The International Schools Review Forum

I'm currently a resource teacher in a middle school. I've taught collaborative (inclusion) and resource in all subject areas in grades 6-8 for eight years and I also taught at a K-12 school for one year. I have a Bachelor's in collab K-6 and Master's in integrating technology. I have a non-teaching spouse and a two year old; what are my chances of finding a job overseas? My husband and I have narrowed down our choice areas to eastern Europe and east Asia.

I would really love the advice of special education (learning support, student support) teachers currently teaching at international schools. Where have you taught? What have your experieces been (both positive and negative)?

Also, my husband doesn't have a degree but he's considering getting a paraprofessional certificate so that he could be a teaching assistant. Would that even be worth it? Would that make us more marketable?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Hi:

I'm a SPED teacher and have taught in the US, Egypt, Japan and now, China. Bascially, the vast majority of international schools do hire SPED teachers, but mainly to do learning support or resource work so your experience will be very relevant.

Also, one dependent is very doable for virtually all schools, a non-teaching spouse will be a slight disadvantage, but still workable. The fact that your child will not need tuition right away is a plus.

My wife was just hired by a school in Beijing that had no problem offering tuition for our son and travel, housing etc for all of us (I'm teaching at a different school that didn't offer as many benefits).

The TA certificate couldn't hurt, but then again the school may or may be interested in committing to hiring your husband. Schools do use TA's but they are generally local hires. Depending on where you go, he may be better off doing a TESOL course and teaching English.

You should defintely join a recruiting service (I've used Search Associates and been pretty happy). They can be a wealth of info. on salary, benefits, savings potential etc and really help you decide whether a school/city is a reasonable choice for you and your family.

Good luck and let me know if I can answer any specific questions.

Thanks for responding, wrldtrvlr123. Here are more questions for you, since you responded:

Since you're currently teaching sped internationally, what does your typical day look like?

Do you have your own classroom and you teach resource classes or do you go into a gen. ed. teacher's room for all subjects (i.e. collaborative/mainstream/inclusion) or is it a combination of both?

Do you have to do formal testing with students to determine if they're eligible for special ed services?

Is there anything special that international schools are looking for in a special ed teacher that would give me an advantage over the other special ed teachers?

About how long did it take you to get an international job once you started applying?

If you'd prefer, you can e-mail me your answers: stockingblue@yahoo.com

Thanks!!!