Teaching in Northern Ireland

[newtron]

My wife and I are from the US and are currently living in Northern Ireland.  I am going to school and she is looking for a decent job with no success so far (it's been almost 9 months).  She is a high school science teacher with a teaching cetificate and a Masters of Science Teaching degree and three years  teaching experience.  She has provided all her qualifications to the proper agency to determine if she is quailfied to teach in Northern Ireland.  It turns out that she is not.  She was told on the phone that she was slightly deficient in a couple of areas such as the number of hours of psychology classes (I think she had 12 hours instead of 15.), but in other areas such as in-class time, she had way over the minimum qualification (I think they required 50 hours of in-class time and she had 150 hours).    On the phone it was suggested that everything should balance out and that she would be qualified to teach in NI.  Obviously this was not the case.  Is there anything that she could do such as appeal or something?  Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.  So far, NI has been very unwelcoming to her. She has also applied for several non-teaching jobs with no success.  Thanks in advance.

[matchmade]

The public sector in the UK, as in the US, can be a closed world with its own informal culture and assumptions, but once you've cracked it, you're in. At least you don't have to retrain all over again in every county, like you have to in the crazy old USA if you move from Georgia to Alabama!

From what you say I don't think it's related to formal qualifications or apparent experience - which is both impressive and a bit suspect. "Three years experience in the US - how well will she adapt? Will she drown in our sink schools?", that sort of thinking.

She needs to learn the lingo of Key Stage 1, 2, 3 and all that. Multiculturalism mantras, NI history and sensitivities..

Active anti-Americanism may be an issue: stop funding IRA terrorism and gangsterism, stop your Presidents poking their nose in our business. Therefore be friendly and approachable, but not *American*-friendly. It rubs a lot of people up the wrong way. Perky and enthusiastic can be off-putting. I'm not saying that's the problem here but it might be if you're insufficiently aware of how irritating your normal behavioural repetoire might be (sorry!).

Seek advice from the local branch of the teachers' unions: NUT and NASUWT. Again, however, I think you just need to cover the bases on qualifications, but think laterally to actually land the job.

Seek advice and ongoing tips from a university Ed department, professional to professional. Offer a lecture on the US education system in exchange.

Offer her services as a teachers' assistant for free, but make sure it doesn't become a habit. Other teachers may look down on her and she'll become more dispirited. It's a foot in the door and a learning and research experience, not a proper job. Pretend to be writing an academic paper or something.

Non-teaching jobs: avoid sounding like a teacher! It scares people as it reminds them of school. They think you're going to be bossy.