My own experiences as both a Teacher and Teacher Educator, working with young children in primary school, encourage me to consider ways to enthuse learners to participate as socially and morally responsible citizens.  In order to do this, we need to affirm their personal and social backgrounds, in particular, children from diverse cultural backgrounds.  I believe that the best learning occurs when a child is self-motivated and this is linked intimately to his personal histories, language and social identity.

The changing demography of the West of Scotland has posed challenges for both Nurseries and Primary schools.  Teachers have to work in settings where many different languages and cultures congregate and an awareness of second language acquisition and the importance of maintaining the child’s mother tongue are required.

In my opinion, a more accessible curriculum is required, which would be more open to the understanding, languages and expectations which the children bring to the learning process.  A focus is also required on ways to encourage the recruitment of ethnic minorities into the 21^st Century teaching profession.  I am keen to work towards re-engaging classroom teachers in debate about their perceptions towards children from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and their interactions with them.

Master of Education – Dissertation ‘Who Am I?’ A study of Three Mainstream Bilingual Teachers.  This research investigates the way me maintain a sense of self with our cultural heritage and with the education process, in particular in the area of teacher-pupil interactions.  It assesses the role that educators play in shaping the identities of pupils from diverse cultural backgrounds.  This research draws on interviews with three mainstream bilingual teachers of Chinese, Pakistani and Indian descent, who are currently teaching in the West of Scotland.  This research highlights that a mainstream bilingual teacher’s own lived experiences can be used to inform the whole school community in supporting cultural diversity.

Current Research:

PhD: Celebrating Professional Identities: A Case Study of Black and Minority Ethnic Teachers in Scotland

My PhD examines minority ethnic teachers’ perceptions of their personal and professional identities. It contributes to our understanding of why some teachers don't feel comfortable expressing their personal identities to avoid being seen as the 'race person' and in doing so, it questions perceptions on the recruitment, retention and promotion of Minority Ethnic teachers.