Across much of the Western world there is increasing ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity among populations, due to a range of political and economic factors.   This diversity is reflected in learner populations in schools. Yet in many countries the teaching profession is predominantly white, female and operates monolingually in the school context.  A more diverse teaching profession could lead to greater social justice within the school community and enhance the quality of intercultural dialogue.

There is a clear mismatch between pupil and teacher demographics.  Skelton et al (2007: 62) emphasise that pupils’ identities and engagement with learning are shaped by the interrelationship of a range of factors, including social class, ethnicity and gender.   Research has shown that teachers with a lack of familiarity or close contact with individuals embodying various forms of diversity  are less likely to engage explicitly with diversity issues or to have developed favourable personal and professional beliefs about diverse learners. (Arshad et al 2005; Bhatti 1999; Ladson-Billings 2005; Pearce 2003 and 2005; Gaine 2001; Pohan 1996;  Wright 1992).   When  teachers from diverse backgrounds  find themselves as a minority group on staff they often experience discrimination in the workforce and there are high rates of attrition (Menter et al ,2006 and Ringen and Kolbjorn, 2009).   Reasons for the low number of diverse teachers have been described by Basit et al (2006, 2007), Santoro and Reid (2006) and Bhatti (2007) and  overt discrimination is cited as impacting on access to training and jobs. The impact of discrimination is felt  at many levels including personal, cultural, institutional and structural (Adams et al, 2007). As the student population of schools diversifies it is essential that the linguistic and cultural needs of all pupils are met (Roessingh & Elgie, 2009; Smyth, 2003, McEachron and Bhatti 2005).  Many teachers from minority backgrounds bring linguistic and cultural capital to enhance the teaching profession and student learning.   The need to diversify the teaching population to better meet the needs of all learners is an international concern closely related to the requirement for culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) to facilitate and support the achievement of all students, particularly when teachers do not reflect the background of the majority of learners.   Gay (2000) defines CRP as using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively.    It is argued that the academic achievement of ethnically diverse students will improve when they are taught through their own cultural and experiential filters (Au & Kawakami,1994; Foster, 1995; Hollins, 1996; Ladson-Billings, 1994).   Richards et al (2006:11) emphasise that if teaching reflects the cultural and linguistic practices and values of only one group of students, then the others are denied equal opportunity to learn.  As such there is a need to diversify the teaching force to better reflect the make up of students in schools in countries where immigration is on the rise.   This symposium brings together papers from four countries where empirical research has been conducted on Diversifying the Teaching Profession.