A Teacher's Guide to Working at an International School in China

A Teacher's Guide to Working at an International School in China
Sep 09, 2015 By eChinacities.com

The word “international” has become a buzzword in Chinese education. With English in high demand, and parents sending their kids in droves overseas to escape the numbing public school system, there is plenty of need for international teachers. For teachers who come to China, it is easy to get a job in general, but it is often difficult to find a position that is the right fit. If you have a bit of teaching experience back home, consider applying to an international school or a Chinese school with an international program.

 

China has a range of international schools, from British schools and American schools who accept mostly foreigners, to IB programs in Chinese high schools, to the more dubious programs like “Miss Li's Happy International Kindergarten,” that have one often untrained foreigner on staff.

We will take a look at the two former kinds of international schools: foreign schools and Chinese international programs, how to land a job at one, and what it is like to work there.

Foreign Schools

Foreign international schools are basically elite foreign prep schools picked up and placed down into Chinese cities. Tuition fees for these academies can add up to a small fortune, making them inaccessible to many expats and Chinese. Teaching at one of these prep schools can be a sweet deal for teachers, but you cannot walk in unqualified.

To be a classroom teacher in a foreign international school, candidates often need to have a teaching certificate from their country at home. For example, applicants to the Canadian International School of Beijing need to have a teacher's certificate from Canada. Other schools, like the schools who are part of the International Schools of China group, request that candidates have a degree in Elementary Education, Secondary Education or a subject-specific degree.

It helps to have multiple years of prior teaching experience as well. However, schools often hire teaching assistants, interns, coaches and substitute teachers who are not certified. Foreign international schools usually ask new teachers to sign a two-year contract when they are hired.

Teaching at a foreign international school has a number of perks. The pay is much higher than usual for teachers in China, often on par with what teachers would make back home. Schools offer a lot of support for their teachers including housing, professional development, and social activities. Class sizes are also much smaller than what they would be at a Chinese school or even a public school in the West.

There are a few ways to snag a job at a Chinese international school. Most schools post available jobs directly on their website, but going through all of them can be a pain. Two other ways to go about it are to search through an agency, or attend an international school fair. Council of International Schools holds a number of fairs around the world every year, and International Schools Services holds a smaller one every winter in Asia.

These jobs go fast, and are filled early. Schools start looking in August or September for the next year. Many positions advertised now would start in September 2016, as the process for hiring international teachers is quite long.

Carney Sandoe & Associates is a free teacher placement agency that is mostly focused in the United States, but is extending their international reach. I had a great experience with Carney Sandoe when looking for an international teaching job. I only had one year of ESL experience and a subject specific bachelor's degree and they helped connect me with a number of foreign international schools all over China. If accepted, candidates can use their free services until they find a job.

Another agency that holds most of the international market is Search Associates. Unlike, Carney, Search Associates is not free for candidates but the one-time fee gets you a few years of service, until they find you a job. Search also has cheaper intern programs for recent graduates or those without any teaching experience. Search Associates also has its own international job fairs around the world.

If you are serious about looking for a job at a foreign international school then consider applying to one or both agencies. They will be honest about your competitiveness in the current market, and do their best to help you find a position.

Chinese International Programs

A number of schools in China offer AP and IB international programs for Chinese students who want to study in the U.S. or U.K. There are a few differences between a Chinese international program (which can be an entire school in itself) and a foreign international school.

Barb, who worked as a middle school science teacher in a Chinese IB school in Beijing, said that her school ran on a Chinese schedule rather than a Western one, despite being an international school. A Chinese schedule means a two and a half hour nap in the middle of the day, military exercises in the morning, and so on. Barb's classes were small for Chinese classrooms (around 30 kids in a class), but larger than what she had taught in her 20-odd years of teaching at an American public school.

Barb advises other teachers who are interested in teaching in Chinese programs to vet their school carefully before signing the contract, and visit the school beforehand if you're in China. “You can get stuck in some pretty sketchy schools, you have to make sure you understand all of the conditions,” she said.

Teachers in international programs are also often asked to write their own curriculum with little support from school staff. Barb said that her curriculum had to be okayed by an international program board in Australia, but she often had trouble with the materials given. “There were mistakes in the science book and it wasn't an engaging book. The math teachers didn't have a math book.” She also said she had to sort out all lab materials herself and lug them from room to room, as teachers don't have their own classroom in the Chinese system. The first semester, she had two classes of kids that could barely speak English, let alone understand middle school science.

However, she noted that, “school is frustrating everywhere, and Chinese kids are wonderful. If you enjoy working with kids then you'll have a good deal of success.”

Writing her own curriculum had advantages as well. “I had a lot of freedom. We did an interdisciplinary unit with history and science and studied acid rain at the Temple of Heaven. One day, we went over to the high school lab and dissected flowers with microscopes which was exciting for the kids.”

A Chinese international program will also usually take good care of foreign teachers, from Western-style housing, to meal plans, to plane ticket reimbursement and of course, visa support. The pay is also higher than what one would make in a regular Chinese public school, with the option to make more for more teachings hours.

A more experienced teacher that is comfortable writing their own curriculum and can handle working in the Chinese system could do quite well working in an international program. It is also a good way for young teachers to get AP and IB teaching hours before moving to a foreign international school or a school back in their home country.

Chinese international programs advertise jobs on their own website and often on expat friendly job boards such as The Beijinger, and eChinacities. Carney Sandoe, and Search Associates have a number of Chinese international schools as their clients. Schools generally look for candidates with two years of teaching experience for work visa reasons.

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Keywords: international program foreign teaching job China

13 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.

EduGI

Make sure to know it is a real International school. Or find information from the school. In my case I got hired to work for an international school but i got hired by and external company HARBRIDGE EDUCATION GROUP and it was the worst idea ever. The school was good, but this company forced us to work extra hours with out paying, got our documents and mistreated us during the permit. Best advice, talk to people that have worked there before. And if all the teachers are leaving, it is for a good reason

Jul 29, 2016 11:54 Report Abuse

joshuanoah

Helpful

Nov 01, 2015 10:02 Report Abuse

winged

Or you can be your own international school by choosing your own hours etc with that divercity app. imdivercity.com only available in Beijing tho.

Sep 11, 2015 17:30 Report Abuse

elenap2007

sounds great!

Sep 10, 2015 23:43 Report Abuse

nashboroguy

I agree with many of the comments that most international schools are using the title loosely. But, there are reputable schools that do have good international programs. I am currently working for one of them. Vetting a school before signing a contract is your best safety measure. It does seem that there are more bad schools than good ones in China. Money rules the day in most of them. Foreign teachers are marketing tools, versus tool to help student become proficient in English and other studies. And, with the shortage of qualified teachers in China, schools are doing many questionable things to gain teachers for their schools. An ESL teacher has to be on top of their game, have their wits about them, and triple check the schools reputation. You almost have to visit the school personally and spend some quality time there to verify the program. If at all possible...try to negotiate a 6 month contract when starting. That way you are not tied into a bad situation for too long.

Sep 10, 2015 21:48 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

"International" is a buzz word in Chinese education because it has been misappropriated in a wholesale fashion. Just like when Chinese people figured out that Apple was cool and they emblazoned that logo on anything and everything they could get their hands on in attempt to gain some of its reflective glory. The author has been tricked by the wily Chinese into thinking that there are foreign and Chinese international schools. There are real, reputable international schools and then there are fly-by-night, band-wagon-jumping, and obviously fake Chinese international schools. You make up your own curriculum? You've got to be kidding? Spoken like someone who hasn't a clue about what they are talking about. In an international school there would be ongoing planning, assessment, appraisal and professional development which would be conducted within a syndicate of teachers lead by an experienced head teacher who is a specialist in the subject. You don't just pull a curriculum out of your ass. This would be a huge clue that you aren't working in an international school. The girl in the photo is at most 20 years of age. How could she hold a degree and have 2 years experience? She couldn't.

Sep 10, 2015 19:57 Report Abuse

musicjunkiealex

The term "International School" should only be applied to those institutions which exclusively teach the children of expats who hold a foreign passport, because that is what an International School is. They exclusively hire teachers who are qualified in the countries in which the curriculum they teach is based.

Sep 10, 2015 16:14 Report Abuse

ionagael

Working in an international school can be a good deal, but you have to make sure you understand which parties are involved. For example, your contract is very likely NOT a contract with the American office. Rather, your contract will be between you and the local Chinese office. This is not a big problem, but it can be if and when it comes time to talk about salary raises, contract obligations, or whatever. You have to make sure you know who you're dealing with, just an FYI.

Sep 10, 2015 08:15 Report Abuse

ironman510

The female teacher in the picture looks as young as my niece. What is 19?

Sep 10, 2015 07:57 Report Abuse

kuntmans

int schools in china are unregulated and often cannot be trusted unless you know what you are doing and have done your research.

Sep 09, 2015 17:01 Report Abuse

icnif77

I'd enrol into any International School, if my (female) teacher would wear shorts and cut-offs in the class. I always had best marks in any beautiful fem teacher's subjects. She must had been working in US (no smileys here-o) for a long time.

Sep 09, 2015 14:19 Report Abuse

Guest14237834

The author should talk about Rebecca Tang and her ESL schemes and ripp-offs in Beijing. She is notorious for dicking over foreigners and putting them in schools and low pay with only a Business or Student Visa, while the school has no license at all to have foreign staff. Let's see how long it takes for this messages to get deleted.

Sep 09, 2015 11:21 Report Abuse

silverbutton1

To the author who obviously is still "wet behind the ears" and quite naive, the term "International School" has bee hijacked by many in China who see it as advantageous to their business. The term "International School" is nothing more than a language school (A hogwon if you prefer the Korean word for it). They rationalize it by saying since there are many international teachers working there...Voila ! its an international school ! (?). Unfortunately, this has tarnished China in the educational field, as anyone who is knowledgeable in the field of education knows that true International Schools are the creme of the crop. They usually have an extensive campus with swimming pool, stables, a library or two, various science and computer labs, etc. The students are also certainly international, as many are the children of the mid to higher diplomats at the various embassies, multi-national corporations, etc. Regrettably, "Internatioanl School" can mean a wide variety of school types here in China. A true International School has all the qualities of the typical International Schools one sees across the planet.

Sep 09, 2015 09:16 Report Abuse