The School Experience of Some Minority Ethnic Students in London Schools During Initial Teacher Training

This paper describes an investigation of the in-school experiences of trainee teachers of some minority ethnic descent during their Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE secondary) course. Data is presented here which was collected at around the half-term point in the spring term: the time when recommendations about passing and potential failing candidates were being made through formal reporting techniques. The paper describes student perceptions of their in-school relationships with mentors, degrees of in-school comfort as well as the coping tactics deployed by the trainee teachers at this stage of their training. The paper also considers factors of race and difference which were raised by the PGCE students at this point in their course.