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Case studies

Becoming a lecturer

Added: 18 February 2008. Last updated: 8 May 2008.

Arlene is a full-time Lecturer in Electrical Installations at Lewisham College.

Can you tell me how you got into lecturing?

Probably not because I thought ‘I want to be a lecturer’! I was an engineer, previously, and I had an injury, so I was medically retired in 2001. And after that I really didnt know what I was going to do, because I couldnt work at heights any more – I’m a lift engineer as well as electrical. And so I did some different courses, did some training courses. I did some life-coaching training, and I just kind of liked the idea of training, teaching, so went into that line.

And when you were an engineer, what made you choose that? How did you get into it in the first place?

I just knew what I didnt want to do. I knew I didnt want to be in an office, but I didnt know what I wanted to do. I was good at science, and a careers advisor basically said ‘You might be interested in engineering’. And I thought ‘Maybe’. And because she’d said that I started applying for apprenticeships in engineering and got offered three. I took one, and that was it.

So where did you do that apprenticeship?

The Post Office. It was a three year apprenticeship.

Did you enjoy it?

I did. I was there for eleven or twelve years. I suppose, towards the end of it – when youre in any job for that sort of time – you get quite used to things, so it was getting a little bit boring.

So how have you progressed in your teaching? When did you start here at Lewisham college?

I started here last year. Its still quite new. I was doing training – not in electrical, but personal development training – so that prepared me with the people skills side of it, and the classroom practice, in a sense. But obviously I hadnt taught electrical, so that was absolutely brand new. And teaching technical subjects is quite different to personal development. There’s no right and wrong in personal development, whereas with electrical it’s life and death, really. So it’s very technical,making sure information’s accurate.

Have you done a teaching qualification?

I’m still doing it now, I’m on my last year. I’ll finish my CertEd in July 2008.

Have you found that teacher training helpful?

It’s useful in the sense that it forces my employer to let me observe other people teaching, and have people observing me. And I suppose without the CertEd – without having to do that qualification – that might not happen. And for me it is really really useful to watch other people doing their stuff - the way they do it.

What kind of things can you learn from observing another teacher at work?

Just – classroom management, and it’s just the way that different people deliver. It could be the same subject but it’s the way it’s delivered. And especially for me, at the moment, doing my certificate in Education, it’s thinking about how well the students are receiving the information. So it’s just really useful to see different ways that people deliver subjects. Do they incorporate games, do they incorporate group work? And especially with this type of subject – sometimes it’s difficult to include different stuff so it’s nice just to see how people do that.

Have you encountered any challenges or problems in your work so far?

Not as a lecturer, I wouldnt say. It’s been pretty smooth sailing really. As an Engineer... Obviously I left school and went straight into an apprenticeship, so I was sixteen, and I went into a very different environment, that I didnt know existed. The world of men! It was such a culture shock!

In what way?

Conversation. The way they speak to each other. Language – I wasnt used to bad language. Topless photos all over the place, and magazines, and that kind of stuff. I just realised how sheltered my life had been. And it can be quite intimidating, because you’re sitting there and they’re looking at all this stuff and you don’t feel comfortable with it, but you want to be a part of the team. And I wasn’t accepted – it took probably two or three years before I was seen as an Engineer, and capable of doing certain things. And I really did have to prove myself – I had to lift things that were just a ridiculous weight, just to prove that I wasn’t weak. Stuff like that. And there were basic issues like...in the building, because it was an Engineering section, there were no toilets for females, so I would have to walk into another building to go to the toilet. I’d have to go somewhere else to change. Just logistics like that were quite difficult. But I changed it over time.

So was there one thing that you did that made them change their minds, or was it just persistence?

I think persistence, and...it is just being there, to an extent. As long as you’re capable, then after a while the preconceptions go out the window. [They start to think] ‘She’s not what I thought she would be’. So I guess it’s just being there, and time.

How did it make you feel in that job? Did you ever feel isolated?

Yeah, very much so. Very very much so. But saying that, I had a really good mentor, when I was an apprentice, who was a lot older. When he saw things getting really really out of hand he would pull them up, so having a mentor was useful. And because he was older I could sort of say what I was feeling, so that helped. But it was very isolating because, literally, from day to day, I wouldnt see any women. During the week I just didnt see women. When I came into teaching it was like ‘Oh my god! Look at all the women around!’

So what would you say to other women who wanted to follow the path that youve taken?

I would say...Make sure you know what youre doing. Because when you’re training and in a college setting you can kind of just...get by. And that doesn’ really work when you’re in a work situation, because people really are looking at you, to see what you can do. What you do speaks volumes.

And what would you like to do in the future?

I really love it here, I must say. I do love it here. It’s so varied. I see so many different types of people – especially with the younger ones. You really do get an opportunity to change their lives. So I see myself in lecturing for quite some years to come, I’d imagine. I will qualify next year – in terms of my teaching qualification. And just staying up to date – in terms of electrical, the 17th edition is coming out now, so it’s another qualification that I need to keep upskilled with. Just staying ahead of the game.

What is it that you love about the job, specifically, here?

The people. I work with a really good team. And, like I said, it’s a real opportunity to meet young people that probably don’t think there’s much of a future, and I guess my experience has just been that “ I’ve come from that sort of a background, where maybe not that much is expected, but so much is possible.

So just to talk briefly about the FEWEC projectwhats been the best aspect of that project for you?

The beginning part of it was just knowing that there were so many women in Further Education. In here, I’m the only female in this team here, but when Rebecca [Fulton, FEWEC Project Manager] came, I discovered that there were loads of women lecturers in Lewisham College – at the other campus, and even here. So it was just that opportunity. Because obviously at work, you come in, you do eight hours, and you go home. So it was just nice meeting people and seeing who’s about, and getting an opportunity to share our backgrounds. And out of that has come the opportunity to support one another. That was really good.

How have you benefited from the project? Have you made any good connections?

I have, I have. I’ve made connections with the two other lecturers at Deptford, and just in terms of...sharing good practice. I mean, for me...we were talking about inspiring people, and I’m always thinking about that. How do we motivate students who are not interested? That kind of thing. It’s good just to talk over those sorts of issues.