Using a cultural lens to explore challenges and issues in culturally diverse schools for Teach First beginning teachers: implications for future teacher training

Abstract

This article explores some of the challenges faced by Teach First teachers during their first year of teaching in a culturally diverse school, and describes some of the strategies they employ to overcome them. Using a variety of methods, both qualitative and quantitative data are collected, focusing on the perspectives of the teachers over the course of the academic year. Three common themes emerged from the findings; firstly, there is evidence from all datasets that cultural challenges exist for the participants, and that they have developed strategies for overcoming them during the course of the year. Secondly, the cultural gap revealed by the data is not necessarily that between staff and pupils, but exists more between curriculum and pupils, in the eyes of the participants. Thirdly, while cultural differences have caused some problems for the participants, they have come to recognise that although they cannot change the whole culture of the school and its pupils, they can make a difference in their classrooms. The Bourdieuian cultural lens provided ideas to better prepare future trainees for this type of situation in schools, and also added to a growing body of knowledge in this area. To better prepare trainees, we may need to see culture differently from how we have previously done, and to raise our awareness and that of our trainees to the issues that might arise in situations such as the one described here.

Keywords:

• culture
• teacher education
• teaching