Teaching certification needed for international schools?

[timtscott]

I understand that for top tier international schools a home country teacher's license/certificate and experience are often required. However, I have also heard it mentioned, that there are lower tier schools which might not always require licensure and experience from one's home country. Is this true? If so does anyone know which schools these are? I am primarily looking in BKK and CM? But I am open to other areas

I have a Juris Doctorate, master degrees in social work, public administration and human resources. My work experience has mostly been in career counseling and managing a large career center. I also have extensive experience in developing and teaching workshops. I have served as an adjunct professor to a couple of universities here in the United States. I also serve as a volunteer ESL teacher for a local non profit.

I guess I have a few questions

1) would I be able to land a position in a second tier international school with my current quals?

2) if so, would I be able to teach something other than English?

3) if so, what type of salary would I be looking at?

4) do most international universities in Thailand assist students with career development and student placement? If so, would there be employment opportunities in carer development for a non Thai speaker?

Your feedback will be much appreciated!

Thanks

Tim

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Edited November 11, 2013 by timtscott

[bangkapi]

In a nutshell.. Probably, no.

Chiang Mai has no "first-tier" international schools. And even the non-religious second-teir schools that pay barely above subsistence need to hire certified teachers in order to keep their accreditation.

Same in Bangkok. Schools that are accredited only hire certified teachers.

As a certified teacher and administrator who has interviewed and hired teachers in Thailand, my advice is to stick with language schools.

Even some bilingual third-tier schools aspiring to be second-tier international schools want certified teachers even though they are inflexible with hours and can pay less than language schools that hire backpackers off the street.

[toenail]

-- With your qualifications, could you get a job as a doctor...or even a car mechanic? The answer is NO. Same as an good international school. The process is showing your creditials...original teaching certificate or college degree in education, recommendation from former superintendent ( which results to a personal phone call from the hiring school to your former employer),and most prefer a teacher with experience overseas and with a masters degree. Yes, you could probably get a job at a bogus "ma and pa" school that wants that token white skin Westerner with blond hair to teach with sh#t pay but it is basically a baby sitting job with no content.

[abrahamzvi]

In a nutshell.. Probably, no.

Chiang Mai has no "first-tier" international schools. And even the non-religious second-teir schools that pay barely above subsistence need to hire certified teachers in order to keep their accreditation.

Same in Bangkok. Schools that are accredited only hire certified teachers.

As a certified teacher and administrator who has interviewed and hired teachers in Thailand, my advice is to stick with language schools.

Even some bilingual third-tier schools aspiring to be second-tier international schools want certified teachers even though they are inflexible with hours and can pay less than language schools that hire backpackers off the street.

I won't argue with you on the question of teachers certification. You are correct. What I most certaily can't agree to is your statement to the effect that there are no "first-tier" international schools in Chiang mai. I know of at least 3, one of which is so "first-tier" that quite a few parents living in Bangkok send their children there.

[amse]

I think the best thing to do is just send your resume to as many schools as possible stateing all your qualifications, and you do have some teaching experience. I don't think what tier level the school is classified as is as important as the salary, once you get your feet wet here and do alot of networking, you'll know better what direction to go next. I discovered that there was a big shortage of good qualified kindergarten teachers in Bangkok, because most teachers don't want those positions, so I specialized in K1, and eventually ended up making 50,000 baht each month!

[timtscott]

Ok sounds like I am limited to teaching English which is fine. I will take a TELF course and go from there. Thanks all !

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[mrwebb8825]

Try: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/1287_info_sarasas-ektra-school.html

Also try: http://www.iis.ru.ac.th/download/Scheldule_English_Program_2-2012.htm - click the home link or teacher qualifications link or just hunt around the site.

And my last recomendation:

Good luck.

*Link edited outI

Edited November 12, 2013 by Scott
Direct link edited out

[timtscott]

Thank you me Webb! Very kind of you!

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[jdinasia]

Bangkapi is most certainly wrong about there not being ANY first tier international schools in Chiang Mai. PTIS springs to mind and it has a full IB program.

[umbanda]

I may be wrong, but my perception is that Chiang Rai schools and universities are short of qualified teachers......and that its not care much for certifications...even for WP. I am not a native English speaker...If I was..many jobs available...

[Scott]

A post with a link to another forum has been edited out. Please do not post direct links.

[pairadocks]

I see a number of people chiming in about their impressions of the tier of various international schools. Important to note that a school's international reputation (hence tier) lies in large part upon the accreditation that it has received. The most widely known and respected of the lot include CIS (Council of International Schools), NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges). All schools will advertise their accreditation on the homepage of their website. In addition to this, top tier schools offer the most attractive packages for their staffs. By international school standards Thailand has only three tier one schools and they are all in Bangkok. One might try to argue Prem in Chiangmai (or perhaps a couple other nationwide), however, it has yet to reach the point where it can retain experienced IB educators for more than a few years (package is sorely lacking).

[fifthcolumn]

Wow, a JD and 3 MAs - with your BA that's a minimum of 13 years in university!

An MA in Humsn Resources - that's a new one for me.

Because ...eDukaySHun YO.

[timtscott]

Fifth column . Yeah I kinda over invested in education. If I had to do it all over again I would have made better choices. At some point you get diminishing returns. My HR related masters is actually a Masters of Labor and Employee Relations.

I spent way too much money on formal education.

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[zeichen]

I know of a few PhD's in very unrelated fields working at international schools in Thailand.

In short the answer is yes. You can find a job.

[draftvader]

My wife has been successfully employed at a reknowned international school for 5 years with a BA Hons in Fine Art. She is very popular with the parents and has had a lot of success with the children. However there has been some tightening of regulations over the past couple of years which, at the moment, only seem to push her into a pointless Thai teaching licence that seems to be based entirely on lining a few pockets. The news has been varied about whether they will progress to being stricter but there has been less chat this academic year.

Nonetheless she is undertaking her MA in Early Years Education to put this doubt behind her and open up a wider range of premium jobs elsewhere in the world.

It would seem that if you are not heading for an easy to fill roll (a English programme for example) then the qualification necessity can be slightly more relaxed.

[evadgib]

I wasn't sure where to post this so i'm posting here:

Disclosure and Barring Service first year anniversary

Mods: feel free to move if there's a better place for it. I found the links within quite informative.

Edited December 3, 2013 by evadgib