The International Schools Review Forum

Hello everybody,

I'm currently living in China teaching English but I want a way to break into the International school life. I would love to teach math or science.

I'm Canadian, and only have a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from a Canadian university, so I don't think any of the classes would be applicable to teaching high school (only took a couple biology classes, not much else, mainly studied conservation)

If I want to have some rock solid qualifications, would you recommend going back and doing another B.sc in Mathematics or Biology in Canada, and then getting the Bachelor of Education (a 1 year program at UBC in Vancouver)?

What are the best qualifications for international teaching so that it's easier to find work and you will always be desirable? I'm currently saving up here in China for whatever education I will have to go get again. What about alternative pathways?

And thank you for your time, I'm a new member and have read many posts about this sort of topic but I have yet to come to a clear conclusion so I appreciate the responses, thank you!

The gold standard is being able to teach HL Physics/HL Chem/HL Math.

But teaching a subject you aren't passionate about isn't necessarily the best idea.

You dont need much to teach DIP/AP/A levels, none of the material is above 1st year university courses.

I would avoid going back to Canada and getting more majors/degrees. You would find a faster and cheaper pathway applying for a US alternative certification program, allowing you to the equivalent of the B.Ed without the additional academic programs, and then taking the certification exams in whatever sciences/maths.

Biology and life science isnt in very high demand in science, if you had science (bio) teaching experience that would be different, but while the demand is higher for hard sciences and maths, no IS wants to hire an IT they dont feel will produce results for their students.
For Maths you will need to be proficient in algebra and calculus, with some geometry and statistics.

The hardest to fill teaching position is a highly niched position, and for a new IT its design technology, more veteran teachers generally know classical techniques, and newer/younger teachers are the most likely to have SOTA experience.