@cari

I said that because at my current school, only about half of the teaching staff has an actual teaching certification. A friend of mine teaching in South America said it was similar at his school as well. However, the teachers (at my current school) that don't have a cert do have degrees in the subject in which they teach. Keep in mind, schools that do not require teachers to have a teaching cert are usually not great schools, they are typically lower tier.

I believe you can get some type of loan(s) for Teacher Ready. I do not believe they are the federal subsidised loans, but might be worth investigating. Check out: https://www.teacherready.org/about-teacherready/costs

As a couple posters have already mentioned, you do seem to have a few options to becoming certified first even if funding is your issue. Maybe it would be useful to get your cert through one of these previously mentioned pathways then get a masters later on after you have some experience as you'd have a better idea of what to pursue.

Congratulations!

What was your strategy? Did you go to hiring fairs or apply directly to schools, etc?

Thanks.

Sorry, should have been more specific. Many upper tier schools will prefer/require you to have a western certificate, while an M.Ed alone (without a credential) can be acceptable at many lower tier schools.

The Praxis exams are not too difficult (depending on the particular exam?) and there seems to be a good amount of study guides/materials available to help prepare for them. Also, there are many testing centers available globally so it may not be too inconvenient. Check here: https://www.ets.org/praxis/register/centers_dates

Also, an M.Ed in itself does not always qualify you. So he would still need to get certified. However there are some masters programs that lead to certification, so you'd get both by the time you finish. I think these are usually Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degrees.

It could be a good idea to do Teach-Now (or the PGCEi route), then get an M.Ed in an area of preference later on since this could offer more utility (leadership, information tech, librarian, etc.).

Thanks for the fast reply PsyGuy. You’re right, I am working my way up through my current IS and could get the assistant principal position without further degrees/certifications. My line of thinking is to get that AP position, get a few years experience while getting an M.Ed (online) and the D.C certification in hopes of getting a admin position at another, better, school afterward. Is this a reasonable plan, or is it smarter to just work as a teacher at a higher tier IS then work your way up the ranks from there? It seems as though schools may want to higher internally.

I was planning on applying to the University of Texas at Arlington M.Ed program (they have both Ed.Ld. and C&I options) as it is fairly cheap ($10k) and I could start/finish it quickly. I’ll begin to investigate some IBO certificate programs. I’ve also considered doing a research Ph.D (or possibly an Ed.D) after I’ve completed the M.Ed so I could work on a few decent writing samples in order to apply. I would have to do the Ph.D F2F, correct? Also, would C&I be more beneficial to pursuing a research Ph.D as it would have more research based courses?

Firstly I just want to say that I have read through much of the forum discussions here and have found your posts and contributions to be incredibly insightful and helpful. I greatly enjoy reading your comments on various topics!

Anyway, I am currently at a tier 2ish school as an A-level psychology teacher and exam officer. I previously taught biology and human physiology in the US. Next year I will become head of department and a couple years after that I will have a good shot at getting an assistant principal position as the school is quickly growing and I have a good relationship with the head of school. I am very excited about this prospect, but also want to make sure I am taking the necessary steps to better my career/options whether as a teacher or admin.

I am applying to a master of ed. program soon, but cannot decide if I should get it in Educational Leadership or Curriculum and Instruction. If I’m going to become an administrator soon or far in the future it seems like common sense that I should go Ed. Ld., but have some questions:

-As a teacher (in public schools), in some states you will not get a pay raise if your masters is in Ed.Ld. Is this the case at many international schools? Will an Ed. Ld increase my IS marketability even if I continue teaching or would C&I be better?

-Should I get my degree in C&I to ensure future pay bumps at ISs (and in the US) then try to work my way into admin and get experience or should I just stick with the Ed. Led. path to increase my admin marketability?

-Also, if I do get the assistant principal position, I plan to get my admin certificate from D.C. Is this the easiest route of admin certification?

I would really like to eventually get into admin, but don’t want to hurt my prospects if I end up having to teach longer or return to teaching if I realize admin isn’t for me.

Thanks for the help!