Considering Race in Teacher Well-Being

Abstract

Despite evidence that teachers’ professional experiences are racialized, few studies have quantitatively examined possible racial disparities in teachers’ job satisfaction. Using data from a nationally representative survey of teachers in the United States, we find that Black teachers report significantly lower job satisfaction than their White colleagues. Moreover, we find that teacher perceptions of school safety are the primary predictor of this gap in job satisfaction. We argue that centralizing race and racialized experiences in consideration of teacher job satisfaction will open new sites of inquiry in educational research and can guide educational policy to promote equity in K–12 schools.