Why Diversity in Teaching matters

Scotland is famous throughout the world for its incredible warmth and unbeatable hospitality.

And while Scotland certainly has a strong national identity, as a country it also embraces new cultures and new people. More than 170 languages are spoken in Scotland; from Punjabi to Polish, Cantonese to Gaelic, these languages reflect a modern and inclusive Scotland.

The percentage of people in Scotland with a minority ethnic background increased from 8.2% in 2011 to 12.9% in 2022. This is a larger increase than over the previous decade.

Despite this, minority ethnic teachers continue to be underrepresented at all levels within Scotland’s teaching profession. This led the Scottish Government to set a target to increase the percentage of minority ethnic teachers in Scotland to 4% of the total workforce by 2030.

A diverse teaching profession has many clear benefits for all of Scotland’s learners. It ensures that children and young people have role models in schools that are representative of their lived experience and are sensitive to a variety of cultural, religious and linguistic traditions. It ensures that our education system is enhanced by a variety of perspectives and as a result helps to counter negative stereotypes and misconceptions, in turn ensuring greater community cohesion and a more just society that is confident in tackling and eliminating racism.

Work is underway to tackle the barriers that exist that make it harder for people from minority ethnic background to secure and retain teaching roles in Scotland.

The Diversity in the Teaching Profession and Education Workforce (DITPEW) is a subgroup of the Anti-Racism in Education Programme. It seeks to offer support and guidance to local authorities and to Initial Teacher Education providers on how to embed an anti-racist approach within their recruitment, retention and progression policies and practices.

Find out more about the work of the DITPEW.