There’s not many jobs as satisfying as teaching in China
Teaching in China: Part One
Teaching can sometimes get a bad press. In the UK, at least, there’s chronic shortages and high burnout from what can undoubtedly be a stressful job. Teachers from the UK often leave schools and colleges, thinking education may not be for them, until they teach overseas, a phenomenon that we often see at Ignite Recruitment China.
Teaching in China is very different from teaching in the UK and, dare we say it, more emotionally rewarding?
Why?
Teachers are respected massively in China – by students and parents.
High value is placed on education and class behaviour is invariably excellent in China. Pedagogy is much more formal and teacher led, and the Chinese pupils achieve some of the highest academic qualifications in the world.
This is due to the values and culture of Chinese education.
In fact, China has the largest teaching workforce in the world and even has a celebratory national Teacher Day on 10 September.
Rather than wax lyrical though about the many advantages of teaching in schools in China, as opposed to the UK, we want to look at the training of teachers.
You may, or may not, know that training centres for teachers are closing in China. Demand though for teachers, globally, is rising. In fact, in China alone, 200 new international schools have opened in the past 5 years.
Universities in Britain already offer teacher training programs in China and these include:
The Universities of Bath, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, Strathclyde, Sunderland, Teeside, East London, Warwick and West of England, and Queen’s University Belfast
In China, the PGCE course is known as Teacher Training, abbreviated to TT. This course gives you a deep understanding of classroom practice and educational research. This training will give you insights into the four broad professional standards for Chinese teachers:
- Professional ethics and morality
- Professional knowledge
- Professional competence
- Professional understanding
The other aspect we cover widely on this website and our blog posts is the relatively low cost of living in China. Teaching salaries are higher than those in the UK, but China, including its major cities, does not have the high transport and eating out costs of western countries. Many teaching posts also include an accommodation allowance, and though accommodation can take a large proportion of a salary, it is often high quality. Coupled with low living expenses, you will live well as a teacher in Beijing and elsewhere.
The days of teaching and training can seem longer, though there are generous lunch breaks and staff, who we’ve recruited, speak of excellent job satisfaction because behaviour in schools is invariably exceptional. There is no low or high level disruption, usually, because the government, culture and families value education so highly.
If you’d like to train to become a teacher in a school in China, contact us today.
Ignite Recruitment has over four years’ experience when recruiting teachers within China. Ignite, as a whole, we have been recruiting for nearly twelve years now.
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