and/or ethnic groups (U.S. Department of Education, 2016b; Villegas et
al., 2012).
Villegas and Clewell (1998) accurately predicted that the teacher-student demographic
gap between minoritized teachers and students would continue to get wider. This was confirmed
in 2012 when the U.S. Department of Education (2012) recorded a 37. 4% gap between
minoritized teachers and students. Nationally, between 2003 and 2012, there was a 5% increase
in minoritized teachers, with a total of 17.4% of all teachers in the United States identifying with
a minoritized racial and/or ethnic group (U.S. Department of Education, 2004, 2012). During
that time, minoritized student enrollment experienced a 7.6% increase, representing a total 49%
enrollment by 2012 (U.S. Department of Education, 2016a). Duarte (2000) explains that much
of the rapid increase is connected to an increase in Hispanic student enrollment. This is reflected
in the increased immigration from Latin America and higher birth rates within the Hispanic
communities. Villegas et al. (2012) noted that though a teacher-student demographic gap still
persists, there has only been a slight rise in the number of minoritized teachers entering the
workforce, especially with the increase of teachers identifying as Hispanic.
Barriers to Increasing Teacher Diversity
The current barriers to increasing teacher diversity are not as explicit as de jure
segregation in the South. However, the current barriers are just as impactful. The achievement
gap, college attainment, certification requirements, discriminatory hiring practices, and retention
in the field are all contributors to the teacher-student demographic gap. These barriers, facing
minoritized teacher candidates, occur at various points along the pathway to becoming a teacher.
All of the barriers result in a significant loss of minoritized teaching talent along the way.

TEACHER DIVERSITY 33
The Achievement Gap
The achievement gap, the academic gap between minoritized students and their White
counterparts. The achievement gap manifests at an early age and becomes a barrier along the
pathway to becoming a teacher. Imagine a young person at the start of their educational career
with a dream to one day become a classroom teacher. They do not realize that their path begins
during those crucial elementary and secondary school years. During those years the expectation
is that students have access to the academic knowledge necessary to advance to the next stage in
education. They are to learn many things which include basic content knowledge in reading,
writing, and math. Research has indicated that minoritized students, despite resent growth in
standardized testing scores, continue to score significantly lower than White students (Ladson-
Billings, 2006; Moore et al., 2017).
The achievement gap can be connected to multiple factors. Boser (2014) suggested that
the national achievement gap within elementary and secondary educational school systems,
results in fewer minoritized students graduating from high school and entering college, relative
to their White counterparts. Valant and Newark (2016) describe the factors contributing to the
achievement gap as discrimination, injustice, student motivation, and parenting. Research
conducted by (Cottrell, Newman, & Roisman, 2015) attributed the achievement gap to family
income, maternal education and verbal ability/knowledge, learning materials in the home,
parenting factors, child birth order and birth weight. Uhlenberg and Brown (2002) adds
additional teacher and school system factors such as low expectations, intentional and
unintentional racist behavior, unaccommodating instruction, inadequate teaching quality,
segregated schools, ability grouping and tracking, standardized testing, and large class sizes. All
of the factors contribute to the barriers a student may face in successfully progressing in their
TEACHER DIVERSITY 34
educational experience. Talbert-Johnson (2006) explain that when minoritized students
experience barriers in access to knowledge and resources, they will face extreme barriers in
future educational opportunities. These educational opportunities can be seen in minoritized
students entering college level teacher preparation programs.
College Enrollment, Persistence, and Graduation
Once an aspiring teacher candidate graduates from high school, they progress to the next
step along the pathway in obtaining a bachelor’s degree; ideally this degree is in education to
continue on the pathway to becoming a teacher. Minoritized students experience barriers in
enrolling in college, persisting through college, and graduating. According to a study conducted
in 2006 by the National Center for Education Statistics, “80 percent of 2004 high school
graduates had attended a postsecondary institution and Black students had 43 percent lower odds
and Hispanic students had 25 percent lower odds of attaining an associate’s or bachelor’s degree,
compared with White students,” (Ross, et al., 2012, p. xvi). Duarte (2000) emphasizes that
minoritized students are experiencing higher high school dropout rates which further exacerbates
the lack of minoritized students on the path toward education programs. According to Drotos
and Sebnem (2016) some of the barriers facing minoritized students throughout their college
experience are financial expenses, time allocation, and lack of social and cultural capital. These
barriers deplete the potential pool of candidates going into the educational field.
Enrollment in education studies has been on the decline since 2009 (National Center for
Education Statistics, 2016) In addition, schools of education have struggled to attract
minoritized students into their programs (Haberman, 2012; Villegas, 2007). Haberman (2012)
explains that many students entering into the education field, experience attrition prior to
graduation and then for those who do graduate many do not enter into the teaching profession.
TEACHER DIVERSITY 35
Villegas (2007) explains that education programs may be successful in recruiting Hispanic
students, however unfortunately the low college completion rate impacts the diversity of
candidates going into the teaching workforce. Students may enroll but they are not completing
the programs at the same rate as enrollment.
Certification Requirement
Cost of certification. Becoming a certified teacher comes at a high financial cost. With
the rising cost of higher education, multiple professional assessments and application fees, a new
teacher can find themselves with a high accumulation of educational debt prior to their first day
in the classroom (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2011). Once an aspiring teacher has paid for their
undergraduate degree and teacher preparation program, which in some states is a separate fee
from the undergraduate degree, then they are responsible for completing all state required exams.
According to the website Teacher Certification Degrees (2018) most states require teachers to
pass at least three national or state specific exams. Each exam has a cost of $150 to $300. Once
the exams are successfully completed, an aspiring teacher can expect to pay $40 to $200
application fees to their local state department of education. In addition, to paying $20 to $50 for
fingerprinting and background checks proving there is no criminal history (Teacher Certification
Degrees , 2018). These costs accumulate prior to starting a teaching position and can be an
additional barrier to entering the profession.
National teacher exams. Nettles, Scatton, Steinberg, and Tyler (2011) developed a
report for Educational Testing Services, the provider of multiple national assessments, which
correlated the national achievement gap between minoritized K-12 students and their white peers
persisting on teacher licensure exams taken during adulthood. Prior to Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka (1954) pressure was mounting about teacher salaries, local school boards
TEACHER DIVERSITY 36
began enacting policies that linked performance on National Teacher Examination to salaries.
Weinberg (1977) explains that the National Teacher Examinations were well known to benefit
White teachers and result in low scores for Black teachers. Kearney (2010) claims that some of
the methods used to decrease and exclude minoritized teachers following the Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka (1954) decision included administration of teaching assessments. Teacher
testing began in the South as a way to exclude minoritized teachers. Kearney (2010) further
argues that the northern states capitalized on the discriminatory treatment of minoritized teachers
in the South and recruited teachers who met certification requirement, which in the North did not
include testing requirements, to teach in northern schools. This migration continued into the
1990s until teacher testing became nationalized throughout the country as an additional
certification requirements (Kearney, 2010). Haberman (2012) argues that content knowledge
alone, as assessed on teaching exams, is necessary but is not the defining factor in becoming an
effective teacher.
Discriminatory Practices
Minoritized teachers have experienced discriminatory hiring practices throughout history
(Weinberg, 1977). Goldstein (2014) states “that between 1954 and 1917, the nation lost 31,584
Black teaching positions and 2,235 Black principalships, even as the total number of jobs in
public education grew” (p. 119). Goldstein (2014) describes the declining percentage of Black
teachers in the early 2000s in major cities, like Chicago and New Orleans was also reflected in
teacher training programs with low enrollment of minoritized students. Research done by
D'amico et al. (2017) found that White teaching candidates were more likely to receive a
teaching job offer compared to equally qualified Black teaching candidates in a school district
that had “11,980 applicants [submit] 27,330 applications for 2,380 open teaching positions in the
TEACHER DIVERSITY 37
district” (p. 30). They study found hiring bias represented by “White principals hiring
disproportionately fewer Black teachers than Black principals did” (D'amico et al., 2017, p. 30).
Discriminatory practices along the teacher pathway contributes to barriers for aspiring
minoritized teachers seeking to enter the profession.
Retention
Carroll and Hunt (2003) surmised from a report by the National Commission on Teacher
Education and America’s Future that 46% of elementary and secondary public school teachers
quit within the first five years of teaching. In some of the major urban districts, more than 50%
of beginning teachers leave the profession within the first three years. Minoritized teachers
experience higher rates of attrition compared to White teachers, especially within the first five
years of the profession (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2011; Mabokela, 2007; Villegas et al., 2012).
Ingersoll and May (2011) explained that during the 2003-04 school year, more than 45,000
minoritized teachers entered the workforce. However, in 2004-2005 about 20% more (over
56,000) left the teaching field. The leading factors in minoritized teachers leaving the profession
were attributed to a lack of decision-making influence in the school and a lack of instructional
autonomy (Ingersoll & May, 2011). In addition, research found that when cultural matching
occurs between teachers and students, it can contribute to increasing retention among minoritized
(Achinstein & Aguirre, 2008).
Benefits of Teacher Diversity
There is a large body of research that expands upon the benefits of increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers within the teaching workforce. Some of the benefits include
positive impacts on student achievement, the added social and emotional support provided to
students, and the development of human potential within a community. Understanding the
TEACHER DIVERSITY 38
benefits of increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers may provide motivation toward
communities enacting policies that increase the percentage of minoritized teachers in an attempt
to close the teacher-student demographic gap.
Student Achievement Benefits
A school with a racially and ethnically diverse teaching staff has a positive impact on
educational experiences of minoritized students (Ahmad & Boser, 2014; Gershenson et al., 2018;
Gershenson & Papageorge, 2018; Papageorge, 2017, 2017; Kearney, 2010; Montes, 2012;
Noguera, 2009; Parks & Kennedy, 2007; U.S. Department of Education, 2016b; Zumwalt &
Craig, 2005). Papageorge (2017) explained that when students are taught by teachers that look
like them, there is an increase in college aspirations, student attendance, standardized test scores
and a reduction in student dropout rates. Furthermore, when minoritized students are taught by
non-minoritized teachers they may experience higher exposure to low expectations for their
academic achievement. Moreover, this is especially pronounced for Black students within math
courses where teacher-student demographic gaps are significant (Papageorge, 2017). An
additional study, done by Lindsay and Hart (2017), found that young Black male students, when
taught by Black teachers, experienced a reduction in exclusionary discipline such as suspensions
and expulsions. Grissom and Redding (2015) explained that White teachers who lacked the
understanding of how implicit bias impacted their teaching were less likely to see minoritized
students as capable of meeting academic expectations and therefore recommending a higher
percentage of White students for educational gifted programs. Moore et al. (2017) found reading
and math achievement levels were positively impacted when there was an increase of
minoritized teachers in predominantly minoritized school communities. Furthermore,
Gershenson and Papageorge (2018), based on analyzing the Federal Education Longitudinal
TEACHER DIVERSITY 39
Study of 2002, that White teacher’s tend to have low expectations of Black students, putting
Black students at a disadvantage. The research has demonstrated that when minoritized students
have minoritized teachers they are held to higher academic and behavior expectations resulting
in stronger student achievement.
Social and Emotional Benefits
The social and emotional benefits of increasing teacher diversity can be observed in
multiple areas of the educational experience. When minoritized teachers have the opportunity to
serve as role models and cultural guides, students experience stronger attendance, higher rates of
admission into gifted programs, increase achievement on standardized tests, and a reduction in
exclusionary discipline practices (U.S. Department of Education, 2016b; Villegas et al., 2012).
The role model effect has highlighted in multiple research studies, including Gershenson et al.
(2018) study in Tennesse that demonstrated that Black students in grades K-3 who were
randomly assigned to a Black teacher were more likely to graduate from high school and enroll
in college. This analysis was in comparison to their peers in the same school who are not
assigned a Black teacher (Gershenson et al., 2018). Minoritized teachers are mentors for
students and contribute to students feeling more welcomed and confident within the school
environment (Boser, 2014). Minoritized teachers dispel negative stereotypes about what success
looks like as an adult. Mundt, Gregory, Melzi , and McWayne, (2015) explain the social
importance that Hispanic teachers have in increasing Hispanic family engagement in schools.
They further suggest that without Hispanic teachers, who may share culture and linguistic
experiences, Hispanic families could be represented within the school communities in a negative
manner. There are pervasive negative stereotypes about minoritized communities that can be
countered when students of all identities see minoritized people in professional roles, such as
TEACHER DIVERSITY 40
teaching (U.S. Department of Education, 2016b). Noguera (2009) argues the continued
misrepresentation in disciplinary experiences for minoritized students may continue to rise if the
percentage of minoritized teachers in the classroom does not rise. As teaching practices continue
to elevate the importance of social and emotional learning in the classroom, it will be important
for school communities to recognize how increasing the representation of minoritized teachers in
e school will have a positive impact on the social and emotional learning experience of students.
Community Benefits
Increasing diversity in the teaching profession not only has a positive impact on students
in schools, but also on the larger local communities. The United States loses billions of dollars
each year on underutilized and under developed human potential (Auguste, Hancock, &
Laboissiere, 2009). Increasing the professional opportunities, such as increasing access to the
teaching profession for those who have been minoritized in our society, creates a positive impact
on the broader community. Villegas (2007), states that teachers are additional authority figures
in children’s lives. If authority figures throughout the 13-year educational experience are
predominantly White, children may gain a distorted perception about the role of authority in the
community. Duarte (2000) insists the impact of a lack of minoritized teachers may reinforce
negative stereotypes that minoritized people do not deserve leadership positions like that of a
teacher in the community. All students should have a diverse representation of leadership. Just
as all communities should invest in the development of all citizen, especially those who have
been historically minoritized throughout history.

TEACHER DIVERSITY 41
Programs Increasing Teacher Diversity
There have been a variety of programs over the last several decades that attempted to
increase diversity within the teaching workforce. Unfortunately, most of the programs have not
yet dismantled the larger impediment of systemic racism. There have been federal programs,
local state programs, and teacher preparation programs. All programs recognizing the benefits of
increasing minoritized teachers in the classroom.
Federal Programs
The United States Department of Education, established in 1980, is the federal agency
charged with “assuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual” (U.S.
Department of Education, 2018b). During 2015–2017 there were a series of initiatives proposed
by U.S. Department of Education to promote increasing diversity in teaching. The programs
included: America’s College Promise, Teacher Pathways Program, and RESPECT: Best Job in
the world, and Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program (U.S. Department of Education, 2016b).
Riley (1998) expressed that federal programs seeking to impact educational inequality and
inequity should start at the beginning of educational experiences by supporting Head Start and
Title I programs. The U.S. Department of Education also could impact teacher preparation
programs across the country through Title II reporting systems. Title II is part of the Higher
Education Opportunity Act (Public Law 110-315) enacted on August 14, 2008, which was a
reauthorizing of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Sections 205 through 208 of the Higher
Education Opportunity Act are sections specifically addressing accountability for programs in
the United State that prepare teachers (U.S. Department of Education, 2018b). However, much
of the responsibility of developing actions toward increasing diversity based on the data gathered
is within local state legislation.
TEACHER DIVERSITY 42
Local State Programs
States across the country have created local programs to increase teacher diversity.
Programs have included recruiting at local high schools that can partner with local colleges and
create a pathway of academies geared toward the teaching profession (Quiocho & Rios, 2000;
Schmitz, Nourse, & Ross, 2012). In the past decade, multiple states have passed legislative
policies to recruit and retain minoritized teachers (Aragon, 2018). Allen, Bachler, Coble, and
LaTrice Hill (2003) completed a 50-state survey of state policies directly aligned to recruiting
minoritized teachers. They found that 29 out of 50 states had enacted legislative state-funded
policies explicitly stating a commitment to the recruitment of minoritized teachers. The policies
includes early outreach programs, scholarships, loan forgiveness, paraprofessional recruitment,
partnerships will local teacher preparation programs, and data collection. In a 2018 there was an
updated list of states, at that point three states that did not have policies related to recruiting
minoritized teachers had been added to the list of states which enacted legislation addressing the
demographic imperative (Aragon, 2018).
Teacher Preparation Programs
According to the federal Title II database during the 2015-16 academic year 441,439
aspiring teachers were enrolled in 2106 teacher preparation institutions across the United States
(U.S. Department of Education, 2018a). Despite an overall decline in enrollment in traditional
teacher preparation institutions, alternative routes to education preparation have been on the rise.
Alternative routes to teaching attract more diverse teaching candidates when compared to the
traditional schools of education (Madkins, 2011; Feistritzer, 2008; Zumwalt, 1991). However,
(Madkins, 2011) explains that despite reported diverse enrollment it is unclear how the programs
have impacted the number of minoritized teachers in the workforce. Multiple state education
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boards are holding local teacher preparation programs accountable for increasing their
enrollment of minoritized candidates (The Education Trust-New York, 2017). Therefore, one
way teacher preparation programs are helping to increase the diversity within the teaching
workforce is by setting goals related to enrollment, completion, placement, and retention of
minoritized teachers participating in their programs (Ed Trust, 2017).
Cultural and Racial Theoretical Perspectives
Cultural Theories
There are multiple theories about culture and race; each theory provides a tool to make
meaning of experiences and interactions within the educational landscape. Various cultural
theories have been used to increase understanding about the impact of teacher-student
demographic gaps on students and the communities where the gap is most prevalent (Achinstein
& Ogawa, 2011). Delpit (1995) expanded on the theory of the culture of power within
education. Swidler (1986) explained how the educational system is deeply influenced by a
dominant White middle-class culture. Swidler (1986) further explained the cultural clash that
occurs with the increase of a racially diverse student population. Kozlowski (2015) suggested
that a racial/ethnic mismatch, between students and teachers, contributes to a gap in cultural
capital when a White teacher’s cultural understanding of an academic environment does not
correlate to a minoritized student’s cultural understanding of an academic environment, causing
the student to be at a disadvantage in cultural capital. Students may resist the culture that the
teachers espouse which results in “oppositional cultural theory” (Kozlowski, 2015, p. 43).
Moreover, it was determined that culture mismatch theory, coupled with a teacher’s cultural bias,
creates an environment where the teacher’s cultural standards, norms, and expectations privilege
students with similar cultural experiences. These theories help make meaning of the impact of
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this demographic imperative. However, it is critical race theory that will be most applicable in
gaining a deeper understanding of the role policymakers play within the teacher-student
demographic gap.
Critical Race Theory
Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides a lens to examine the historical, cultural, and
structural factors that have been established in maintaining White power and privilege in the
teaching workforce. CRT creates a space to reflect on the expression of systemic and historical
racism maintained by the dominant society (Bell & Levine, 1992; Crenshaw, 1995; Delgado &
Stefancic, 2013; Howard, 2010; Sleeter, Neal, & Kumashiro, 2015). Sleeter et al. (2015)
propose four tenets of CRT that provide guidance in using the theoretical approach. The first
tenet “interest convergence” (p. 5). Derrick Bell (1980) explained that interest convergence was
when White people were only able to support racial justice when their personal interests
converged with the interests of supporting racial justice. Interest convergence can be used to
reflect on legislator’s ability to generate legislation that increases diversity in the teaching
workforce even if the legislation does not converge with the advancement of White teachers.
The second tenant is “challenge to claims of neutrality, colorblindness, and meritocracy” (p. 5).
This second tenet explains the need to challenge the false representation that society in the
United States is based on the idea that everyone has a equitable and equality opportunity. An
example of legislators articulating this tenant in their actions is the development of legislation
that challenges the use of National Teacher Exams, which claim a level of neutrality in accessing
the teaching profession. The third tenet is expressing knowledge through “counter-stories by
people of color” (p. 6); an example of this tenet would be providing opportunities for minoritized
teachers at various points along their professional pathway to share their experiences with racism
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within teacher preparation. The fourth tenant is a “commitment to social justice for everyone”
(p. 6) which may be expressed in legislators seeing teacher diversity as a social justice issue.
Critical Race Theory as an additional lens to study the impact legislations has on diversifying the
teaching workforce, provides insight into the various dynamic at play in a complex problem.
Legislators Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences
As described in detail in Chapter One, this study used the Clark and Estes (2008) gap
analysis framework to analyze the potential gap in legislator’s knowledge, motivation and
organizational capacity to reach the proposed goal. Clark and Estes (2008) describe the
importance of having clarity on the goal so that through analysis of the knowledge, motivational
and organizational capacity a gap between current level performance and desired performance
can be determined. There were 12 hypothesized knowledge, motivational and organizational
influences needed for legislators to meet the proposed goal, in addition to three hypothesized
needs related to Critical Race Theory.
Knowledge and Skills
According to Rueda (2011), it is important to examine knowledge-related influences and
skills, they provide a lens with which to “highlight and pinpoint” (p. 30) differences in
understanding that ultimately impact outcomes. In order for legislators to review, draft and/or
approve legislation that supports programs prioritizing minoritized teacher, mandates equity in
school district hiring practices, and eliminates barriers minoritized teachers experience along the
pathway, each legislator must have knowledge about the impact a lack of minoritized teachers
has within the state. With this knowledge, legislators can support the Connecticut State
Department of Education (CSDE) increasing the statewide percentage of minoritized teachers.
The knowledge-related influences that are essential for the legislators to know fall within
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Krathwohl’s (2010) knowledge types: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. Mayer
(2011) explains that for learners to be successful in accomplishing a task, they must possess all
types of knowledge. Therefore, in order to comprehensively understand the likelihood of
legislators to successfully review, draft, and approve legislation that increases the percentage of
minoritized teachers, it is imperative to analyze knowledge-related influences through the
various knowledge types.
Declarative knowledge. Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, and Norman (2010)
describe declarative knowledge as knowledge that is factual or conceptual. Factual knowledge is
the knowledge about facts in the world (Mayer, 2011), for example legislator’s factual
knowledge of the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state of Connecticut. Conceptual
knowledge refers to a person’s ability to categorize the factual knowledge and describe patterns
as a way to create schemas (Mayer, 2011). An example of conceptual knowledge would be
legislators’ ability to review historical legislation related to minoritized teachers and understand
patterns in the legislation that have impact minoritized teacher. The declarative knowledge
legislators should know are the statistics on the lack of representation of minoritized teachers, the
benefits of having minoritized teachers in the teaching workforce, the historical impact of past
legislation, and knowledge about the barriers minoritized teachers face along the teaching
pathway.
Knowledge about the lack of representation. A lack of diversity within the teaching
workforce has a negative impact on minoritized students (Ahmad & Boser, 2014; Montes, 2012;
Noguera, 2009; Papageorge, 2017; Parks & Kennedy, 2007; U.S. Department of Education,
2016c; Zumwalt & Craig, 2005). Legislators may lack the declarative knowledge necessary to
understand the scope of the problem. Legislators should have declarative knowledge, such as the
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ability to articulate that as of 2018, 91. 5% of teachers in Connecticut identified as White and
worked with a student population in which only 56% identified as White (Connecticut State
Department of Education, 2018). A lack of declarative knowledge about the low representation
of minoritized teachers would make it challenging for legislators to see a need to support
programs prioritizing minoritized teacher.
Knowledge about the benefits of minoritized teachers. Legislators should know the
positive impact minoritized teachers bring to the field. They serve as important role models for
students and narrow the achievement gaps between minoritized students and White students
(Egalite et al., 2015; U.S. Department of Education, 2016b; Villegas et al., 2012). Research
conducted by Gershenson et al. (2016) found that Black teachers held higher expectations for
their students’ educational attainment then White teachers, impacting the educational
achievement of Black students. In addition, Mercado (2011) research on the positive impact that
Hispanic teachers have on Hispanic students, serving as cultural navigators, supports the benefits
of increasing the number of minoritized teachers. Legislators with declarative knowledge about
the benefits of minoritized teachers may be able to use this information as rational for future
legislation that increases minoritized teachers.
Knowledge about the impact of legislation. Legislators should know the impact that
Connecticut legislation has had on minoritized teachers in the past 30 years. Legislators are
elected into their positions on a 2- year cycle with unlimited opportunity for reelection, therefore
reviewing legislative history should be a process done prior to moving new legislation forward.
The benefit of the review is that they may gain a deeper understanding of the impact of past
legislation and anticipate the impact of future legislation. This study will probe into the degree
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of knowledge current legislators have about past legislation aimed at increasing the percentage of
minoritized teachers.
Knowledge of barriers along the teacher pathway. Minoritized teachers face unique
challenges along their pathway into the classroom. As Dafina-Lazarus (2013) explains, the
teaching pathway is often impacted by systemic and structural inequities that contribute to
uneven patterns of persistence and achievement within teacher preparation programs and within
the profession. There are points along the teaching pathway that are directly impacted by state
legislation: teacher preparation courses, GPA requirements, content credit requirements,
certification assessments and certification assessment benchmarks. Legislators may lack the
declarative knowledge about the complex process of how a person progresses along the teacher
pathway. They may also not be familiar with the historical legislation that has defined the
various teaching requirements.
Metacognitive knowledge. Krathwohl (2010) defines metacognitive knowledge as the
knowledge to reflect on and adapt the way a person thinks and operates. Metacognitive
knowledge is essential within the learning process (Ambrose et al., 2010; Krathwohl, 2010;
Mayer, 2011). Mayer (2011) further explains that metacognition is a person’s awareness and
control of how they think. Legislators spend time thinking about ways to strengthen and/or solve
challenges facing the state of Connecticut. In order for legislators to increase their metacognitive
knowledge they need to think about the potential barriers along the teacher pathway that
adversely impact aspiring minoritized teachers.
Knowledge about how implicit bias impacts decision making. Legislators may lack
metacognitive knowledge in the area of implicit bias and how implicit bias impacts their
decision-making process. Defined within the Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity,
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implicit bias is a person’s unconscious preference against members of a particular group (Nance,
2014). One of the tenets of CRT is the ability to challenge the concept of meritocracy, the idea
that power is gained through ability and achievement, rather than wealth or family, or neutrality,
the idea that there is an absence of favoritism (Sleeter et al., 2015). Legislators may not realize
in attempting to enact legislation that they deem neutral, without reflecting on the role of implicit
bias and preference toward the dominant culture, they may be decreasing the percentage of
minoritized teachers rather than increasing the percentage. Legislators should be aware of and in
control of their own cognitive processing and reflect on the impact of implicit bias on their
decision-making process.
Procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge is described by Krathwohl (2010) as the
knowledge of how to accomplish a task and the steps or methods a person would use for
displaying a particular skill. In order for legislators to increase the percentage of minoritized
teachers in the state, they should know the specific steps to achieving that goal and when to
apply those various steps. Ambrose et al. (2010) explains that there is a clear difference between
declarative and procedural knowledge. Therefore, in addition to a legislator needing to know the
facts and concepts related to the percentage of minoritized teachers and their impact on learning,
they also need the procedural knowledge of how and when to apply that knowledge to bring
about change via legislation.
Skills to draft and promote legislation specifically targeted at increasing the percentage
of minoritized teachers. Drafting legislation is a multistep process. According to the Office of
Legislative Management (2015), there is a limited time before legislative sessions begin that a
legislator can file a proposed bill. In order for legislation specifically targeted at increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers to be proposed, a legislator would need to have a special
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interest in the issue or be fulfilling a request from their constituents or a specific organization
with their district. A legislator would need the procedural knowledge of the process and how to
transition legislation through the various benchmarks of the process, such as hearings, committee
reporting, referrals, filing, general debates, voting, and governor approval. In probing for the
procedural knowledge of the legislators, their skill to draft and promote legislation specifically
targeted at increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers can be better understood and
ultimately, supported.
Table 2 presents a summary of the assumed knowledge influences needed by Connecticut
legislators to meet he goal, as well as the types of knowledge connected to each knowledge
influence.
Table 2
Assumed Knowledge Influences and Types
Assumed Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type
Legislators must have knowledge about the lack of representation of
minoritized teachers within the state of Connecticut.

Declarative
Legislators must have knowledge about the benefits of having
minoritized teachers teaching in Connecticut classrooms.

Declarative

Legislators must understand the impact of legislation on increasing
or decreasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in Connecticut.
Declarative

Legislators must have knowledge about the unique barriers
minoritized teachers face along the teacher pathway.
Declarative
Legislators must have knowledge about how implicit bias impacts
their decision making in regards to reviewing, drafting, and/or
approving legislation.
Metacognitive
Legislators must have knowledge about the process to draft
legislation that specifically targets increasing the percentage of
minoritized teachers.
Procedural

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The knowledge presented in Table 2 is important in order for legislators to be able to
review, draft, and approve legislation that increases the percentage of minoritized teachers in the
state.
Motivation
In addition to knowledge-related influences, there are also motivation-related influences
needed for legislators to achieve their goal. Clark and Estes (2008) explain that motivation-
related influence help understand stakeholder and organizational effectiveness. The literature on
motivation-related influences suggests that engaging in an understanding of what motivates
people is important in assessing progress toward a goal. Dembo and Seli (2016) describe
motivation as the degree to which a person exerts effort on a task, persists despite challenges,
and maintains a positive outlook on their ability to accomplish a task. Ambrose et al. (2010)
explains that motivation guides a person’s behavior. To gain a stronger understanding of the
legislator’s motivations the following motivational-related theoretical approaches will be
utilized: expectancy value theory, attribution theory, and self-efficacy theory.
Expectancy value theory. Expectancy value theory is a theoretical approach that looks
at specific motivational constructs. Eccles (2010) suggests that two motivational questions are
foundational as an individual is deciding about engaging with a task: “Can I do the task?” and
“Do I want to do the task?” (p. 1). In addition to the two foundational motivational questions,
Eccles (2010) defines the value dimension as being comprised of four constructs: intrinsic
interest, attainment value, utility value, and perceived costs. Each construct can be used to
understand the perceived value a state legislator ascribes to reviewing drafting, and/or approving
legislation to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers. Do legislators enjoy engaging in
legislation aimed at teacher diversity (intrinsic interest)? Do legislators see the need to increase
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the percentage of minoritized teachers as important to their self-image as legislators (attainment
value)? Do legislators see accomplishing the proposed goal as creating benefits within the state,
such as improving student achievement? What do legislators see as the perceived costs to
engaging in legislation that focuses on teacher diversity? For the purpose of this study, the focus
will be on the attainment construct of expectancy value theory.
Legislators’ attainment value. Focusing on the motivational construct of attainment
value, increases the understanding about if legislators see the importance of having a
representative percentage of minoritized teachers within the teaching workforce. Attainment
value is “the extent to which engaging in [a] task is important for one’s self-concept or identity”
(Dembo & Seli, 2016, p. 44). Do legislators see investing time in reviewing, drafting and/or
approving legislation that increases the percentage of minoritized teachers as something that is
central to their self-image? Eccles (2010) argues that there are three needs that may influence
attainment value: the feeling of competence, engagement with others, and a sense of autonomy.
This study seeks to gain a deeper understanding of how each need influences the attainment
value of legislators.
Attribution theory. Anderman and Anderman (2012) explained that attribution theory is
applied to help people understand their environment and provide an explanation about why
certain events occur. Reyna (2000) further explained by citing Heider (1958) and Weiner (1985)
that a facet of attribution theory is an individual believing that externally located causes are, by
definition, uncontrollable by an individual. Dembo and Seli (2016) also cited Weiner (1986) by
concluding that an attribution is a person’s perception of what causes success or failure on a
given task. They further explain that success and failure are commonly attributed to a person’s
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perception of their ability or their effort. Using the lens of attribution theory help gains a better
understanding of the state legislators’ motivations toward meeting the goal.
Legislators’ attributions about increasing minoritized teachers. In order to engage in
the complex process of drafting and approving legislation, legislators must see that their efforts
to increasing minoritized teachers are a positive contribution to the state of Connecticut, despite
perceived or potential impeding factors such as discrimination. Understanding the degree to
which legislators see the issue of a low percentage of minoritized teachers as capable of change
via legislation can be a predictive factor of the degree to which legislators will take action. In
order to engage in the process of reviewing, drafting, and/or approving legislation, legislators
should see the importance of their efforts.
Self-efficacy theory. Pajares (2010) defines self-efficacy as a person’s beliefs and
perceptions in their capabilities to accomplish a specific goal by performing specific tasks. He
explains that a person’s beliefs about their self-efficacy are formed by “four sources: experience,
vicarious experience, social persuasions, and physiological reactions” (p. 2). To gain a stronger
perspective on the self-efficacy of the legislators, there must be data gathered to assess if they
believe they are capable of increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers.
Self-efficacy of legislators. A legislator’s self-efficacy should not be confused with the
expectations they have about the outcomes. Pajares (2010) believes that a person’s self-efficacy
can help foster the outcome a person expects. This is built on the understanding that if a person
believes they can accomplish the goal, they are more likely to display behaviors that drive
toward that goal. In order to engage in the process of increasing the percentage of minoritized
teachers, legislators need to believe they are capable of moving legislation related to increasing
minoritized teachers through the general assembly.
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Table 3 presents a summary of the assumed motivational influences of the legislators, as
well as the motivational constructs associated with each influence.
Table 3
Assumed Motivation Influences and Constructs
Assumed Motivation Influence Motivation Construct
Legislators must believe that having a representative percentage of
minoritized teachers within the teaching workforce is important.
Attainment Value
Legislators must believe that their individual legislative efforts can
contribute to increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers,
despite perceived and potential impeding factors.
Attributions
Legislators must believe they are capable of garnering support for
legislation related to increasing minoritized teachers throughout the
general assembly.
Self-Efficacy

The motivational influences demonstrated in Table 3 are important in order for legislators to be
able to review, draft, and approve legislation that increases the percentage of minoritized
teachers in the state.
Organizational Influences
In addition to the knowledge-related and motivation-related influences, organizational-
related influences have a critical role in stakeholder and organizational performance (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Organization-related influences can be separated into two categories: cultural
models and cultural settings (Gallimore & Gallimore, 2001). In order for an organization to
achieve their mission and goals, there needs to be alignment between the organization’s cultural
models and cultural setting. Cultural models represent the shared invisible understanding of how
an organization works or the expectation on how it should work. Cultural settings are the norms
that can be observed within an organization, for example, the protocol in approving legislation
through the voting process within the Education Committee of the General Assembly. Both
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cultural models and cultural settings may help determine whether state legislators can be
successful in performing their roles within the Education Committee (Gallimore & Gallimore,
2001).
Collaboration and trust. There may be invisible cultural models within the
organizational practices that either foster or erode collaboration and trust between the Education
Committee and the CSDE. The CSDE is responsible for ensuring that legislation passed through
the Education Committee is implemented throughout Connecticut’s educational systems. The
Education Committee is advised by the CSDE, in addition to advisement by other educational
related special interest groups. There are examples of CSDE drafting proposed legislation
related to minoritized teachers and recommending the legislation to the Education Committee to
be reviewed. A member of the Education Committee would need to sponsor the recommended
legislation, in order for the legislation to move forward in the legislative process. When
legislation is proposed by CSDE it is imperative that trust is present between members of the
Education Committee and CSDE. If trust is not present a member of the Education Committee
might not volunteer to sponsor the legislation. Conversely, if the Education Committee approves
legislation without the input of CSDE, when CSDE is responsible for the implementation of the
legislation across the state, CSDE members might not implement the legislation with fidelity due
to a lack of trust. Gaining a deeper understanding of how both organizations collaborate and
build trust helps gain an understanding of how that collaboration and trust lead towards
increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state.
Prioritization of minoritized teachers. It is important to understand, from the
perspective of legislators, whether the Education Committee prioritizes or deprioritizes
increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in the workforce. There is a wide breadth of
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educational issues facing the Education Committee. To understand where increasing minoritized
teachers ranks amongst the various educational issues may provide CSDE insight into how they
could demonstrate how minoritized teachers are interconnected with other educational issues,
such as the achievement gap. Gallimore and Gallimore (2001) explains the shared
interconnectedness between cultural models. Within the context of this study, the idea of
interconnectedness may provide insight into how the issue around increasing minoritized
teachers is prioritized amongst legislators.
Communication between CSDE and Education Committee. In order for legislators to
engage in the process of reviewing, draft and/or approve legislation there must be
communication between CSDE and the Education Committee about minoritized teachers. This
study will probe into procedures that are in place to share information between the two
organizations about minoritized teachers. Gallimore and Gallimore (2001) explain that a cultural
setting occurs when people come together and accomplish a goal. By studying the cultural
settings of the organizations, information can be gathered about how legislators gain resources
from CSDE to draft, review, and/or approve legislation.
Table 4 represents a summary of the organizational cultural models and settings of the
general assembly’s Education Committee and the CSDE, in addition to the assumed
organizational influences.

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Table 4
Assumed Organizational Influences and Categories
Assumed Organizational Influences

Organizational Influence
Category
The culture within the Education Committee and
CSDE must cultivates a culture of collaboration
and trust between the two organizations.
Cultural Model Influence
The Education Committee must prioritize
increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers
amongst statewide educational issues.
Cultural Model Influence
The CSDE and the Education Committee must
maintain communication about progress towards
increasing minoritized teachers within the state.
Cultural Setting Influence

The organizational influences in Table 4 are important for legislators to be able to review,
draft, and approve legislation that increases the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state.
Conclusion
Each knowledge, motivation, and organization-related influence demonstrated in Table 5
represents a hypothesized need in order for legislators serving in the Connecticut Education
Committee to meet the proposed goal. Once legislators are able to pass legislation that supports
programs, mandates equitable hiring practices, and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway,
then they are able to support the larger statewide goal developed by CSDE, to ensure at least
10% of teachers in the state identify with a minoritized group. Table 5 summarizes the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs.

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Table 5
Overview of Knowledge, Motivation, Organization Influences
Assumed Needs
Legislators need the following knowledge
The lack of representation of minoritized teachers within the state
The benefits of minoritized teachers
The impact of legislation on minoritized teachers
The unique barriers minoritized teachers face
Legislators need the following to motivate them
The belief that having a representative percentage of minoritized teachers is important.
The belief that their efforts can contribute to an increase, despite impeding factors.
The belief that they are capable of garnering support for legislation related to increasing
minoritized teachers
The following organization conditions must be met between the Education Committee
and CSDE
Cultivation of a culture of collaboration and trust
Prioritization of increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers
Maintenance of communication about progress towards increasing minoritized teachers
In conclusion, increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in the United States has
been a challenge since Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954). Despite local, state, and
national programs being implemented to remedy the problem, the gap between minoritized
students and minoritized teachers widens. The state of Connecticut has actively set goals to
address the demographic imperative. Connecticut’s ability to meet those goals is dependent on
many factors, which includes legislative policy. This study will research the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational factors influencing the Connecticut legislator’s ability to review,
draft and/or approve legislation that supports programs prioritizing minoritized teacher,
mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and/or review and eliminate potential barriers
minoritized teachers face along the professional pathway.

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODS
Chapter Three outlines the research design and methods used to collect and analyze data
within the research study. A variety on methodological tools were used to gather the data. All
data gathered was analyzed using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework. The
following questions were used to frame the data collection process, analyze hypothesized gaps in
Connecticut legislator knowledge, motivation and organizational capacity, and to make
recommendations toward address confirmed gaps.
1. What knowledge and motivation do Connecticut legislators have related to their ability to
create legislation that supports programs prioritizing minoritized teachers, mandate equity
in school district hiring practices, and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway?
2. What is the interaction between the cultural and organizational context of the Education
Committee and the Connecticut State Department of Education’s and how do these
organizational cultures impact legislators ability to pass legislation that supports
programs prioritizing minoritized teachers, mandates equity in school district hiring
practices, and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway?
3. What are the recommended knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences
needed for Connecticut legislators to pass legislation that supports programs prioritizing
minoritized teachers, mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and eliminates
barriers along the teacher pathway?
This chapter provides a description of the research methods used to collect, analyze, and interpret
the data, beginning with a description of the participating stakeholders, the sampling strategy,
rational in selection, and criterion for selection of the stakeholders. Furthermore, this chapter
provides a description of the instruments used for data collection and the data analysis process.
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Finally, there is an explanation of the credibility and trustworthiness, ethical considerations, and
limitations and delimitations of the study.
Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholder population for this study was elected senators and house representatives
within the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA), the legislative branch of the government. The
CGA is comprised of 151 House Representatives (legislators) and 36 State Senators (legislators).
All 187 legislators are elected into their positions on a 2-year cycle with unlimited opportunity
for reelection. One of the responsibilities of the legislative branch of state government is to
enact educational laws (Connecticut General Assembly, 2018c). To better understand the
knowledge and motivation of legislators, as it relates to diversifying the teaching workforce, in
addition to how legislators within their organizational context interact with the organizational
context and culture of CSDE, the selection process concentrated on those legislators that
participate in the Education Committee and/or the Minority Teacher Retention and Recruitment
Task Force. There are 36 legislative members serving on the Education Committee and three on
the Minority Teacher Retention and Recruitment Task Force. One of the three Minority Teacher
Retention and Recruitment Task Force members also participates within the Education
Committee. The Minority Teacher Retention and Recruitment Task Force is comprised of
legislators and local community leaders that come together to study and develop strategies to
increase and improve the recruitment, preparation and retention of minoritized teachers. CGA
committees, such as the Education Committee, are responsible for drafting, reviewing and
reporting bills and resolutions prior to the bill going before all members of the CGA (Office of
Legislative Management, 2015).
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Within this study, specific legislators were selected based on pre-determined
characteristics. Maxwell (2013) defines the process of deliberate selection as one in which
participants are selected based on their ability to provide the most relevant information in
connection with one’s research question as “purposeful selection” (p. 97). Johnson and
Christensen (2015), describe the approach of identifiying specific criteria within a population
and then connecting with specfic indivudals who meet those critera as “purposive sampling” (p.
264) which Maxwell (2013) explains is synomous with purposeful selection. Purposeful
selection was used in selecting the legislators for participation in this study.
Interview Selection Strategy and Rationale
The sampling strategy used for this qualitative study was be purposeful sampling,
described by Johnson and Christensen (2015) as an approach that allows the researcher to select
specific criteria within a potential participant group. There are 38 potential legislators that could
be selected as interview participants. Clark and Estes (2008) suggest interviewing five to seven
people when using the conceptual framework of gap analysis. According to Merriam and Tisdell
(2015), selecting a specific sample size is dependent of the point at which the information being
shared becomes redundant. Theoretical sampling, an approach described by Glaser, Strauss, and
Strutzel (1968) was also used in the selection propose. Glaser et al. (1968) describe theoretical
sampling as an approach where data is collected and analyzed before continuing to collect
additional data. The data analysis determines the data being collect as emergent theories are
beign developed.
In combining purposeful and theoretical sampling, the initial interview process started
with two legislators whom previously established relationships were strong. Legislators were
contacted via email and requests were made to meet at their offices at the state capital for a one
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hour meeting. One hour was a limited amount of time, however the meeting length was
determined based on the interview window happened during November 2018 and December
2018. These two months were prior to the start of the 2019 legislative session and during
election season, in which all members of the General Assembly were up for reelection. After the
first interviews, transcripts were analyzed and theories started to emerge. Additional legislators
were selected to participate in interviews based on the developing emergent theories of the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational-related influences of the legislators. Originally, six
to eight legislators were to be selected to participate.
Interview Selection Criterion and Rationale
Criterion 1. A participant in the study must have been a member of the 2018 CGA and
must have been selected to serve on the 2018 Education Committee and/or the Minority Teacher
Recruitment and Retention Task Force. Participants with membership within the identified
groups were responsible for reviewing, drafting, and approving legislation that could increase the
percentage of minoritized teachers in the state. Their participation provided insight on the
knowledge legislators had about the impact of minoritized teachers in Connecticut as well as
insight on their motivation to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers.
Criterion 2. Majority of the participants had to be running for reelection within the CGA
in November 2018. Those participants who run for reelection in November 2018 would have the
opportunity to review, draft and/or approve legislation in the 2019 and 2020 legislative session,
if they were selected to serve on the Education Committee. Those members not running for
reelection would not be present for the 2019 and 2020 legislative session in which educational
policy related to increasing minoritized teachers would be proposed. Exceptions were made in
cases where legislators not seeking reelection, not assigned to the education Committee, or not
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reelected however had significant influence on legislation related to minoritized teachers during
the 2017 legislation session.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
The data collection methods and instruments used in this qualitative study were
interviews, documents and artifacts. Merriam and Tisdell (2015) elaborates on the benefits of
utilizing multiple data collection methods. In using multiple methods, triangulation can be
utilized to provide stronger internal validity to the study. Maxwell (2013) concludes that
triangulation is a process that allows for the reduction of bias, which is a risk in using one
method. Using triangulation allows for a stronger understanding of the knowledge and
motivation of state legislators, as it relates to minoritized teachers. In addition, these data
collection methods provided insight to how the knowledge and motivation of the legislators
interact with the organizational context and culture between the Education Committee and the
CSDE.
Interviews
Though six to eight legislators were initially proposed in the interview selection, 16
legislators participated representing 43% of all potential participants. Each interview lasted
between 30 and 90 minutes and were held in private meeting room within the state capitol or a
local space within the participant’s district. The interviews took place using the English as
language and there was no translation needed. A semi-structured interview protocol was used to
collect data. The protocol can be found in Appendix A. Merriam and Tisdell (2015) describe a
semi-structured approach as one that allows the researcher to provide a structured protocol while
also having the flexibility to “respond to the situation at hand” (p. 111). A semi-structured
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approach provided insight into the participant’s potential knowledge, motivation, and
organizational-related influences based on the data provided.
The interview questions were based on Patton’s (2002) categories of questions with a
specific emphasizes on opinions, values, knowledge, feelings, and demographics. The interview
questions focused on gathering data on the knowledge legislators may or may not have about the
lack of representation of minoritized teachers within the state of Connecticut. In addition, to
their knowledge about the potential benefits of having minoritized teachers teaching in
Connecticut. The questions asked assessed the legislator’s knowledge about programs
prioritizing minoritized teacher. Once the assumed declarative knowledge was assessed, there
were questions about the unique barriers minoritized teachers face along the teacher pathway.
Furthermore, there were questions to gauge legislator’s metacognitive knowledge about how
implicit bias impacts their decision making in regards to minoritized teacher legislation. Finally
there were questions asked to gain insight on legislator’s motivations and their understandings of
the organizational cultural models and settings within the Education Committee and the CSDE.
The interview script can be found in Appendix E.
Documents
Documents were used as a research method to support findings in the interviews.
Between 2008 and 2018 there were 2456 legislative acts passed in the state of Connecticut and
four of the legislative acts directly aimed at increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in
the state (Connecticut General Assembly , 2018f). Each legislative act is public record and,
according to Merriam and Tisdell (2015), these documents provide “ongoing records of society’s
activities.” These public records are accessible on the CGA website. They provided historical
context to the relationship between the legislators and CSDE as it relates to CSDE ensuring the
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state’s educational entities are meeting the regulations enacted by state legislatures. In addition,
by analyzing past legislation additional insight was gained about the knowledge that current
legislatures have about the role of legislation in increasing minoritized teachers in the state.
Furthermore, in reviewing 10 years of legislative acts there was an opportunity to assess the use
of language and potential implicit bias within the language that may impact future legislator
motivations. The document protocol can be found in Appendix B.
Artifacts
Artifacts included videos, meeting agendas, reports presented at meetings, and meeting
minutes. The Connecticut Network, which provides webcast coverage of Connecticut state
government and public policy events held at the state capitol was used for all audio and video
artifacts (CTG18). The Connecticut Network represents a repository of archival video dating
back to 2015. From 2015 to 2016 the Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force,
which included three legislators, met seven times for a total of ten hours and five minutes. The
Education Committee held 25 meetings between February of 2015 and May of 2018. The
meetings averaged seven hours per meeting for approximately 175 hours of meeting time. The
Education Committee met about a variety of topics that were not all related to minoritized
teachers, therefore in an effort to streamline the analysis a review each meeting agenda was
completed. The agendas and occasionally the minutes of each meeting were available on the
CGA website. Strategic analysis of the agenda items included searching words as minority
teacher, certification, and/or teacher pathway in the body of the text. Once key words were
identified videos of meetings could be skimmed through relevant portions were discussed.
While viewing the recorded meetings, low-inference notes were taken in addition to
interpretations on how legislators demonstrated their knowledge and motivation in connection to
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the increase and impact of minoritized teachers. In addition, notes were taken and analyzed at
any mention of CSDE to analyze the organizational-related influences between CSDE and the
Education Committee. Merriam and Tisdell (2015) provide six elements to consider while
observing: the physical setting, participants, activities and interactions, conversations, subtle
factors, and one’s own behavior. Though this is analysis of artifacts and not observations, many
of the elements were represented in the low-inference notes. The artifact protocol can be found
in Appendix C.
Data Analysis
Data collection of documents and artifacts started in August 2018 and continued through
January 2019. Interview data was collected in November 2018 and December 2018. Analytical
memos were written after each interview. Research thoughts, concerns, and initial conclusions
were documented in relation to the conceptual framework and research questions. Each
interview participant was a provided a consent to participate and be recorded form. Those
interviews that were recorded were transcribed and coded. Corbin and Strauss (2008) explain
the coding process should be done in multiple phases. The first phase is to take raw data and
apply a conceptual level to the data. The next phase of analysis, was to use open coding, were
empirical codes were analyzed and a priori codes applied. As additional phase of analysis
included aggregating the empirical and a prior codes into analytic/axial codes. The final phase of
data analysis was in identifying pattern codes and themes that emerged in relation to the
conceptual framework and research questions (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Analysis of documents
and artifacts were consistent with the concepts in the conceptual framework and research
questions.

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Credibility and Trustworthiness
Merriam and Tisdell (2015) explain that to assess the validity of a qualitative study a
researcher seeks to investigate how the studies participants construct reality and understand the
world. Therefore, to come to a more nuanced understanding of how the participants, legislators
within Connecticut, understand the role and impact of minoritized teachers three different
instruments were used: interviews, documents, and artifacts. Using multiple instruments
increases the credibility of the study. Merriam and Tisdell (2015) further suggest that when
presenting findings in a study, it is imperative to pay close attention to the collection, analysis,
and interpretation of the data to increase the validity and reliability. The collection of data was
completed through printed notetaking, computer notetaking and voice recording. The coding
system, ATLAS. ti8 was utilized to analyze and triangulate the data.
Maxwell (2013) suggests two potential threats to the validity of a qualitative study. The
first threat is “researcher bias” (p. 124), which is the personal beliefs and experiences of the
researcher impacting the research process. As a registered lobbyist in the state of Connecticut
and the Dean of a teacher preparation program, I have actively sought to increase awareness
about the benefits of minoritized teachers, it was important to be mindful of assumptions being
made about the data. In addition, I identify as a minoritized teacher who has experienced
barriers in entering the teaching profession within Connecticut. Furthermore, I was a
Connecticut middle school principal that actively recruited minoritized teachers to work in my
school. During the course of the research process I was also appointed by the Commissioner of
Education to the Minority Teacher Policy Oversight Council. In addition, during the 2019
legislative session I was invited by legislators within the Minority Teacher Recruitment and
Retention Task Force to participate as a community educational leader. These roles and
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experiences are part of the biases that I bring to the study. It is important to recognize that biases
influence the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data.
An additional validity threat is “reactivity” (p. 124) which Maxwell (2013) defines as the
influence of the researcher on the study. This may have impacted my relationship with
interviewing participants. Some interview participants were aware of my advocacy efforts of
increasing minoritized teachers within the state. This awareness may have influenced their
response to questions I asked throughout the interview. In an attempt to be responsive to
reactivity I sought to ask questions that were not leading and practiced the interview protocol to
ensure my responses were neutral. An additional element that was uncovered was the potential
for interview participants that did not match my gender or racial identity to respond differently. I
was most aware of this while interviewing over the phone where my racial identity was not as
apparent. In an attempt to be responsive to reactivity I lead each interview explaining that I was
speaking to them as a researcher and doctoral student and not in my role as an educational
advocate or Dean of a local teacher preparation program.
Ethics
It is important to recognize the potential ethical considerations within this qualitative
study. Merriam and Tisdell (2015) explain that within the role of a researcher all the data that is
collected is filtered through personal biases. A researcher therefore, must be aware of not
disregarding data that does not support their assumptions. Potential biases that were considered
were assumptions about the lack of responsibility I perceived legislators possessed in addressing
the lack of minoritized teachers in schools, a lack of trust in the political process and in
legislators following through on their verbal commitments, and a lack of trust of those in
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positions of power within the general assembly and the CSDE who identify as White, being able
to empathize with minoritized teachers.
In addition to personal bias, it was important to consider the ethical implication of my
relationships with the organizations and with those participating in the interviews. In my
professional role I work directly with the talent department within the CSDE as the Dean of a
teacher preparation program. The teacher preparation program I lead has been named as one of
many strategies the CSDE is utilizing to diversify the teaching workforce. CSDE communicates
their work to state legislators and therefore when I spoke with legislators I reiterated that I was
seeking their insight within my role as a researcher, versus my role as a leader in education
preparation. Furthermore, as a registered lobbyist in the state of Connecticut it was important
that I articulated that I was not seeking to promote my teacher preparation program throughout
the study, as I would do when I have conversations with legislators in my role as a lobbyist. In
addition, one of the legislators amongst those eligible for selection represented the community I
reside in, this member participated on the Education Committee and the Minority Teacher Task
Force. As a voting member of the community I was aware of the impact that voting membership
may have if my local legislator was selected to be interviewed.
I addressed these ethical considerations by explaining to participants that my interest in
this study stemmed from the national conversation about teacher diversity. Rubin and Rubin
(2012) suggested refraining from the urge to share information that reflected my vested interest
and beliefs about the topic. Therefore, I attempted to not divulge my concerns that I perceived
there to be a lack of policy being established to close the teacher-student demographic gap at the
legislative level. The goal was to ensure the interview participants were the agents of their
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expertise and that I was looking to learn about their knowledge and what motivates them in
relation to increasing minoritized teachers in the workforce.
It was imperative that I respect the participants’ rights to privacy, and therefore all
participants were be provided informed consent. The interview consent form can be found in
Appendix D. Glesne (2011) recognizes the informed consent as a document that provides
participants information about the nature of the study, that their participation is voluntary, that
they may stop participating at any point, and provides information to participants about any
potential aspects of the study that could impact them negatively. Rubin and Rubin (2012)
specifically address the difficult nature of being able to trace support or lack of support for
legislative proposals. They suggested either disguise the issue or get permission to use real
names. I did not use names, however I did explain to each participant that though I would make
my best effort to create anonymity, staying anonymous is not a guarantee given the public nature
of legislator’s role across the state. I used a voice recorder during the interview, and ensured that
recognizable descriptors were redacted from the transcripts. All data collected has been securely
stored in a password protected digital file. In an effort to minimize the potential feeling of
coercion I requested all interviews to be conducted at the Connective Legislative Building or
public space within the legislator’s district. There were no incentives offered for participation in
the study. Upon conclusion of the study I will provide a letter of appreciation, recognizing them
for their time. Finally, as an educational doctoral student at the University of Southern
California, I further protected participants by participating in the universities Institutional
Review Board (IRB) process. According to the Office for Protection of Research Subjects
(2018) the IRB provides assurance that the research was completed in accordance with federal,
institutional, and ethical requirements (USC Web Services, 2018).
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Limitations and Delimitations
There were anticipated limitations to this study, for example, Merriam and Tisdell (2015)
explained that using video, which was used to during artifact analysis, is a method of data
collection that has limitations. Video tapping is limited to what is captured within the angle of
the video camera. In addition, I could not control the truthfulness of the participant’s responses.
There were also delimitation choices that were made that had implications on the data, for
example given the time constraints of the interviews I limited the number of questions to stay
within the 60-minute time frame. In addition, I did not watch every Education Committee
meeting from start to finish, and I was strategic in reading through the legislative acts to focus in
on information that provide insight on the knowledge, motivations, and organizational-related
influences of the legislators.
Merriam and Tisdell (2015) describe a qualitative study as an in-depth description of a
larger system and for a researcher to create this in-depth description they must bound the system.
This study was bound by focusing on a group of legislators meeting the specific criterion in
interview selection. This study was also bound within the state of Connecticut and interviews
were bound by selecting legislators who already expressed interest in educational legislation,
therefore being selected to serve on the Education Committee or the Minority Teacher
Recruitment and Retention Task Force. Legislators that did not participate in the Education
Committee or the Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force still vote on all
proposed legislation impacting minoritized teachers, however they were not part of this study. In
bounding the study, I was able to gain a better understanding of the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational-related influences of the legislators most involved with increasing the diversity of
the Connecticut teaching workforce.
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CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
Chapter Four outlines the findings of the analysis and interpretation of the data collected
within this qualitative study. In Chapter One, the purpose of this qualitative research, a gap
analysis examining the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of Connecticut
state legislators, was explained. Describing the importance of state legislators, as key
policymakers, to review, draft and/or approve legislation that supports programs prioritizing
minoritized teacher, mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and/or review and
eliminate potential barriers along the teacher pathway that adversely impact aspiring minoritized
teachers. This support would positively impact the teacher diversity goal established by the
Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), to increase the racial, ethnic, and linguistic
diversity of the teaching workforce to 10% by 2021. Chapter Two reviewed the historical
context contributing to the teacher-student demographic gap within the United States and the
barriers that aspiring minoritized teachers face in entering the profession. Chapter Three
outlined the research design and methods used to collect and analyze data within the research
study. Findings were generated by reviewing the data collection instruments explained in
Chapter Three: interviews, documents, and artifacts. This chapter is presented in four
comprehensive sections (1) knowledge findings, (2) motivational influences, (3) organizational
influences, (4) critical race theoretical framework analysis.
Stakeholder Demographics
The stakeholder population interviewed for this study were publicly elected state senators
and state representatives Education Committee within the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA)
who were appointed to the Education Committee and/or the Minority Teacher Recruitment and
Retention Task Force during the 2018 legislative session. During the 2018 legislative session 36
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legislative members participated in the Education Committee and three within the Minority
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force, one member of Minority Teacher Recruitment
and Retention Task Force did not serve on the Education Committee. Provided these parameters,
37 legislators met the criteria of the stakeholder population. Figure 2 provides demographic data
of the 37 legislators that met the criteria of the stakeholder population.

Figure 2. Demographic data of legislators who participated on the Education Committee and/or
on the Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force.

Of the 37 legislators representing the stakeholder population, 16 participated in the
research study through interview participation. The 16 legislators represented 42% of the 2018
Education Committee and 100% of legislators that participated in the Minority Teacher
Recruitment and Retention Task Force. Figure 3 provides demographic data of the 16
legislator’s on the Education Committee and/or on the Minority Teacher Recruitment and
Retention Task Force who participated in interviews for the research study.

22
Female
25
Non-Members 20
Democrats
29
House
Representatives
15
Males
12
Members 17
Republicans
8
Senators
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Gender Black & Puerto Rican
Caucus
Political Party Legislative Branch
Stakeholder Demographics
TEACHER DIVERSITY 74
Figure 3. Demographic data of participating legislators.
In addition, to interview analysis, document analysis was utilized to further validate the
research findings. Between 2008 and 2018 there were four legislative bills proposed that directly
sought to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state of Connecticut. All four
legislative bills included the phrase “minority teacher” within the title of the bill, in addition all
four were signed into law. In 2017 and 2018 the Connecticut State Department of Education
(CSDE) presented two reports to the General Assembly outlining their course of action
pertaining to minority teacher recruitment. These six documents have been analyzed to further
assess the assumed knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences necessary for the
stakeholder group, state legislators, to support CSDE in reaching the 2021 teacher-diversity goal.
In further triangulation of the data, artifact analysis was utilized. The artifacts analyzed
were previously recorded video and audio of the Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Task Force meetings held from 2015 to 2016. In addition, analysis was conducted using the
agenda items for all Education Committee meetings held from 2008 – 2018. In using multiple
9
Female
12
Non-Members
13
Democrates
13
House
Representatives
7
Males
4
Members
3
Republicans
3
Senators
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Gender Black & Puerto Rican
Caucus
Political Party Legislative Branch
Interview Participant Demographics
TEACHER DIVERSITY 75
methods of data gathering, the process of triangulation will allow for the reduction of bias within
the analysis, according to Maxwell (2013). Furthermore, Clark and Estes (2008) explains that
using multiple methods supports the gap analysis framework, which assess the validity of the
assumed knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences of the stakeholders.
As described in Chapter Three, the purpose of using the gap analysis conceptual
framework, provides a method to evaluate the stakeholders, legislators, ability to review, draft
and/or approve legislation that supports programs prioritizing minoritized teacher, mandates
equity in school district hiring practices, and/or reviews and eliminates potential barriers along
the teacher pathway that adversely impact aspiring minoritized teachers. Legislator’s
knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences in accomplishing those steps has an
impact on CSDEs ability to meet the statewide minority teacher recruitment goal of increasing
the percentage of minoritized teachers from 8. 3% to 10% by 2021 (CSDE Talent Office, 2017).
There were 12 knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences outlined in
Chapter Two. In the event that 12 or more legislators responded to interview questions
demonstrating the knowledge, motivation, or organizational influence, the assumed influence
was declared an asset of the legislators. In the event that 11 or less legislators responded to
interview questions demonstrating the knowledge, motivation, or organizational understanding,
the assumed influence was declared a need of the legislators. The needs shaped the gap between
legislator’s ability to pass legislation, mandate equitable school district hiring practices, and
eliminate barriers to increase minoritized teachers.
Results and Findings for Knowledge Influences
The results and findings for the assumed knowledge influences were based on Krathwohl
(2010) insights pertaining to four types of knowledge: factual, conceptual, procedural, and
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metacognitive. Legislators displayed a high amount of declarative knowledge (factual and
conceptual) in relation to knowing about the lack of representation of minoritized teachers within
the state, as well as, the benefits and barriers minoritized teachers face. In addition, legislators
were aware that legislation can have an impact on the percentage of minoritized teachers in the
state. Legislators had limited metacognitive knowledge in relation to seeing racial and ethnic
bias as factors impacting their legislative decisions. Furthermore, while legislators demonstrated
procedural knowledge about reviewing, drafting and approving legislation, they lacked the
procedural knowledge of how to ensure legislation specifically targeted increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers. Table 6 demonstrates the assumed knowledge influences,
based on the results from interview, document, and artifact analysis. There were four knowledge
influences that demonstrate stakeholder assets and the two knowledge influences that represented
stakeholder needs.
Table 6
Possible Causes for Knowledge Gap
Knowledge
Categories
Assumed Knowledge Influences
Asset Gap
Declarative There is a lack of representation of minoritized
teachers within the state.
X
Declarative There are specific benefits of having
minoritized teachers in Connecticut.
X
Declarative Minoritized teachers face unique barriers along
the teacher pathway.
X
Declarative Legislation has an impact on the percentage of
minoritized teachers in the state.
X
Metacognitive Racial and ethnic bias impacts legislative
decision making.
X
Procedural
How to draft legislation that specifically targets
increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers.
X

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Interview Analysis of Declarative Knowledge
Legislators demonstrated the declarative knowledge necessary to increase the percentage
of minoritized teachers by passing legislation that creates equity in hiring and eliminates barriers
along the teacher pathway. Declarative knowledge is factual knowledge, the understanding of
basic information in the world, as well as conceptual knowledge, the ability to create schemas
and make mental pattern using that factual knowledge (Ambrose et al., 2010; Mayer, 2011). The
assumption was that legislators needed declarative knowledge about (1) the lack of minoritized
teacher representation, (2) the benefits of minoritized teachers, (3) the barriers minoritized
teachers face, and (4) the impact legislation has on the percentage of minoritized teachers in the
state.
Legislators know about the lack of minoritized teacher representation. Each
interview began with the following question, “What do you know about the racial and ethnic
demographics of teachers and students in Connecticut?” In responding to this initial question 14
out of 16 legislators provided an answer that demonstrated knowledge of a lack of representation
of minoritized teachers within the state of Connecticut. Some legislators described their
knowledge using data points such as, “Over 90% of our teachers are white teaching majority
black and brown students, so there's definitely a disproportionate amount. Another legislator
referred directly to their knowledge about students and teachers within the districts they
represent,
One of the biggest disparities is that we have students who are 80%, 90% black and
brown in a school with less than 10% of teachers of color in the school. You have
students who may never come into contact with a teacher with whom they identify
physically or otherwise teaching them throughout their career.
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Both legislators shared percentages very close to the actual state percentages, demonstrating an
awareness of the teacher-diversity gap provided by CSDE. Other legislators were aware that a
gap exists, despite the lack of specific percentages. This was illustrated when a legislator
responded to the initial questions by stating, “I probably couldn't give you an exact number off
the top of my head, but I know that number is much lower than it needs to be.” The lower
number referring to the number of teachers of color in the state of Connecticut. In addition, one
legislator used a physical representation of the teacher diversity gap by explaining, “I don't know
the actual numbers, but I'll say out loud that one hand is right up in the air and the other is down
on the ground. The gap is just enormous. Most of the teachers are White.” The legislator
explaining the teacher diversity gap through identifying an abundance of White teachers, further
demonstrates the larger understanding of the lack of minoritized teacher representation in the
state. How the legislators came to understand this gap was through a variety of avenues: hearing
from local district representatives, hearing testimony from the public during Education
Committee meetings, growing up in Connecticut communities and seeing a lack of minoritized
teachers in their school experience or in observing the teaching population in their children’s
schooling experience.
Legislators know there are benefits to having minoritized teachers. The majority of
Legislators, 13 out of 16, demonstrated knowledge of the benefits of having minoritized teachers
teaching in Connecticut classrooms. The benefits coalesced into three distinct categories (1)
minoritized teachers are positive role models (2) minoritized teachers increase academic and
socio-emotional outcomes for students and (3) minoritized teachers increase receptiveness to
diversity and increase opportunities for students.
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The benefit of positive role models. In Chapter Two the role model affect was a leading
theme in the literature. As one legislator explained, “It's crucial that kids go to school and see
people that look like them and have similar backgrounds and experiences in their life. It makes
the kids' learning experience so much better.” Those legislators that referenced the role model
effect described how having minoritized teachers in the classroom allows children of color in
particular, an opportunity to interact with teachers who understand their culture, to see people
who look like them in positions of power and authority, and to aspire to pursue teaching as a
future career.
The benefit of academic and socio-emotional outcomes. Multiple legislators referenced
recent research, also presented in Chapter Two, suggesting the academic benefits to minoritized
students. A legislator referenced the Gershenson et al. (2017) study by stating,
John Hopkins released a recent report saying all the benefits of teachers of color.
Students of color and white students do better academically when they have diverse
teachers. I am not saying white teachers can’t do a good job, I am just saying it matters
to have more teachers of color.
The legislator referencing the academic benefits of teachers of color for all students was a point
brought up by multiple legislators. The uniqueness of the sentiments shared by this legislator
was providing the perspective that increasing diversity was not correlated with White teachers
being unable to have positive academic impacts. There appeared to be a yearning to ensure
discussing teacher diversity was not to say White teachers were not valuable in the school
system. Beyond the academic benefits, socio-emotional benefits were referred to in increase
minoritized teachers. One legislator explained, “They [minoritized teachers] know what their
[minoritized students] strengths are and they bring that to bear on the world. You can't measure
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those with test scores, and so, I think that having a diverse group of teachers is really critical.”
This reference to socio-emotional benefits was shared amongst other legislators as well and often
connected to the impact of minoritized teachers have on the overall academic and social success
of students.
The benefit of increasing cultural awareness. In addition, to positive role models and
the academic and emotional benefits of minoritized teachers, legislators explained that having a
more diverse teaching workforce increases cultural awareness opportunities for students of all
racial and ethnic backgrounds. A legislator specifically stated, “It's important as we're educating
our young that we all understand and are receptive to diverse cultures and ethnic backgrounds.”
Sentiments, such as this, demonstrate that without a diverse teaching population it would be
difficult to achieve an adequate understanding and receptiveness to diverse cultures.
Furthermore, legislators shared the importance of children embracing diversity and they
connected children’s ability to do this with having a diverse teaching staff. One legislator
declared, “I think it empowers the students and it's not just empowerment for black and browns
students it's empowerment for the white students as well.” The “it” being referred to in this quote
was a diverse teaching staff. When students see diversity amongst the teachers, this legislator
explained that the diversity empowered students of all races to increase their cultural awareness.
Legislators know about barriers minoritized teacher face. The majority of
Legislators, 15 out of 16, demonstrated knowledge of about the unique barriers minoritized
teachers face along the teacher pathway. The barriers were reflected in five categories: (1) the
certification process, (2) socio-economic factors, (3) racism and/or implicit bias, (4) low job
satisfaction, and (5) teacher unions. These categories have been ranked in order of the highest
amount of comments to the least amount of comments. Only one legislators stated, "I don’t
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think there are any legal barriers and I say that knowing the context.” This sentiment was an
outlier amongst the majority of those interviewed.
Certification assessments as a barrier. There were 11 legislators that mentioned the role
of assessments within the certification process. One of the 11 legislators proposed that if
aspiring teachers could not pass the test, then that was a demonstration of something being
wrong with the training they received and that they needed to get better training. This was
disconfirming evidence in comparison to the other ten legislators who highlighted certification
assessments as a barrier. Legislators often cited certification assessments. For example one
legislator communicated the following, “My understanding is that the biggest barrier right now is
the Praxis exam.” The Praxis exam appeared to represent all certification exams barriers, even
though to gain certification in the state of Connecticut there are multiple other assessments under
different names. One legislator went into depth about why the Praxis may be a barrier.
The Praxis! How can we tell people who may have attended under resourced schools that
they can get a waiver from the Praxis if they score 1000 on their SATs, they went to
under resourced schools, that is not fair. The tests are not fair and not showing if a
teacher is good or not.
This legislators articulates a theme that the certification assessment process is inequitable and not
providing an appropriate representation of the educational adversity one might face if they
attended an under resourced school. Furthermore, they are claiming that the certification test is
not an accurate demonstration of a person’s ability to teach. These opinions directly connect
with the idea that if those teachers passing the test were adequately prepared then why are
students who are being taught by those certified teachers experiencing achievement gaps. The
achievement gaps found through elementary, secondary, and tertiary experiences appear to be
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manifesting on certification exams. These views were further supported when a legislator
concluded, “Often students of color have a more difficult time with the Praxis than their white
counterparts. That's definitely a problem. Is that significant? Yes!” The legislator recognizes the
achievement gap continuing to manifest within the certification assessment process. In addition,
by seeing it as a problem there may be motivation to solve the problem. In addition, to
certification assessments like the Praxis, legislators saw the following as additional barriers
within the certification process: a lack of alternative certification pathways, challenges with
reciprocity between states, lack of information about becoming a teacher, and a lack of degree
recognition from non-regionally accredited institution.
Socio-economic status as a barrier. There were seven of the 16 legislators that reported
socio-economic barriers contributing to the lack of diversity within the teaching workforce. One
legislator astutely described the following:
The main barrier is the overall economic system we're dealing with right now, where in
this state you're guaranteed a phenomenal education, world class, if you live in one of the
many towns that are wealthy and have excellent education systems. Unfortunately and
conversely, if you live in one of the big cities that deal with poverty, because of the
concentrations of people of color in the cities, you have a higher chance of not getting a
great education. That is your impediment for not moving up into the professional world
which demands higher educational levels of attainment.
Similarly connected to the certification assessment process as a barrier, this legislator is
referencing larger systemic barriers that are contributing to the low percentage of minoritized
teachers. The barriers create difficulties in effectively navigating the various steps in becoming a
teacher. Other comments related to socio-economic barriers included the high cost of living in
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Connecticut, higher levels of poverty in the communities minoritized teachers may seek to teach
in, a lack of quality educational preparedness, lower salaries in high minority school districts,
limited access to appropriate bachelor’s degrees, lack of job placement opportunities, and the
potential for minoritized teachers to have higher levels of student loan debt.
Racism and implicit bias as a barrier. There were nine out of 16 legislators that
connected racism and/or implicit bias to creating barriers faced by aspiring minoritized teachers.
One legislator shared the generational impact of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), “After
Brown versus Board of Education, all the African American teachers lost their jobs. And so I
think we lost like two generations of teachers because of what happened in the wake Brown.” As
described in Chapter Two, Brown v. Board of Education (1954) did in fact have a negative
impact on the diversity of the teaching profession. Given that integration was focused on
students and not teachers, there has been limited effort in rectifying the unintended
consequences. Furthermore, legislators shared the challenges that minoritized teachers face in
navigating microaggressions, de facto segregation, and systematic racism throughout their own
elementary, secondary, and tertiary educational experiences. One legislator shared,
The supports are not in place for them [minoritized teachers] and it's just like everything
else in life, in this country being black and brown is traumatizing. And I think it's a
traumatizing experience for them to go through the same process that their white
counterparts kind of fly through with no issues.
The views expressed highlight the inequity within the process, in addition to highlighting the
trauma associated with being a target of racism. Potentially implicit bias could decrease if there
was diversity within those in leadership positions who make hiring decisions. Unfortunately, as
a legislator shared, “Right now…you have so few superintendents of color, so few principals of
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color, building leaders of color, and also teachers of color that it is most likely that your hiring
committee does not include someone of color.” Provided that there are a limited number of
minoritized leaders making hiring decisions, this is contributing to bias within the hiring process
and there has been a lack of recruitment of minoritized teachers.
Low job satisfaction amongst teachers as a barrier. There were seven out of the 16
legislators that described low job satisfaction associated or experienced within the teaching
profession as a barrier. Legislators shared that low job satisfaction may be attributed to a high
percentage of minoritized students who display higher levels of behavioral and/or social
challenges in the classroom, creates added stress in the work environment. In addition, one
legislator shared, “African Americans who have high degrees, bachelors or master's degrees,
have a lot of opportunities in a lot of fields because there's a lot of evidence that having a diverse
workforce makes things better and improve things.” This legislator is highlighting that
minoritized college graduates are experiencing an increase in opportunities in multiple industries
that are more appealing than the teaching profession. The teaching profession is often associated
with a high amount of working hours and low financial compensation. These two elements of
the profession can lead to low job satisfaction. One legislator shared the following hypothesis
about minoritized teachers not entering the teaching profession;
They don't make enough money. There's too much stress…There's a concrete reason as to
why folks wouldn't be entering the education world. We put a lot of stress as of the last
couple of years on our teachers, and I think our students are seeing that. Especially within
the inner cities and the centers in which you see primarily people or children of color. I
think they're seeing their teachers under that stress. Growing up, they're like, "Why the
heck would I want to do that job? Come on now. My teacher spends her or his own
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money buying paper for me to write on." It's little things like that, which are not so little
in the grand scheme of things.
The legislator demonstrated knowledge about the possibly barriers facing minoritized teachers,
in addition to the implicit messages being sent to young people how may not see teaching as a
viable career option. Legislators also shared that low job satisfaction was attributed to: a lack of
school based supports, lack of emphasis on retaining a diverse teaching staff, the feeling of
isolation in majority White staffed school communities, high degree of stress, and the negative
social perceptions of the profession.
Teacher unions as a barrier. Finally, six of the 16 legislators made reference to the
teachers unions creating or maintaining barriers in diversifying the teaching workforce. One
legislator shared, “The teacher unions, were content with the process by which we get certified in
Connecticut.” This comment is alluding to the teachers unions maintaining the status quo of the
certification system, even if the current process presents barriers for aspiring minoritized
teachers. Another legislator shared, “Connecticut makes everything difficult…I think the
teachers unions have really hurt it. They're so threatened.” This legislator is referring to teachers
unions were having a negative impact on the state’s ability to diversify the teaching workforce
and feeling threatened by an increase of minoritized teachers and by change in general. The
same legislator continued later on in the interview to share, “I don't know what's going to happen
in the future, because legislators…are really tied to the teachers unions.” The legislator was
critical of legislators who they believed were “tied to the union” as to suggest that being “tied to
the union” correlated with not passing legislation that would increase the percentage of
minoritized teachers. The legislator concluded by stating, “Until they're [legislators] courageous
enough to get up and fight it [the teachers union], then we'll have no Black teachers. It's not
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lowering standards. It's opening a door and letting them in.” In the legislator’s final sentiments,
they articulated that the teacher’s union consistent reference to a change in the certification
system equating to a lowering of professional standards was a false dichotomy. Another
legislator agreed with the view that teacher unions often made the argument that removing
barriers would lower the teaching standards, in addition to expanding beyond the impact on only
minoritized teachers. The legislator said,
The unions also will fight you on the certification process. Why are we making it easier
for minority people to come in and get an easier pathway? It's not. They don't
understand. I'm not saying that it's only for minority teachers. I'm saying that
certification process stinks. We need to ease up on those restrictions and all that red tape
and open it for everybody. Not just minority teachers.
In contrast to the legislator that directly named the impact on minoritized teachers, this legislator
expressed that the overall process is not working for anyone and therefore needs to be changed.
However, another legislator who mentioned the teachers unions presented a counter argument by
stating, “The road blocks are really put up by the unions. And the unions are pushing the state to
do it. They're protecting their turf.” This legislator is suggesting that certification process is not
ideal and the teachers unions are protecting and promoting a broken certification system. Finally
one legislator articulated the process that occurs in reviewing, draft, and passing legislation and
the teachers unions role in the process, the legislator explained,
The commissioner can work on something, and we can agree to it, but then if the unions
step in, and then they get the lobbyists to come in and be against, maybe not the bill as a
whole, but certain language that's within the bill. That tends to happen a lot. A lot of
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bills will be drafted with really strong language that's really good for, particularly for the
minority community, but then it gets watered down at the end. It passes.
This legislator is suggesting that the teachers unions are not supporting legislation that would
increase minoritized teachers into the teaching workforce. Overall, the teachers unions, when
mentioned were not seen as a supportive entity in the work to diversify the teaching workforce.
One legislator did state that they felt teachers should continue to organize into labor union,
however that the various unions needed to “…embrace each other from all the districts. So if
you look at labor and teachers in the labor unions, they really need to start working together as a
state, not as, I'm representing this particular district.” This idea was demonstrating the strength of
the teacher unions to have a positive impact on legislation if they worked together as a team.
Currently the unions are represented by districts that tend to be racially, ethnically, and
linguistically segregated.
Legislators know legislation can make an impact. The majority of legislators, 12 out
of 16, demonstrated knowledge of about the impact legislation can have on the percentage of
minoritized teachers. One legislator cited specific legislation that may have decreased the
percentage by creating barriers to entering the teaching professional for minoritized teachers, by
referring to the following,
In the 1980s, we had an Education Enhancement Act. It was really to keep good
teachers. Encourage the people to stay in teaching. All it did was keep the bad teachers
in longer, so they could have their pensions. We've got to be able to get rid of teachers
that aren't doing their job. No matter what. A teacher that walks in thinking a child is
going to fail because they're in poverty, doesn't belong in the classroom. She might be
able to pass a test and grade, but if she's got that belief she doesn't belong.
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The Education Enhancement Act (Public Act 81-78, 1981) was put in place to incentive
becoming and staying a teacher. However, this was done at a time when increasing diversity
within the teaching profession was not a priority. As the legislators explains this legislation
allowed teachers who they believe were not fit to be teachers the ability to stay in the profession,
decreasing opportunities for more minoritized teachers to enter into the profession given the lack
of job openings. The view that legislation has decreased the percentage of minoritized teachers
was not shared by other legislators.
Majority (11) legislators cited recent legislation that was aimed at increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers, however there was some hesitance in connecting the
legislation to having a significant impact. One legislator described Public Act 18-34, also known
as the Minority Teacher Recruitment (MTR) bill by saying, “Yes, the MTR bill. It is too soon to
know if it is going to make a significance difference, however I am going to make sure there is
an MTR bill every year. This first one was just a start and we can do more.” This legislator
projected a sense of hope for incremental change to be made through each piece of legislation
directed at having a positive impact on minoritized teachers. One legislator reflected that recent
legislation increased accountability in demographic data reporting,
One of the things we did in this last piece of legislation was to require more reporting in
terms of hiring. We're now going to have a hiring survey, and the hiring survey's not
only going to capture who did you hire, but what did your applicant pool look like?
By increasing accountability in reporting demographic data publicly, this would create an
incentive for districts to actively recruit and retain a more diverse teaching workforce. In
addition, to increased accountability, legislators described legislation they believed could
increase equity in the certification process, such as: removing identified certification barriers
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adversely impacting aspiring minoritized teachers. A legislator shared, “It was hard to transfer
certification, and in the process by which you'd get recognized certification in Connecticut was
harder. We lessened some of those barriers.” The lessening of barriers is through the legislative
acts, such as the Minority Teacher Recruitment Act. The transfer of certification is connecting to
creating a more streamlined process to transfer certification through inter-state agreements.
Legislators also adjusted the certification assessment cut scores via legislation and created
legislation that sought to provide policy on recruitment and retention of minoritized teachers.
Interview Analysis of Metacognitive Knowledge
In order for legislators to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers by passing
legislation that creates equity in hiring and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway,
metacognitive knowledge is necessary. Metacognitive knowledge, as described in Chapter Two,
is the ability to reflect and adapt one’s thinking and actions based on the awareness of how one
thinks (Ambrose et al., 2010; Krathwohl, 2010; Mayer, 2011). The assumption was that
legislators needed metacognitive knowledge about how implicit bias impacts their legislative
decision making. Analysis of interviews, documents, and artifacts demonstrated that there is a
need for metacognitive knowledge.
Legislators do not know the impact of implicit bias on their legislative decision
making. Legislators, nine out of 16, did not demonstrate knowledge recognizing racial and
ethnic bias having an impact on legislative decision making. Common sentiments among the
nine legislators who recognized racial and ethnic bias impacted legislative decision making were
best captured by the following statement, “Bias is pervasive and in decisions you don't even
think you're being discriminatory on.” One legislator explained, “I think racial bias plays a role
in everything in this society.” While another shared, “I think there is always a bias. It's always
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there. It may be in the back scenes, but it's there.” Legislators were able to name that racial and
ethnic bias existed however they struggled to articulate the connection between racial and ethnic
bias having an impact on their legislative decision making.
When legislators were asked, “Do you see racial and ethnic bias playing out in whether a
legislator like yourself advocates for increasing teacher diversity in the state?” seven of
legislators did not think implicit bias impacted their legislative decision making. This was a
sharp contradiction to the nine that explained racial and ethnic bias does exists. One legislator
recognized bias within a larger system by explaining, “I really think there's bias in the system. I
don't think there's a question that there's bias in the system.” When asked whether there was bias
in the hiring process one legislator stated, “I don't think it had to do with race or with anything of
that sort. I think it just had to do with quality of the candidate.” This legislator is claiming that
those that were able to become hired as teachers in Connecticut were not adversely impacted by
their race, they just did not meet the expectations of what it takes to become a teacher in
Connecticut. Finally, one legislator responded by stating, “I think its money.” Referring to
decision are made based on how much each district is offering in salary and making the
assumption that minoritized people are not going into the teaching profession because there is the
perception of a lack of monetary value. Though the metacognitive knowledge needed for
legislators to recognize the impact of implicit bias was somewhat validated, the analysis shows
room for increased understanding of the role of implicit bias within the legislative process.
Interview Analysis of Procedural Knowledge
In order for legislators to impact the teacher diversity gap by passing legislation that
creates equity in hiring and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway, procedural knowledge
is necessary. Krathwohl (2010) describes procedural knowledge as the knowledge to accomplish
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a task and the methods a person would use in displaying the skills to accomplish the task. The
assumption was that legislators needed procedural knowledge about how to draft legislation that
specifically targets increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers.
Legislators know how to draft legislation. The process of drafting legislation in the
Connecticut was described in detail in Chapter One. All 16 legislators demonstrated knowledge
of how to draft legislation and eight specifically demonstrated knowledge about targeting
legislation to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers. The comments were focused on a
formal process of drafting legislation and an informal process of legislation.
Formal process of drafting legislation. Legislators shared that the formal process
included data gathering to inform their decisions, for example one legislator explained,
We actually get the information from the schools, we have access to data, we do the
research, OPM helps us gather information, Office of Policy Management, and OLR,
Office of Legislative Research, so those are different ways, different avenues that we use
to accumulate that data.
These sentiments explain the various organizations within state government that provide a
variety of ways for data to be accumulated so that legislators are making informed legislative
decisions. Other legislators shared the process of reflection as being a step in the formal process,
We'll have to go back and do another assessment of the legislation we just passed. How
far did we get, where are we now, where are we seeing bottlenecks in the process? I do
think that for a legislator to go forward, it's to continue to look at where the bottlenecks
are.
The process of reflection is important considering that legislative committees shift every two
years. If there is not a reflection of past legislation they may create unintended barriers.
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Multiple legislators shared the impact of public comment, this was captured by the following
description, “And we can have public hearings and bring people in and have them testify and try
to pass legislation.” Public testimony is a part of each legislative act and allows for members of
the public to share their personal opinions of legislation being raised. There are many formal
steps in the process of passing legislation and interview responses demonstrated this knowledge
from drafting a short bill statement to getting on the agenda for the session, anticipating
resources necessary for implementation, soliciting expert opinions, and utilizing legislative aids
to do additional research.
Informal process of drafting legislation. The informal process was recognized as an
important component of the procedural process of drafting legislation. Often committees and
task forces are organized to provide space for informal discussions about various legislation.
However one legislator shared, “The committee winds up being more of a formal conversation.
You're not really going to get the nitty gritty. Those are usually not necessarily behind closed
doors, but just in a little bit more of a casual setting.” The committee meetings do have a formal
process that outlines the goals of the committee, however they are in place to broaden the
conversation, which often does not occur once the legislation coms up for discussion in the
Senate or the House. An additional informal process included gaining support from the Black
and Puerto Rican Caucus, a network of legislators who “promote and assist minorities in
becoming more actively involved in the political process; and in attaining political office; and to
raise the economic potential for minorities and empowerment of the minority community in the
state” (Connecticut General Assembly, 2018b) In addition, speaking with school district leaders
with the legislators district, gathering with other legislators that represent similar communities to
align on challenges, informal conversations with committee members, gathering public support
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especially support from leaders in the communities, and seeking insight on the potential of
having the governor support the legislation.
Legislators do not know how to draft legislation that specifically targets increasing
the percentage of minoritized teachers. Legislators demonstrated the procedural knowledge of
how to draft legislation, however eight of the 16 participants demonstrated a lack of knowledge in
drafting legislation directly targeted at increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers. One
legislator expression a lack of encouragement early on in the legislative process when they sought
to target in on minoritized teachers. The legislator shared, “I was told early…there's a group of
people who work on that issue. We don't have anything to do with it. They just do it and they tell
us what they want.” The legislator expressed disappointment when explaining the situation they
had experienced. Being told that they could should not take part in drafting legislation that
increased the role of minoritized teachers felt like barrier to this legislator. Additionally, another
legislator shared that it was difficult to concentrate on anyone issue because they felt the following,
My first term was like drinking from a fire hose, and I participated in some of the minority
teacher recruitment forums, but I felt like I was still really learning…I didn't take the lead
on anything in particular, and I'm totally blanking on any, right now, what we did. I know
we tried to take some steps, but I don't remember what we actually were successful in
passing through. I was not one of the lead people on that legislation at all.
The legislator explained the overwhelming experience of being a new member of the General
Assembly and/or Education Committee. Legislators may find it difficult to draft legislation on
issues they are not familiar.

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Document Analysis Supporting Knowledge Findings
Document analysis further support the validated declarative knowledge findings and the
needs demonstrated in metacognitive and procedural knowledge of the legislators. During the
decade from 2008 to 2018 there were 2456 legislative acts passed in the state of Connecticut
(Connecticut General Assembly , 2018f). During this time four of the 2456 legislative acts
passed, directly addressed increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state. As
mentioned in the interview analysis, legislators described two processes in drafting legislation:
formal and informal. The legislative acts represent the formal process of drafting, reviewing,
and passing legislation.
In 2007, during a special session Public Act No. 07-3 established securing funding for the
creation of the Regional Educational Service Center (RESC) Minority Recruiting Alliance. The
RESC Minority Recruiting Alliance was tasked to use state allocated funding to create programs
that encourage minoritized middle and secondary students to become teachers, recruit
minoritized students in colleges to pursue teaching careers, and recruit and retain minoritized
teachers in Connecticut schools (Public Act No. 07-3 , 2007). In 2007 92.3% (EdSight, 2018) of
the Connecticut teaching workforce identified as White and this legislation demonstrates
knowledge of a lack of minoritized teacher representation, by state legislators.
In 2015, Public Act No.15-108, was the next legislative act to directly address the lack of
representation of minoritized teachers in Connecticut. During the gap in legislation between
2007 and 2015 there had been a .6% increase in minoritized teachers, the percentage of White
teachers remained at 91%. This limited percentage increase supports the lack of procedural
knowledge demonstrated by legislators to draft legislation that specifically targets increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers. Public Act No.15-108 demonstrated renewed interest in
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understanding the demographic gap as well as enthusiasm to remove barriers for minoritized
teachers seeking to enter the teaching workforce. Public Act No.15-108 increased access to
gaining certification by adding additional areas for teachers to apply for temporary certification,
decreasing the years of experience an out-of-state teacher needed to qualify for certification from
three to two, and allowed a satisfactory score on an approved assessment to be used in lieu of
college credits (Public Act No. 15-108 , 2015). Public Act No.16-41 removed barriers such as
the use of the Praxis I as a summative exam and shifted it to be used as a diagnostic, increased
the approval of alternate routes to teaching, and further increased ease of reciprocity for out-of-
state teachers by eliminating the requirement that out-of-state teachers needed to be Nationally
Board Certified and established a Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council which
was charged with eliminating obstacles within the current certification process (Public Act No.
16-41, 2016). Public Act No.18-34 adopted a cut score for teacher assessments that aligned with
surrounding states and formed (Public Act No. 18-34, 2018). These elements of the various
legislation demonstrate the declarative knowledge legislators possessed about the lack of
representation. In addition, the documents support legislator’s comments about the certification
process being a barrier. Finally, the drafting of Public Act No. 18-34 in 2018 directly supports
the procedural knowledge some legislators demonstrated in the interviews. Legislators who
were part of the 2018 Education Committee engaged in the formal process of drafting legislation
that directly impacted increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in Connecticut.
Artifact Analysis Supporting Knowledge findings
Analysis of the nine Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force meetings from 2015 –
2016 supports the declarative knowledge assets and the assumed influence gaps demonstrated in
metacognitive and procedural knowledge of the legislators. Within the 13 hours of video and
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audio footage the following was discussed and accomplished: a description of each members
professional responsibilities beyond the task force, an explanation as to what each member hoped
to accomplish within the task force, three meetings in which local community experts presented
on various topics connected to minoritized teachers, and the organization of subgroups to dive
deeper into certification barriers, reciprocity between states, and exploring best practices.
Legislators demonstrated declarative knowledge in various ways, for example sharing their
knowledge of the benefits of having minoritized teachers in the classroom, often times referring
to the role model effect.
As discussed in Chapter Three, there were two legislators that participated in both the
Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force and the 2018 Education Committee. The artifact
analysis demonstrated legislators increasing their knowledge by listening to firsthand accounts of
a teacher in a local city being the only minoritized teacher at the school for majority of the 15
years the teacher had been working. The artifact analysis also demonstrated accountability
measures being implemented, such as legislators holding organizations such as the RESC
Minority Recruiting Alliance accountable to demonstrate the impact their programs have had
since the allocation of state funds in 2007 (Public Act No. 07-3). While Public Act No. 15-108
demonstrated an attempt to increase financial supports for school districts to help increase
minority teacher recruitment, the Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force found
the RESC Minority Recruiting Alliance was unable to provide sufficient data as to how many
minority teachers had entered the teaching workforce and discussed measures to increase
accountability for programs. In addition, welcoming researchers to present about the obstacles
faced by aspiring minoritized teachers. Firsthand accounts, such as these, help increase the
knowledge of legislators. This subset of legislators demonstrated the metacognitive and
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procedural knowledge that was deemed non-validated amongst the larger interviewed
population.
Synthesis of Knowledge Findings
Legislators participating in this study demonstrated declarative knowledge about there
being a lack of minoritized teachers in the state and the benefits in increasing the percentage of
minoritized teachers. Furthermore, legislators demonstrated knowledge about the barriers
minoritized teachers face along the teaching pathway. This knowledge is essential for legislators
to eliminate potential barriers that adversely impact aspiring minoritized teachers. The gap in
reported metacognitive knowledge connected to how racial and ethnic bias impacts legislative
decision making, may impact their ability to mandate equity in school district hiring practices or
anticipate additional barriers. In addition, where there is clear reported procedural knowledge
about the legislative process there was a lack of knowledge about how to draft legislation that
specifically targets increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers. Additional analysis to gain
a deeper understanding of the perceived barriers in drafting targeted legislation and analysis on
how the lack of knowledge about the impact of implicit bias on legislation is recommended.
Results and Findings for Motivational Causes
The results and findings for the assumed motivational causes were gathered using the
following data collection instruments: interviews, documents, and artifacts. Analysis of these
data instruments provided insight to what Dembo and Seli (2016) describe as motivational
causes. Using this lens in analyzing the data assisted in understanding the legislator’s motivation
to exert effort on a particular task, their persistence despite perceived and/or actual challenges,
and their ability to maintain a positive outlook in accomplishing a given task. To analyze the
motivation of the legislators within this study, three theoretical frameworks were utilized. The
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three frameworks, described in detail in Chapter Two, were expectancy value (Dembo & Seli,
2016; Eccles, 2010), attribution theory (Anderman & Anderman, 2012; Dembo & Seli, 2016;
Reyna, 2000), and self-efficacy theory (Pajares, 2010). Of the three assumed motivational
influences, two demonstrated a gap and one assumed motivational influence was represented an
asset. Table 7 demonstrates the assumed motivational influences and whether they were assets
or gaps.
Table 7
Assumed Motivational Influences Validated and Not Validated
Motivational
Category
Assumed Motivational Influences Asset Gap
Attainment Value

Legislators believe it is important to have
representative percentage of minoritized
teachers within the teaching workforce.

X
Attribution Theory
Legislators believe that their legislative efforts
can contribute to increasing the percentage of
minoritized teachers, despite perceived and
potential impeding factors.

X
Self-Efficacy
Legislators believe they are capable of moving
legislation related to increasing minoritized
teachers through the general assembly.

X

Interview Analysis of Motivational Influences
In order for legislators to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state by
passing legislation that creates equity in hiring and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway
they must be motivated to exert effort to close the teacher diversity gap. The assumption was
that legislators needed to believe in the importance of having a representative percentage of
minoritized teachers in the workforce, that their legislative efforts could contribute to increasing
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the percentage despite barriers, and the belief that as legislators they were capable of getting
legislation passed.
Legislators lack the belief teacher diversity is important. Eccles (2010) explains
attainment value as the feeling of competence, engagement with others, and a sense of autonomy
to influence a situation. Of the 16 legislators that participated in the interview process, nine
shared sentiments demonstrating their belief that having a representative percentage of
minoritized teachers within the teaching workforce was important. One legislators captured the
sentiments of the seven of legislators who demonstrated a belief that having a representative
percentage of minoritized teachers within the teaching workforce was important, by stating “This
is important. It is important that we have teachers of color in our schools.” Placing importance
on an issue demonstrates a level of competency and engagement with that issue.
However, what was more prevalent in the comments was how the lack of competency
impacts their motivation. For example, one legislator shared, “I can feel that it's important, and I
can recognize there's something different that students feel, that I found when they have a
connection with somebody, but I don't know how to measure it.” The legislator is reflecting on
the complexity of gathering data to assess how having a minoritized teacher in the classroom
makes students feel. In order to pass legislation data is used to support an initiative, the
legislature is naming the difficulty in demonstrating the importance of representation without
adequate data.
When asked “where do you think teacher diversity ranks amongst all the educational
issues for your constituents?” one legislator responded by saying, “Probably low, but not because
it's not important. Probably because folks wouldn't know how to talk about it.” Similarly to the
absence of data there is also an absence of language in discussing teacher diversity. The
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legislator is referring to a hesitancy to discuss complicated issues associated with teacher
diversity due to a lack of knowledge about how to talk about what some find uncomfortable. If
legislators are not feeling competent in their ability to impact legislation to increase the
percentage of minoritized teachers in the state that can impact their engagement with the issue.
Some of the comments shared demonstrated how legislators’ engaged with others, or
hoped to engage on the importance of increasing minoritized teachers. One legislator expressed
the importance of engagement with other to make change by explaining,
I don't think that we can just say it’s black and brown legislators that support minority
teacher recruitment, and its white legislators that don't. I think it goes both ways, and I
think it's about exposure, it's about experience, it's about lived experience, shared
experience, what kind of racial relationships you have.
This legislator is sharing a potential for tension between racial and ethnic identity groups and is
attempting to demonstrate the issue of representation is important to all members of the
community, no matter their racial and/ethnic identity markers. On the contrary another legislator
shared increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers was, “a pillar of the Black and Puerto
Rican caucus, which is very motivating.” This statement recognizing the impact of the efforts of
a racial and ethnically focused legislative group on legislative efforts focused on teacher
diversity. If the issue is seen as an issue for all legislators despite racial and ethnic identity
markers that may increase engagement. However one legislator concluded, “We're always gonna
say it's an important issue, but we won't have enough to actually move the ball, until we've got
very specific and direct asks that we're responding to.” The legislator is articulating a potential
barrier to passing legislation as being the lack of specificity. An increase in specificity as to how
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legislation with have a direct impact on the percentage of minoritized teachers may increase the
belief across all legislators that minoritized teacher representation is important.
Legislators lack the belief that their legislative efforts make an impact. In order for
legislators to be motivated to draft and approve legislation to increase minoritized teachers, they
must believe that their efforts, despite perceived and potential impeding factors, make a
difference. Attribution theory provides an understanding of a person’s perception of what causes
success or failure and the effort exerted to persevere despite perceived and potential impeding
factors (Dembo & Seli, 2016; Weiner, 1986). Success and failure are commonly attributed to a
person’s perception of their ability to accomplish a task or meet a goal. In order for a person,
like a legislator, to be motivated to increase minoritized teachers, they must understand the
environment they are working within. In addition, understanding that externally located causes
are, by definition, uncontrollable by an individual (Heider, 1958; Reyna, 2000; Weiner, 1985).
The results of the study found that 11 of the 16 legislators demonstrated the belief that
there legislative efforts are having an impact despite potential barriers, such as bias within hiring
practices, minoritized teachers lacking content knowledge, financial accessibility, and testing
proficiency. Those who demonstrated a higher belief in their efforts making an impact expressed
evidence in the bills that were passed in the last legislative session. However, there were
sentiments that while they believed they could make an impact, the impact was limited. A
legislator stated, “I don't know if we really touched the surface at all in what we've done with our
legislator.” In addition, another legislator shared, “One thing, I know every year we pass a
minority teacher recruitment bill. Invariably, it ends up being weak, or a study in this area.”
The legislator’s opinion is that a “study” in an area is not having the direct impact on increasing
minoritized teachers in the state. There appears to be enthusiasm initially in the policies outlined
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within the legislation and then over time those policies are impacted and broken down to have
less of an impact.
In seeking to have legislators expand on the barriers to their efforts some expressed
difficulty in legislating the intangible. One legislator shared, “The biggest hurdle. How do you
legislate how somebody feels? Or how do you legislate what somebody should do? Because it
might make me feel good to legislate a minority teacher recruitment bill, but what does that
really do?” This legislator shared a barrier to having an impact is building personal investment in
the issue. If legislators have viewpoints that do not see teacher diversity as an important issue,
they find they cannot enact legislation that is going to change someone’s mind. Similar
sentiments were shared by another legislator who used an example to illustrate the complexity of
legislating the intangible.
I don't know that you can legislate it, is buy-in. I think there was a 2015 Harvard study
that compared six different communities in Massachusetts that were working on minority
teacher recruitment. What it showed is one of the main factors for success in terms of
recruitment and retention was whether the district bought into the priority …Buy-in was a
really integral piece of this whole equation. I don't know as a legislator that you can
legislate it.
This legislator is reflecting on the importance of gaining collective investment by school districts
to truly make an impact. In addition, the legislator is naming a barrier in legislation as legislators
cannot legislate how people feel about teacher diversity, therefore creating a disconnect with
what is being legislated and what gets implemented. Understanding the degree to which
legislators believe their legislative efforts have an impact provides insight into the degree to
which legislators will take action. In order to engage in the process of reviewing, drafting,
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and/or approving legislation, their needs to be an increase in legislators seeing the importance of
their efforts.
Legislator believe in their ability to pass legislation related to increasing minoritized
teachers. Legislator’s ability to pass legislation, that increases the percentage of minoritized
teachers, is impacted by the degree to which they believe in their capabilities to accomplish that
goal. Pajares (2010) explains that a person’s beliefs about their self-efficacy are formed by “four
sources: experience, vicarious experience, social persuasions, and physiological reactions” (p. 2).
These sources impact a legislator’s belief in their capabilities to increase the percentage of
minoritized teachers. Interview results demonstrated that 16 out of 16 legislators articulated the
belief that they felt capable of moving legislation through the general assembly. One legislator
pointed out the following,
The Education Commissioner doesn't have the platform we have, and so legislators
become critical because we can get the word out in ways that others can't. We can get the
people to pay attention. We can choose to be antagonists in terms of what's going on.
We can push on the Governor in ways that a Commissioner of Education can't. …The
Governor can't fire me. He's not actually my boss…Legislators become particularly
important because I don't know any other person or group that can do what we can do.”
This legislator recognizes the power and privilege of being an elected member of the state. The
Commissioner of Education is appointed by the governor and therefore, as the legislator
describes, is in a way beholden to the views of the governor. If the governor finds increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers in the state an important issue then the Commissioner of
Education will move forward with recommended policy in that area. The legislator quoted in
this interview displayed a high level of self-efficacy in their ability to pass legislation. In
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addition, one legislator shared that their legislative influence comes when they “engage with
people who don't get the importance of the legislators and make it important and to use the
influence I have to kind of force the issue.” The legislator further expanded on how they
leveraged the people power to increase the priority of an issue. The legislator added, “You use
that to force issues on the agenda. You use that to force them to give you something that they
think is not important to shut you up, that you then turn into something important.” Through
increasing constituents understanding of an issue, the legislator increases their self-efficacy.
Another legislator gained self-efficacy when legislation was broadly supported, the legislator
explained, “I saw this in particular with the bill that we passed, it was very well regarded on both
sides of the aisle and with everyone from all various backgrounds.” This legislator is referring to
the need to have both republican legislators and democratic legislators needing to be supportive
of a bill. This kind of support increases the self-efficacy of legislators. Based on this analysis, it
is clear that when a piece of legislation is widely regarded the motivation of legislators
sponsoring the bill and seeking to support the bill increases.
Legislators work within the formal and informal structures to pass legislation. Those
interviewed reported they were motivated to pass legislation, however legislation specifically
targeted at increasing minoritized teacher representation is where self-efficacy diminished. Only
eight out of 16 legislators reported having the ability to pass specific legislation that had a
positive impact on increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers. The lack of self-efficacy
could be attributed to what one legislator described as the “racialization of politics.” For
example in describing the importance of minoritized legislators to align on certain issues, the
legislators shared the following,
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We are constantly fighting and advocating for resources and for bills that make things
easier for minority teacher recruitment. …Not all the time are we successful, of course,
to get the word across, because, like in the house it takes 76 votes. In the Senate, I think,
it's about 20-22 votes, in order to get something through. That's the difficult part. You
may get some individuals that agree with you from communities that are not of color, but
then you have those that don't agree, and trying to get them to see the wider picture
sometimes is difficult.
This legislator describes the importance of wide support for legislation. When legislation is not
deemed a priority across multiple communities they represent it decreases their sense of self-
efficacy in passing that legislation. If increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers is seen as
an important issue only amongst those representing high minoritized communities it was
reported that it might be difficult to influence the beliefs of those representing predominantly
white communities to see the value in increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers. In order
to engage in the process of increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers, legislators need to
believe they are capable of moving legislation through the general assembly which the results
have found they all believe they can, the next step is to increase their self-efficacy to move
legislation specifically connected to increasing minoritized teachers through the general
assembly.
Document Analysis Supporting Motivational Findings
Legislators are increasingly demonstrating motivation to increase minoritized teachers.
This is demonstrated in the interview findings as well as the increase in legislation passed in
most recent years. In the last 10 years there has been four legislative acts passed, that have
directly related to increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers. All four pieces of
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legislation passed between 2015 and 2018. Motivation appears to increase as more legislators
buy-in to an issue. Analysis of Public Act 15-108, Public Act 16-41, Special Act 16-10, and
Public Act 18-34 demonstrate motivational influences by reviewing the voting record of the
house and senate on each bill related to minoritized teachers.
In order for a bill to become law 51% of House Representatives and Senators must vote
“Yea” on the bill. In 2007 House Bill 8003, which provided funds to start pilot programs to
assist in recruiting minoritized teachers, became Public Act No. 07-3 and received 32 out of 33
“Yea” votes and one “Nay” vote in the Senate and 138 out of 138 “Yea” votes in the House. Not
until 2015 did another bill actively target minoritized teachers, Senate Bill-1098, which removed
multiple barriers and increased accountable around minoritized teacher recruitment. Senate Bill-
1098 became Public Act 15-108 and received 36 out of 36 “Yea” votes in the Senate and 145 out
of 145 “Yea” votes in the House. Senate Bill-379, the legislation that created the Minority
Teacher Recruitment Task Force, eventually became Public Act 16-41 receiving 36 out of 36
“Yea” votes in the Senate and 145 out of 145 “Yea” votes in the House. In 2016, House Bill-
5470, which sought to pilot a program for high school students interested in pursuing a college
degree in education, became Special Act 16-10 received 36 out of 36 “Yea” votes in the Senate
and 141 out of 144 “Yea” votes and 3 “Nay” votes in the House. Finally in 2018, Senate Bill
455, the most comprehension minority recruitment act to date in the state, became Public Act 18-
34, receiving 35 out of 35 “Yea” votes in the Senate and 146 out of 146 “Yea” votes in the
House. This document analysis demonstrates legislator’s motivational influences once the
preliminary steps of garnering support on the EC and/or a specific task force takes place. It is
essential to increase motivation within the earlier steps of the legislative process when, as
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interviews shared, the issue might be a bit more vague. Once a bill leaves committee, as was the
case with the four bills analyzed, motivation accelerated.
Artifact Analysis Supporting Motivational Findings
Analysis of the Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force meeting
artifacts support those legislators who reported a strong belief that increase the percentage of
minoritized teachers in the teaching workforce was important to the legislators who participated
in the Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force. One example was during the
first meeting the chairman of the meeting demonstrated motivation to exert effort on a particular
task (attainment value). The task being to study and develop strategies to increase and improve
the recruitment, preparation, and retention of minoritized teachers in the state’s public schools.
Following the initial meeting, held in November of 2015, subsequent meetings were held to
gather data on the perceived and actual challenges in increasing the percentage of minoritized
teachers. The leading majority of the presentations focused on certification assessment.
Legislators represented on the Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force did
demonstrate a belief that their efforts could contribute to increasing the percentage of minoritized
teachers despite the certification assessments being considered an impeding factors. This was
demonstrated when they drafted Public Act No. 16-41 which removed one of the certification
assessment barriers, the Praxis I, as a summative exam and shifted it to be used as a diagnostic.
Finally, where interview data demonstrated an assets in the self-efficacy in legislator’s ability to
draft, review, and pass legislation, during throughout the artifact analysis there appeared to be
less self-efficacy. This was demonstrated in a meeting in November of 2016 where members of
the Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force were asking for clarity about
additional barriers impacting minoritized teachers and finding that the larger societal impacts of
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discrimination, achievement gaps in schooling experiences, and lack of funding made it difficult
to maintain a positive outlook on accomplishing task of passing legislation that would have
positive impact on minoritized teachers.
Synthesis of Motivational Findings
Legislators demonstrated motivation to draft, review, and successfully pass legislation on
a variety of topics. However the belief, that having a representative percentage of minoritized
teachers within the teaching workforce is important, was limited. There was a recognition that
the issue had some importance but increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers was not as
important as other issues, such as gaining additional financial resources for school districts. In
addition, legislators did not report a substantial belief that their legislative efforts can contribute
to increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers, despite perceived and potential impeding
factors, this connects with the perception that though there is high self-efficacy in passing
legislation, passing legislation that will increase teacher diversity was limited.
Results and Findings for Organizational Causes
Analysis of the data instruments provide insight to what (Gallimore & Gallimore, 2001)
describe as the cultural models and cultural settings of an organization. There were two
organizations within this study. Analysis of the cultural models of the Educational Committee
provide an understanding of how the Education Committee interacts with the CSDE. In addition,
analysis of the cultural settings, within the EC, assisted in gaining an understanding of the
protocol in drafting, reviewing, and approving legislation. Table 8 demonstrates the assumed
organizational influences within the Education Committee and the CSDE. Based on the results
from interviews, document, and artifact analysis, two assumed organizational influences were
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determined to be assets and one organizational influence represented a gap in the organization’s
ability to meet the proposed goals.
Table 8
Assumed Organizational Influences Validated and Not Validated
Organizational
Categories
Assumed Organizational Influences Asset Gap
Cultural Model The culture model between the Education
Committee and CSDE is collaborative and
trusting.

X
Cultural Model Increasing the percentage of minoritized
teachers is a priority within the Education
Committee
X
Cultural Setting There is communication between the
Education Committee and CSDE about
minoritized teachers.
X

Interview Analysis of Organizational Findings
In order for legislators to impact the teacher diversity gap by passing legislation that
creates equity in hiring and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway the organizations
within the study would need cultural models that prioritize teacher diversity and have establish
lines of communications that are collaborative and trustful. Gallimore and Gallimore (2001)
explain that cultural models represent an invisible interconnectedness between elements of the
organization that highlight how an organization works. In addition to the cultural models of the
organizations, it is imperative to understand the cultural setting, those invisible norms established
within an organization. In this study the cultural setting analyzed was the communication
structures between the Education Committee and the CSDE. Cultural models and settings must
be in place for legislators to effectively perform their role to enact policy and for CSDE to
effectively perform their role in implementing the policy. The assumption was that there was a
cultural setting in which the Education Committee communicated with the CSDE about
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increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers. In addition, the assumption was that there was
a cultural of collaboration and trust between the two organizations. Furthermore, within the
cultural model of the Education Committee, there was an assumption that increasing minoritized
teachers, would need to be seen as a priority amongst all statewide educational issues.
An organizational cultural model that does not prioritize teacher diversity. Analysis
of the cultural model of the Education Committee provided insight into how much teacher
diversity was prioritized amongst participating legislators. According to the interview findings,
seven of the 16 legislators on the Education Committee reported prioritizing increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers within the state. The majority of the participating legislators
shared the following sentiments, “The number one priority is ensuring we have enough funding
to teach in our schools.” As legislators spend large amounts of the legislative session advocating
for increased educational funding or maintenance of the current educational funding structures,
issues like teacher diversity can go unheard. As one legislator expressed, “We spent an
unbelievable amount of time trying to fix the money problem. Things like diversity are there,
and they're probably next in line of importance.” This legislator is naming that the issue of
teacher diversity is important, just not on the number one priority. One suggested it was easier to
discuss money then diversity. Talking about diversity was a complex and at times
uncomfortable topic that this legislator explained other legislators try to not engaged in
conversation around. There was also sentiments about teacher diversity being a priority for those
legislators who represented more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities.
One legislator shared, “I represent a largely white community. For me this is not a priority. I
shouldn't say not for me. For my district I don't think I've ever had anybody [bring it up] to me.”
This legislator reports that where teacher diversity might be something they personal find
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important, the constituents in the community they represent do not find it important, therefore
this impacts where teacher diversity would fall on the list of educational priorities for those
community members this legislator represents. Another legislator explained, “The Black and
Latino caucus is the group that's really focused on getting more teachers of color in the
classroom. So it's not a huge priority. It's not like I've said, oh, this is a thing I'm doing as a
legislator.” This legislator is providing the context that since the Black and Latino caucus has
prioritize teacher diversity, they do not need to prioritize teacher diversity. Conversely, a
member of the Black and Puerto Rican caucus did say, “I’m going to make sure we have an
MTR bill every session.” This statement demonstrated how this legislator elevates the priority of
increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in the workforce by openly committing to draft,
review and passing legislation connected to the issue. To meet the statewide goals around
teacher diversity it will be imperative for the Education Committee to prioritize the issue.
An organizational culture of collaboration and trust. Interview findings demonstrated
that cultural models within the organizational practices fostered collaboration and trust between
the Education Committee and the CSDE. In fact, 14 out of 16 legislators describe the culture
between them as one that cultivates collaboration and trust. One legislator proclaimed,
Obviously we always work hand in hand. They come to the committee, they submit their
bills, they discuss with us and the leadership of the committee nonstop. The importance
of what they want to do statewide. There is back and forth.
This statement demonstrated the assumption that the Education Committee and the CSDE work
together throughout the legislative process. In addition, the CSDE playing an important role in
informing the legislators on the Education Committee as to how policy implementation is
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manifesting throughout the state. These sentiments were echoed amongst multiple legislators.
Another legislator reported,
I have a very good relationship with SDE…I tend to be someone who communicates with
them a bit more often than others do, and that lends a certain level of trust… Because of
the makeup of our legislature. We're not subject matter experts in a lot of this stuff, so
we have to rely upon those who are.
This statement eludes to the diversity of knowledge about education from the legislators
appointed to the Education Committee. The CSDE, especially for legislators that do not have a
professional educational background is crucial in sharing information so that legislators are
making informed decisions.
Legislators shared that the collaboration and trust is particularly strong with the current
commissioner of education, Dianna Wentzell. Sharing comments such as, “This commissioner
we have is very open-minded. Really willing to work with the legislature” and “We collaborate
very well with the current administration however that could change depending on who the next
commissioner of education is.” In addition, to the feeling of collaboration and trust with
Commissioner Wentzell, legislators shared the Commissioners commitment to diversifying the
teaching workforce. A legislator explained, “What I can say is this Department of Education run
by Commissioner Wentzell has been keenly focused on it [teacher diversity]. They have worked
very hard to actually move the needle here. They've made quantifiable movements forward.”
This statement demonstrates the communication between the CSDE and Education Department
as the legislator within the Education Committee is aware of the progress CSDE has made in
implementing policies focused on teacher diversity. Another legislator expressed that
collaboration and trust, “depends on who the commissioner is.” As the governor’s change over
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time so do the Education Commissioners, a legislator could have four different education
commissioners throughout their tenure in the general assembly. One legislator reported a
counterclaim to the collaboration and trust between the two organizations. This legislator
reported collaboration and trust was dependent on the community one represented,
[collaboration and trust] is limited, and part of it is I believed…We end up relying more
on Superintendents, teachers, administrators, in our districts. I don't think that's true for
suburban legislators. I think they feel like [CSDE] is a natural place that they go. For us,
we want to hear from our folks first, about what the challenges are.
This legislator suggested collaboration with CSDE looks different depending on the district one
represents. In the suburban districts, where as previously shared the issue of teacher diversity
might not be a priority, the legislators may depend more on information directly from CSDE.
However, as the legislator shared in the previous comments, those who represent urban city
collaborate more with the school district organizations. Overall, the interview findings
demonstrate that members of the Education Committee do trust the intentions of those within the
CSDE. The level of collaboration assists the CSDE in ensuring implementation of legislation
across the state.
An organizational cultural setting that provides open lines of communication. All
16 legislators interviewed reported there being communication between the Education
Committee and the CSDE specifically about minoritized teachers. The cultural setting between
the two organizations is one that has formal and informal protocol to ensure communication is
continuous. One legislator captured both the formal and informal in the following statement,
The state Department of Ed has a legislative liaison. Every department has a legislative
liaison…And they come before the committee, the commissioner comes before the
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committee. So for the most part the commissioner and the liaison all meet with the
committee members at least once during the session.
First, the legislator explained the formal process of having the “legislative liaison” serving as a
bridge between both organizations. The same legislators continued by adding the following,
You can ask for meetings. I have regular contact with the legislative liaison. I mean,
they're there at all the committee hearings and the committee meetings and you can talk
in the hallway, you can call, text, crazy times of day and night. There's a lot if you
choose to access that communication, so there's a lot of communication.
This statement represents the more informal communication strategy. If a legislator chooses to
gain additional information or make sure to share more information with CSDE they can engage
more informally with legislative liaison.
Another legislator shared that CSDE communicates with legislators on the Education
Committee in a variety of ways, such as,
We have working groups, we have round tables, they are part of the sub committees, they
weigh in around policy, around procedures, what …we say needs to be done versus what
they say can or can't be done, and we have to find a way to make it happen. So they are
definitely at the table because at the end of the day they're calling the shots.
The legislator is explaining the importance of CSDE in informing legislators what can and
cannot be implemented statewide. This legislator recognizes that legislation might be passed at
the state level, however it is the CSDE that holds people accountable to implementation. The
legislator continued by adding,
As far as pushback, it's important for them to be at the table because it helps us to get
through the process a lot more speedily and effectively. …it's negotiating, it's breaking
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the chains, it's changing the culture, and when you're talking about doing those kind of
things you definitely have to have all agencies that touch the issue at the table, because if
you don't you're going to hit a brick wall at some point.
The legislator is referring to potential pushback directly connected to increasing the percentage
of minoritized teachers in the state. When pushback or conflict arises the legislator is explaining
that the CSDE, with all of their additional insight on the issue, helps moves through the conflict.
As Gallimore and Gallimore (2001) explained, a cultural setting occurs when people in an
organization come together and accomplish a task. The findings in the interview analysis
demonstrate how the Education Committee and the CSDE collaborate and develop systems and
structures of communication to draft, review, and/or approve legislation about minoritized
teachers, despite increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state not being the top
priority amongst educational issues within the Education Committee.
Document Analysis Supporting Organizational Findings
There are two key documents that support the organizational assets of collaboration and
systems and structures of communication between the Education Committee and the CSDE. In
2017 and 2018, in accordance with Public Act 16-41 An Act Concerning the Recommendations
of the Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force, the Minority Teacher Recruitment (MTR)
Policy Oversight Council was developed. The MTR Policy Oversight Council was led by the
deputy commissioner of education within the CSDE and was responsible for submitting an
annual Minority Teacher Recruitment Report to the Education Committee. The first report was
submitted June 30, 2017 and demonstrated communication by providing members of the
Education Committee with a background report on teacher diversity in the state of Connecticut.
In addition, the report clarified the expectations outlined within Public Act 16-41, provided
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detailed findings and recommendations from the MTR Policy Oversight Council, provided
survey results of students participating in state funded programs, and provided two results-based
report cards on two MTR programs. The MTR Policy Oversight Council proceeded to research
the challenges of the teacher-student demographic gap within the state and current programs
within the state trying to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers. The MTR Policy
Oversight Council then made recommendations to inform future legislation that could be
implemented based on their robust research. The findings and recommendations were then sent
to the chairs and ranking members of the Education Committee toward the end of the 2017
legislative session. Communication and collaboration of this nature impacted future legislation,
such as Public Act 18-34, which adopted a cut score for teacher assessments that aligned with
surrounding states. Simultaneously while the Education Committee was working on Public Act
18-34 the MTR Policy Oversight Council, still led by leadership from the CSDE, was preparing
their annual report to show progress in recruiting and retaining minoritized teachers. The
updated report, Minority Teacher Recruitment Recommendations, was presented to the chairs
and ranking members of the Education Committee on August, 8, 2018. Both reports represent a
high level of communication and collaboration between the CSDE and Education Committee
between 2016 and 2018.
Artifact Analysis Supporting Organizational Findings
Analysis of the Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force meetings
support the organizational asset findings that there is a culture of collaboration and systems of
communication in place the Education Committee and the CSDE. In attendance at each meeting
was at least one legislator from the Education Committee and one staff member from the CSDE.
During the December 16, 2015 meeting CSDE presented an update on the “minority teacher
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recruitment” efforts across various school districts in the state. Analysis of the 13 hours of
video/audio of the 9 meetings held between 2015 – 20017 demonstrated clear lines of
communication between legislators within the Education Committee and staff at CSDE directly
about increasing minoritized teachers. One counter example where collaboration and trust there
was a gap of communication with during the November 10, 2016 meeting where a member from
the Education Committee shared with a member from CSDE that there was a lack of
communication around a new program being implemented in connected to increasing
minoritized teacher in the state. There appeared to be a lack of transparency in the process of
new program approvals and members of the CSDE committed to circulating information in the
future and apologized for the lack of transparency.
Synthesis of Organizational Findings
The organizational assets included a collaborative and trusting cultural model between
the Education Committee and CSDE. In addition, a cultural setting that had clearly established
communication norms between both organizations. The cultural model within the Education
Committee in declaring increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers as a priority within the
Education Committee was determined to be a gap and therefore recommendations as to
increasing the priority of teacher diversity will be necessary.
Results and Findings of Critical Race Theoretical Framework
As described in Chapter Three the conceptual framework, Critical Race Theory (CRT)
provides a lens to examine the historical, cultural, and structural factors in place that maintain
White supremacy. Of the four CRT tenets proposed by Sleeter et al. (2015), three were used in
further analyze the legislator’s knowledge, motivation, and organizational capacity to diversify
the teaching workforce. Table 9 demonstrates the assumed tenets associated with critical race
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theory. Based on the results from interviews, document, and artifact analysis, all three assumed
critical race influences were determined to be gaps.
Table 9
Assumed Critical Race Theory Influences Validated and Not Validated
Critical Race
Tenets
Assumed Critical Race Theory Influences Asset Gap
Recognition of
Racism
Legislators describe racism as a central, permanent
and pervasive part of society
X
Counter-
storytelling
Legislators share stories about minoritized teachers
that counter the white supremacy narrative
X
Interest-
Convergence
Legislators challenge the systems (i.e. certification
process) that hide White self-interest, White power,
and White privilege
X

Lack of Recognition of Racism
Sleeter et al. (2015) describe the second tenant of CRT as “challenge to claims of
neutrality, colorblindness, and meritocracy” (p. 5). In order to challenge these ideas a legislator
would need to recognize that racism is pervasive. When asked about the role that racism and
implicit bias play in increasing or decreasing the diversity of the teaching workforce, nine of the
16 legislators were able to describe racism as a central, permanent or pervasive part of society.
One legislator said “You've got people, you do have racism and you do have discrimination.”
Another legislator shared how racism and discrimination impacts policy making by stating,
People often will think that if you're a person of color you understand racism, you
understand the invisibility of racism and how it's everywhere and the systemic nature of
racism, but that doesn't mean you understand how to talk about it, how to work it into the
policy making that you do.
This legislator is speaking to the complexity of challenging racism and explaining that it can’t be
assumed that minoritized legislators are to be left with the burden of recognizing the
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pervasiveness of racism. The legislator is challenging all legislators to recognize that racism is a
central, permanent or pervasive part of society. The same legislator continued to explain how
often the idea of being racist can distracts from the critical conversations that need to be had to
pass legislation.
That's a major problem, I mean both in education and in our country. No one wants to be
a racist so what it means is you do everything to avoid being a racist when the
conversations not about whether you're a racist or not… The conversation is about the
systems of racism and what happens. You don't have to…be a racist to operate in a
completely racist way.
As the legislator explains, perpetuating systems of racism does not correlate to being a racist.
However, when a system, such as the certification system, is deemed systemically racist the
majority White legislators, according to this legislator, becomes defensive as they do not want to
be seen defending racist practices. In further illuminating the impact of racism on minoritized
teachers one legislator explained,
Systemic racism [is] within education systems, so to even get to the point where you
might be in college and then once you're in college perspectives on race and how
invisible the issue of race and yet present it is, I think are extreme barriers to teachers of
color ever showing up in the classroom.
This legislator is addressing the pervasiveness of racism within the education system having a
large impact on minoritized teachers entering the teaching profession.
Seven of the 16 legislators shared that they did not see racism as a factor in the lack of
diversity within the teaching workforce. When asked if racial or bias play a role in whether
legislatures advocate for increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers one legislators shared,
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Well, I don't [believe racism or implicit bias play a role]. There may be problems with
that [racism and bias], but I don't believe that. I think that we, in Connecticut, understand
that we need to help each other and collaborate and be focused on student achievement
and while we're talking here about racial diversity, I wish we were colorblind.
This legislator embraces the notion of colorblindness and does not believe that racism is
impacting the legislative system. In order to make significant policy change that directly impacts
minoritized teachers a legislator would need to understand the role of racism in our society and
how the pervasiveness of racism impacts their ability to draft legislation that counters acts
systems impacted by racism.
Counter-stories
An additional tenet of CRT is expressing knowledge through “counter-stories by people
of color” (Sleeter et al., 2015, p. 6). Counter-stories about minoritized teachers, countering the
white supremacy narrative were shared by 11 of the 16 legislators. One example highlighted the
power of a counter-story, the legislator shared,
Last year when we were talking about the Minority Teacher Bill. I had a teacher come in
here from Puerto Rico, who has been in Connecticut for 5 years. Now she has a
doctorate's degree from Puerto Rico. You're thinking any Board of Education in the state
of Connecticut, come on, you can be a bilingual. No. She had to jump through hoops
because she was missing certain classes that, I guess it's one of the criteria here in the
state of Connecticut, which to me makes no sense whatsoever. But, she had to meet that,
she had to go back to school, and she had to do her certification here, which is a whole
big process itself. Did she actually end up in a classroom as a bilingual teacher? No, she
didn't. Because she said, I'm not gonna do all this. She said, I have a doctorate's degree.
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The university I went to in Puerto Rico is certified in the United States. What is the big
deal?
Counter stories, like the one the legislator shared about the teacher from Puerto Rico provide
insight into the challenges of the current system in becoming a teacher. A United States citizen
from Puerto Rico enters Connecticut with a doctoral degree and it told to go back to school
because she does not meet specific criteria outlined in a dated process, highlights the inequitable
process. In addition to the story shared by the legislator, there was testimony presented at the
Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force meetings by minoritized teachers at
various stages of the teacher pathway sharing their experiences with systematic oppressive
structures creating barriers within their teacher preparation process.
Challenging the Dominant Ideology
An additional tenet of CRT is what Sleeter et al. (2015) described as “interest
convergence” (p. 5). Bell (1980) describes interest convergence as the interest of those who
have been minoritized in achieving racial equity only happens when it converges with the
interest of White people. Seven of the 16 legislators expressed challenging the dominant
ideology which was expressed through the challenging the current certification process.
However, points were made about the difficulty in tampering with the status quo,
It's a comfortable thing for white professionals to say the thing, and then not do the thing.
"I believe in this…See, I've got it here. I've written it down, that means I believe in it.
And now, watch me do nothing about it. "That's the feeling that I've had about good,
well-meaning, people. They'll put it on the paper for you, but they won't actually take the
step. They won't say, we are going to commit actual resources to this.
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The legislator is explaining that White legislators may know it is important to discuss the
importance of having diversity within the teaching workforce but because they do not feel I is
directly impacting their interests, they may not spend much time or resources ensuring action is
taken. In addition, as described early one of the barriers in diversifying the teaching profession
as reported by participating legislators were the teachers union. Currently the teacher unions are
predominantly staffed by White professionals and the majority of the Connecticut teacher union
members are also White. If they have experienced success within the current teacher preparation
process, they may not have the urgency to upgrade that process to be more equitable. Counter to
understanding the dominant ideology is not in-service of those who have been minoritized are
those legislators that believe the dominant ideology is not one impacted by racism. For example
one legislator shared,
I'm always the person that takes race out of the thing, if you are the best qualified person,
…I don't wanna know what ethnic race, I don't wanna know. That should come off the
paper. We are hurting people by asking that question, in theory, you know?
The assumption that this legislator is making that recognizing race is hurting people creates a
challenge to challenging the dominant ideology. In order for legislators to challenge the
dominant ideology they must first come to increase their knowledge of White supremacy and the
impact it has on increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers within the state.
Synthesis of Critical Race Theory Findings
Participating legislators demonstrated limited recognition of racism as a central,
permanent, and pervasive part of society. In addition, multiple legislators shared a personal
narrative about a minoritized teacher that may have had an impact on their educational
experience or the educational experience of someone they knew. There was limited connection
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with the narrative being one that directly countered white supremacy. Furthermore, it was
demonstrated that even though the current teacher pathway was particularly challenging to
minoritized teachers, there was a lack of acknowledgement that the process to become a teacher
may be one that is advantageous to White teachers.
Summary of Research Results and Findings
Based on the findings, legislators reported having acquired the knowledge about the
demographic imperative impacting the Connecticut teaching workforce and the organizational
structures are in place to have an impact on diversifying the teaching workforce. The findings
have demonstrated there is a gap within the motivation of legislators and the recognition of how
racism and implicit bias is impacting their ability to create legislation that supports programs
prioritizing minoritized teacher, mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and/or
reviews and eliminates potential barriers along the teacher pathway that adversely impact
aspiring minoritized teachers. In order for legislators to diversify the teaching workforce, they
will need to leverage their declarative knowledge about the lack of representation, the benefits of
minoritized teachers, the barriers minoritized teachers face, and their knowledge about the
impact the legislative process could have on teacher diversity. Furthermore, they need to
leverage the communication systems established between the CSDE and Education Committee
about minoritized teachers. Legislators also need to increase their knowledge about how racial
and ethnic bias impacts their legislative decision making. Increase their procedural knowledge
about how to draft legislation that specifically target complex issue such as increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers. There needs to be an increase in the number of legislators
that believe having a representative percentage of minoritized teachers within the teaching
workforce is important. In addition, more legislators need to believe that their legislative efforts
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can contribute to increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers, despite perceived and
potential impeding factors. Furthermore, they need to prioritize teacher diversity amongst the
other statewide issues within the Education Committee. Finally, by recognizing how racism
impacts this issue, lifting up narratives of minoritized teachers, and seeking to challenge the
dominant ideology of White supremacy within the teacher pathway, legislators can have a
significant impact on the diversity of the Connecticut teaching workforce.

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CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION
Chapter Five presents the recommendations, based on the findings articulated in Chapter
Four. This gap analysis study sought to understand the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences necessary for legislators to pass legislation that supports programs
prioritizing minoritized teacher, mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and
eliminates potential barriers adversely impacting aspiring minoritized teachers from entering the
teaching profession. In accomplishing this goal, legislators could provide support to CSDE in
meeting their statewide goal of increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers from 8.3% to
10% by September 2021.
In order to determine if the assumed knowledge, motivational, and organizational causes
presented a gap in the legislator’s ability to meet the goal, data was collected and analyzed from
interviews, documents, and artifacts. The findings of the data analysis, described in detail in
Chapter Four, demonstrated that of the 12 assumed knowledge, motivational, and organizational
influences, five of the assumptions were confirmed gaps and seven were confirmed assets.
Therefore, the recommended recommendations represented in this chapter, leverage the assets
and address the gaps.
In addition to Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis framework, critical race theory was
used as an additional lens to examine the historical, cultural, and structural factors established in
maintaining systemic and historical racism imposed by the dominant society (Crenshaw, 1995;
Bell & Levine, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2013; Howard, 2010; Sleeter et al., 2015). The
hypothesis was that, contributing to the assumed knowledge, motivational, and organizational
gaps, there was a lack of recognition of racism by legislators, the absence of counter-storytelling
within the organization, and interest convergence amongst a predominantly White legislative
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body. Based on the findings in Chapter Four, all three critical race theory assumptions were
confirmed and therefore represented additional gaps in three of the analyzed tenets of critical
race theory.
Summary of Gaps and Assets
The recommendations in this chapter are based on the gaps legislators demonstrated
within knowledge, motivation, organizational, and critical race theory, summarized in Table 10.
Table 10
Knowledge, Motivation, Organizational, and Critical Race Theory Gaps
Knowledge Gaps
Legislators lack the metacognitive knowledge that racial and ethnic bias impacts legislative
decision making.

Legislators lack the procedural knowledge to draft legislation that specifically targets
increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers.
Motivational Gaps
Legislators lack the belief that it is important to have a representative percentage of minoritized
teachers within the teaching workforce.

Legislators lack the belief that their legislative efforts can contribute to increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers, despite perceived and potential impeding factors.
Organizational Gaps
The organizational cultural model of the Education Committee does not prioritize increasing
the percentage of minoritized teachers.
Critical Race Theory Gaps
Legislators do not recognize racism as a central, permanent and pervasive part of society
Legislators do not share stories about minoritized teachers that counter the white supremacy
narrative
Legislators do not challenge the systems (e. g. certification process) that hide White self-
interest, White power, and White privilege

The knowledge, motivation, organizational, and critical race theory gaps represent an in-
depth analysis of data gathered from 16 interviews, reviewing legislation over the course of a
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decade, analyzing meeting agendas, and analysis of audio and visual recordings of two years of
meetings. There are intersecting themes across the eight knowledge, motivation, organization,
and critical race theory gaps. Table 11 represents a synthesis of the eight gaps.
Table 11
Synthesized Gaps
Assumed Influence
Categories
Synthesized Gaps
Knowledge and
Critical Race Theory
Legislators do not recognize racism as a central, permanent and
pervasive part of society and the impact that racial and ethnic bias
has on their legislative decision making

Motivation and
Organization
Legislators lack motivation in attributing importance to teacher
diversity so that teacher diversity can be prioritized within the
organizational cultural model of the Education Committee.

Motivation and
Critical Race Theory
Legislators lack the motivation to challenge systems of oppression
because they believe their legislative efforts do not make a significant
difference in removing all the perceived barriers in becoming a
teacher.

Knowledge Legislators lack the procedural knowledge to draft legislation that
specifically targets increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers.

Based on the gap analysis, eight of the gaps were synthesized into four to be addressed by the
proposed recommendations. One gap, legislators do not share stories about minoritized teachers
that counter the white supremacy narrative, was not included in the synthesis. This gap can be
addressed in isolation by ensuring that within the proposed recommendations there is an
opportunity for minoritized teachers to share their stories that counter the white supremacy
narrative. There is opportunity to address this gap in the first synthesized gap in relation to the
recognition of racism.
In addition to the gaps the legislators demonstrated knowledge, motivation, organization,
and critical race theory assets. Table 12 represents a summary of the assets.
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Table 12
Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Assets
Knowledge Assets
Legislators have the declarative knowledge about the lack of representation of minoritized
teachers within the state.

Legislators have the declarative knowledge that there are specific benefits of having minoritized
teachers within the state.

Legislators have the declarative knowledge that minoritized teachers face unique barriers in
becoming a teacher within the state.

Legislators have the declarative knowledge that passing legislation can have an impact on the
percentage of minoritized teachers in the state.
Motivational Assets
Legislators believe they are capable of passing legislation related to increasing minoritized
teachers.
Organizational Assets
The organizational culture model between the Education Committee and the Connecticut State
Department of Education is collaborative and trusting.

The organizational culture setting provides opportunities for communication between the
Education Committee and the Connecticut State Department of Education in regards to
minoritized teachers.

Similar to the intersection of the knowledge, motivation, organization, and critical race theory
gaps, there was an opportunity to synthesize the six assets into three key assets. This synthesis is
represented in Table 13.

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Table 13
Synthesized Assets
Assumed
Influence
Categories
Synthesized Assets
Knowledge Legislators know that there is a lack representation of minoritized teachers in
the state and that minoritized teachers face unique barriers and that passing
legislation can impact the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state.

Motivation Legislators believe they are capable of passing legislation related to
increasing minoritized teachers.

Organization The Education Committee and the Connecticut State Department of
Education have established organizational cultures that promote
communication, collaboration, and trust.

The three key assets can be leveraged in addressing the gaps in legislator’s knowledge,
motivation, and their organizational setting. In addition, these assets can be leveraged in
addressing the gaps demonstrated in the legislator’s responses to the three tenets of critical race
theory.
In addressing the gaps and leveraging the assets legislators will be able to accomplish the
intended goal of passing legislation that supports programs prioritizing minoritized teachers,
mandates equity in school district hiring practices and eliminates entry barriers to the profession.
Upon accomplishing this goal, legislators can directly impact the CSDE’s statewide goal to
increase the percentage of minoritized teachers by September 2021 to 10%.
Proposed Recommendations
In order for the legislators within the Education Committee and the Minority Teacher
Recruitment and Retention Task Force to accomplish their goal in service of the CSDE goal, the
following recommendations are proposed:
1. Capitalize on assets, existing legislation, and diversity trainings;
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2. Develop an impact analysis report;
3. Create accountability measures to assess the impact of legislative efforts
The proposed recommendations will also address the gaps demonstrated in three of the tenets
associated with critical race theory.
Recommendation 1: Capitalize on Assets, Existing Legislation, and Mandated Diversity
Training
Legislators have much to celebrate when it comes to efforts that have been made to
increase the percentage of minoritized teachers within the state. The results of this study
demonstrated a number of assets that can be leveraged. The assets include legislator’s
declarative knowledge about the lack of representation of minoritized teachers in the state and
that minoritized teachers face unique barriers and that passing legislation can impact the
percentage of minoritized teachers in the state. This declarative knowledge can be leveraged
with a review of recent legislation connected to increasing the percentage of minoritized
teachers, such as Public Act 15-108, Public Act 16-41, Special Act 16-10, and Public Act 18-34.
In addition, future legislators can leverage the belief articulated by participating legislators, that
they are capable of passing legislation related to increasing minoritized teachers. In leveraging
these assets and the past legislation, current legislators can increase their procedural knowledge
in drafting legislation that specifically targets increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers.
In addition to addressing the procedural gap, legislators can capitalize on the knowledge,
motivational, and organizational assets as well as mandated diversity trainings within the
General Assembly to address two gaps. As previously mentioned, legislators lack the
recognition that racism is a central, permanent and pervasive part of society that was determined
in the research findings. The asset currently within the legislator capacity is annual diversity
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training. Diversity training could be a tool in increasing legislative awareness about the impact
of racism. In addition, diversity training can support legislators in seeing that racial and ethnic
bias is having an impact on their legislative decision making. According to Public Act 01-53
(Connecticut General Assembly, 2001) and described in a report presented by the Office of
Legislative Research (Norman-Eady, 2002) all members of the general assembly, which includes
those legislators that participate in the Education Committee must be provided a minimum of
three hours of diversity training each year. It is expected that the training includes “standards for
working with and serving persons from diverse populations and strategies for addressing
differences that may arise from diverse working environments” (Norman-Eady, 2002).
Legislators should request that the training support their ability to reflect on how their biases
impact their legislative decision in addition to ensuring the diversity trainings highlight the
pervasiveness of racism within society.
The final gap to be addressed by capitalizing on assets, existing legislation, and diversity
training is the lack of motivation of legislators to challenge systems of oppression and increasing
their belief that their legislative efforts can make a difference despite the potential barriers. In
collaboration with the CSDE there is an opportunity to review past legislation and regulations to
determine if legislation has been upholding systems of oppression. In leveraging declarative
knowledge about the lack of representation and the unique barriers minoritized teachers face.
Legislators can engage in discussions with CSDE, leveraging established trust between the
Education Committee and CSDE. This collaboration can assist in determining the impact of
former certification regulations, established in 1998. This collaboration can be an opportunity to
upgrade the certification regulations, which have presented unique barriers for minoritized
teachers.
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Recommendation 2: Develop an Impact Analysis Report
Impact analysis reporting is used to assess the pros and cons of a specific action or set of
actions and to demonstrate the extent to which change occurs over time (WebFinance Inc.,
2018). Legislators need to commission the development of an impact report. This report would
seek to determine how legislative action, associated with increasing the percentage of
minoritized teachers in the past five years, has impacted the state of Connecticut. In developing
the impact analysis report, at least two of the gaps presented in this research study would be
addressed.
The first gap to be addressed, through the development of an impact analysis report, is
increasing legislator motivation. This would allow teacher diversity to increase in priority level
within the organizational cultural model of the Education Committee. According to the data
findings discussed in Chapter Four, educational funding with the largest competing priority
within the Education Committee. An impact analysis report could present the financial benefits
of a diverse teaching workforce. It would be beneficial to demonstrate how teacher diversity
could positively impact the financial landscape of a district.
According to those legislators that participated in the study, the importance of teacher
diversity shifted depending on the diversity of the constituents in the community the legislators
represented. Those legislators, that represented more racially and ethnically diverse
communities, found their constituents tended to prioritize teacher diversity more than legislators
who represented predominantly White communities. An impact analysis reports could
demonstrate the research presented in Chapter Two outlining the positive impact on student
achievement for students of all racial and ethnic identities in having a diverse teaching staff. If
families with school aged students were aware of the benefits to their child’s academic
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experiences, when students are exposed to a diverse teaching faculty, they may be more
interested in seeing their state legislator advocating for increasing the percentage of minoritized
teachers within their districts.
The second gap that the development of an impact analysis report would address is in
increasing the procedural knowledge of drafting legislation that specifically targets increasing
the percentage of minoritized teachers. The impact report could demonstrate a step-by-step
process outlining how to generate specific legislation directly aligned to increasing the
percentage of minoritized teacher in the state. The impact report could demonstrate this
information by reviewing past legislation that passed during a time when current members of the
Education Committee were not in office or not assigned to the Education Committee.
Legislators need to increase their competence, engagement, and a sense of autonomy in
reviewing, drafting and/or approving legislation that increases the percentage of minoritized
teachers. An impact analysis report will increase their motivation to see that having a
representative percentage of minoritized teachers within the teaching workforce is important and
central to their self-image as a legislator. An impact analysis report would be an important tool
in increasing their competence in the subject matter.
Recommendation 3: Create Accountability Measures
There is historical precedence of legislation being passed that has created accountability
measures to be implemented by the CSDE. Of the six legislative acts passed since 2007, five
included accountability measures. Public Act No.07-3 included language that required the
Regional Educational Service Center to report directly to the Education Committee no later than
January 1, 2008 on the results of the Minority Recruiting Alliance study, the guidelines for the
pilot programs being developed, and the establishment and operation of any pilot program
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connected to minoritized teacher recruitment. Public Act No. 15-108 (2015) increased
accountability by mandating the Office of Higher Education to report on teacher candidate
demographics in teacher preparation programs leading to professional certification. The report
was expected to include teacher candidate enrollment by subgroups, such as race, ethnicity and
gender, with respect to the recruitment, preparation and retention of minoritized teachers. Public
Act No. 16-41 (2016) created accountability by establishing the Minority Teacher Recruitment
Policy Oversight Council within the CSDE. In addition, requiring the CSDE to annually conduct
and report the results of a survey of students participating in minority teacher recruitment
programs offered by the Regional Educational Service Center or at a public institution of higher
education in the state to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly starting January 1,
2017. Finally, Public Act No. 18-34 (2018) created additional accountability measures directly
focused at outlining the expectations of the Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight
Council. These expectations included, increasing knowledge of the demographic teacher-student
gap, monitoring and evaluating innovative recruiting and retention ideas, removing barriers,
supporting programs, and increasing accountability of local and regional boards of education's
efforts to prioritize recruitment and develop innovative strategies to attract and retain minoritized
teachers within their districts. Providing this level of historical context is within the capacity of
the legislators to create accountability measures to assess the impact of their legislative efforts.
Legislators should create legislation that includes expectations of the annual diversity
training including training on recognizing racism as a central, permanent and pervasive part of
society and the impact that racial and ethnic bias is having on their legislative decision making.
Furthermore, legislators should commission a study to determine the direct impact that their
legislation has had on the increase of minoritized teachers within the state. Legislators could be
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motivated to increase the importance of teacher diversity if they were exposed to the impact of
their legislative efforts. To determine impact, they would need to create accountability
measures. Accountability measures, such as certification assessments for teachers, have
demonstrated how systems of oppression, such as high stakes testing that does not take into
account educational inequities, can be challenged if legislators are shown how their legislatives
efforts have positively impacted the percentage of minoritized teacher in the teaching workforce.
When legislators are able to see they are having a positive impact despite the potential barriers
they may be more motivated to continue to create legislation that removes barriers. Finally,
legislators need to create systems to hold themselves accountable to supporting programs that
prioritize minoritized teachers, mandating equitable hiring, and eliminating barriers for
minoritized teachers.
Summary of Recommendations
Upon addressing the gaps with the suggested recommendations, legislators will be
empowered to proceed toward accomplishing the intended goal. In capitalizing on assets,
existing legislation, and diversity trainings legislators will be able to pass legislation that
eliminates entry barriers to the profession. In the development of an impact analysis report
legislators will be informed of programs that have contributed to the increase of minoritized
teachers and efforts being made so they can pass legislation that supports programs prioritizing
minoritized teacher. Finally, by creating accountability measures to assess the impact of
legislative efforts, legislators will be able to pass legislation that mandates equity in school
district hiring practices because they will recognize the impact of systematic oppression and feel
an increased sense of responsibility to eliminate systematic oppression.

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Implementation Strategy
In order for these recommendations to be implemented there are a set of conditions
necessary (i.e. personnel, funding, time allocation). The implementation strategy must be
designed to meet the demands of the 2020 legislative session. This is the legislative session that
aligns with supporting the CSDE’s September 2021 goal of 10%. In order for legislators to
support this goal and future minoritized teacher recruitment and retention goals, there needs to be
an opportunity to build momentum during the months when the General Assembly is not in
session. These months would be September 2019 – January 2020. The 2020 Legislative Session
is scheduled to begin February 2020 and end May 2020. If the proposed recommendations were
implemented within the proposed window of time and the percentage of minoritized teachers
increased at a higher rate from 2020 – 2021 than the increase from 2019-2020 or previous years,
this could be connected to the implementation of the proposed recommendations.
Recommendation 1: Implementation Strategy
The first recommendation in addressing the gaps presented in this research study, is for
legislators to capitalize on knowledge, motivation and organizational assets, capitalize existing
legislation, and capitalize on diversity training. This recommendation would address three of the
four knowledge, motivation, organization, and critical race theory gaps.
Addressing the lack of procedural knowledge. Research findings indicated that
participating legislators lack the procedural knowledge to draft legislation that specifically
targets increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers. If legislators capitalized on already
established knowledge, motivational, and organizational assets and were made aware of the
procedural process taken to draft legislation that specifically targeted increasing the percentage
of minoritized teachers, this could increase their procedural knowledge. Summarized in Table
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14 are the action steps, personnel, and timeline needed to capitalizing on established knowledge,
motivational, and organizational assets.
Table 14
Proposed Implementation Strategy for Capitalizing on Assets
Action Step Personnel Timeline
Review current teacher and
student demographic data.
Minority Teachers
Recruitment Policy
Oversight Council
Prior to start of legislative
session (September 2019 –
January 2020)

Review legislation related to
increasing minoritized
teachers, passed in previous
legislative session
Members of the Minority
Teacher Recruitment Task
Force

All Members of the
Education Committee

Prior to start of legislative
session (September 2019 –
January 2020)
Review communication
structures between the
Education Committee and
CSDE to ensure continued
collaboration and trust.
Legislative liaison for CSDE Prior to start of legislative
session (September 2019 –
January 2020)

Addressing the lack of motivation. Research findings indicated that participating
legislators lack the motivation to challenge systems of oppression because they believe their
legislative efforts do not make a significant difference in removing all the perceived barriers
minoritized teachers face. If legislators capitalized on existing legislation by being made aware
of how targeted legislation during 2007 – 2018 challenged systems of oppression by removing
barriers within the process of becoming a teacher, this would increase their motivation to
continue drafting similar. Summarized in Table 15 are the action steps, personnel, and timeline
needed to capitalizing on existing legislation.

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Table 15
Proposed Implementation Strategy for Capitalizing on Existing Legislation
Action Step Personnel Timeline
Create an infographic describing the
historical impact of legislation on teacher
diversity during 2007 – 2018.
The Office of
Legislative Research
Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Email infographics to all members of
relevant committees, task forces,
commissions (example: Education,
Appropriations, Labor & Public
Employees Committees and Commission
of Equity & Opportunity)
Chair of Minority
Teacher Recruitment
Policy Oversight
Council
During legislative
session (February 2020
– May 2020)
Submit infographic to public record at
relevant public testimony within the
legislative sessions
Member of the Minority
Teacher Recruitment
Task Force
During legislative
session (February 2020
– May 2020)

Addressing the gap in recognizing the impact of racism and bias. Research findings
indicated that majority of the participating legislators did not recognize racism as a central,
permanent and pervasive part of society and the impact that racial and ethnic bias has on their
legislative decision making. If legislators were informed, during the annual diversity training, of
the role of racism and bias within their work as legislators, then they would be able to address
this gap. Summarized in Table 16 are the action steps, personnel, and timeline needed to
capitalizing on diversity trainings.

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Table 16
Proposed Implementation Strategy for Capitalizing on Diversity Training
Action Step Personnel Timeline
Identify when the 2020 legislative session
diversity training will be provided
Chair of Minority
Teacher Recruitment
Task Force
Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Evaluate diversity training session plan to
determine if it addresses recognizing racism
as a central, permanent and pervasive part
of society and understanding the impact of
implicit bias on legislative decision making
Member of the Minority
Teacher Recruitment
Task Force

Connecticut Commission
on Human Rights and
Opportunities (CHRO)
Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Create an infographic outlining common
understandings of implicit bias and how
implicit bias impacts the decision making
process
Connecticut Commission
on Human Rights and
Opportunities (CHRO)
Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Email infographics to all members of
relevant committees, task forces,
commissions (example: Education,
Appropriations, Labor & Public Employees
Committees and Commission of Equity &
Opportunity)
Chair of Minority
Teacher Recruitment
Policy Oversight Council
During legislative
session (February
2020 – May 2020)

Recommendation 2: Implementation Strategy
The second recommendation in addressing the gaps, is for legislators to develop an
impact analysis report to determine the financial and academic assets generated from increasing
the percentage of minoritized teachers within their specific region of the state. This
recommendation would support legislators in prioritizing teacher diversity and believe in the
importance of having a diverse teaching workforce in the state. Developing an impact analysis
report addresses two of the four knowledge, motivation, organization, and critical race theory
gaps.
Addressing the gap in motivation. Research findings indicated that participating
legislators lack motivation in attributing a high level of importance to teacher diversity, therefore
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deprioritizing teacher diversity within the organizational cultural model of the Education
Committee. If legislators developed an impact analysis report demonstrating the economic
benefits of increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers, motivation of legislators may
increase given that they would be able to demonstrate to their constituents those economic
benefits. Participating legislators indicated that the biggest priority amongst all educational
issues was ensuring districts were not losing educational funding support and ideally gaining
additional funding support. Summarized in Table 17 are the action steps, personnel, and timeline
needed in developing an impact analysis report to address motivational gap.
Table 17
Proposed Implementation Strategy for Impact Analysis Report to Address Motivational Gap
Action Step Personnel Timeline
Legislators request data be provided
on the economic impact of diversity
in the workplace.

Labor & Public
Employee Committees
and/or Commission of
Equity & Opportunity
Prior to start of legislative
session (September 2019 –
January 2020)
Commission an analysis of the
economic impact on a community
that has a diverse teaching workforce
Minority Teacher
Recruitment Task Force
Prior to start of legislative
session (September 2019 –
January 2020)
Create an infographic highlighting
the economic impact of a lack of
diversity.
Connecticut Department
of Education
Prior to start of legislative
session (September 2019 –
January 2020)
Develop a plan to disseminate
information to the general assembly
Minority Teacher
Recruitment and
Retention Task Force
During legislative session
(February 2020)

Addressing the gap in procedural knowledge. Research findings indicated that
participating legislators lack the procedural knowledge to draft legislation that specifically
targets increasing the percentage of minoritized teachers. If legislators developed an impact
analysis report, demonstrating the procedural process legislators previously took to establish
target legislation, this gap would be addressed. Summarized in Table 18 are the action steps,
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personnel, and timeline needed to develop an impact analysis report to address the procedural
knowledge gap.
Table 18
Proposed Implementation Strategy for Impact Analysis Report to Address Knowledge Gap
Action Step Personnel Timeline
Request data about the strategic
process taken prior to the passing of
previous Minority Teacher
Recruitment legislation
Requested by Chair of
Minority Recruitment Teacher
Task Force

Data provided The Office of
Legislative Research
Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Include in annual report historical
data demonstrating the procedural
process taken to pass legislation
directly focused on minoritized
teachers.
Minority Teacher Recruitment
Policy Oversight Council
Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Create an infographic highlighting
the procedural process of passing
legislation and the impact that
targeted legislation had on
minoritized teachers.
Data provided The Office of
Legislative Research
Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Develop plan to disseminate
information to the general assembly
Minority Teacher Recruitment
and Retention Task Force
During legislative
session (February
2020 – May 2020)

Recommendation 3: Implementation Strategy
The third recommendation in addressing the gaps presented in this research study, is for
legislators to create an accountability measure to assess the impact of their legislative efforts.
The development of an accountability measure would address three of the four knowledge,
motivation, organization, and critical race theory gaps.
Addressing the gap in recognizing the impact of racism and bias. Research findings
indicated that majority of the participating legislators did not recognize racism as a central,
permanent and pervasive part of society and the impact that racial and ethnic bias has on their
legislative decision making. If legislators created a way to hold themselves accountability to
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reflecting on how racism and implicit bias impacts their legislative efforts, they would address
this critical race theory gap. Summarized in Table 19 are the action steps, personnel, and
timeline needed to address the gaps.
Table 19
Proposed Implementation Strategy to Address the Critical Race Theory Gap
Action Step Personnel Timeline
Develop a set of criteria to assess
if specific legislation aimed to
increase minoritized teachers in
the state is discriminatory.
Legal Counsel

Connecticut Commission on
Human Rights and
Opportunities (CHRO)
During legislative session
(February 2020 – May
2020)

Addressing the gap in motivation. Research findings indicated that the majority of
participating legislators lacked the motivation in attributing importance to teacher diversity so
that teacher diversity could be prioritized within the organizational cultural model of the
Education Committee. If legislators created accountability measures to assess the impact of each
educational priority they would be provided data that demonstrates the need to increase the
priority of teacher diversity within their district. Summarized in Table 20 are the action steps,
personnel, and timeline needed to developing an impact analysis report to address the
motivational gap.

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Table 20
Proposed Implementation Strategy for Creating Accountability Measures to Address
Motivational Gap
Action Step Personnel Timeline
Create a system that determines the
impact (high, medium, low) on the
public’s social and/or economic well-
being.
The Office of
Legislative Research
Prior to start of legislative
session (September 2019
– January 2020)
Use system to determine the impact
level of legislation specifically aligned
to teacher diversity.
The Office of
Legislative Research
Prior to start of legislative
session (September 2019
– January 2020)

Addressing the gap to challenge systems of oppression. Research findings indicated
that the majority of participating legislators lacked the motivation to challenge systems of
oppression because they believe their legislative efforts do not make a significant difference in
removing all the perceived barriers in becoming a teacher. If legislators created accountability
measures that demonstrate the impact of their legislative efforts, specific to challenging
oppressive systems connected to barriers in entering the teaching profession, their motivation
would increase in this area. Summarized in Table 21 are the action steps, personnel, and
timeline needed to developing an impact analysis report to address the motivational gap.

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Table 21
Proposed Implementation Strategy for Challenging Systems of Oppression
Action Step Personnel Timeline
Analyze legislation within the last
five years that has removed
barriers impacting the percentage
of minoritized teachers.
Minority Teacher Recruitment
and Retention Task Force
Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Review the most recent
legislation connected to
minoritized teachers
Minority Teacher Recruitment
and Retention Task Force
During legislative
session (February 2020 –
May 2020)
Identify each action that must be
taken for an individual to become
a teacher in the state of
Connecticut
Connecticut State Department
of Education Talent Office

Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Review each action with a critical
lens to determine if there are
actions that are promoting the
dominant culture and
systemically oppressive
Connecticut State Department
of Education Talent Office

Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)
Create a standardized system to
review future legislation through
the lens of removing systemically
oppressive barriers.
Connecticut State Department
of Education Talent Office

Minority Teacher Recruitment
and Retention Task Force
Prior to start of
legislative session
(September 2019 –
January 2020)

Evaluation Plan
The purpose of evaluating the proposed recommendations and implementation strategies
is to determine the potential effectiveness of each recommendation in addressing the identified
gaps and therefore supporting legislator’s ability to pass legislation that prioritizes programs
supporting minoritized teachers, mandates equitable hiring practices, and eliminates entry
barriers into the profession. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006) evaluation framework is used
to assess the proposed recommendations and implementation strategies. Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick’s (2006) explained the evaluation process, as one that provides justification for the
allocation of personnel and/or financial resources to a particular initiative. In addition, the
evaluation process provides clarity about committing additional time and resources.
TEACHER DIVERSITY 145
Furthermore, the evaluation process provides an opportunity to gain insight on ways to improve
initiatives to address legislators the knowledge, motivational, and organizational gaps.
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006) propose four levels of evaluation: reaction, learning,
behavior, and results. Recommendations for evaluation of each recommendation will be made in
conjunction with each level of the Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006) evaluation framework.
Level 1: Evaluation of Reactions
Evaluation at the reaction level measures the degree to which a participant finds the
recommendation favorable. According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006), “if participants
do not react favorably, they probably will not be motivated to learn.” (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2006, p. 22). To determined legislators satisfaction with capitalizing on their assets they need to
have a forum in which they are informed of their assets and the positive impact of previous
legislation. This could intersect with gauging the legislator’s satisfaction of the creation of
accountability measures to assess the impact of legislative efforts. The Education Committee
could be informed at the start of the legislative session by legislative aids that research has been
provided that demonstrated in 2018 legislators demonstrated awareness of the lack of
representation of minoritized teachers in the state, that minoritized teachers face unique barriers
and that passing legislation can impact the percentage of minoritized teachers in the state. In
addition, they could be informed that legislators have demonstrated the belief that they are
capable of passing legislation related to increasing minoritized teachers. Finally they can be
informed that during 2018 the Education Committee and the Connecticut State Department of
Education had established an organizational culture of communication, collaboration, and trust.
Once legislators are informed of this information a Likert scale survey could be administered to
TEACHER DIVERSITY 146
determine if current legislators, based on this information feel positive about leveraging those
assets and previous legislation to pass new legislation.
To assess satisfaction with the diversity training is a more complex process, as outlined in
the proposed implementation plan, the diversity training would need to be evaluated on the
inclusion of implicit bias training, the impact of implicit bias on legislative decision making, and
the recognition of racism as a central, permanent and pervasive part of society. Upon ensuring
these elements are incorporated into the diversity training, only then could a similar Likert scale
survey aligned to the proposed recommendation be used to evaluate the satisfaction of
legislators.
To assess legislator’s satisfaction with the development of an impact analysis report a
satisfaction survey could be used. A sample survey assessing the reactions to both the impact
analysis report and the accountability measures is demonstrated in Figure 4.
Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statements below:
The impact analysis report provided me useful information in drafting legislation that
supports programs prioritizing minoritized teacher.
1
Strongly
Disagree
2
Disagree
3
Somewhat
disagree
4
Somewhat
Agree
5
Agree
6
Strongly
Agree
The impact analysis report provided me useful information in drafting legislation that
mandates equity in school district hiring practices.
1
Strongly
Disagree
2
Disagree
3
Somewhat
disagree
4
Somewhat
Agree
5
Agree
6
Strongly
Agree
The impact analysis report provided me useful information in drafting legislation that
eliminates entry barriers to the profession.
1
Strongly
Disagree
2
Disagree
3
Somewhat
disagree
4
Somewhat
Agree
5
Agree
6
Strongly
Agree

Figure 4. Sample Likert scale survey to assess satisfaction with impact analysis report.
A survey, like the one represented in Figure 4, can be administered at the end of each
legislative session and provide those commissioned to create the impact analysis report with data
TEACHER DIVERSITY 147
as to how to best structure the report in a way that majority of legislators on the Education
Committee respond positively.
Level 2: Evaluation of Learning
Evaluation at the learning level measures the degree to which a participant increases their
knowledge and/or increases their skill in a particular area (Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s, 2006).
As described in Table 4, legislators have a depth of declarative knowledge in relation to the lack
of teacher diversity in the state. In order to change the attitudes that legislators have toward
teacher diversity, they need to be made aware of the assets knowledge, motivation, and
organizational capacity they already have within the legislature. Furthermore, they must attend a
diversity training that seeks to ensure participants are able to recognize the pervasiveness of
racism and the impact of bias on their decision making. The knowledge can be assessed through
an assessment at the end of the diversity training. The learning can also be evaluated with
administering a pre-test to gauge the knowledge and skills of the legislators prior to informing
them about their assets, reviewing existing legislation, and attending diversity training and then
providing a post test would evaluate the learning acquired within this recommendation. To
assess if developing an impact analysis report increased the knowledge of legislator’s the
following actions can be taken. A review the meeting minutes and/or watching Education
Committee meetings on CT-Network. In reviewing the meetings there would be an opportunity
to determine if knowledge was acquired if legislators refer to and/or use data provided by the
impact analysis report. To assess if creating accountability measures to assess the impact of
legislative efforts increases legislator’s knowledge about teacher diversity it would be important
to use a pre and post survey to evaluate if legislative patterns adjust when legislators are held
accountable in a systematic manner to their legislative efforts.
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Level 3: Evaluation of Behavior
Evaluation at the behavior level measures the extent to which legislative behavior
changes as a result of the recommendations being implemented. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s
(2006) explain that for behavior to change people must (1) desire to change their behavior (2)
know what they need to do in order to change and how to change (3) be working in the right
climate (4) be rewarded for changing the behavior (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006, p. 23).
Further research is analyzing each element of the behavior level would be useful. To measure if
behavior has changed there would need to be a pre and post interview of the chairs of the
Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force, in addition to the Chairs of the Education Committee.
Within that interview there would need to be questions that assessed to what extent the
legislators leveraged their declarative knowledge of the teacher diversity challenge and their
knowledge of past legislation aimed at increasing the number of minoritized teachers in the state.
To measure the extent to which the development of an impact analysis report changes the
behavior of legislators would be difficult to assess given that there are many elements that go
into legislative decision making. This is similar to measuring the extent to which the creation of
accountability measures change the behavior of legislators. One method that could be used to
evaluate a change in behavior is to analyze the legislative voting history and/or commentary of
an individual legislator that was not in favor of past minority recruitment legislation. Then
analyze the voting history and/or commentary of the same individual after being exposed to the
impact analysis report and being held to accountability measures. If there is a noticeable change
in voting behavior or commentary about minoritized teachers this can be attributed to the
proposed recommendations.

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Level 4: Evaluation of Results
Evaluation at the results level would measure if the legislators, through the addressing of
the identified gaps were able to meet their goal of passing legislation that supported programs
that prioritized minoritized teachers, mandated equitable hiring practices, and removed barriers.
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006) describe this final level as the most difficult to evaluate if
there is not a tangible goal. In addition, they recommend allowing ample time for results to be
achieved. To assess if capitalizing on assets, existing legislation, and diversity trainings had an
impact toward reaching the stakeholder goal the following must happen by the end of the 2020
legislative session. Legislators must pass legislation specifically addressing the support of
programs prioritizing minoritized teachers. In addition, legislators must pass legislation that
mandates equitable hiring practices be used though the state’s school districts. Finally,
legislators must pass legislation that eliminates barriers that minoritized teachers encounter along
their path toward becoming teachers in the state. Development of an impact analysis report and
the creation of accountability measures to assess the impact of legislative efforts, will address the
defined gaps. In addition, support legislators in attaining the intended goal. In return the
percentage of minoritized teachers in the state will increase at a higher rate than in past years.
Summary of Evaluation Plan
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006) provide an adequate framework to evaluate the
impact of the proposed recommendations. Table 22 provides a summary of the actions
recommended at each level to evaluate the satisfaction, knowledge gained, behavior change, and
impact of each recommendation.

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Table 22
Summary of Evaluation of Proposed Recommendations
Recommendation Reaction Learning Behavior Impact
Capitalize on
assets, existing
legislation, and
diversity trainings
The use of
a Likert
scale
survey,
uniquely
aligned to
each
proposed
recommend
ation could
determine
legislator’s
satisfaction
with each
of the
recommend
ations.

The use of a pre-
test to assess the
knowledge and
skills of the
legislators prior to
informing them
about their assets,
reviewing existing
legislation, and
attending diversity
training and then
providing a post
test would evaluate
the learning of the
legislators.
A pre and
post
interview
could be
used to
evaluate
change in
behavior
Legislators must pass
legislation
specifically
addressing the
support of programs
prioritizing
minoritized teachers,
mandates equitable
hiring practices, and
eliminates barriers
that minoritized
teachers encounter
along their path
toward becoming
teachers in the state.
Develop an impact
analysis report
In reviewing the
meeting minutes
and/or watching
Education
Committee
meetings on CT-
Network, there can
be evidence of
knowledge acquired
if legislators refer
to and/or use data
provided by the
impact analysis
report.
Analyze the
voting and
commentary
history of a
legislator
prior to
exposure to
the report
and
accountabili
ty measure
and then
after.
The percentage of
minoritized teachers
in the state will
increase at a higher
rate than in past
years.

Create
accountability
measures to assess
the impact of
legislative efforts
The use of a pre
and post survey to
evaluate if
legislative patterns
adjust when
legislators are held
accountable in a
systematic manner
to their legislative
efforts.

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Limitations and Delimitations
The anticipated limitations of this study were in reviewing video artifacts, the limited
time for each interview and the changing administration in November 2019. These limitations
were described in detail in Chapter three. However during the study, additional limitations were
discovered and important enough to mention in this section. Interviews were being conducted
prior to the legislative session during election season. The intended number of formal interviews
was six to eight, however what was unexpected was that enthusiasm of participation and
connections an interviewee would make with another legislator. In the end there were sixteen
interviews conducted. An additional limitation was that the co-chairs of the Education
Committee were no longer going to serve on the Education Committee in any capacity and there
would be new leadership in the upcoming 2019 legislative session. An additional limitation that
presented was the announcement that the Commissioner of Education and the Director of the
CSDE Talent Office would be leaving the CSDE in the summer of 2019. Both individuals
played key roles in supporting the collaborative and trustful organizational culture established
between the Education Committee and the CSDE. The limitations were taken into account
within the recommendations and therefore the recommendations presented must meet the needs
of a new General Assembly and the CSDE.
This study was bounded within the state of Connecticut and interviews were done with
legislators having membership within the 2018 Education Committee or the Minority Teacher
Task Force. Legislators that did not participate in these two groups still voted on all proposed
legislation impacting minoritized teachers, however they were not part of this study. The
recommendations were focused on legislators participating in the Education Committee,
however the recommendations could be expanded to the larger General Assembly.
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Future Research
The possibilities for future research in evaluating the impact of state and/or federal law
makers in diversifying a particular workforce sector are extensive. This research could include a
study researching how legislators are held accountable for passing legislations. In addition,
further research could include a study on the role of implicit bias in legislative decision making.
Future research directly connected to the impact Connecticut legislators have on teacher
diversity could include evaluating the implementation of Minority Teacher Recruitment
legislation throughout the state. In addition, future research in analyzing the role of state and/or
federal elected officials on diversity initiatives is abundant and could include a multistate
comparative study of legislation aiming to increase the percentage of minoritized teachers in the
state.
Additional recommendations beyond the scope of the assumed influences were gathered
while analyzing the data from the interviews, documents, and artifacts. These recommendations
included: (1) Passing legislation that supports programs that prioritize minoritized teachers by
allocating additional funding to districts that have demonstrated a continuous increase in
minority teacher recruitment. (2) Passing legislation that mandates equity in school district
hiring practices by increasing accountability of school districts hiring practices and hiring
patterns of minoritized teachers. (3) Passing legislation that reviews potential barriers along the
teacher pathway that adversely impact aspiring minoritized teachers by gathering knowledge
about national reform efforts in diversifying the teaching workforce, mandates cultural
competency training for legislators on the education committee, and mandates increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers to remain a priority for CSDE until a representative
percentage of diversity is achieved. (4) Create legislation that eliminates potential barriers along
TEACHER DIVERSITY 153
the teacher pathway that adversely impact aspiring minoritized teachers by upgrading current
certification process and increasing financial supports for minoritized teachers. All
recommendations and future research provide an opportunity for innovative approaches to
address this demographic-imperative.
Conclusion
There is a lack of racial and ethnic diversity within the Connecticut teaching workforce,
resulting in a significant racial and ethnic demographic gap between teachers and students in
public elementary and secondary schools. In 2016, the Connecticut State Department of
Education (CSDE) committed to increasing the number of minoritized teachers employed in
Connecticut’s public schools from 8.3% to 10% by September 2021. In order for CSDE to meet
this organizational goal there would need to be 200 new minoritized teachers added to the
teaching workforce, in addition to the retention of those minoritized teachers already teaching
throughout the state. The research presented in this study represented the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational capacity of elected state legislators appointed to the Connecticut
General Assembly’s Education Committee and/or the Minority Teacher Recruitment and
Retention Task Force. The intended stakeholder goal was to determine the ability for legislators
to draft, review, and pass legislation that supports programs prioritizing minoritized teachers,
mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and/or reviews and eliminates potential
barriers adversely impacting aspiring minoritized teachers from entering the teaching profession.
This gap analysis study sought to understand the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences necessary for legislators to accomplish this goal. In accomplishing this goal,
legislators could provide support to CSDE in meeting the 2021 statewide goal of increasing the
racial and ethnic diversity of the teaching workforce in the state of Connecticut.
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Connecticut legislators have much to be proud of in terms of the legislative initiatives
taken to tackle a national dilemma, the teacher-student demographic gap. There are multiple
perspectives to analyze the problem: the candidates seeking to enter the teaching field, hiring in
school districts, the working climates of schools, district human resource departments,
superintendents, school boards, city and state departments of educations. However, if we are
truly going to make the impact that is needed there will need to be policies and laws in place to
unpack and dismantle discriminatory systems of the past. Citizens are elected every two years
into Connecticut legislative positions, their job is to create and upgrade laws to reflective the
collective values of the various communities across the state. Connecticut legislators have an
opportunity to continue in efforts started in 2007. To create new laws and pass legislation that
support programs prioritizing minoritized teachers throughout the state. Connecticut legislators
have an opportunity to hold multiple state agencies accountable and mandate equity in school
district hiring practices. Connecticut legislators have an opportunity to eliminate barriers that
have been shown to adversely impact aspiring minoritized teachers from entering the teaching
profession. Within all these opportunities comes a responsibility. The responsibility to go above
and beyond 10% diversity, for in attaining that goal the gap has not been closed. Attaining the
goal is the first step in demonstrating the momentum needed to send a bold message to the next
generation. The message being that students of all ages deserve to see the diversity of themselves
represented in the teachers facilitating their learning. By attaining the goal, Connecticut can
demonstrate to the nation that legislators are part of the solution.

TEACHER DIVERSITY 155
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APPENDIX A
Interview Protocol for Knowledge, Motivation, Organizational-Related Influencers
Knowledge
Type
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
A-priori code Interview Questions
Attainment
Value
Legislators need to see the
importance of having a
representative percentage of
minoritized teachers within
the teaching workforce.
Increasing the
percentage of
minoritized
teacher is
important
How important to you, if at all, is
advocating for increased numbers of
minoritized teachers?
Attributions Legislators need to see that
their efforts are contributing
to increasing minoritized
teachers, despite
perceived/potential impeding
factors, such as bias within
hiring practices, minoritized
teachers lacking content
knowledge, financial
accessibility, and testing
proficiency.
Legislators can
make an impact
despite barriers
You named potential barriers are
(insert what they said to barrier
question) what do you see is your role
as a legislator to address/remove these
barriers?
Self-Efficacy Legislators need to believe
they are capable of moving
legislation through the
general assembly to become
a law that has a positive
impact on increasing the
percentage of minoritized
teachers.
Believing in
their ability to
make change
1. Tell me about a time you
successfully got a bill passed.
a. Why do you believe that was such a
successful process?
b. What makes the process
challenging?

2. If you were to review, draft and/or
approve legislation that you believe
would have a positive impact on
increasing the percentage of
minoritized teachers how would you
advocate for that legislation?

Motivation
Construct
Assumed Motivation
Influence
A-priori code Interview questions used to assess
the assumed influences
Attainment
Value
Legislators need to see the
importance of having a
representative percentage of
minoritized educators within
the teaching workforce.
Increasing the
percentage of
minoritized
teacher is
important
1. How important to you, if at all, is
advocating for increased numbers of
minoritized educators?
Attributions Legislators need to see that
their efforts are contributing
to increasing minoritized
educators, despite
Legislators can
make an impact
despite barriers
1. You named potential barriers are
(insert what they said to barrier
question) what do you see is your role
TEACHER DIVERSITY 174
perceived/potential impeding
factors, such as bias within
hiring practices, minoritized
educators lacking content
knowledge, financial
accessibility, and testing
proficiency.
as a legislator to address/remove these
barriers?
Self-Efficacy Legislators need to believe
they are capable of moving
legislation through the
general assembly to become
a law that has a positive
impact on increasing the
percentage of minoritized
educators.
Believing in
their ability to
make change
1. Tell me about a time you
successfully got a bill passed.
a. Why do you believe that was such a
successful process?
b. What makes the process
challenging?

2. If you were to review, draft and/or
approve legislation that you believe
would have a positive impact on
increasing the percentage of
minoritized educators how would you
advocate for that legislation?

Organizational
Influence
Category
Assumed Organizational
Influences
A-priori code Interview questions used to assess
the assumed influences
Cultural Model
Influence
The culture within the
Education Committee and
CSDE needs to be one that
cultivates a culture of
collaboration and trust.
Collaboration
and trust
between EC
and CSDE
1. What is the role of collaboration
between the Education Committee and
CSDE?
2. How would you characterize your
relationship as a legislator on the
education committee with the CSDE?
Cultural Model
Influence
The Education Committee
needs to prioritize minoritized
educators within statewide
educational issues.
EC prioritizing
aligned
legislation
1. You have so many priorities in
representing your constituents, where
would you say increasing the number
of minoritized educators rank right now
among the educational specific
priorities?
2. Where would you say increasing the
number of minoritized educator’s ranks
right now among all legislative
priorities?
Cultural Setting
Influence
There needs to be
communication between
CSDE and the Education
Committee about minoritized
educators.
Communication
between EC
and CSDE
1. Do you have opportunities to
communicate with representatives from
CSDE about the topic of increasing the
percentage of minoritized educators?
2. What do those conversations look
like?

TEACHER DIVERSITY 175
APPENDIX B
Document Protocol for Knowledge, Motivation, Organizational-Related Influencers
Knowledge
Type
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
A-priori code Document Analysis Strategies
Declarative Legislators should know there
is a lack of representation of
minoritized teachers within the
state of Connecticut.
Lack of
representation
Identify the # of legislative acts
approved by the governor that directly
address the lack of minoritized
teachers.
Declarative Legislators should know the
benefits of having minoritized
teachers teaching in
Connecticut classrooms.
Benefits Identify wording in legislation that
addresses the benefits of having
minoritized teachers.
Declarative Legislators should understand
the impact of legislation on
increasing or decreasing the
percentage of minoritized
teachers in Connecticut.
Impact of
legislation
1. Identify legislation that passed,
which was followed by an increase in
minoritized teachers in the state.

2. Identify legislation that passed,
which was followed by a decrease in
minoritized teachers in the state.
Declarative Legislators should know the
unique barriers minoritized
teachers face along the teacher
pipeline.
Barriers Identify each barrier, specific to
minoritized teachers, which legislation
was attempting to address.
Metacognitive Legislators should reflect on
how implicit bias impacts their
decision making in regards to
teacher certification
legislation.
Impact of Implicit
Bias

Procedural Legislators should have the
skills necessary to draft
legislation that specifically
targets increasing the
percentage of minoritized
teachers.
Drafting
Legislation
Analysis of the documents for specific
examples within the legislation that
sought to increase of minoritized
teachers.

Motivation
Construct
Assumed Motivation
Influence
A-priori code Document Analysis
Attainment
Value
Legislators need to see the
importance of having a
representative percentage of
minoritized educators within
the teaching workforce.
Increasing the
percentage of
minoritized teacher
is important
Identify the number of legislative acts
that attempted to increase percentage of
minoritized teacher
Attributions Legislators need to see that
their efforts are contributing to
increasing minoritized
Legislators can
make an impact
despite barriers
Identify the number of legislative acts
that attempted to remove barriers
percentage of minoritized teacher
TEACHER DIVERSITY 176
educators, despite
perceived/potential impeding
factors, such as bias within
hiring practices, minoritized
educators lacking content
knowledge, financial
accessibility, and testing
proficiency.
Self-Efficacy Legislators need to believe
they are capable of moving
legislation through the general
assembly to become a law that
has a positive impact on
increasing the percentage of
minoritized educators.
Believing in their
ability to make
change
Identify the number of legislative acts
that aimed at increase percentage of
minoritized teacher that were passed
into law

Organizational
Influence
Category
Assumed Organizational
Influences
A-priori code Document Analysis
Cultural Model
Influence
The culture within the
Education Committee and
CSDE needs to be one that
cultivates a culture of
collaboration and trust.
Collaboration and
trust between EC
and CSDE
Identify the number of legislative acts
that were informed by the CSDE
Cultural Model
Influence
The Education Committee
needs to prioritize
minoritized educators within
statewide educational issues.
EC prioritizing
aligned legislation
Identify the number of legislative acts
that passed between 2008 and 2018 that
were aimed at increase percentage of
minoritized teacher
Cultural Setting
Influence
There needs to be
communication between
CSDE and the Education
Committee about minoritized
educators.
Communication
between ED and
CSDE
Identify language within legislation
that demonstrates the Education
Committee and CSDE working in
partnership.

TEACHER DIVERSITY 177
APPENDIX C
Artifact Protocol for Knowledge, Motivation, Organizational-Related Influencers

Knowledge
Type
Assumed Knowledge Influence A-priori code Artifact Analysis
Declarative Legislators should know there is a
lack of representation of
minoritized teachers within the
state of Connecticut.
Lack of
representation
Identify the # of times minority
teacher recruitment was listed on the
agendas of the Ed. Committee
between 2008 -2018
Declarative Legislators should know the
benefits of having minoritized
teachers teaching in Connecticut
classrooms.
Benefits Identify legislators within the
committee meetings and task force
meetings who speak directly to the
benefits of minoritized educators.
Declarative Legislators should understand the
impact of legislation on increasing
or decreasing the percentage of
minoritized teachers in
Connecticut.
Impact of
legislation
Identify sections of Education
Committee and Minority Teacher
Recruitment and Retention Task Force
meetings where legislators discussed
how specific actions and wording may
impact the percentage of minoritized
education.
Declarative Legislators should know the
unique barriers minoritized
teachers face along the teacher
pipeline.
Barriers

Metacognitive Legislators should reflect on how
implicit bias impacts their decision
making in regards to teacher
certification legislation.
Impact of
Implicit Bias
Identify comments made by
legislators that may highlight racial
and/or ethnic bias.
Procedural Legislators should have the skills
necessary to draft legislation that
specifically targets increasing the
percentage of minoritized teachers.
Drafting
Legislation

Motivation
Construct
Assumed Motivation Influence A-priori code Artifact Analysis
Attainment
Value
Legislators need to see the
importance of having a
representative percentage of
minoritized educators within the
teaching workforce.
Increasing the
percentage of
minoritized
teacher is
important
1. Identify comments made by
legislators that highlight the
importance of having a representative
percentage of minoritized educators
within the teaching workforce.

2. Identify the amount of time the
minoritized teacher pipeline is
discussed in relation to the total
agenda time.
TEACHER DIVERSITY 178
Attributions Legislators need to see that their
efforts are contributing to increasing
minoritized educators, despite
perceived/potential impeding factors,
such as bias within hiring practices,
minoritized educators lacking
content knowledge, financial
accessibility, and testing proficiency.
Legislators can
make an impact
despite barriers

Self-
Efficacy
Legislators need to believe they are
capable of moving legislation
through the general assembly to
become a law that has a positive
impact on increasing the percentage
of minoritized educators.
Believing in
their ability to
make change
Identify comments made by
legislators that highlight the
importance of having a representative
percentage of minoritized educators
within the teaching workforce.

Organizational
Influence
Category
Assumed Organizational
Influences
A-priori code Artifact Analysis: While review
video artifacts these strategies
will be used to analyze the
assumed influences
Cultural Model
Influence
The culture within the
Education Committee and
CSDE needs to be one that
cultivates a culture of
collaboration and trust.
Collaboration
and trust
between EC
and CSDE
1. Identify examples of legislators
or CSDE members deferring to one
another on issues about increasing
minoritized educators.

2. Identify examples of legislators
and CSDE members engaging in
collegial discussions.
Cultural Model
Influence
The Education Committee
needs to prioritize
minoritized educators
within statewide educational
issues.
EC prioritizing
aligned
legislation

Cultural Setting
Influence
There needs to be
communication between
CSDE and the Education
Committee about
minoritized educators.
Communication
between EC
and CSDE
Identify examples of legislators or
CSDE members communicating
with one another about increasing
minoritized educators.

TEACHER DIVERSITY 179
APPENDIX D
INFORMED CONSENT FORM
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
3470 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90089

INFORMED CONSENT FOR NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH

THE ROLE OF ELECTED OFFICIALS IN INCREASING TEACHER DIVERSITY You
are invited to participate in a research study conducted by Rebecca Good under the supervision
of Dr. Jenifer Crawford at the University of Southern California, because you are an elected
official within the state of Connecticut General Assembly that has participated in the Education
Committee and/or the Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force. Your participation is
voluntary. You should read the information below, and ask questions about anything you do not
understand, before deciding whether to participate. Please take as much time as you need to read
the consent form. You may also decide to discuss participation with your family or friends. If
you decide to participate, you will be asked to sign this form. You will be given a copy of this
form.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study aims to understand the knowledge
elected officials may need to support an increase in the statewide percentage of minoritized
teachers. In addition, to understanding what motivates elected officials to develop and
recommend strategies to increase the statewide percentage of minoritized teachers. As well as
the, the organizational resources needed to enable elected officials to increase the statewide
percentage of minoritized teachers. The results of this study will provide direction for the
elected officials to review, draft and/or approve legislation that supports programs prioritizing
minoritized teacher, mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and/or review and
eliminate potential barriers along the teacher pipeline that adversely impact aspiring minoritized
teachers by June 2019.
STUDY PROCEDURES AND BENEFITS If you volunteer to participate in this study, you
will be asked to participate in an interview. The potential benefits of this study are contingent on
the results. As a participant the study will provide direction to the Education Committee of the
Connecticut General Assembly and the Connecticut State Department of Education on the
resources needed to successfully meet the performance goal. The study will benefit the national
conversation about teacher diversity, in addition to adding to the current body of literature.
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT – INTERVIEW If you agree to take part in this study, you
will be asked to participate in a one-hour interview that will be audio recorded. You do not have
to answer any questions you don’t want to. No potential risks to participants have been
identified; however, you will have an on-going option to stop participating at any time.
PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION You will not be compensated for
your interview participation.
CONFIDENTIALITY Your decision to participate in the study will be kept confidential. All
interviews will be kept confidential. The data will be stored on a password-protected computer
in the researcher’s home for three years after the study has been completed and then destroyed.
TEACHER DIVERSITY 180
Handwritten observation notes will be scanned into the computer and then destroyed. Digital
recordings will be transcribed by and outside third party to protect your identity then destroyed.
We will keep your records for this study confidential as far as permitted by law. However, if we
are required to do so by law, we will disclose confidential information about you. The members
of the research team and the University of Southern California’s Human Subjects Protection
Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors research studies to
protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL Your participation is voluntary. Your refusal to
participate will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You
may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without penalty. You are
not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies because of your participation in this research
study.
INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION You may contact the Principal Investigator
via email at rgood@usc. edu or phone at 203-815-4446, or Faculty Advisor Dr. Jenifer
Crawford at jenifer. crawford@usc. edu or 530-519-4085.

RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT – IRB CONTACT INFORMATION If you
have questions, concerns, or complaints about your rights as a research participant or the
research in general and are unable to contact the research team, or if you want to talk to someone
independent of the research team, please contact the University Park Institutional Review Board
(UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or
upirb@usc. edu

SIGNATURE OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT
I have read the information provided above. I have been given a chance to ask questions. My
questions have been answered to my satisfaction, and I agree to participate in this study. I
understand that the interview will consist of audio recording. I have been given a copy of this
form.
☐ I consent to participate and be audio recorded.
☐ I do not consent to participate and be audio recorded.

Name of Participant _____________________________________________________
Signature of Participant___________________________________________________
Date__________________________________

SIGNATURE OF INVESTIGATOR
I have explained the research to the participant and answered all of his/her questions. I believe
that he/she understands the information described in this document and freely consents to
participate.

Name of Person Obtaining Consent _________________________________________________
Signature of Person Obtaining Consent ______________________________________________
Date: _____________________________________________

TEACHER DIVERSITY 181
APPENDIX E
Interview Script
Thank you for taking the time today to allow me to interview you for my research on the
role of elected officials in diversifying the Connecticut teaching workforce. I have a series of
questions I will ask that will take no more than 1 hour.

The purpose of this interview is to understand the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences that impact your ability to review, draft, and/or approve legislation that
1. supports programs prioritizing teacher diversity
2. creates equity in school district hiring practices
3. and/or eliminates potential barriers along the teacher pipeline that may adversely impact
aspiring teachers of color
Your responses today are contributing to research that may be used to help develop
strategies to support the Connecticut Department of Education in accomplishing their teacher
diversity goals.

To ensure confidentiality I will be assigning you a pseudonym in my research. I plan on
recording the interview and the digital recording will be transcribed by a third part and deleted
afterword. Are you o. k. with being recorded?

Knowledge Influences

1. What do you know about the racial/ethnic demographics of teachers and students in
Connecticut?
2. What do you see as the advantages of having a diverse teaching workforce in
Connecticut? Disadvantages?
3. What do you see are some potential barriers teachers of color face in becoming a teacher
in Connecticut? Do you find these barriers to be unique to teachers of color or applicable
to all aspiring teachers? Tell me more
4. Can you tell me about a time where you believe specific legislation increased or
decreased the percentage of teachers of color in Connecticut?
5. Some people say that racial or ethnic biases play a role in whether a legislator like
yourself advocates for increasing teachers of color, would you agree or disagree? Tell me
more.

TEACHER DIVERSITY 182
Motivation Influences

6. How important to you, if at all, is advocating for increased numbers of teachers of color?
7. You named potential barriers are (insert what they said to barrier question), what do you
see is your role as a legislator to address/remove these barriers?

Organizational influences

8. Describe how legislators collaborate, if at all, with the CSDE in connection to increasing
teachers of color? Tell me more
9. How would you characterize your relationship as a legislator on the education committee
with the CSDE?
10. You have so many priorities in representing your constituents, where would you say
increasing the number of teachers of color ranks right now among the educational
specific priorities? What about among all legislative priorities?

I would now like to ask you about your opinion and some recommendations on some
topics:

(Recommendations)
11. What would you suggest could increase the motivation of other legislators to prioritize
increasing teacher diversity?

I have one final question for you today -
12. Is there anything else you would like to add or comment on that was not addressed in the
previous questions?

Thank you for your time. If you have any questions or think of anything you would like
to add please feel free to contact me directly. Once the audio recording is transcribed if I have
any further questions may contact you with follow-up questions?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the role of Connecticut legislators in supporting the Connecticut State Department of Education, in increasing the percentage of minoritized teacher in the state to 10% by September 2021. To support the state wide goal legislators need to pass legislation that supports programs prioritizing minoritized teachers, mandates equity in school district hiring practices, and eliminates barriers along the teacher pathway. This study applied the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework, a conceptual framework used to identify the gap between the current performance level and the preferred performance level of the legislators. In addition, through the lens of critical race theory there was an assessment of the historical, cultural, and structural factors established in maintaining White power and privilege in the teaching workforce. Using interviews from 16 out of 38 potential interview participants as the primary data collection instrument, supported by ten years of legislative documentation, and over 15 hours of video and audio artifact analysis, the knowledge, motivation and organizational influences of the legislators were analyzed. Based on this analysis three research-based recommendations were made, legislators need to (1) capitalize on assets, existing legislation, and diversity trainings (2) develop an impact analysis report (3) create accountability measures to assess the impact of legislative efforts. Using the (Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2006) evaluation framework, each recommendation and complementing implementation plan was evaluated to ensure progress toward meeting the goal.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Good, Rebecca Jean (author)

Core Title The impact of Connecticut legislators on teacher diversity

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Global Executive

Publication Date 08/05/2019

Defense Date 07/16/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag connecticut,diversity,Education Policy,legislators,OAI-PMH Harvest,Politicians,teacher diversity,Teachers

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Crawford, Jenifer (committee chair), Picus, Larry (committee member), Seli, Helena (committee member)

Creator Email globaldrgood@gmail.com,rgood@relay.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-207681

Unique identifier UC11663170

Identifier etd-GoodRebecc-7744.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-207681 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-GoodRebecc-7744.pdf

Dmrecord 207681

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Good, Rebecca Jean

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA