The survey results are in, and it seems as if most visitors and members of International School Community who voted expect to keep working abroad at international schools for at least 1-3 more years.
For many of us, I suppose teaching abroad at international schools is a temporary circumstance in our lives. Some of us have international school colleagues that move abroad to teach, and after their one and only international school posting, they are now living and happily working back in their home countries. Sure, there is a chance of them moving abroad again, but it likely to not happen again. Many people look for stability in their lives, and many people ultimately find that stability back in their home countries.
For other international school educators, when they start working at international schools, they can’t seem to get enough of this life. Working at international schools and moving from country to country can be very addictive. 10 total people out of 23 voted that they will be working at international schools 7-10 more years and even maybe for forever! The salaries/benefits, work conditions and standard of life must be quite attractive for these people. If things are going well and you are not having to worry about money, why not choose to stay working at international schools? It is nice to not have to worry about paying for housing or any utilities for example. It is also maybe nice to not have to clean your house or wash your clothes as you may be able to hire a house keeper to do those things for you in your current position. These people might have met their partner while living in their host country and now have decided to stay abroad for the long term!
Then there are the teachers that have made the all-important (and possibly difficult) decision to make this year their last one (3 people in our survey have said that this is what their future holds for them). To say goodbye to the international school teaching world is sometimes not an easy decision to make. Livin’ the ‘good life’ will soon be ending for you, and you may not ultimately want things to end. Also, the anticipation of reverse culture shock is not necessarily welcomed with open arms. Cringe!
On the other hand, your current situation might just be a very bad fit for you, enough of a bad fit that you have decided to not take the risk of working at another international school. A very negative experience at one international school might have you come to the realization that this life really just is not a good fit for you.
Moving back home has it pros and cons, and one must look at them carefully. One reason to not move back to many of the states in the United States is that the job market for teachers is not so good right now. There are many, many teachers applying for one position still right now. Hopefully as the U.S. economy improves, more money for staffing and for school districts in general will become available which may lead to more jobs for prospective teachers. I think the same thing is happening at many international schools right now. Many international schools are looking for and actually finding more families with children to attend their school. More students typically means a higher need for more staffing. How nice would it be if the power was back in the candidate’s hand at the recruitment fairs; more options and opportunities for us!
There are many factors to consider when deciding to stay abroad or move back home. Knowing about what kinds of teachers work at an international school and the average staff turnover rate can prove to be helpful information to know; just to see what others are doing who maybe from the same country and situation as you. Luckily on International School Community, we have a School Information section in the comments and information part of each school’s profile page that discusses this very topic.
• Describe what kinds of teachers work here (local vs. expat, nationality, qualifications [or lack there of], etc.) and staff turnover rate.
There have been many comments and information submitted in this topic on numerous school profiles on our website.
One International School Community member said about working at Khartoum International Community School: “You will find a range of teachers from New Zealand to Canada, via UK, Egypt, Palestine, South Africa, Australia, France and more. Most teachers are expat hire. Local hire teachers are well qualified. The school is still only 7 years old so turnover rate is hard to reflect on. It ranges from 1-7 years at current time.”
Another member said about working at Tsinghua International School (Beijing): “Can’t really comment too much on this as things may have changed. When I was there lots of staff were from North America, but what could be called “old Chinese hands.” They’d lived in China a long time. Other staff were Chinese with American passports. All were great, but at the time, not many were what you’d think of as north American trained teachers. Very high turnover when I was there.”
Another member submitted a comment about working at Colegio Granadino Manizales: “The school has both Colombian and expat teachers. All of the expat teachers are North American and all are qualified teachers. The Colombian teachers are also well certified. There is not a high turnover rate at the school. Many expat teachers, though young, stay three or four years and some have been at the school much longer.”
So how many more years do you expect to keep teaching abroad at international schools? Please share what your plans are!
Stay tuned for our next survey topic to come out in a few days time.
