1. A Global Study of International Teacher Recruitment
Presented by Dale Cox
International school of Beijing
Lehigh university
With
Council for International Schools
International school services
Search-Associates
Introduction:
Lehigh, ISS, CIS, and Search
1,543 of 3,428 estimated
760 on second
33 variables of schools and jobs
Received requests from the agencies with encouragement to participate—likely the most active, engaged candidates

2. Essential Questions What is successful recruiting?
What are teachers looking for? What are the implications of that?
What does the process look like in ?
What trends/changes will occur in the next five years?
How does this information help a school improve its recruiting efforts?

3. What are the changes and trends in recruiting?
Activity One
What are the changes and trends in recruiting?

4. Part I: Demographic Profile of Candidates

5. Gender

6. Age

7. Years of Full-time Teaching Experience

8. Years of Full-time Overseas Teaching Experience

9. Nationality

10. Dependent Children

11. Teaching Partner

12. Preferred Teaching Level

13. Part II: The Recruiting Process

14. Total Recruiting Agency Registrations
2/3 with one agency only
¼ with two agencies
n = 1,543

15. Job Fairs Attended
¾ go to one fair
n = 646

16. Completed Fair Process
2/3+ completed whole process—register, attend fair, pursue a job at IS
n = 782

17. Reasons for Not Completing Full Fair Process
Of 760,

18. Targeted Specific Regions

19. First and Second Choice Regions

20. Employed in Preferred Region
Most candidates have a plan and execute it with some success
n = 709

21. Employed at Preferred School
But not complete success…

22. Activity Two
What characteristics of schools and jobs are most influential in candidate choices?

23. Part III: Candidate Perceptions of Schools/Jobs

24. Underlying Factors in the Recruiting Process
Seven underlying factors
(in order of strength of influence)
Relationship with school leadership
External work conditions
Professional satisfaction
Personal well-being
Professional growth
Compensation and career advancement
Wanderlust (the desire to travel/explore)
Possible Inferences:
The relationship w/school leaders > specific school and job characteristics.
Responses do exhibit consistent patterns
Formulating recruiting strategies, preparing recruiting materials and communications, and approaching candidates.
n = 1,543

25. Years of Full-time Teaching Experience
Candidate TOTAL experience distributed over first 15 years, but….
n = 1,543

26. Years of Full-time Overseas Teaching Experience
Overseas experience is heavily in first 5 years, then first 10. This has significant recruiting implications.

27. Less Overseas Experience: Variables valued more than experienced teachers
Opportunities for travel and cultural exploration*
Availability of resources and materials/equipment for doing job*
Safety of environment*
Social relationships with colleagues*
General work conditions*
Opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others*
Job description or responsibilities
Classroom resources
Opportunities for professional development
Opportunities for professional advancement or promotion
Job security
50% of candidates exhibit these differences from more experienced candidates
Varied concerns
Personal perspective
n = 1,543 *Significant at .001 level

28. More Overseas Experience: Variables valued more than those with less experience
Benefits (e.g. health insurance, retirement)*
Salary*
Influence over workplace policies and practices*
Support from administrators
Employment for spouse
Other candidates have more focused concerns
Career perspective
n = 1,543 *Significant at .001 level

29. Stages of the Recruiting Process
At the time of job decision, responses to nearly all variables were lower than at the beginning of the process.
One variable tended to remain the same or increase at the time of job decision: perception of how things are run at the school.
Possible inferences:
What attracts candidates to a school and what “closes the deal” are not the same.
Creating an applicant pool requires address a broad spectrum of candidate interests.
The relationship with school leaders increases in significance at the time of job decision.
Applicants deciding will be strongly influenced by their trust in and relationship with school leaders.

30. Dependents
 Variables valued significantly more by those without dependents:
Social relationships with colleagues*
Making a difference for others*
Travel and cultural exploration*
How things are run at the school*
Job description and responsibilities
Sense of accomplishment
Resources and materials
Autonomy in classroom
General work conditions
Intellectual challenge
Learning from colleagues
Support from administrators
 Variables valued significantly more by those with dependents:
Benefits*
Employment for partner*
Salary
Balancing personal life and work
Security and safety in host country
  Possible inferences:
The gap in perceptions between those with and without dependents is clear and substantial.
Those without dependents have a much broader and varied focus: social needs/relations with colleagues, personal satisfaction, job conditions, relationship with school leaders.
Having dependents changes candidates’ focus very strongly to income and family needs.
n = 1,543 *Significant at .001 level

31. Gender n = 1,543 *Significant at .001 level
Variables valued significantly more by males: 
Employment for partner*
Variables valued significantly more by females (in order of strength of difference)
Social relationships with colleagues*
Resources and materials--general*
Work conditions*
Travel and cultural exploration*
Administrative respect for teachers*
Classroom resources*
Job description*
Safety of environment*
Personal security and safety in host country*
Manageability of workload
Job security
Sense of personal accomplishment
Support from administrators
Making a difference for others
Professional advancement and promotion
Intellectual challenge
Class size
The way things are run at the school
Ability to balance personal life and work
Autonomy over classroom
n = 1,543 *Significant at .001 level

32. Partner Variables valued significantly more by those with a partner:
Employment for partner*
Variables valued significantly more by those without a partner:
Social relationships with colleagues
Sense of personal accomplishment
Classroom resources
Travel and cultural exploration
Performance evaluation procedures
Intellectual challenge 
Possible inferences:
Candidates without a partner have more varied emphases in their job searches.
Candidates with a partner are more focused on practical needs of employment.
n = 1,543 *Significant at .001 level

33. Preferred Teaching Level
No patterns of difference, except candidates preferring AP/IB positions
Variables valued significantly more by those preferring AP and IB teaching:
Teaching assignment/grade level
Variables valued significantly less by those preferring AP and IB teaching:
Social relationships with colleagues
Resources and materials for doing the job
Job security
Travel and cultural exploration
Personal security and safety of environment
Possible inferences:
Teachers of various levels do not differ consistently in how they view school characteristics.
Specialized high school teachers have a more specific focus in job searches, looking for specific positions to the exclusion of some other variables.
n = 1,543

34. What are the implications for recruiting at your school?
Activity Three
What are the implications for recruiting at your school?

35. Part IV: Research on International School Teacher Turnover

36. NESA Region Study What…? 248 teachers in NESA schools (2009)
Average turnover rate in 22 NESA schools was 17%, ranging from 0% to 60%
Strongest correlate in retention was supportive head of school
Other correlates:
Age
Satisfaction with salary
Mancuso, S., Roberts, L., & White, G.P. (2010). Teacher retention in international schools: The key role of school leadership. Journal of Research in International Education, 9,

37. CIS Study What variables most influential in turnover decisions?
281 teachers from CIS database (2007)
Administrative leadership
Compensation
Personal characteristics
Odland, G., & Ruzicka, M. (2009). An investigation into teacher turnover in international schools. Journal of Research in International Education, 8, 5-29.

38. Tanganyika Case Study
What recruitment and retention factors influence international teacher employment decisions?
(To be added…)
Wood, P.D. (2007). Factors affecting faculty turnover at an international school. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.

39. Part V: Implications

40. What does it mean?
The relationship with school leaders is critical, especially for closing the deal
Differentiated approaches to recruitment make sense
Hiring prior to fairs is a significant trend
What attracts a candidate and what closes the deal are not the same
Experience changes teacher priorities in recruitment: personal vs. career focus
Salary and benefits are “pass/fail” criteria?

41. Studies of International Teacher Recruitment and Turnover
Cox, D. (2011). A global study of international teacher recruitment. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA.
Hardman, J. (2001). Improving recruitment and retention of quality overseas teachers. In S. Blandford, & M. Shaw (Eds.), Managing International Schools (pp ). New York: Routledge.
Mancuso, S., Roberts, L., & White, G.P. (2010). Teacher retention in international schools: The key role of school leadership. Journal of Research in International Education, 9,
Odland, G., & Ruzicka, M. (2009). An investigation into teacher turnover in international schools. Journal of Research in International Education, 8, 5-29.
Wood, P.D. (2007). Factors affecting faculty turnover at an international school. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
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