In general teachers often complain that PD is too divorced from classroom realities, taught by people too far removed from the classroom, with too little follow-up. But below the surface, there are stark differences of opinion.
America’s teachers are divided along racial lines in their views of the professional development they receive in their jobs, exclusive Education Week data find.
Three-quarters of Black teachers report finding professional development relevant to their teaching, compared to 65 percent of Hispanic teachers and just 51 percent of their white colleagues. What’s more, while nearly half of white teachers say they receive too much professional development, 40 percent of Black teachers report getting too little.
Hispanic educators’ experiences often fall between their colleagues, with about a third saying they receive too little training and another third reporting they get just the right amount.
The data come from a nationally representative survey administered as part of Education Week’s 2024 The State of Teaching project. For the project, the EdWeek Research Center surveyed 1,498 teachers and 659 administrators nationwide in October 2023.
In all, these patterns are revealing, reflecting deeper challenges in American education stemming from the kinds of schools teachers of different backgrounds tend to work in.
Understanding the divide in teachers’ PD needs
Already, teachers and principals have differing views of the utility of on-the-job training. EdWeek’s surveys have found that while nearly half of teachers say their PD is irrelevant or disconnected, over 40 percent of principals describe the PD they organize as “very relevant.”
This disconnect likely stems from PD’s failure to address the vastly different working environments teachers experience.
Traditional professional development—including non-instructional supervision training, behavioral management workshops, and curriculum development—often fail to align with the best research about effective PD practices.
Those include a focus on specific, concrete instructional techniques, on building relationships with students, and opportunities to collaborate with peers.
The gap in professional development experiences reflects more than simple preferences. While most teachers are white, Black and Hispanic educators often navigate distinctly different professional landscapes.
Black and Hispanic teachers consistently report higher job satisfaction and find professional development more relevant to their current teaching than their white colleagues.
The data don’t explain why. Research has found that alternative programs, which usually have less coursework an hands-on experience prior to teaching, tend to attract a higher proportion of Black teachers than traditional university-based programs, though a majority still come through traditional university-based programs. Also, PD can help Black and Hispanic teachers think about career growth in a field where they tend to be severely underrepresented compared to the makeup of the student body.
Teachers of different backgrounds tend to work in very different schools
The relationship between race and professional development could reflect larger differences in how teachers of color view the teaching profession. Black teachers generally hold more positive views of the profession—reporting higher job satisfaction, feeling more respected, and finding deeper meaning in their work. However, both Hispanic and Black teachers report longer working hours than their white peers, and face additional pressure to serve as cultural bridges within their schools.
These individual experiences reflect broader patterns of segregation in American education. EdWeek survey data also shows that 81 percent of Black teachers work in schools where over three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, compared with 37 percent of white teachers and 48 percent of Hispanic teachers.
Black teachers also tend to work in schools with a higher proportion of Black students, while Hispanic teachers tend to work in schools serving Hispanic or white students. By some accounts, teachers experience even greater segregation in schools than students.
During what’s been an period of intense debates over curriculum and instruction, these divisions may help explain why many white teachers disengage from professional development, particularly around cultural competency and equity. The data suggests teachers work within fundamentally different day-to-day realities.
The patterns in teachers’ responses to PD reflect historical context
Gloria Ladson-Billings, a professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a former president of the American Educational Research Association, connects these divergent views of professional development to deeper inequities in American education. These inequities often place Black teachers in underfunded schools with fewer resources and greater student needs, while their white colleagues typically work in more stable environments with different professional expectations.
“So we’re asking teachers to do two diametrically opposed things,” Ladson-Billings explained. On the one hand, she said, teachers’ work is heavily prescribed.
“‘Don’t think about anything. I’m giving you the curriculum. I’m telling you what you can teach. I’m telling you what books you can use. Do what I tell you to do,’” such messages convey.
Those directives are undercut by the promise of PD to give teachers more say in their work: “‘Come to this PD and learn how you can do your own planning and your own thinking.’”
That leaves teachers wondering: What do you want me to do?
“So we don’t have a human relations approach to the development of teachers,” she reflected. “We don’t say to them, ‘OK, I know you’re starting out with us. Where do you see yourself in three years, four years?’ We don’t have them project beyond that moment. And part of it is that we’re so desperate to get a warm body in a room that we don’t take that care with it.”
Bottom line: The disparities in professional development experiences likely reflect deep-rooted patterns of inequities rather than individual preferences. Black teachers, often working in underfunded schools, want professional development to address resource gaps, safety, and navigate complex classroom challenges. Hispanic teachers also face barriers serving as cultural bridges to their students, while navigating limited opportunities to leadership positions. Still, their PD needs align more closely with white educators’, likely because they work in more similar schools.
White teachers, particularly in well-resourced districts, frequently encounter professional development that feels generic or disconnected from their specific needs.
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center’s work.
