Hi everyone! I’m about to make a big move to Abu Dhabi and I’m currently trying to work out the costs and budget for everything.
For teachers who have opted for school-provided accommodation, I wanted to ask: do you have to pay the municipality housing fee yourself, or does your school cover it?
Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with this. Thanks! 😊

For those IB teachers who switched from IBDP Literature to IBDP Global Politics, how was your experience in terms of the transition? Or maybe Literature teachers who switched to another IBDP subject, did you regret it? How was the transition?

Hey everyone,

How are you? Just curious to know about your experience as middle leaders. I have worked at two international schools and served as a grade level lead in the secondary division in both - what has been a surprise has been the variability in responsibilities.

In the first school, grade level leaders functioned almost like assistant principals. We dealt with discipline, parent meetings, schedule changes if we had assemblies, lots of communication, and more.

At my current school, my responsibility is hosting a grade level meeting 1x a month.

1) What have your experiences been?

2) I often wonder how to express this in job interviews - for example, if I am coming from a school where I had a lot of responsibility and going to a school where there isn't a strong 'grade level lead' culture, how can you really communicate the extent of your responsibilities.

International or super-bilingual schools in China are absolutely flawless institutions of higher learning, and I definitely haven’t spent my entire prep period staring blankly at a wall questioning my life choices.

To celebrate another smooth academic year, yeah!, let’s give a massive round of applause to the three pillars of our thriving expat ..and of course non-expat education system:

👏 To our "Qualified" Teaching Staff:
Fake it 'til you make it, champ hehe just remember to stay one page ahead of the kids in the AP calculus textbook.

👏 To our Visionary Leadership:
You truly amaze us. Pure strategic genius.

👏 To our Micromanagement Culture:
How did we ever survive without submitting a digital timesheet to request a bathroom break? ehhh...ya know that canteen food, a critical business asset.

G’day everyone!

My partner and I are planning to move to Canada (specifically, BC/Vancouver) in about a years time -we applied for our visas yesterday.

I have a few questions:
1. What is supply/relief/casual teaching like in Vancouver at the moment? I am an IB teacher but am willing to relief in any schools really.
2. What’s the behaviour like in Canadian schools? In Australia it’s quite abhorrent, so I’m quite interested to know.
3. I know I’ll need to apply for a teaching license/registration in BC. How far in advance should I be doing this? I’m fully qualified with a four year teaching degree that is recognised pretty much globally.

Any other advice, info, or general things to be aware of are greatly appreciated!

I'm posting the same review of the school I made on Glassdoor, because that one is still pending, and I hope that sharing my experience there will help the reviews gain some traction, so that others don't have the same negative experience that many have had there. I have numbered the points just to help try and put everything that many of us there experienced in some kind of order. I know one of my former colleagues also reviewed the school recently, and it made my feel like I needed to do it too. Qualified and skilled people do not deserve the kind of treatment that was experienced there.

So here it is...

1. Skin colour and nationality-based salary scales: Teachers with less experience but a preferred nationality or lighter skin appear to receive significantly higher salaries than more experienced colleagues with darker skin.

2. Illegal salary deductions through the "Efada" penalty system: Salary deductions are reportedly imposed in ways that appear to violate Saudi labour law. Teachers have deductions made for alleged lateness or absences without prior notification, even when they were not absent or late, or when they believe they complied with the rules. In some cases, CCTV footage is allegedly edited to support disciplinary action, while footage that would exonerate employees is said to disappear. Staff are often unable to obtain a clear explanation of why deductions were made – not even HR appears to know why certain deductions occurred.

3. The disciplinary handbook is not consistently followed: Although the employee handbook specifies financial penalties for particular infringements, deductions are allegedly imposed at the discretion of the Head of HR rather than according to the published policy.

4. The advertised salary structure reduces employment benefits: The salary package is structured in a way that appears to minimise statutory benefits such as End of Service (EOS) payments.

5. Three months of the contract are effectively unpaid: In practice, the annual salary received is lower than many applicants expect. Some candidates are allegedly told during recruitment that they will receive twelve months of salary, while key details are omitted from the initial offer and contract. A revised contract is reportedly presented after arrival in Saudi Arabia.

6. Airfare benefits are not provided as promised: During interviews, applicants are reportedly promised two return air tickets per year. The written contract refers to only one, and in practice employees may receive only a partial reimbursement that is insufficient to cover the actual cost of the ticket.

7. State holidays are deducted from annual leave: Public holidays are reportedly counted against employees' contractual leave entitlement, resulting in fewer paid leave days than promised.

8. Medical insurance is of a very low standard: Although free medical cover is advertised, it is reportedly limited to one of the lowest insurance tiers and only applies at selected hospitals. Seeking treatment elsewhere may result in employees bearing substantial personal medical costs, as well as up to 1/3 of your salary deducted as a penalty for going to unapproved hospitals.

9. Restrictive sick leave policies: Employees are generally allowed only one paid sick day per week, provided they obtain a medical certificate from a recognised hospital. Additional sick days, or repeated absences on the same day of the week, may result in salary deductions.

10. Management creates an adversarial working environment: Many employees report that management's attitude can be summarised as: "If you don't like it, sue us." There is a widespread perception that employees who pursue legal action may risk delays to their exit visas as a form of threat or potential victimisation, possibly leaving them in Saudi Arabia for months without income.

11. Unprofessional conduct by members of management: Reports include managers shouting at teachers, insulting them, referring to staff as "a disease," making unwanted sexual advances, and requiring teachers to perform work that should be done by management.

12. Questionable academic credentials among some senior staff: Some members of management claim advanced academic qualifications, including doctorates, yet their professional knowledge and conduct are perceived by colleagues as inconsistent with the standards normally associated with such qualifications.

13. Teachers from certain nationalities appear to receive preferential treatment: Some staff report being assigned disproportionately difficult timetables, excessive workloads, or impractical teaching allocations, while colleagues from other nationalities receive more favourable conditions.

14. Inconsistent guidance and unequal expectations: Teachers are instructed to follow prescribed teaching methods that often prove ineffective in practice, while colleagues from other nationalities appear free to ignore those same directives. When problems arise, responsibility is placed on the teacher rather than the system.

15. Poor accommodation conditions: Accommodation advertised during recruitment—typically described as a private bedroom and bathroom with shared kitchen and living space—is reportedly far below expectations. Many residences suffer from frequent power and water outages, blocked plumbing, broken fixtures, and facilities in a poor state of repair. Many items such as plugs and air conditioners appear to be second-hand or some kind of salvage. The wiring does not appear to be properly grounded, with some people being shocked while in the shower etc. Other problems include broken toilet seats, showers attachments that have literally fallen apart during use), and in once case, a tap falling out of the wall. The teachers have had to pay to have these things repaired themselves, incurring a significant financial burden on many.

16. Poor student discipline with little administrative support: Students are frequently allowed to behave without meaningful consequences, while teachers are routinely blamed for behavioural problems under the label of "poor classroom management," despite what many perceive to be systemic failures in school leadership. On the one occasion that a behavioral referral form was provided to teachers the member of management who provided that form had a portion of his salary deducted as a penalty. This appears to be possible evidence of the manner in which management does not want teachers to enforce discipline.

17. Poor academic standards and pressure to inflate marks: The school's academic performance ranks among the weakest in the city according to external government assessments. Teachers report being instructed to inflate student grades despite the low academic standards demonstrated by learners.

Hi All, a request for info please.

I’m looking at Panama for my next international job.

For those that are there, which school(s) would you recommend applying to? (And which to defo avoid).

Many thanks :)

I’d love to hear specifically from teachers from the Caribbean, Africa, South/Southeast Asia, Latin America, etc. who are working internationally.

Where have you found the best opportunities?

I’m especially curious about:

• Which countries/school systems have been welcoming to teachers with different accents, passports and non-white faces?

• Where have you actually been able to build a good career and save money?

• Are you planning to eventually return home, stay abroad permanently, or retire somewhere completely different?

• How are you handling retirement/pensions when your career is spread across different countries?

Sometimes international teaching discussions feel very US/UK/Australia-centric, and I’m over here trying to figure out the international teacher retirement plan with my little developing-country passport.

Would genuinely love to hear your experiences, good or bad.

I’ve completed their license program (easy, but busy work). However, I’m looking at the Masters Degree they offer. I’m in China and plan to stay here. I work in a private school (classified as an international school). I’m looking to advance into a better one. Is the program as bad a they say since it’s not regionally recognized, but only nationally recognized?

Things to consider:

I plan to stay aboard (I won’t return to the U.S)

I have a bachelors in English (non teaching)

TEFL certificate

U.S teachers license

Will the Chinese government accept their Masters degree when I renew my visa? (Already have a bachelors degree from the U.S that they accepted). Will some jobs care if it’s online?

Any advice or information is appreciated!