How to Get a Job in an International School - Types of Schools

What are International Schools?

International schools are becoming increasingly popular all over the world as working people become more and more mobile. Another reason international schools and English-language-based schools are mushrooming all over the world is that an ever greater numbers of parents who can afford it want their children to attend schools where the medium of instruction is English.

International schools are private or independent K-12 schools countries overseas where the language of instruction is English, the students often are not host country nationals and the majority of teachers and administration usually come from Canada, the U.S. the UK, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand and sometimes from India and South Africa. International schools are usually attended by the children of employees of international or multinational companies, NGOs, international organizations such as the UN, the military and embassies. Some schools are located on magnificent suburban or rural campuses boasting enviable resources and state-of-the art facilities, others smack in the middle of urban jungles in cramped spaces with few facilities, others still are simply average, and some shouldn't exist at all. Some of these schools have large international student populations while others are attended by entirely host-country nationals. Academic standards also vary widely from outstanding to sub-standard. Most international schools are non-profit, but more are increasingly for profit, particularly in the Middle East and Asia.

To learn more about international schools recruiting agencies and international schools job fairs see How to Get a Job in an International School - Preparing for and Attending a Recruiting Fair or How to Get a Job in an International School - From Registering with a Recruiting Agency to Attending a Job Fair.

Types of International Schools:

American Schools

American and American international schools overseas are K-12 schools that offer the U.S. curriculum and where the language of instruction is English. Many American schools overseas still have strong ties with the US embassy in the school's host country. It is is no longer necessarily the case that an American school will be attended primarily by U.S. These days, the student population in American schools will more often than not consist of host-country nationals and/or a mix of students from other nations. Sometimes the school be composed entirely of locals. In many American schools overseas a large percentage of the teachers will be U.S. citizens, but this also has been changing. Usually this depends on the laws of the host country and hiring agreements between the school and the host country's U.S. embassy.

It is important to point out here that many international and independent schools overseas contain the word “American” in their name, but they are not necessarily American schools in the true sense of the word. By this I mean that they do not necessarily offer a U.S curriculum and sometimes there is little or nothing American about them, except for the presence of some teachers from the U.S. If you are U.S. teacher determined to teach the U.S. curriculum to mostly U.S. students and/or to a mix of international students overseas, it is advisable you research a school before accepting a job offer from that school. Moreover, because a number of “true” American schools still have strong ties with the U.S. embassy in the host country in which they are located, for legal reasons some of these schools can only hire American citizens. This can be disappointing for Canadians and other nationalities wishing to teach at a specific school in a particular country or continent, but it is best not to set your heart on one or two particular schools anyway, and to be very flexible as to type of school, country and continent, especially when you are first starting out, as you could end up badly disappointed.

British Schools

British schools abroad usually offer the UK curriculum, allowing students to complete their O Levels (Ordinary Levels) and to obtain their GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) or the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education). Some British schools overseas also offer A Levels (Advanced Levels) and many offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme - see www.ibo.org. Many British schools and British international schools abroad also teach the national curriculum of the host country along with the UK curriculum, or some schools offer the IGCSE I as well as the national curriculum.

As with the term “American” in the name of a school where few or no U.S. students attend, the word(s) “British” or "British International" is/are also often used in the name of a school where there are few or no British students or teachers. If your heart is set on to teaching the UK curriculum in an overseas school with a high British or international expat population, you should research a school before deciding on a job offer from that school.

International Schools

Teachers who have been working in the international school circuit for some time tend to consider a “true” international school to be 1) internationally-minded, 2) offers one or more of the three programs of the International Baccalaureate Organization, better known as the IB, and 3) there is a diverse mix of nationalities and languages, and maybe at least 60% of the students are non-locals.

As with schools with the word “American” or “British” in their names, many K-12 schools overseas have the word “international” in their names but there is nothing international about them. I taught in one school in Kuwait that contained the word "international" in its name, but despite its website and what I had personally been told by the principal who recruited me, all the students, with the exception of three, were Kuwaiti nationals and the teachers were Canadian. Moreover, the school followed the Kuwaiti national curriculum as well as that of the province of Ontario.

Australian, Canadian, Irish Other Schools

The world of English-language-medium international schools is also composed of Australian schools, Canadian schools, Irish schools and so on. There are not many of each in any one country, but they do exist around the world. Most seem to be in the Middle East and Asia.