This activity was used with students in key stage 4, years 10 and 11.

This activity took place in a voluntary-controlled Church of England comprehensive school for girls. The school has 838 students from 11 to 19, taken from 52 different primary schools. In 1998 it won arts college status for media arts, and in 2001 this was expanded to include expressive and performing arts.

The school serves a severely deprived part of London and ethnic minority students comprise 86 per cent of the total on roll, with the largest proportions being Black African and Afro-Caribbean and substantial numbers of white European, often of Balkan, Spanish or Portuguese origin. There is no entry test, but 25 per cent of students are admitted through church membership.

Aims

• To develop confidence in managing conflicting expectations from family, peer group, teachers and the media.
• To be inspired and motivated from role models from a variety of backgrounds.
• To see positive images of role models from ethnic backgrounds.

Activity objectives

• To assess and evaluate options available for career choices.
• To find appropriate ways of resolving potentially conflicting expectations.

Activity description

As part of an activity on future plans for work and study, year 10 and 11 students watched sections of the Keep on moving video from MERLIN (the Minority Ethnic Role-models for Learning and Inspiration programme run by BITC - Business in the Community). The video comprises nine interviews with highly successful black and ethnic minority people talking about their careers, their personal values and how they became successful. The students watched the sections about Samir Pandya and his parents and about Uanu Seshmi of the From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation.

The teacher explained that the sections of the video would help them discuss how to deal with conflicting expectations, including from family and peers, about their educational and career aspirations. Some students had already experienced this kind of conflict or were anxious about pursuing a gender-stereotyped career. Other students recognised that family expectations could pressure them into working for the family business or getting a job rather than continuing with their education.

After watching the extracts, students worked in small groups and pairs on two worksheets. Half the groups worked on tasks based on Samir Pandya's comments and the other half worked on the From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation worksheet. (The two worksheets can be downloaded from this page.) They discussed how different cultural and ethnic backgrounds can play a part in conflicting expectations and in stereotyping certain career choices.

The students discussed the worksheets in their groups and filled them in individually. Each group then gave feedback to the rest of the students, and the whole class discussed ways of finding a suitable balance between any conflicting expectations that they had experienced or might experience in the future.

Commentary

This activity helped the students to think about stereotypes and misconceptions about professionals from black and ethnic minority communities. They explored how they personally could respond to these stereotypes and how they could overcome potential barriers, whether these barriers were the expectations of their families, their peers, their teachers or the media and wider society. The activity led to further career discussions and motivated students to discuss their options more openly and confidently through a variety of channels.

Students did additional work by drawing up lists of qualities and attributes they would value in a role model, and that would help them achieve their educational aims and succeed in the world of work.

Resources

The MERLIN Keep on moving video was distributed to every secondary school in London. A teachers' pack and video can be ordered, free of charge, from the MERLIN section of the BITC website or by contacting the MERLIN programme manager at BITC on 0870 600 2482. Further details about Keep on moving and MERLIN are available on the Respect for all Resources section.