The costs of hiring an international math teacher go beyond what is directly represented financially. When an international school cannot find the right math teacher fast enough, they also pay all sorts of hidden costs that can add up.
One of the biggest costs international schools pay for search friction is time. Brian Garton (2000) states the problem in no uncertain terms:
[Teacher Recruitment] is probably the most important and time-consuming single activity that the international school Head takes in the course of the year … In a number of schools its importance is further recognized, since it is often formally, but often also in practice, an area in which the Board seeks to take an active part. This can be a cause of some frustration and friction at the highest administrative level.
There are, in other words, two broad reasons why it takes so long to find a quality international math teacher: you need a tremendous amount of time to find a suitable candidate, and then you need to persuade the Board to accept your recommendation. Together these bottlenecks are a source of frustration for school leaders doing their best to influence their school’s quality of instruction through the people they hire.
Another cost is the hit to student learning outcomes. Exacerbated by a global teacher shortage of approximately 70 million new teachers (Marcea, et. al., 2018) alongside an explosion of International Baccalaureate (IB) schools worldwide, schools are increasingly competing for a smaller talent pool. When a teacher is missing at the beginning of the school year, student learning outcomes suffer. This absence is especially problematic if students are revising IB, AP, or A-level exams, where the stakes of doing well on these exams are high. Servicing quality instruction that can adequately prepare students for these exams is not easy to find. The problem of not having such an all-star teacher grows exponentially as the school year continues.
Finally, a hidden cost of not hiring the right math teacher is the detriment of your school’s reputation and general welfare. It’s no surprise that teachers talk and that schools that have not yet fulfilled their recruitment appear more precarious and less financially stable than schools that remain on schedule (Rey, Bolay, & Gez, 2020). The other problem is that if a permanent teacher has not yet been found, other teachers in your school are likely tasked with covering the missing teacher’s classes. This added burden to the teachers you do have can cause stress and animosity, which may further hurt recruiting efforts long-term.
All of these problems exist alongside the harsh reality that it can take months to properly source, vet, and document a teacher who can service your school’s particular needs. These efforts take time away from the school Headmaster as well as from experts like the Head of the Department, who therefore have less time to do other things the school may need. All of that effort is expensive too.
At Full Marks, we can help you solve all of these problems. You can leverage our 10 years of expertise in international education to find, document, interview, and videotape teachers who are qualified, intelligent, and empathetic. Furthermore, our recommendation can help you persuade your Board that the person you have chosen is the best choice possible.
The problems you face in hiring a great international teacher are real, but with our help, we can help you make these problems a thing of the past.