The Chinese government has de-centralized public schools and has put forth general curriculum outcomes that all schools have to meet. How these schools get to that end point is entirely up to them which makes for differences in schools located in the same city.teaching jobs in China for foreigners
The common thread here is that all schools want a Western English teacher. Some public schools will share teachers, some will have their own in-house programs where they directly employ their own foreign teachers, some will have programs that piggyback on their existing English programs and offer additional classes to students (that they have to pay for). There are many other options and ways public schools operate. The interesting thing here is that if every public school teacher in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand came to China to teach English they wouldn't even come close to having enough teachers for the English classes in China.
Check out our Education in China section to learn more about the incredible capacity of the Chinese Education system. Imagine over 110,000 KINDERGARTENS with enrollments of over 20,000,000 students (20 million!). If you said you wanted 40 students to 1 teacher that would still be 500,000 teachers. Remembering that this is for ONE AGE GROUP.The national statistics agency for Canada reports that in Canada in 2007 we had a total of 1,078,856 in Employment, educational and related services.
With the need for teachers this great it should be a cake walk to find a job... One would think so and for the most part that is completely true. Finding a teaching job in a public school in China is simple. Finding one that pays you on time and provides medical and can talk to you about tax situations and implications and one that will pick you up at the airport and assist you with setting yourself up and all these important factors that contribute to your overall experience - now this can be a challenge. This is where Footprints comes in. All our schools will do all those things listed there and more.
Private Language School Teaching Jobs in China
As a middle class emerges in China, the demand for English in private language schools is literally exploding. Adults are enroling in business English classes to advance in their jobs or to keep them. Adults are getting retrained by companies and thus are being sent to private language schools or they are developing in-house training centers. Kids are also being sent to these private language schools literally in the millions. Everyone is competing. Everyone is trying to get into the better schools or provide the best opportunities for their children. It is a tough competitive world in China. All that considered, imagine for a minute how many private language schools catering to teaching English there are in China...
The difficult part here is finding a job that will pay you on time, one that understands that foreigners think differently and that we have different expectations, and one that will be professional to work in and for. This is where Footprints can excel for you. We only work with the best schools AND we stay with you and support you for your entire year.
Private School Teaching Jobs in China
All the major metropolitan centers in China have private schools. These are where the elite of society will send their kids. Generally these schools are looking for very experienced teachers and teachers always have to be certified to teach in a public school in his or her home country.
University and College Teaching Jobs in China
University jobs typically don't pay very well - 2500-4000 RMB but there are some perks. There is local esteem attached to being a "lecturer" which can be influential and help you leverage yourself in other directions. University jobs typically only require you to teach 10-16 contact hours. In most cases housing is usually on campus and typically. These jobs often hire in August.