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Working at an International School Can Restore your Enthusiasm for Education
Are you tired of feeling unappreciated, no matter how much time and effort you put into teaching? Well, maybe you need to make the move into an international teaching career.
Prior to securing my position as an international teacher in Thailand, I worked for more than three years in the United Kingdom. While I enjoyed my time there and learned a lot from my colleagues, there were parts of the job I didn't like, and at times found a little soul destroying. That's one of the reasons I now teach at an international school.
How Can I Find Time To Teach If I Spend All My Time On Discipline?
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Is Teaching Overseas the Right Move For YOU?
Find out by listening to Overseas Teachers Talk - an Interview Series with International Teachers
7 teachers = 50+ years international teaching experience in over 10 countries across the world.
Here's what Katie Manton had to say about Overseas Teachers Talk...
"As a beginning teacher that is looking at going straight into overseas teaching, "Overseas Teacher Talk"
is a great resource to have as it gives perspectives from teachers who have been teaching overseas for a number of year. The information is relevant and interesting. The interviews are easy to listen to and the atmosphere is friendly. Overall they are a great resource to have I would highly recommend them to anyone looking at going into overseas teaching."Kick start your own international teaching career with Overseas Teacher Talk - an Interview Series with International Teachers today!
Listen to Kelly's Teaching Overseas Podcast
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byTeaching Jobs Overseas for Married and Non Married Couples
Whether you are married or not you can look for jobs as a teaching couple, most schools do not discriminate against couples who do not have a marriage certificate. An obvious exception is schools in the Middle East. It is very difficult for non-married couples to land jobs in international schools in the Middle East, where governments' regulations stipulate that couples seeking working visas produce a marriage certificate.
You may be able to find a way around this problem but it is unlikely that international school recruiters recruiting for schools in the Middle East are going to find non-married teaching couples an attractive employment prospect when compared to married ones. If you are in this situation, your best bet is to concentrate your job hunt on other regions in the world.
Teaching Couples Seeking Overseas Positions
When looking for a teaching job abroad as a couple, there are several options open to you:
Alternatively, you and your partner can look for teaching vacancies in international schools in the same cities. A number of teaching couples are lucky enough to find teaching jobs abroad in different schools in the same city. If you have not taught in the same school as your partner or spouse before, you may find this a better option for you.
The most efficient method to find teaching jobs in different international schools in the same city is to attend an international teaching job fair. At an international teaching job fair you will find many school s from around the globe in the one location, all looking for teachers to fill their vacancies. Often you will find a number of recruiters from the same city at a job fair and it is possible to schedule interviews with each of them individually.
At most job fairs you will also be able to see international school recruiters give presentations about their school and the working in the community. This can help you make an informed decision about whether a school, city or country will be a good fit for you and your family.
In a nutshell, teaching jobs overseas for couples are available and many international school recruiters actively look for teaching couples when they are recruiting. However, one of the first decisions you must make is whether you wish to teach in the same school as your spouse or partner and then hunt for teaching positions that suit your needs.
Organisations that host international teacher recruitment fairs
Recruitment fairs can be a lot like a zoo, for essential tips to recruitment fair success buy my book!
Job Search Resources for Educators
The University of Northern Iowa has a host of recr more...1 point
Search Associates
Search Associates hold a number of international r more...1 point
Council of International Schools
The Council of International Schools (COIS) run in more...0 points
International School Services
ISS run international recruitment fairs for educat more...0 points
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Teaching Jobs Abroad and Police Clearance Certificates
Make sure that your teaching career isn't brought to an abrupt end because you're unable to prove you haven't got any convictions that would make you a danger to children. Here's why you MUST get a police clearance certificate!
The clearance certificate goes by many different names; what you're looking for is an official document that records any convictions on your criminal record. Regardless of whether you have any convictions or not, you will be required to produce official evidence that your record is clear.
If you record is not clear you may still be able to teach abroad, but you will need to find out which countries will grant you a work permit with the convictions you have.
More rigorous background checks for foreign teachers applying to work in Thailand have been put in place because of a recent high profile arrest of an American teacher by American immigration officers in August 2006. The teacher was taken back to the States for questioning in a murder investigation.
Once you've obtained your police clearance certificate, take it with you when you move overseas. It's one of those important documents you should always be able to lay your hands on. A clearance certificate is one of my top 10 things to take when moving abroad. You'll need to have the original with you; it's not one of the documents you can carry in digital format.
When you are nearing the end of you first overseas teaching contract start making enquiries about what you need to do to obtain a clearance certificate from the police in the country you've been teaching in. This is important! When you're teaching abroad it's important you maintain an unbroken chain of police clearance certificates or the equivalent.
Should you eventually desire to return home and pick up your teaching career there, you'll need to supply the clearance certificates you've collected whilst working abroad. A consequence of not being able to produce a record of your conviction history could be that you're unable to continue working in the education industry as a teacher when you return home.
Teach Students who Want to Succeed
Many students who attend international schools are motivated to succeed and do well.
Become a Member of an Expatriate Community
Many Teachers Overseas Have the Support of a Strong Parents Association
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What's your Employer Saying about You?
Sidebar - If you have any suspicion that you current employer is giving you a bad reference, you need this!

At my last job, the headteacher had a reputation for giving bad references to teachers she wanted to keep. A number of my colleagues left the teaching profession because they were unable to secure a new job at another school. The headteacher kept all the good teachers to herself, regarless of whether you wanted to stay or not.
If you think you might be in a similar position, you should take advantage of the reference checking services offered by Allison & Taylor, Inc.
I really like these guys because they have a special service aimed at the teaching profession. When you order a reference check for teachers, they will ask education specific questions.
Professional Development for Teachers Overseas is Encouraged
You can experience many benefits from teaching overseas. I feel more enthused about being an educator now that I am teaching here in Thailand, and while I wouldn't like to say that I will never teach in a state school again, I would certainly think carefully about any position offered to me.
If you are not feeling the passion for education that originally inspired you to become a teacher, perhaps you should be looking at moving overseas. An additional benefit is that they salary is better than I was getting in the United Kingdom as well!
Teaching Abroad with Children
There are many international teachers who love the lifestyle and are of the opinion that their children are the better for getting an international education. Essentially your children will not only benefit from expanded horizons themselves, but they'll be getting a private education too! Teaching overseas is not for the faint-hearted, but the risks of making a poor decision can be managed.
Tuition as part of the salary package
Learning difficulties and learning support
Languages offered
Extra-curricular activities offered
Leisure activities in the community
Do You Want a Private Education for your Children but You Can't Afford It?
Yet another reason to move your teaching career abroad!
Picking a school that suits both your children's needs and yours can be challenging, but it is possible. In a recent interview I conducted with international teachers, Maggie Hos-McGrane, a teacher with 19 years experience teaching in international schools said that after she had completed her research she'd found only 30 of the more than 4000 international schools suited both her and her children.
Is the school a profit making enterprise?
One thing that can really change the culture of a school is the underlying motivations of the directors
As a teacher you will be concerned that the school's educational philosophy matches your own. As a parent you want to insure that your children's education is the priority of the school, rather than the amount of money spent on educational materials and the effect that will have on the school's owner's profit.
There are some directors or owners of international schools that may be more interested in the financial benefits of running a school than the education benefits to the students. Be aware, both as a prospective employee and as a parent.
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Is the school accredited?
How can you assess the quality of a school? Check what associations it has links with...
If an international school is accredited, then you can be confident that the quality of education provided by the school is high. Most schools that are accredited by an organization like CIS advertise their status on their webpage, brochures and stationery.
Other organizations that offer accreditation for international schools are NEASC, COBISEC, ISCIS and the Association of Christian Schools International, to name a few.
Highly Recommended Books for Your Children
Help your kids understand the move and make it easier for them.
Goodbye House: A Kid's Guide to Moving
A must-have to ease the transition for your children. Especially for younger family members
The Moving Book: A Kid's Survival Guide
Step by step, you children can follow the transition process in this book and be able to make the move safely and easily
Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds (Second Revised Edition)
Excellent book for older famiy members. Helps explain what they're feeling and why. Some ideas for them to help them cope with the transition
How many students are in the school?
What effects can a small or large student body have on you and your kids?
Additionally, the number of students in the school can affect the number and type of extra curricular activities offered, and therefore your child's opportunities to experience team sports and other activities that are usually run after school.
When a school has a large number of students, this can also mean that the school is more likely to have a well-stocked library, well equipped laboratories, up-to-date computer equipment and outdoor activity areas. Simply because there is a larger pot of money to fund these facilities from.
On the other hand a school that has thousands of students, while usually offering a wide variety of subjects and activities for students, can often be an anonymous place for children. It is up to you to decide what a good balance is for you and your family.
Which curricula do the schools subscribe to?
What will your children be learning?
You can find international schools that are running the national curriculum from America, Britian, Australia, Canada, France (usually taught in French), and so on. Securing a teaching contract in an international school that offers the national curriculum that you and your children are used to will help ease the transition. However, you are not limited by the curricula that you have taught in the past, international schools are generally looking for good teachers and realize that teachers can adapt and teach any curriculum.
When you are looking for a good school for your children, you may run up against some curricula that you haven't come across before. For example, there is the school wide system offered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). The IBO offers the Primary Years Programme up to Year 6, the Middle Years Programme from Years 7 to 11, and the Diploma Years Programme for Years 12 and 13.
Which examinations will your children be working towards?
What certification will your children have when they start applying for jobs or higher education?
I mentioned the IBO previously as being a school wide programme. However many schools adopt bits and pieces of the programme. You may find that an international school offers the Diploma for the upper two years but offers the British IGCSE for Years 10 and 11. IGCSE is an examination based qualification, and the IBO Middle Years Programme has no formal examination assessment, students get a certificate and a record of achievement. Some international schools have a mix and match attitude to the curricula offered. International schools that run national curricula tend to prepare students for the related national exams. American schools overseas run a mixture of state curricula and AP courses.
Teaching Couple?
Many teaching couples don't teach in the same school for personal reasons.
If you teach different levels, for example one of you is elementary trained and one high school, then you have very little to worry about as most international schools run the two levels separately (even when they share a campus).
Many international schools are so large that they have more than one school. Check out the Singapore American School which has more than 3700 students spread over 4 schools situated on one huge campus.
Finally if you are a teaching couple who want to teach overseas, then move to a city that has a number of international schools. If you choose to attend an international teacher recruitment fair, this strategy would be easier to put into practice because of the number of schools represented.
Tell me what you think!
ClassroomCanada wrote...
Great lens! Thanks for sharing. I select teachers from Canada and America to teach in London, England with Classroom Canada and I'm always looking for more resources like this one to help them make the transition abroad. I'll add this to my blog (www.classroomcanada.blogspot.com) - do you have a teacher blog as well?
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