In most of the western world there is severe under representation of black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in the teaching workforce. In Scotland less than 1% of the teaching population in 2004 (Scottish Executive, 2004)reported as being from a BME background. In recent years a number of the refugees arriving in Scotland have been teachers n their countires of origin yet the REMIT seminar (REMIT, 2004) found significant barriers to their employment as teachers in Scotalnd. These concerns and difficulties included the lack of networks profviding information and contextual knowledge for refugee teachers, the differences between educational systems, pedagogies and curricula and the English language abilities of the refugee teacneres. The RITeS project has been funded by the Scottish Government since 2006 to offer support and guidance to refugee teachers in Scotland. The Refugees into Teaching in Scotland research project is aligned with the (RITeS) project but separately funded since 2007 by the West of Scotland Wider Access Forum.The research project is aimed at enhancing our understanding of the experiences and expertise of the diverse group of refugee teachers in Scotland. The research is managed by a multi partner group of researchers from Higher Education and further education institutions, local authorities and professional bodies. The research is conducted by a resarch assistant, Henry Kum, himself a teacher with experience of teaching in Cameroon and England. Through in depth interviews with a sample of the teachers the project is exploring key differences in educational systems, curricula and pedagogies between countries of origin and Scotland. As has been shown (Menter et al, 2000) the specific educational needs of children from refugee families are very distinctive and the presence of teachers in the educational system from similar backgrounds could help authorities to make effective provision for such children. A study by Carrington et al (1999) recommended more flexibility in the consideration of teaching qualifications from outwith the European Union and it is hoped that this research will help indicate routes to such flexible consideration of experience. The paper will provide an overview from the literature and demographic profile and will focus on a report of the findings from the interviews, analysing experience, expertise, differences and similarities and barriers and hopes for the future.

A literature review has been conducted investigating the demography of the UK population; issues and barriers to employment of refugees and policy meaures to address these barriers; responses to professional integration form outside UK and the experiences of refugee professionals , specifically teachers in the UK. The RITeS database has been interrogated to provide a demographic profile of the more than 150 refugee teachers in Scotland, indicating such factors as countries of origin, languages spoken, length and type of teaching experience and qualifications as well as gender and ethnicity. In depth semi structured interviews are being conducted with a selection of 20 of these teachers to investigate their past and present teaching experiences and their hopes for the future. Future plans include observation of teachers in schools and discussions of critical issues.

The intrviews are in the process at the time f writing of being transcribed and analysed thematically to investigate the teachers' experiences, expertise, the differences and similarities in pedagogies and systems and barriers and hopes for the future. The paper will make recommendations to policy makers, professional bodies and Higher Education institutions about ways of overcoming barriers and increasing the diversity of the teaching profession (Menter et al, 2006)