The Short- and Long-Run Impacts of Black Teachers: Evidence from Brazil [PDF]
Abstract: What are the short- and long-run impacts of Black teachers on students' educational and labor market outcomes? To answer this question, we leverage linked nationwide administrative data from Brazil to track two cohorts of about one million students each— from middle (6th grade) and high (10th grade) school— over 12 years, following them into higher education and the formal labor market. Our empirical strategy compares students within the same school who are assigned to classrooms with varying shares of Black teachers while controlling for prior-year test scores and a rich set of covariates. For Black students in the 10th-grade cohort, we find that having a higher share of Black teachers increases their probability of high school graduation, college enrollment, and college graduation. These educational gains translate to the labor market, resulting in higher earnings by the age of 27. Our analysis of the 6th-grade cohort reveals similar patterns, including improved test scores for Black students and increased rates of on-time high school graduation and college enrollment. Across both cohorts, we find no effects on their White peers. Our results suggest that increasing the share of Black teachers to 50%, approximately the share of Black individuals in the Brazilian population, would reduce the covariate-adjusted within-school racial gap in education by at least 30% and in earnings by about 60%, compared to a scenario with no Black teachers.
You can also check a Non-Technical Research Summary in Portuguese and English.
Media coverage: Valor Econômico, Folha de S. Paulo (1, 2, 3 ), and Jornalismo TV Cultura.