Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses

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Non-English speaking background females as students and as teachers

Angelidis, Olympia ( 1991)

In contrast to literature on female teachers generally, of which there is an abundance, there is little research on the specific category of female Non English Speaking Background (NESB) teachers in schools. Equally, there is no literature available which outlines the progressive experience of NESB girls, initially as students and later as professional teachers. This study aims to do a little of both by tracing the experiences of NESB girls as students and as teachers in the educational environment. This study has relied on the qualitative methodological approach. Interviews were preferred over rigid questionnaires as this method allowed for an experience based comparative study where issues raised could be pursued, expanded upon and further developed as the need arose. The results of this study show that NESB women (as students and teachers), are not only disadvantaged in regards to their gender, but also in relation to ethnicity. It became evident that although NESB teachers had reached the other end of the educational spectrum, they were still being subjected to the biases and discrimination which they had. experienced earlier as students in the education system.