Stuart is a graduate from the PGDE Secondary Education: Business Education programme at the University of Strathclyde
Tell us a little bit about your background...
I was born and grew up in the west end of Glasgow. I completed my schooling and my first degree at the University of Paisley, gaining a BA in Business Administration. I finished the degree in 2002 and immigrated to New Zealand, setting in Auckland in the North Island. I started working for the University of Auckland in the registry department, then moved to the medical school as a programme administrator. As part of this role I work in schools liaison, visiting schools around Auckland, and NZ, presenting to pupils who wished to have a career in one of the medical fields.
In 2007 I returned to live in Glasgow and worked for the University of Glasgow as Admissions Tutor for the Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme. I interviewed and assessed all students for entry to this programme, including travelling to Malaysia twice a year to recruit dental students. In 2011 I returned to New Zealand and became the School Registrar at the School of Education at Auckland University of Technology. This was a senior management role overseeing all aspects of the academic programmes within the School of Education. I managed the teams responsible for admissions, placements, student administration, quality assurance, curriculum development and academic integrity. During this time, I was encouraged by my manager to further my education by enrolling in a Masters degree at AUT. I gained my Master of Business Administration degree with Distinction in 2021 after 3 years of part time study in the evening. I then decided I would like to change career paths and become a teacher myself, however I did not want to do this in New Zealand so started investigating if I could return to Scotland and train to be a teacher there. I moved back to Scotland in August 2022 to commence the PGDE at Strathclyde.
What inspired you to get into teaching?
I remembered back to my time working in schools liaison and remembered the joy the young people at school brought when they talked to me about their dreams and aspirations with regards their future plans. During my time at AUT I organised all the open days for the school of education and would invite school groups to come to the university to learn more. I really enjoyed working with them and felt a great desire to work with them on a more to day to day basis, as I loved the energy they brought. I had also been working with primary and secondary teachers for the 10 years prior to this, so decided to take the risk in changing careers a bit later in life and move into secondary teaching.
What would your advice be for an international student considering the PGDE Initial Teacher Education course?
The PGDE was hard work, and probably the hardest year of my life, however it was also life changing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and enjoyed the challenges it set me to unpack my thinking and to look at the world differently in terms of education. Whilst it is an academic qualification, it is also a very practical qualification with a lot of time spent on placement. This taught me a lot of new skills, and the support I had from my subject tutor at University was incredible. For anyone thinking of coming to Strathclyde to take the PGDE, I would definitely say do it. Be prepared to work hard and be prepared to be changed in your way of thinking.
What did you do after completing the course?
I applied for a few jobs as I was not eligible for the Teacher Induction Scheme, having been out of Scotland for the past 11 years. I had a few job interviews, and was exceptionally lucky to be offered a full time fixed term role.
Tell us about your experience on the flexible route...
I applied for jobs all over the central belt and east of Scotland. After a few rejections I was very fortunate to be offered a full-time fixed term role at St David’s RC High School in Dalkeith, where I have had an amazing PT and mentor who has helped and supported me through the flexible route, using this as the path to meet the GTCS Standard for Full Registration. I did travel an hour each way to get to and from work, so I would say to anyone thinking about the flexible route who is not eligible for TIS, it is entirely possible to complete your probation this way, however be very open to travelling anywhere in the country to find work, as in certain areas of Scotland it will be very difficult to compete with fully registered teachers for jobs.
Where are you working now?
St David’s RC High School in Dalkeith.
How does the Scottish education system differ from your experiences internationally?
The Scottish school system is very similar to the school system in New Zealand, however the main difference is that New Zealand is a bi-cultural country and the education system has the Treaty of Waitangi embedded into it, in relation to the Māori people of New Zealand, whereas this does not apply in Scotland as it is a single education system for all.
What are your plans for the future?
My plans are to stay in Scotland for at least 10-15 years then possibly return to New Zealand or head to Australia (as I am married to an Australian).
How would the PGDE qualification translate outside of Scotland?
Whether I move to New Zealand or Australia, the PGDE from Strathclyde is a pre-approved qualification for the teacher registration bodies there, so I would have no problem in that regard.