By means of a simple introduction, I am an English teacher, aged 31 who moved this year from Manchester, UK to Dubai, UAE, having never set foot in the Middle East before. I must also mention that, although this piece reflects some negative aspects of teaching abroad, on the whole it is an amazing experience, which leaves me with no regrets. You can only fully get to know a culture after living there for one or two years – if you’ve only been a tourist for one or two weeks that’s not enough!

‘Is teaching in IB World schools different from teaching in government schools?’ is the first question that may arise in the mind of a person about to embark on this journey. The story below is going to suffice your inquisitive mind with a simple answer for this compelling question! No, it is not. It requires open-mindedness to understand and embrace different cultures.

My two year old’s future was bright. He would attend an International School, learn Thai and Mandarin, complete an International Baccalaureate and maybe go on to either a US or UK university. We would save money and enjoy trips to Koh Samet every other weekend. I did not think about some of the more pressing issues such as nappies… Read more »

Of course our Christmas celebration is school related. It makes me realize that there is seamlessness to one’s personal/school life here in Venezuela. They are interconnected, unlike back in the States, where we seem to like keeping them separated, compartmentalized, as if students and school staff have two different identities depending on the setting.

It had to be a girls’ school, whites only! This was South Africa in 1972 when apartheid was at its fiercest. I had reasonable English qualifications – a 2.1 degree from the University of North Wales in History and English and a year’s training diploma. I felt armed to teach the world! Johannesburg was another world. Nobody could help me begin as I was viewed as a foreigner. There was no TES or online services like Teacher Horizons so where to apply seemed a mystery.

Edapt is a new, independent, apolitical social enterprise in the UK that supports, protects, informs and develops the teaching profession. It aims to provide teachers with an alternative to teaching unions. Here, edapt director of policy, Emma Whitehead, considers whether a similar model could be useful in other countries around the world.

The International Baccalaureate has become the dominant choice of curriculum for international schools now. The IB Primary Years Programme is experiencing unprecedented growth as parents demand for their children to undertake an inquiry based learning soars. The uptake of the IB in the US is on the rise, as is the demand for IB education in UK private schools. So, why are the numbers of British state schools offering the IB reducing then?

Sarah Miller, an English teacher from London, has just completed her induction week in Sri Lanka at the British School of Colombo. She has kindly shared her first impressions of a life less ordinary with us…

To paraphrase Miss Jean Brodie, it is a teacher’s duty to lead their students out of the darkness of ignorance. This implies that leadership is a major quality of a great teacher. If we are educating the leaders of the future, not only should we be role models as leaders, but we ought to develop our students’ leadership skills and attributes in our teaching.

Normally you would sit at interview, meet some of your future colleagues, read an inspection report and go on a school tour. So, with just an hour skype interview for international schools, how do you go about assessing whether this one is a great school?