The International Schools Review Forum

I'm leaving a school in Korea where, as is generally the case in the country, male teachers wear ties in the classroom. (In post-secondary many wear suits.) The school I'm going to in China doesn't require that men wear ties and formal clothing in general.

What is the norm, if anyone has info on this, at the various tiers of schools in Asia, the ME, Europe, Africa etc?

Cheers!

I haven't worked in an international school yet where male teachers don't normally wear a tie. All my international experience has been in the Middle East and East Asia so I don't know what it's like in other areas. However, despite the rule I haven't been anywhere where it's REALLY strict. People have always gotten away with a polo shirt from time to time or a nice shirt without a tie if you're going to be doing some outdoor activities.

It was mentioned in another thread on here a little while ago that some of the lower schools (such as some of the third tier schools in Thailand) will focus heavily on appearance of teachers to add extra appeal to the school. The better schools, I've observed, appear to lean towards a perspective of "It doesn't matter what they look like. We hire for teaching ability, not for looks". That's only from my experience and observations though.

I was at a school where it went from nice shirt and trousers to mandatory tie around the neck too.

That said, I usually wear a suit and tie, but I am a bit old school!

I declined a position at ISB (Bucharest) because they had a very formal dress code (shirt, tie, slacks, jacket).

School that have formal dress/work codes tend to be in the minority. At the majority of schools its a polo shirt, button down or knit pull over (sweater) with a paid of khakis (Dockers).

Psyguy, you said the majority of schools. Is that the majority of schools you've worked at or the majority of schools in a particular region where you've worked?

Has anyone ever worked anywhere that you can shorts? A buddy of mine was very upset at having to move to shirt and tie in the UAE, as in New Zealand he was always allowed to wear shorts. Haven't heard of any international schools that allow that though (except for PE teachers).

At my IS in Jakarta, batik shirts, no tie.

Thanks, gentlemen! I suspected it might be as Psyguy notes, i.e., the top schools can be more relaxed about it.

In Spain we could wear shorts.

My current school in SE Asia has tie written in the contract, however in reality elementary don't have to wear tie, but middle and high school males do. It also has tailored shorts written in the contract but we have always been told we are not allowed to wear them. Female staff members at my current school are allowed to dress right down, however male staff members aren't afforded the same luxury, which is a joy when doing playground duty in the heat and humidity.

Bobby Bamboo, I sympathise. I was doing playground duty in shirt and tie whilst working in Thailand. It's horrible and if you're remotely active- walking around, occasionally kicking a ball around with students or doing anything more than standing still, then you can easily find yourself feeling uncomfortable (and quite unsightly) all day. It makes no sense to have teachers out in the playground in 35oC mid-day lunch duties wearing a shirt and tie. Hopefully this is where better schools have some flexibility and show that they care about their teachers.

At the same school in Thailand, it seemed that female staff could wear whatever they liked. This was once mentioned in a staff meeting and was a source of tension during the hot season, but the male principal seemed to avoid it like the plague.

Well, it is because as long as the males look presentable that's all that matters. I mean, girls are just there to look pretty right. This is one of the few times when I think discrimination goes in the woman's favor.

I have certainly seen discrimination go in the favor of women on the uniform issue, but only because male admin have been too scared to say anything.

Regarding the boss that I spoke of before, a couple of other male teachers and I mentioned it to him informally (out of school when we saw him in a pub) and were given a very frank tale of events in which anytime he'd tried speaking to female staff members about it he'd received abuse and comments that were verging on accusations of staring and being lecherous. I felt bad about it because I really thought he just had double standards and
didn't want to do anything about it. I guess a lot more happens behind the admin doors than we realize some times.

I'm not saying that this is common in schools or that it happens often. I am only saying that I have seen this once. The school where I work now are quite strict on dress, but I am in Qatar. "Respectful dress" (as it says on the signs in some places) is a big deal here. I don't think the head of school needs to say anything as others will speak before it gets that far.

I was in a school which had a written dress code for men and women. If you have that, stating what is appropriate then I don't think anyone would complain.

The solution is to come cross dressed in a nice summer frock. Then you are free to abuse anyone that complains as being homophobic, sexist, nepotistic and perverted.

Shaving is optional.

I disagree that better schools tend to be more relaxed on teacher dress. The best school I was ever in, also has the strictest dress code.
Much is cultural. In Qatar, as mentioned, it's a big deal to dress properly. And properly in this context tends to mean conservative and formal.