The International Schools Review Forum

Hi

I just moved to Europe after spending 15 years teaching in Asia. I am an experienced MYP/IBDP teacher and examiner, and have worked in 5 international schools before. I am finding the workload here in Europe WAY BUSIER than any of my schools in Asia. Is this normal for Europe or is it the (supposedly good) school I am in? It seems the deal is pretty weak here and doesn't compare to Asia. Any advice would be great. I have 6 preps and 2 of these are exam classes - it is almost impossible teach MYP and DP properly.

Do schools in Europe generally work teachers more than in Asia?

Depends on the type and size of school. Tier 1s in Switzerland have a reasonable workload and a lot less work/stress than their counterparts in SE Asia or China.

It all depends on the school. I’ve worked in both Europe and SE Asia and the workload was so much more in Asia. School size, organization , timetable, etc are all going to affect your workload. 6 preps seems extreme.

I'm at a European school that is generally considered a tier 1, and the workload is super easy. 4-6 preps with 1-2 exam classes is the norm, but it really can mostly be accomplished during the working hours with maybe a bit of marking on weekends. I would consider this a low workload (relatively speaking) job and a very low workload compared to my schools stateside. A previous school in Europe was the same number of preps but the workload was insanely high because so much time was taken up with "stupid" stuff and the nature of the schedule. The contact hours at current school are way lower.

So I would say the workload you are facing is neither usual nor unusual.

It really does depend on a number of factors, but 3-4 preps is much more common, especially with moderated courses. Strong labor regulations and union rules as well as tenure, etc. make the EU generally easier than Asia. While stupid and fluff stuff can easily make an easy workload crazy difficult, youre more on the extreme end with 6 preps and 2 of them being moderated especially in IB. It sounds like its just your IS.

I think that the longer people are away from teaching public school the more they forget how easy they have it in IT. Those that have never taught public school have no idea. I have some colleagues (the latter category) that complain all the time about the workload and how they *gasp* can't finish marking during the workday (before 3pm) and I roll my eyes so hard.

I think people who discuss public school teaching on here are in the wrong place. This is about international schools and what happens in public schools is irrelevant.

Why? We are all professionals, and many of us have worked in public schools.. Many of the readers here are still in public schools, and they appreciate the comparison to their current situations.

Much of IE mirrors DE. While not a major portion, there is a significant population of ISs that are public/maintained DSs in their host region.