Salya Akhtar

Salya completed her undergraduate degree in Sociology and Psychology here at BCU back in 2008 and achieved a First-class Honours. She then embarked on her teacher career by completing a PGCE PCET with QTLS. During this time, she trained and then was employed in offender education where she taught Functional Skills to learners in a high security prison. She then moved into a career in teaching secondary English in mainstream schools. Salya has taught for almost 10 years in and around diverse schools in Birmingham and the Black Country, teaching KS3/4/5 English Language and Literature. She recently completed her MA Education and gained a Distinction. Her dissertation explored teachers views and experiences teaching a ‘knowledge-rich’ curriculum in a diverse secondary school and the findings show the importance of the teacher voice within curriculum matters especially since teachers are the ones dealing with the consequences of a problematic curriculum.

Salya is now working here at BCU as a Graduate Research Teaching Assistant and her PhD work is situated around the professional identities of Early Career Teachers and how this may be influenced or shaped by the ‘knowledge-rich’ curriculum currently in place. Equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the heart of Salya’s work and interests.

As part of her role, Salya is teaching on the Secondary English ITE as well as supporting the delivery of the Early Career Framework that BCU provides. She is also part of the larger research community at BCU and participates in conferences and seminars.