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Jetgirly
Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 741
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 Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:36 am Post subject: International K-12 Schools |
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| How are the job prospects for qualified teachers (BA in English, BEd in Secondary Language Arts, slightly less relevant CELTA) straight out of the gate? I'm not sure I want to stay in Canada for the two years it would take to obtain a permanent teaching certificate. Are there decent jobs out there for new grads, or do the better schools expect prior K-12 experience? |
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The_Hanged_Man
Joined: 10 Oct 2004
Posts: 224
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 11:52 am Post subject: |
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My international school has a few people who are not certified but they are in hard to fill positions (eg Physics) and are highly qualified. One has a degree in Physics from Yale, and someone who just graduated from Harvard was hired for next year although I am not sure for which position.
The BEd helps, but all most schools care about is whether or not you are certified. Also, most look for two years of experience. You might be able to slide into a school on an intern position, but then you will making less than everyone else while doing the same amount of work. In addition, Language Arts is not a high demand position (Not surprisingly there are tons of english 'teachers' out there who try get into international schools) so that further lengthens your odds.
That said, once you have that magical piece of paper known as a teaching certificate and a few years of experience things really open up for you. Most experienced certified teachers receive multiple offers when they attend recruiting fairs, so breaking into the international school circuit isn't as hard as some people make out as long as you are qualified. |
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saint57
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 1221
Location: Beyond the Dune Sea
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:22 pm Post subject: |
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I'm sure I've mentioned this to you before, but there are about 30 Ontario schools overseas. You can teach abroad and it's just like teaching at home. I came here straight out of teachers' college. All of these schools must have 80% Ontario teachers.
Different provinces have similar programs minus the 80% rule. |
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The_Hanged_Man
Joined: 10 Oct 2004
Posts: 224
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 3:13 pm Post subject: |
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| saint57 wrote: |
I'm sure I've mentioned this to you before, but there are about 30 Ontario schools overseas. You can teach abroad and it's just like teaching at home. I came here straight out of teachers' college. All of these schools must have 80% Ontario teachers.
Different provinces have similar programs minus the 80% rule. |
Hey Saint. Just curious, how do these Ontario schools work? Are they international schools with a mix of students or more like the US DODDS schools where it's all US army brats?
Also, you're living in KL right? How are you digging life there? I'm planning on recruiting next year and am thinking about heading to SE Asia. |
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saint57
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 1221
Location: Beyond the Dune Sea
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| Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:10 am Post subject: |
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Most of the Ontario programs are at international schools, but mine is attached to a university-college. Students in Malaysia finish high school after grade 11. Any student that wants to study overseas must do A-Levels or finish grade 12 in a program like mine. Most of my students are Chinese and Indian Malaysians. However, I teach students from all over the world. Most of my foreign students come from other Asian countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, or Korea. I have a few from Africa and the Middle East.
I dig KL, but I'm pretty busy most of time. |
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TravellingAround
Joined: 12 Nov 2006
Posts: 423
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| Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:45 am Post subject: Re: International K-12 Schools |
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| Jetgirly wrote: |
| How are the job prospects for qualified teachers (BA in English, BEd in Secondary Language Arts, slightly less relevant CELTA) straight out of the gate? I'm not sure I want to stay in Canada for the two years it would take to obtain a permanent teaching certificate. Are there decent jobs out there for new grads, or do the better schools expect prior K-12 experience? |
You could try for some of the more out-of-the-way places which might not attract so many applicants. I'd recommend getting a list of international schools worldwide and sending introduction letters. They may not necessarily be advertising yet or know definitely if they will have a vacancy or not. Each year there is always a bit of last-minute scrambling.
For the more sought-after locations such as Western Europe or ex-pat heavy places such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Korea etc I doubt you have any chance. They are likely to have an abundance of applicants with more qualifications and experience than yourself. So my advice is to try those slightly off the beaten track. A lot of schools also have ESL programs as well although I have seen a number of examples of those teachers being offered less than the actual subject teachers and it seems that ESL classes are often a way just to get some students up to the level of the other students.
I'm not particularly familiar with Canadian qualifications but the important things to have for a British school are a BA/BSc (of course!) and a PGCE with some experience. Experience in an accredited school is obviously the most beneficial and two years (as mentioned above) is the usual stipulation although I have seen the more sought-after schools advertising for 5+ years of experience.
Some useful websites are TIE Online http://www.tieonline.com/ and http://joyjobs.com/ although both require payment to become a member. TIE has plenty of jobs and joyjobs is more of a guide to the whole International School scene. Although it doesn't contain much you couldn't find out for free the information it has, particularly a list of international schools around the worldand contact details, does save a lot of time and hassle. You might have more luck concentrating on North American schools as British schools require experience of the UK education system.
The main avenue for recruitment are the recruitment fairs that are held by the likes of Search Associates and CIS. However you usually need two years experience to be accepted by these and you have to pay money anyway. It's just as possible to find a job by contacting schools directly.
So...good luck. The main thing you need is a teaching certificate in the subject you are teaching. However ESL positions often don't so a good background in ESL is often more important. |
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Jetgirly
Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 741
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| Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:23 pm Post subject: Re: International K-12 Schools |
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| TravellingAround wrote: |
I'm not particularly familiar with Canadian qualifications but the important things to have for a British school are a BA/BSc (of course!) and a PGCE with some experience.
So...good luck. The main thing you need is a teaching certificate in the subject you are teaching. However ESL positions often don't so a good background in ESL is often more important. |
In Canada, a B.Ed is roughly equivalent to a PGCE. It's a two-year post-degree program where you learn how to teach a specific subject (usually the subject that your prior degree was in). By the time you've done both, you've completed six years of university and hold two degrees. You have also done about five hundred hours of student teaching (in my program).
However, that is not enough to teach. You then have to apply to the local government for a teaching certificate. I think it's a bit like the QTS tests in the UK, except without the tests. The government looks over your transcripts and determines if the courses you took are sufficient to allow you into a classroom. Then, they grant you a temporary teaching certificate. This is the document you need to be legally hired by a school board. You renew it after one year, and after two years you can apply for a permanent certificate (assuming you haven't murdered any of your students or anything).
It's the last document that I'm wondering about. |
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TravellingAround
Joined: 12 Nov 2006
Posts: 423
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| Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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| International schools are independent so can theoretically hire any teacher they like although in reality they wish to keep standards as high as possible. Some schools will be willing to take on newly qualified teachers should you impress them whereas others will not. It's the same old thing about the more the schools need a teacher the more they are willing to take on candidates with less than perfect qualifications/experience. |
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The_Hanged_Man
Joined: 10 Oct 2004
Posts: 224
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:01 am Post subject: |
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| TravellingAround wrote: |
| International schools are independent so can theoretically hire any teacher they like although in reality they wish to keep standards as high as possible. Some schools will be willing to take on newly qualified teachers should you impress them whereas others will not. It's the same old thing about the more the schools need a teacher the more they are willing to take on candidates with less than perfect qualifications/experience. |
True, although most reputable schools are accredited by various institutions that have stipulations on teacher qualifications. Also, some countries have their own rules for teacher preparedness before they can be hired. So while technically they are independent, they are often pressured to only hire fully qualified teachers by outside bodies, parents, etc.
That said, I know of schools that hire uncertified unexperienced teachers and then try to conceal this fact through various types of shenanigans. You have to be very careful about accepting employment with schools like these and do your research prior to signing a contract. Some of these can be decent, but just as often they can be miserable parodies of what a real school should be like. |
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TravellingAround
Joined: 12 Nov 2006
Posts: 423
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