The International Schools Review Forum

Just wondering, are school hours usually 8am to 4pm?
How many out of class hours are to expected for meetings, briefings etc?
Do you have to coach a sport or do extra things on weekends?
I'm wondering about Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos....

I think it varies, school to school, country to country. I am happy to be going to a place (not in SE Asia) where the day is 8 to 4 - not 7 to 4:30 as was my last school (also not in SE Asia).

Work hours should be defined in your contract.

Thanks shadowjack. Are your weekends your own?
Dumb questions I know but there's lots to weigh up for us when it comes to the salaries.

Rosella,
It really is a 'how long is a piece of string?' situation. As SJ said, it's from school to school and this applies across the globe, not just in SEA.

Same with meetings, ECA etc. no answer fits all.

As a general rule, the top tier schools will expect more but many other less reputable schools will also try and work you to the bone. A lot will also depend on your own competence and organisational skills.

A LOT of that is VERY specific to individual schools. One of the most overlooked factors in negotiating a contract is how many teaching hours and how many contract hours you have/will be expected. Teaching hours are classes your scheduled for, contact hours are when your required to be on campus. You also want to discuss how many preps you will have as well.At small schools a science teacher may very likely have classes ranging from MYP 5 chemistry to MYP 1 life science. Typically 20 teaching hours is the limit, and what you will commonly here is that your contract states 22 hours but your only scheduled for 18 or so hours.
Additionally, you need to ask about XC (Extra Curriculars) and your requirements and expectations are. Most schools have some requirement that you sponsor one activity that meets on average once a week. Some schools will give you the option of tutoring instead, and in some schools there are no XC obligations. Lastly, its expected but sometimes left unsaid that you will attend any and all meetings and conferences, regardless of when they occur or how often.

Weekends may not be your own, many elite schools have very long hours and require/expect their staff to be available for weekends at times as well. Of course at those schools your banking some serious coin as well, but your earning it. Its not uncommon for schools to have schedules where you work one day on the weekend once a month or some other interval.

You may also have whats called "bank day" or "business day" or your "short/light day", which is a day every week or every other week that you have a very light teaching load, where your typically done at lunch or have a late start by a couple hours, or a couple hours before lunch. This was originally implemented for foreign staff to go to the bank, since the english speaking foreign transaction window would have very short and limited hours. Its become more the daytime errands time such as dentist/doctor appointments, going to a repair shop, or taking care of issues with your own children. Some schools have it some schools dont, but you should ask about it when discussing your schedule.

In Denmark our bell schedule was 8:30-2:30, with a bank day once a week. In Italy it was 8:00-3:00 with a bank day every other week. In China it was 7:30-4:00 with a full extra day off once a month. In Singapore it was 8:00-5:00 with no bank day. Japan was 8:00-3:00 with one personal day a month (if you didnt use it you could cash it in, but they didnt roll over and you couldnt save them. Most staff didnt even know they had it, and the ones that did were discouraged from using it).

We get dropped off at school at 7:20am. School starts at 8am.

Bus picks up teachers at 3:30pm (school finishes at 2:55pm).

One hour of extra-curricular activities expected a week (although I do far more out of choice). Bus leaves at 4:20pm.

Two other days are expected per year;

1) Carnival, on a Saturday in April.

2)Grade 12 graduation around June 25th.

Two preps out of seven is about average a day.

Two to three field duties a week.

I rarely have to take work home.

3 schools in Asia, 3 different sets of times....

School 1 - start 7.45, end 3.35; expected to do at least one one hour ECA each week;

School 2 - start 7.40 (they now start at 7.30), end 2.40, same with ECAs;

School 3 - starts 8.15, ends 3.40, same with ECAs.

So, basically, 8-3.30 seems an average with ECAs (as well as weekly whole staff meetings) thrown in each week.

Thanks guys that's very helpful, much appreciated :-)

In East Asia and Middle East I've had very similar start times, usually being 7:45 or 8:00. Teachers required to be in before 7:30.

The tension has come from what time you can go home. 1 school I worked at said teachers could not go home before 4 no matter what. This often resulted in a rather embarrassing long line of people waiting to sign out like we were going out of a factory in the 80's. My current school says 3:30, but if you don't have after school activities yo can go when you like really. They know people work at home.

As for signing in and signing out, I hate it. I am always early. If I signed in for every hour of extra work I do in this job it would add up to a VERY long working week, especially at report writing time. We do it because it's part of the job, and I'm ok with that, but keeping tabs on what time people come and go screams a lack of trust. I do my 40 hours, believe me, and like many others, I do a lot in my lunch times and breaks too.

Rosela7,

the good schools will spell out their expectations of your time on campus, meeting times, extracurricular time, and other time in their staff handbook (and they should provide you a copy). For instance, my new school expects attendance on two Saturdays a year for all-school functions, and it is clearly laid out in the book. The school I am leaving didn't spell that out in their handbook, but on special weekend days, teachers were asked to volunteer to assist their colleagues who 'had' to be in school on that day. Because it was a collegial environment, there were always enough volunteers, thank goodness.

Number of students, prep periods, different subjects all play their part.if you had 500 students, but only taught 1 subject and saw any group 3 times a week, and 18 hours contact. I wouldn't complain about marking since I only need to prepare for 3 hours a week and can always organize assessment to make my life easier.

But if you had small the regular sized classes around 20, but had 5 separate subjects, and 18 hours, then you are kinda screwed since you are spending more time on prep and won't have much time to mark. Teachers at my school don't bother grading since we don't physically have time.

It will take experience to figure out exactly how much time you might actually have to tourself