High School teacher recruitment: why schools should widen their international search
Recruiting a great High School teacher can be challenging. Recruiting a great Maths, Physics, Chemistry or other specialist subject teacher can be harder still.
Schools in many parts of the world are competing for experienced teachers in the same subject areas. And when a vacancy proves difficult to fill, the temptation can be either to keep searching the same recruitment markets or eventually compromise on the appointment.
There is another option.
Widen where you look, without lowering the standard of who you appoint.
Are schools looking in the same places?
Schools naturally develop familiar recruitment markets. If those markets have produced good teachers before, it makes sense to return to them.
But when competition for particular High School specialists is strong, relying on the same candidate pools can limit the choice available.
International recruitment gives schools an opportunity to look more widely for subject specialists who may have been trained and gained their experience in a different education system, but who nevertheless have the skills needed to succeed in a new school environment.
South Africa is one such market.
South Africa's role in High School teacher recruitment
We are seeing increasing interest in South African High School teachers, particularly across specialist subject areas.
These are not simply teachers looking for an opportunity to work abroad. Many are experienced subject specialists who have taught examination classes, managed demanding assessment schedules and worked with pupils across a broad range of abilities.
South African teachers also work within education systems where subject knowledge, assessment and accountability for learner progress play an important role.
We've previously looked in more detail at why South African High School teachers are attracting growing international interest, but for schools struggling with a specialist vacancy, the important point is simpler:
There may be excellent teachers available outside the recruitment markets you usually search.
How important is exact curriculum experience?
This is an interesting question, particularly at High School level.
Schools understandably value teachers who already know their curriculum. For some positions, previous experience of a particular examination board or programme may be essential.
But should it always be the deciding factor?
A strong South African Maths teacher, for example, may not have previously taught the exact British, American, IB or Australian curriculum used by a school. That does not necessarily mean they lack the subject knowledge or teaching experience required to make the transition successfully.
It can be useful to look beyond the curriculum label and consider the teacher's wider experience. Have they taught the appropriate age group? Do they have strong subject knowledge? Have they prepared pupils for formal examinations? Are they confident with assessment and data? And, importantly, do they have the ability and willingness to learn a new curriculum?
Previous curriculum experience certainly has value. But automatically excluding candidates without it can sometimes mean excluding very good teachers too.
Widening the search doesn't mean lowering the bar
This is perhaps the most important distinction.
Looking at a wider international candidate pool should never mean compromising on quality.
Qualifications still need to be checked. Subject and age-phase experience matter. A teacher's motivation for relocating needs to be genuine, and their expectations about living and working in another country need to be realistic.
Depending on the destination, there may also be teacher registration, visa or regulatory requirements that need to be considered before a candidate can realistically progress.
That is where careful international recruitment and screening become particularly important.
The objective isn't to send a school more CVs from more countries. It is to identify strong teachers from a wider talent pool who genuinely meet the school's requirements and are well suited to an international move.
Start before the vacancy becomes urgent
There is also a timing issue.
Good High School subject specialists are rarely sitting around waiting for the perfect vacancy to appear. They may need to give notice, complete registration or visa requirements, prepare documentation and organise an international move.
For schools that know they are likely to need Maths, Science or other specialist teachers for the next academic year, beginning those conversations earlier can create considerably more choice.
When a High School vacancy is difficult to fill, the answer doesn't necessarily have to be compromising on the teacher.
Sometimes, it simply means looking somewhere new.
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