Job Discussion Forums

[Zero]

Is anyone on the board a certified teacher, preferably American, teaching in an international school? I have some questions about this area of teaching and whether it would be worth pursuing. I am not a certified teacher, so it would involve doing another degree or a certification program in my own country. If you could PM me, that would be great. Or we can discuss it on-board. Some of my questions are:
-How high is demand for certified teachers? How hard is it to find a job?
-What are the hotter subject areas and grade levels?
-How do you maintain your certification when you're teaching in a foreign country?
-What is the earning potential?

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

if i stay in the esl game i'm considering a similar move. i'll follow this thread closely.

[Kiels]

Hello.

I can't offer that much advice but I am graduating this June from a teacher qualification in the Early Years from the UK. I have been successful in obtaining a job at an international school for this coming Sept in the Philippines despite not having a huge amount of experience (some short periods teaching in China and Thailand). Apart from being exceptionally lucky in getting the post, I think the fact my teacher training is in the Early Years definitely helped get the job since it is specifically an Early Years post.

I think if you are serious about getting a teaching qualification you have to consider several things. Firstly who do you want to teach? Secondary or primary? For international posts, I often see vacancies for science and maths teachers. I don't know how many people gain secondary certification but certainly in the UK, there are various financial incentives to encourage people to certify in secondary subjects especially those like Maths, Science, ICT, foreign languages etc. However, there are also incentives for male primary teachers! You need to consider that in your teaching career, it may be difficult to start teaching a very different age group later so you need to decide now. It's not impossible to change though and here in the UK, QTS applies across primary and secondary so with a degree in English Literature, I would also be qualified to teach in secondary schools. However, with little training and no experience in this range, I would be hard pushed to find a job. And anyways, I love teaching primary!

I would suggest getting a teacher certification is important if you are serious about teaching since at its very least, it shows potential employers commitment to the career from your side, never mind helping you gain wider and more focused views and opinions upon teaching methods, behaviour management, assessment and far many other concepts in teaching methodology and education in the wider arena. It also does mean you can securely apply to international schools. I've seen debates on these forums regarding CELTAs and international schools but with Teacher certification you should be able to apply in confidence for international schools providing you have some experience. As far as I know, from browsing jobs on these kinds of forums and the TES website (google it), jobs at international schools pay better than other jobs in most countries and most will have applicants apply from oversea. This is because with any profession, the better qualified you are, the more hopeful you can be in securing a better salary. The jobs are competitive and you might want to get experience teaching in your home country where you obtain your teaching certification. However, my story shows its not impossible to teach straight away at an international school. However, the salary will of course be dependent on the country you will be working in.

I don't know which country you are thinking about getting your teaching certification in. All I can say is that in the UK, your teacher certification will not run out or need to be renewed. This follows current guidelines however, and Ed Balls has just scrapped the new primary Curriculum which has been in the works for 2 years with senior members of the government and independent reviews and was due to come into effect this Sept. He also scrapped the notion of teachers having to renew their teaching licence every five years. All I am saying is current guidelines may change depending on governmental or political recommendations wherever you decide to do your certification so keep abreast of current issues in education.

If you are from the UK< the good news is that PGCE students (Post Grad Certificate of Education) are entitled to money from the government, currently minimum �4000 I think, and higher for those qualifying in certain subjects as mentioned earlier so this might help sway your decision to get the qualification.

Good luck in your future career

[Zero]

Thanks for your reply. In answer to your one point, I am American so I would be going through the American system to become certified. Anyone from the U.S. working s a certified teacher?

[judoka]

oops.

[judoka]

Online master's degree that is. Or distance degree is a more appropriate name I think.

[Trebek]

I'm a certified American teacher, currently working in the US. For international school recruiters, try googling "ISS", or "DODD", the latter being US Dept of Defense Schools.

Most International jobs will require a couple years experience.

Good Luck

[powerrose]

I've also been trying to divine the American certification system. I'm pretty much set on getting my master's distance next year, and that's going to be my next step.

My current strategy is to go through an alternative route to certification. Here's Connecticut's guidelines:
http://www.ctdhe.org/ARC/default.htm

Its state by state, of course, but since my home state doesn't have ARC, I'm just going to try to game the system and do it in the state with the weakest guidelines

(I also like that you only need a 1100 on the SAT to waive the PRAXIS, woo hoo for continually low American teacher standards!)

[happigur1]

Getting credentialed varies state to state. But in most states, once you get through the initial teacher education program, you get what is called "preliminary credential" which will expire with a few years (depending on where you are at). In order to get it cleared, you must teach in within that state for at least two years, at the same time, taking extra courses for professional development. Only after you complete this, you will be able to get a professional cleared credential, which you will have to renew every few years. Again, varies from state to state but this is the guideline for California. I've talked to other credentialed teachers and it seems to be the same pattern in most states (although they might be a little different).

Now the problem is if you get a preliminary credential and you can't find a teaching job... then what will happen? That's where a lot of people run into problem. They spent one year doing the teachers' education program and spent all that money, can't get a job and their credentials expire. If you go overseas, it doesn't qualify towards your professional cleared credentials and if it expires, you technically can't teach on it anymore....

[judoka]

I don't think credentials "expire."

[Jayray]

In the U.S. one is not required to be state certified in order to teach in a college. One must have earned a minimum of a masters degree in a given subject. NORMALLY, one must have written a thesis in addition to have taken a departmental test.

IN THE U.S., certification is necessary for one to teach in the public schools and (usually in private schools) grades K-12. The requirements vary somewhat from state to state, but the basic requirements are that one must have :

A). completed a state approved teacher education program from a regionally accredited college or university (BA or BS),
B). taken (and presumably passed) the state Praxis tests

If you're in the United States, check with your State Department of Education or the local school board.

[SnoopBot]

[judoka]

Online master's degrees, not online teaching credentials, are just as good as a master's degrees gotten in house, right? I know Taiwan doesn't accept them but that's just Taiwan I hope.

[SnoopBot]

[kev7161]

I believe the "working in a school to get your license" refers to student teaching during your last semester of college. This is what I did in Kansas and other teachers I know from other states followed the same procedure: finish your university's required coursework, complete practicums and student teaching, have a criminal background check, pay a fee and one is certified (in Kansas).

But yeah, my teaching certificate has long since expired during my stay in China. If I were to return home to teach (don't see that happening), I'd have to complete more coursework to get recertified.

Our school is not an international school by any stretch of the imagination, rather it has an "international" department within its walls. We are hungry for college-educated, certified teachers but can't seem to find many. We do have some teachers here that come along and do a great job without the extensive background or credentials but, sadly, we get just as many that can't seem to carry the ball and last only one school year . . . or less.