THE CONTINUING DECLINE IN ASIAN-AMERICAN TEACHERS

The disparity between proportions of Asian American teachers and Asian American students in U.S. elementary and secondary schools has increa sed, Asian student enrollment having doubled every decade since 1970. As a case example in the composition of the U.S. teaching force, this study focuses on the differing patterns and causes of shortages of min ority teachers across varying groups; understanding these differences may contribute to more effective but varied educational policies for r ecruiting and retaining Asian American and other minority teachers. Us ing social-demographic data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and inf ormation from the U.S. Department of Education and existing research l iterature, this study compared the decennial census data of 1990 with 1970 and 1980 data to analyze shortages by U.S. geographic location, A sian nationality, gender, grade level, and immigration status. Causes of shortages are linked to traditional patterns of recruitment in prop osing policy recommendations for increasing the number of Asian Americ ans in teaching.