The changing international school landscape
The international education sector is changing fast. Gone are the days of backward, expat institutions harking back to the ‘good old’ colonial times.
The 21st century has spawned a new breed of international schools – modern, high tech, forward looking institutions providing cutting edge international education. These schools no longer cater solely for expat populations but instead are growing from the needs of local communities who are realising the value of their children being educated in English. In fact, the Chairman of Goldman Sachs commented in 2011 the export of English language services will be one of the UK’s biggest growth areas in the UK over the next decade.
What does this mean for us teachers?
It’s a very exciting time. If you’re a good teacher who enjoys an adventure, there’s never been a better time to explore international teaching opportunities. As hundreds of new schools spring up across Asia and Latin American seeking well qualified English speaking teachers every year, demand for our skills is ever increasing. With privatisation rife in China, we are witnessing international schools filling the gap where there would otherwise be local private schools. We are also observing a shift in the balance of influence between teachers and international schools. In decades past, schools have been in the driving seat when it’s come to recruitment – able to demand more from teachers for less. It has been in the interests of some less progressive schools to stifle the transparency that has swept across other sectors. Why, for example, has it been so hard to find out a salary before you apply for an international teaching job?
The changes we are witnessing are empowering us all, as teachers, to expect to access more information both from schools and recruiters.
Teacher Horizons – leading the way forward
Teacher Horizons has grown from teachers and international schools recognising a need to the recruitment fairer and stop big companies taking money out of the system. Our aim is to provide in depth details of schools all over the world so that teachers can make sound decisions about where we choose to teach abroad. Equally, we want to help schools find out more about us to enable them to find the most suitable teachers to recruit. We believe that, as our community of forward looking schools and teachers grows, so we can increase transparency across the sector move toward truly internationalising the teaching profession.
