Home and away: An inquiry into home-based and overseas teacher perceptions regarding international schools

Motivation

The question of teachers’ motivation in entering education elicited a variety of responses, the most popular being a desire to work with children and a love of their subject, followed by the desire to inspire and the long holidays. Other less frequent reasons given by teachers included a belief that teaching was their vocation, that they had been unable to secure work in another field, the financial aspect of teaching and that they had been positively influenced by a teacher in the past. Others cited being encouraged by family or friends, the desire for a better work–life balance, the desire for a career, a wish to work with people and, finally, that their teacher training course (Postgraduate Certificate in Education [PGCE]) had been funded.

Where are participants working?

At the time of responding to the questionnaire, 60.9% of participants were working overseas with the remaining 39.1% working in their home country. Teachers at home had worked in between 1 and 50 schools (the latter having worked regularly as a supply teacher). The main reason given by the 12 teachers who had not considered a move overseas was family commitments, mentioned by 58.4%, followed by 25% saying they were happy teaching at home. A total of 8.3% claimed that they felt too old to move overseas, and another 8.3% felt a move would be pointless, because teaching would be exactly the same overseas as it was at home.

Views of home

When home-based teachers were asked about teaching in their home country, positive comments included how teachers love their job, their good terms and conditions, the rewarding aspect of the job and the commitment of fellow staff. However, the majority of comments noted were negative. These centred on a lack of respect for teachers, government interference, Ofsted (the national inspection system in England), a decline in the education system and excessive targets. Other comments included a skewed power imbalance in favour of children, too much administration, an overcrowded teaching market and poor work–life balance, alongside general feelings of disillusionment, anger, demoralisation and, ultimately, of the role being far less enjoyable than they had anticipated when training for the teaching profession.

Perceptions of teaching overseas

Teachers who worked in their home country were asked about their perceptions of teaching overseas. The most common belief cited was that there would be more professional freedom and that students would be more able and better behaved. Improved pay and conditions were also anticipated, and it was expected that weather would be better, and that teaching overseas would involve fewer targets, involve smaller class sizes and be culturally rewarding. The only perceived negative aspect of working overseas was a sense that there would be more pressure on teachers to achieve good results. Of these home teachers, 55.9% suggested that the main reason teachers went overseas was to travel or to experience a new culture, while 23.5% thought the main reason was to find better schools and better students, 21% thought it was for a better lifestyle and a further 21% thought it would be for a better salary. 8.9% each suggested teachers moved overseas because they could not obtain employment at home, and for better weather.

The view from teachers overseas

The views of these home-based teachers were analysed alongside data from teachers already working overseas. Teachers overseas had taught at home for between 0 years (i.e. never having taught at home) and 38 years before moving overseas. They had worked at between 1 and 10 schools overseas and, at the time of completing the questionnaire, they had been overseas for between 0 years (i.e. they were in their first year overseas) and 37 years. Of those overseas, 43.4% stated that the main reason they had gone overseas in the first instance was to travel or experience new cultures. This was followed by financial incentives (20.7%), a better lifestyle (17%), for family reasons (7.5%), disillusionment with teaching at home (5.7%) and better job prospects (again, 5.7%).

In addition, a variety of secondary reasons were offered for having left home to teach overseas. When teachers overseas were asked about teaching at home, comments were again predominantly negative. The more positive comments included loving the job, the job being rewarding, good staff morale, support and resources. Also included were comments about good Special Educational Needs provision and good colleagues. More negative comments related to paperwork, excessive numbers of meetings, heavy workload and boredom. Some teachers experienced stress, disliked colleagues, were concerned that turnover of staff was high or had experienced difficulties with school management. Others felt that teachers had a poor social standing and were undervalued.

Interestingly, a number of comments relating to bullying arose when teachers overseas were asked how they perceived teaching in the United Kingdom, including ‘The bullying I witnessed was amazing’, ‘I was bullied out of the school within 6 months’ and ‘No breaks, stupid expectations and bullying behaviour’. None of the teachers overseas mentioned bullying as an issue in international schools, although this question was not directly asked in either the questionnaire or the interviews.

When asked about the strengths and weaknesses of teaching overseas, positive responses included that it was liberating, and that it involved less paperwork than had been the case at home and a better timetable. The workload was lighter, staff were given appropriate responsibilities and they felt part of a community. There were smaller classes, better resources and an improved standard of living. Negative comments referred to a lack of job security (linked to the short-term contracts common to many international schools), schools that were profit-led, lower standards than at home and spoilt children. Some comments referred to apathetic children, poor school management and disbelief that some staff in schools were not qualified teachers.

In terms of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities available to those working overseas, the most popular view was that CPD was Excellent/Very Good with 16 replies. A total of 14 respondents reported Very Few opportunities, while CPD opportunities were described as Good by 13. A further 7 reported having had no CPD, 6 suggested that it Depends on the School, 4 claimed to have sourced CPD themselves and 1 described CPD as Average. These responses appear to suggest a gulf between schools, in that the majority of respondents believed CPD provision was either very good or very poor.

The most positive characteristics of teaching overseas, according to those already there, were the financial aspect of their role, closely followed by the ability to travel. Having good students and supportive parents was next, followed by experiencing a new country or culture, a better standard of living and improved weather. To a lesser extent, the perceived positives included the chance to work with international children and colleagues, the sense of freedom and trust they felt in international schools, and the lighter workload compared with teaching in their home country. Teachers also spoke of personal development opportunities and the chance to work with like-minded people. Less frequent responses included good resources, smaller classes, a good education for their own children, supportive managers, holidays, the chance to learn a new language and the opportunity to be part of an expatriate community.

Teachers overseas also discussed the negatives of working overseas, by far the biggest drawback cited being that they were away from family. A relatively small number of mentions were made of any other perceived drawbacks, which included lack of job security, the insular nature of schools and expatriate communities, cultural differences and the fact that it could be expensive to return home if needed. Insufficient resources, lack of a pension and poor in-service training were also cited. Notwithstanding such reservations, 98.1% of those working overseas who completed the survey were happy with their decision to relocate overseas.

Returning home and length of stay overseas

The 53 teachers currently overseas fell into two categories when asked about returning home in the longer term. Of them, 47% planned to return home at some point, while the remaining 53% claimed to have no plans ever to return home. Of the 25 who did plan to return, the longest they wished to remain overseas was for another 25 years, and the shortest was 0 (meaning they were planning to return home once the school year had ended). The longest that teachers overseas had spent in one school was 32 years and the least was 0.5 (suggesting they had either left or joined the school midway through the school year). If, however, the extreme of 32 years in one school overseas was removed from the data, the maximum would have been 10 years.

Thoughts from teachers teaching at home

Of teachers working at home, 64.7% had considered working overseas, a figure that appears high if the idea that this world is hidden (as suggested by, for instance, Hayden and Thompson, 2008) is to be believed. In addition, when teachers at home were asked about teaching overseas, all appeared to know that such a possibility at least existed. In total, 86.2% of those surveyed were either already working overseas or had considered doing so.

It is interesting to note that teachers at home considered the top reasons teachers went overseas were to travel (55.9%), for better schools and students (23.5%), for a better lifestyle (20.6%) and for better salary (20.6%). These data correspond reasonably well with responses from teachers already overseas who indicated the actual reasons they had moved overseas were to travel or experience new cultures (43.4%), for the salary (20.7%) or for the work–life balance (17%). Interestingly, two other reasons that teachers at home thought had influenced teachers to move overseas – for better schools and pupils, and for better weather – were not mentioned by overseas teachers as being the main reason they had moved.

Interviewee 1 (no experience overseas)

Interviewee 1 is a qualified male school teacher based in England. He had 10 years of experience at the time of the interview, all in UK schools, and no personal experience of teaching overseas. Though he had considered moving overseas when younger, before getting married, now with a family he had no intention of working overseas, mentioning the sheer scale of moving his family as the main reason. A thread ran throughout this interview of having to consider others, rather than just himself.

Although this teacher had read some articles about international teaching, his understanding came predominantly from colleagues who had worked overseas, believing that their main motivation had been a change of environment. This interviewee perceived that the nature of international schools was probably similar to schools here in the United Kingdom, and though he accepted that there would be differences, he anticipated that the biggest challenge of such a move would be the change of environment and culture, rather than the type of school encountered.

This teacher viewed the prospect of a move overseas as difficult (though not impossible) for families to undertake. He imagined international teachers to be younger, perhaps new to the profession, having the freedom to make such a move, rather than (like him) older, married and with a family. He was not aware of any international recruitment agencies and considered word of mouth as important in obtaining employment overseas; asking colleagues, he thought, would be the best way for any teacher to gain employment overseas.

Overall, this interviewee was not convinced that teaching overseas would be much different from teaching in the United Kingdom. Rather, a theme running throughout this interview was that there are good schools and bad schools, and that this does not depend on where in the world they are located. He also believed this was the case with issues such as autonomy for teachers or CPD, where some schools would offer a better experience than others, regardless of location.

Interviewee 2 (limited experience overseas)

Interviewee 2 was a qualified female teacher who had found obtaining work more difficult than she had hoped following completion of her PGCE. Once this was achieved, she taught in the United Kingdom for 5 years, before moving to an international school in Asia, her first posting overseas. This interviewee suggested that teaching in the United Kingdom had become repetitive and business-like in its approach. By her third year of teaching she had what she described as ‘itchy feet’ and was uncertain of what direction to take. She had begun to look at job advertisements and noticed some international posts on the TES website. She had no ties and had a colleague who had moved away to teach in Asia, with whom she discussed the possibility of moving overseas. It was clear that this interviewee perceived international teachers as likely to be, like her, single with no ties.

She described herself, prior to leaving the United Kingdom, as being ‘in a bubble’ (though she remained excited and positive). Once she arrived at her new location, the school arranged accommodation for her in a hotel and helped her to find an apartment. Events arranged by the school helped her to acclimatise to Asia and meet her new colleagues. She felt that the biggest change from teaching in the United Kingdom was the role of parents. Some were demanding in their expectation of good grades for their children, reminding staff that they were at a fee-paying school. She was also surprised that during her first year, five children in her class left the school, commenting that even though they were young, they seemed to accept this with little concern. CPD opportunities were, she said, excellent.

This teacher described having experienced a huge culture shock and having been a little out of her depth to begin with. The distance from the United Kingdom was something she was acutely aware of, especially if events happened at home while she was far away. She went home during the Christmas holiday, and this really helped her to cope with the rest of the school year. She felt as if she would certainly recommend teaching overseas to other teachers, but did not feel she would suggest it for those who were newly qualified who, she believed, would benefit from working for 2 or 3 years at home, as this would make the transition easier. She had originally planned to complete 2 years in her first post and then return home. As the year progressed, however, she had decided that she would complete another year and then consider moving to another international school elsewhere. She felt she would return to the United Kingdom eventually, but was unsure when, citing family as the main draw.

Interviewee 3 (experienced overseas)

Interviewee 3 was a female qualified teacher, who spent the first 2 years of her career in the United Kingdom, followed by 2 years teaching at an international school in the Middle East. She had returned to the United Kingdom during the previous year, and had just completed her first year back in a UK school. Her understanding of international teaching had come from a family member, who had taught overseas and who had encouraged her to go. She appeared knowledgeable about international teaching and had been quite confident about moving, as her family had lived overseas when she was younger. Finding employment as a teacher in the United Kingdom had been difficult for her and, when she did, she felt that her time was dominated by dealing with children’s poor behaviour. She added that her partner had wanted to leave his job, and a move to an international school had seemed a logical next step.

Interviewee 3 talked very positivity about the recruitment process for international schools. She had attended a job fair based in a London hotel, feeling it was a well organised and a positive experience. She had several interviews lined up very quickly, describing her successful interview as very simple and easy. She felt that the school was professional and she had no concerns about accepting the job. Once she arrived at the school, she found the children were better behaved than she had been used to, and she felt the school was very much as had been described to her in her interview.

On the topic of CPD she found her school in the Middle East very poor. This was compensated for somewhat by the fact that her colleagues were much more dynamic than she had been used to, and she felt she could learn from them. She did not feel, however, that she had then returned to the United Kingdom as a far better teacher, commenting that she had not found the job overseas particularly taxing and that she felt she had started to slip into bad teaching habits towards the end.

Her main reason for returning to the United Kingdom was awareness that the national curriculum would be changing, and not wanting to lose touch with new developments. Since her return, she had found it difficult to contribute to meetings as she felt so far behind her UK colleagues with respect to recent developments, though the situation had been improving during the year. She felt her time in the Middle East had been positive and even beneficial in the interview process for her new UK post, explaining that as the school had been looking for what she described as ‘new blood’, working overseas had given her an advantage in this respect. This interviewee would recommend teaching overseas to other teachers, though not to those newly qualified who, she felt, might not receive the support they required and would be better advised to complete 2 or 3 years teaching in the United Kingdom before going overseas.

Thus the teachers interviewed all had different experiences and backgrounds. All three indicated that their understanding of international teaching came initially from a colleague or a relative who had taught overseas. Interviewee 1 and Interviewee 2 both mentioned articles and publications such as the TES as sources of additional insights. Interestingly, both Interviewee 2 and Interviewee 3 mentioned that following their PGCE, obtaining work in the United Kingdom had been difficult, whereas Interviewee 1 (who had remained in the United Kingdom throughout his career) had not. In addition, both Interviewee 2 and Interviewee 3 described teaching in the United Kingdom initially as a poor experience. This point, linked to newly qualified teachers (NQTs) having options overseas, raises a number of issues including, for example, a possible connection between difficulties initially in obtaining work, the initial description of UK teaching as poor and the subsequent decision to move overseas. Questions of how this situation made them feel on a personal and professional level, and whether their experiences affected their commitment or loyalty to teaching in the United Kingdom, were not asked but would be interesting to follow up in further research.

Both Interviewee 1 and Interviewee 2 thought teaching overseas was an activity for single and/or younger people, while Interviewee 3 described such teachers as adventurous risk takers, keen to travel. Interviewee 2 indicated, however, that she had been pleasantly surprised when married couples, families with children and singles were all part of the school when she arrived in Asia. All interviewees believed the biggest challenge of teaching overseas to be cultural differences and adjusting to a new country, rather than the school or their teaching role.

Interviewees 2 and 3 had worked overseas and both indicated that teaching in the United Kingdom had some influence on their decision to teach overseas. Interviewee 2 believed that teaching had become repetitive and business-like, while Interviewee 3 spoke of poor class behaviour. Interviewee 2 and Interviewee 3 would both recommend working overseas to colleagues, although both felt that working in the United Kingdom had been of benefit prior to moving overseas. Interestingly, both Interviewees 2 and 3 felt that it was not something they would recommend for NQTs, with Interviewee 2 believing that the adjustment to a new culture was difficult enough without the added pressure of being an NQT, something Interviewee 1 also noted. Interviewee 3 said she felt schools would not have procedures in place to support the NQT adequately. These observations raise some interesting questions about the feasibility and success of NQTs spending their first year overseas. It was also interesting that Interviewee 3 admitted that returning to the United Kingdom had not been easy, even after only 2 years overseas. She clearly felt that she had lost ground compared with her colleagues in terms of being able to articulate recent government initiatives, or current issues in education. This raises interesting questions with respect to what will happen to the 47% of teachers overseas who were planning to return to the United Kingdom after several years away from home. It also has implications for the NQT who goes overseas as they are not immersing themselves in teaching and debate in their home context in those early, formative years. While this may not be a concern at the time of the move, it may raise questions – if these NQTs remain overseas beyond their first year – with respect to the type of teacher they will be when they eventually return.