Little Black Book 2009-2010 - Cambridge University Students' Union

CUSU Little Black Book 2009 23Ethnic Minorities in TeachingStatistics show that around 17% ofpupils in maintained schools are fromminority ethnic groups comparedto 8.7% of new entrants to InitialTeacher Training. Many students fromminority ethnic groups don’t haveteachers with whom they can identifyand who can provide positive rolemodels; teachers who have sharedsocial and cultural experiences as wellas the cultural mediation skills thathelp communication between schooland home. Diversity within schools islikely to have a beneficial impact onthe aspirations and achievements ofstudents from minority groups whileat the same time promote inclusionand an understanding of diversitywithin the wider community.We are keen to hear from brightundergraduates and graduates whohave a flair and passion for teachingand who want to make a differencein people’s lives. Investing in youngminds is going to bring about arevolutionary change in perceptionsof different communities as regardsto education, particularly highereducation. We want great role modelsin our schools whose success couldbe emulated by the children of ourdifferent communities.Anyone interested in finding outmore about the PGCE opportunitiesfor members of minority ethniccommunities should go to the Facultywebsite at www.educ.cam.ac.uk.It is essential for peoplefrom all backgrounds to berepresented in the teachingprofession.“For anyone thinking aboutdoing the PGCE course, I would saythat it is definitely worth taking theopportunity to do it in Cambridge!Of course, the demands andrequirements are high, but youreceive a huge amount of supportfrom subject lecturers/tutors in theFaculty, PGCE Mentors in professionalplacement schools and also fromfellow trainees.” Muriel Obasa, ModernLanguages PGCE.