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- Is there any way to ascertain hard copy information on employment opportunities for teachers overseas? What is the standard procedure for locating jobs and applying for them?
- Does being married and having a child hinder ones' chances of being hired for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS) or any other overseas programs? If you are teaching at an overseas school do you have to pay tuition for your own child to attend?
- Do you have some more specific information geared towards prospective teachers, i.e. housing, transportation, salary range, necessary credentials, and deadlines for applying for 97-98?
- I've heard that there is money to be made teaching conversational English to Japanese students. If so, where do I apply? I've heard of a company called JET.
- I would like to know which search/recruitment organizations are the best. I have run across International School Services (ISS) a few times, but there is a fee and travel involved. Is Search Associates also reputable? If a job candidate attends a late recruitment fair, will the positions have been filled?
1. Is there any way to ascertain hard copy information on employment opportunities for teachers overseas? What is the standard procedure for locating jobs and applying for them?There is no "vacancy listing" for teaching jobs overseas. You can request a directory listing of schools overseas which receive assistance from the Office of Overseas Schools by sending a letter or e-mail with your mailing address to our office. There are a number of different methods used by schools in hiring staff. Some schools overseas use recruitment agencies in the U.S.; others may advertise in different U.S. newspapers; and others depend on direct applications from teachers. If you are interested in teaching in a specific location, you are probably best served by writing directly to the superintendents of schools in that area. If your interest is more worldwide, you might be better off to register with one of the recruitment agencies.
There are a couple of different "professional" newspapers, which print notices of specific vacancies for schools. One such newspaper is The International Educator, headquartered in Massachusetts.
2. Does being married and having a child hinder ones' chances of being hired for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS) or any other overseas programs? If you are teaching at an overseas school do you have to pay tuition for your own child to attend?We do not have information on the DODDS hiring process. You would need to contact the Department of Defense directly for information. Their address is provided in this web site. Many of the private international schools provide "scholarship" assistance to cover the tuition of dependents of teachers enrolled in the school. Usually, the "scholarship" covers the bulk of the tuition charges.
3. Do you have some more specific information geared towards prospective teachers, i.e. housing, transportation, salary range, necessary credentials, and deadlines for applying for 97-98?Housing, transportation and salary vary from location to location. There is no general statement that would apply across the board. A benefit package offered by a school will spell out the specifics for the particular location. Representatives of schools attending recruiting fairs will usually bring with them detailed information about their school and the benefit packages available. The majority of schools recruit during the January-February timeframe, with most of the recruitment fairs scheduled for that time. The credentials required will change depending on the vacancy which the school is attempting to fill. Many of the international schools prefer to hire teachers who are certified and who have a minimum of 2 years teaching experience. However, most of them are flexible.
4. I've heard that there is money to be made teaching conversational English to Japanese students. If so, where do I apply? I've heard of a company called JET.JET is an exchange program sponsored by the Japanese government. Questions regarding the program can be directed to:
Education Attache
The Office of Overseas Schools works primarily with American curriculum K-12 schools whose language of instruction is English. We do not maintain information on teaching conversational English abroad. There are several magazines which contain information on teaching English overseas including "Transitions Abroad" which contains listings of resources for obtaining information on teaching English to adult nationals of non-native English-speaking countries. We suggest you check with your local library to see if Transitions Abroad or other magazines are available through their services.
Embassy of Japan
2520 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. 20008In addition, the Educational Testing Service, administers three tests to evaluate the English proficiency of people whose native language is not English: TOFEL (Test of English as a Foreign Language); TWE (Test of Written English); and TSE (Test of Spoken English). They may be able to provide additional information on teaching English as a foreign language. They can be contacted at P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, New Jersey 08541-6151.
5. I would like to know which search/recruitment organizations are the best. I have run across International School Services (ISS) a few times, but there is a fee and travel involved. Is Search Associates also reputable? If a job candidate attends a late recruitment fair, will the positions have been filled?The U.S. government does not endorse one recruiting agency over another. All of the recruiting agencies charge fees. We do know that a number of schools assisted by the Department of State use both ISS and Search Associates as well as a number of other agencies in the U.S. to help locate qualified faculty. A list of recruiting fairs offered by organizations which we know are used by the schools overseas is contained on this web site. "Late recruitment" fairs are specifically designed to fill last-minute or hard-to-fill vacancies. The majority of the recruiting is done in the January/February timeframe but superintendents of schools (who normally return to the U.S. in the summer for vacation) use the late fairs in June to fill unexpected vacancies or positions for which they were unable to identify candidates earlier.
Overseas Schools Homepage