Demographic Characteristics of Humanities Teachers
- In the 2017–2018 school year, teachers of humanities subjects constituted a fifth of the K–12 teacher population. This percentage does not include “general” educators in the elementary and middle grades, most of whom spent a portion of their time teaching language arts, reading, history, and other humanities material. These general educators represented 44% of the K–12 teaching corps.1
- The age distribution of humanities teachers was similar to that of teachers in other subject areas, with the exception of career and technical education teachers, who tended to be older (Indicator I-22a). Teachers under 30 years of age represented 14% of the humanities teaching corps, and 29% of humanities teachers were age 50 or older.
- Women make up much of the K–12 teaching workforce, especially among general educators in the early grades (where they account for 90% of the teachers; Indicator I-22b). Humanities subjects had the second largest share of women (75%), which was most similar to arts teachers (including teachers of studio art, dance, drama, and music), 68% of whom were women. The most gender-balanced faculty, with a women-to-men ratio of 51% to 49%, was that of the behavioral and social sciences.
- The racial composition of the K–12 humanities teaching corps did not mirror that of the student population (Indicator I-22c). Students were more than twice as likely as their teachers to be African American. While 5.5% of humanities teachers identified as African American in the 2017–2018 school year, 14.6% of students were identified by their parents/guardians as such. The disparity between teachers and their students was similarly great for Native Americans and Asian Americans.
- In comparison to teachers in most other subjects, humanities teachers were substantially more likely to be Hispanic (Indicator I-22d). Nevertheless, the share of humanities teachers who were Hispanic (13%) was only about half as large as the share of American school children who were of Hispanic ancestry.
- The data reveal little if any change from academic year 2011–2012 on any of the above measures.2
Endnotes
- 1U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Teacher and Principal Survey, “Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher Data Files,” 2017–18. Data analyzed by NCES staff at the request of the Humanities Indicators. Special thanks to Julia Merlin at NCES for her generous assistance.
- 2Estimates for 2011–2012 generated from U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, “Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher Data Files,” 2011–2012. Data analyzed by NCES staff at the request of the Humanities Indicators.
* Includes regular full- and part-time teachers, itinerant teachers, and long-term substitutes in both public and private schools.
** General education includes early childhood or pre-K, elementary grades, middle grades, and special education.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Teacher and Principal Survey, “Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher Data Files,” 2017–18. Data analyzed by NCES staff at the request of the Humanities Indicators. Special thanks to Julia Merlin at NCES for her generous assistance. Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
Personnel included in the humanities teacher count are those whose main teaching assignment was in area or ethnic studies, art history, civics, communication, composition, English, English as a second language or bilingual education, government, history, language arts, languages other than English, literature or literary criticism, Native American studies, philosophy, or reading.
Not included in the count are what the National Teacher and Principal Survey refers to as “general” educators in the elementary and middle grades who spent a portion of their time teaching language arts, reading, history, and other humanities material.
* Includes regular full- and part-time teachers, itinerant teachers, and long-term substitutes in both public and private schools.
** General education includes early childhood or pre-K, elementary grades, middle grades, and special education.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Teacher and Principal Survey, “Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher Data Files,” 2017–18. Data analyzed by NCES staff at the request of the Humanities Indicators. Special thanks to Julia Merlin at NCES for her generous assistance. Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
Personnel included in the humanities teacher count are those whose main teaching assignment was in area or ethnic studies, art history, civics, communication, composition, English, English as a second language or bilingual education, government, history, language arts, languages other than English, literature or literary criticism, Native American studies, philosophy, or reading.
Not included in the count are what the National Teacher and Principal Survey refers to as “general” educators in the elementary and middle grades who spent a portion of their time teaching language arts, reading, history, and other humanities material.
* Includes regular full- and part-time teachers, itinerant teachers, and long-term substitutes in both public and private schools. All reported percentages exclude students and teachers of Hispanic ethnicity or more than one race.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Teacher and Principal Survey, “Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher Data Files,” 2017–18. Data analyzed by NCES staff at the request of the Humanities Indicators. Special thanks to Julia Merlin at NCES for her generous assistance. Estimates for students: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2019, Tables 203.50, 205.20, and 205.30, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/ (accessed 5/21/2021). Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
Personnel included in the humanities teacher count are those whose main teaching assignment was in area or ethnic studies, art history, civics, communication, composition, English, English as a second language or bilingual education, government, history, language arts, languages other than English, literature or literary criticism, Native American studies, philosophy, or reading.
Not included in the count are what the National Teacher and Principal Survey refers to as “general” educators in the elementary and middle grades who spent a portion of their time teaching language arts, reading, history, and other humanities material.
The estimates for Native Americans include students and teachers at Bureau of Indian Education schools.
* Includes regular full- and part-time teachers, itinerant teachers, and long-term substitutes in both public and private schools.
** General education includes early childhood or pre-K, elementary grades, middle grades, and special education.
Source: Estimates for teachers were generated from U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Teacher and Principal Survey, “Public School Teacher and Private School Teacher Data Files,” 2017–18. Data analyzed by NCES staff at the request of the Humanities Indicators. Special thanks to Julia Merlin at NCES for her generous assistance. Estimates for students: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2019, Tables 203.50, 205.20, and 205.30, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/ (accessed 5/21/2021). Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
Personnel included in the humanities teacher count are those whose main teaching assignment was in area or ethnic studies, art history, civics, communication, composition, English, English as a second language or bilingual education, government, history, language arts, languages other than English, literature or literary criticism, Native American studies, philosophy, or reading.
Not included in the count are what the National Teacher and Principal Survey refers to as “general” educators in the elementary and middle grades who spent a portion of their time teaching language arts, reading, history, and other humanities material.
