CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
5.5 Limitations and Further Research
Perhaps the most important findings of this research is that salary, other financial benefits, location, and working conditions all have a significant effect on international staff’
job choices. However, there are several limitations to this research. The first limitation is the data that was obtained was qualitative in nature. While this is useful in describing what teachers think when making decisions, it does not inform us of quantitative data. For example we know that salary is important, but how much salary is considered to be sufficiently
attractive in a location? Which cities and countries are considered to be attractive locations, and what are the ordinal positions of those locations? The second limitation is that the research was limited in its geographical scope to teachers in East and Southeast Asia.
Teachers in the Americas, Europe, and Africa were not interviewed. The findings of this
research may or may not be applicable to staff at international schools in other regions. A third limitation to this research is that it is directed at the staff members themselves rather than the human resources strategies used by the schools. It is difficult to gain perspective on effective management strategies from looking only at the employees’ opinions.
Based on the results of this investigation and its limitations, quantitative research should be done to answer some of those questions. The researcher could determine the quantitative effect of money on teachers’ decisions. Also, a ranking system could be created to determine locations’ attractiveness. Furthermore, research could be done to investigate job choices of international school staff in different regions other than Asia. Finally, research could be done from the perspective of management to see what human resources strategies are effective in recruitment of staff for international schools.
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APPENDIX
Teacher #1
1. It was a contributing factor but not the most important. I knew the salary was an improvement from my previous position so I was not too concerned
2. It probably has more to do with the location. We were moving to Bangkok and know this is a cheap city to live in. Our school pays a retirement fund, flights, housing, bonus pays for not taking sick leave. This was a good incentive.
3. It does matter as it is one indicator of a school that values their teachers. If a school pays low salaries then there will be other issues that impact your role as a teacher there. Such as do they spend money on PD and resources.
4. Yes, it is very important but I would look at other indicators such as education for teaching families, how well the school is resourced, their mission, type of curriculum etc
5. I think it is important but if it is a good school then pay will only be a part of a teachers decision to sign on. I think it is more about the saving potential of living in that country.
6. Yes, it demonstrates that they are valued and rewarded. It is very important.
7. This is probably the most important.
8. Curriculum, PD spent on teachers, resources at school, what is the school's mission, school co-curricular programs, sports available for students, location of school and country.
9. It is a top priority.
10. I am looking at this from a teaching couple perspective with 2 children. Other teachers such as single teachers may want location, pay while others may be career driven and want more opportunities to grow.
11. It is top priority.
12. It is top priority. Working conditions more than pay.
Teacher #2
1. In my current position, the salary was third on the list of priorities, after the location and fit of the school for my family.
2. Medical insurance for myself and all dependents was extremely important. As was housing, or a housing allowance. Other financial benefits such as bonuses, sick pay etc.
had little to no impact on my decision to take the position.
3. I think it varies widely, depending on age, number of dependents and the stage they are at in their career.
4. I don't think other financial benefits would play a deciding factor in a teacher's final decision. I think of more importance is the location, quality of the school and salary.
5. I think it's important that teachers see an annual rise in their salary, either or both based on inflation as well as increasing years of experience or tenure. I think if this is not the case, teachers may use that as part of their decision to move. Also, if a teachers
personal circumstances change, such as having a family, this may also result in them looking for a new position with a higher salary.
6. I think generally very little. Although, whether or not the school pays an extra amount for retirement would have some impacts on some teachers when deciding whether or not to stay long term.
7. Very important.
8. 1. Respect from administration as a professional.
2. Freedom for creativity as a teacher 3. Organized systems and structures 9. Very important.
10. Same as my response, generally, I believe.
11. At present, they are of high importance.
12. Also of high importance and for the majority, the main factor, close to salary, in determining whether they stay long term.
Teacher #3
1. Salary was important. I need to earn enough money to support myself and to pay for my mortgage on my house back in the U.S. But it was only one of a few factors that I looked at when I decided where to work. Location for me was also really important.
My wife is Filapino, and so we wanted to live in Manila. I think I was lucky to find a job in the place that we wanted to be.
2. They were part of it, but location was by far more important for me. I came from a school that had great benefits, but it was in Pakistan, and we didn’t like it there. For me, it’s a lot better to have fewer benefits, but to be in a place that you want to live.
3. I think it depends. As long as teachers feel that they’re making enough money, they don’t really mind, but people always want more than they have. So I think that it’s probably important up to a point, but after that it’s just gravy. Plus, teachers know that they’re never going to get rich as a teacher, so that’s not the biggest part of it.
4. I think it’s a part of it. Teachers want to make sure that they’re getting taken care of with things like flights, insurance, and housing. Those things and salary tell you something about how much a school values its teachers and employees. If they just give the minimum acceptable amount, it tells you that they don’t really care about the people that teach there very much.
5. Salary is important, but at some point other things become more important. Using my situation in Pakistan as an example, I made lots of money, but I didn’t like living there, and my wife hated it because she didn’t feel comfortable. So even though the salary was what brought us there in the first place, it wasn’t enough to keep us there for an additional contract.
6. Again, I think it depends on the teacher, and the situation. For some who are
motivated more by money, it’s going to be important. But for others who are looking to have a good lifestyle in a good location, it’s going to be less important.
7. Very important, but it’s really hard to judge that before you work at a school. You only get a taste of what it’s like from your interview with the principal or director, so even though you want there to be good working conditions, you don’t really know what they are until you start working at the school.
8. For me, I think that I want to see whether or not there is professional development offered. I have to have a certain amount of professional development every year in order to maintain my teaching certification, so I need to make sure that I can do that.
9. I think that they’re important, but that they’re hard to judge. A lot of teachers want to talk to teachers at the school before deciding whether or not to sign a contract, and that lets them get a better feel for the working conditions.
10. I think it depends, but professional development is important. I also think that they want to know whether the principal is good to work for, or if he’s a jerk. Having a good manager makes a big difference in whether or not you like your job. I also want to know what other demands there are on teachers and opportunities there are to do things like coach sports teams.
11. After my last two jobs, I would say that it’s very important, but you have to expand that question to include living conditions. My job in Pakistan wasn’t that great, and
the location was bad, so I wasn’t happy. Before that I had a job in Taiwan. The school was just okay to work at, but I liked the location. So I guess you could say that working conditions are very important because I left both those places after my first contract, and they weren’t that great to work at.
12. I think that they are important, but it depends on the teacher. If they’re looking for more money, then working conditions might not be as important. Or if they just want to live in a nice location, then working conditions might not be as important. Usually, teachers want to have a good salary in a good location in a good school, but I don’t know if that actually happens very often. I think you can usually only have two of those three things, if you’re lucky.
Teacher #4
1. The main thing that I considered in regard to salary was that it was more than what I was earning in my previous school, and how much it was in relation to the cost of living in the new location. To me, a big salary in an expensive city is less appealing than an average salary in a city with a low cost of living. The difference is that I probably would not be able to have a good quality of life in an expensive city, or be able to save much money. I want to be able to have a comfortable lifestyle- I want to be able to eat out sometimes, travel, and have entertainment.
2. Other financial benefits were probably the deciding factor for me, actually, so I guess that they were really important. I got offered a job at another school that I really wanted to work at, but the other school didn’t give as much financial incentives- they only paid for flights, tuition, and insurance for one other member of my family. The housing allowance was pretty similar though. So the other financial things, like just getting one flight was a deal-breaker. I had to choose the school that was going to be the best fit for my family and me.
3. I think that salary is probably pretty important to most other teachers. I think that
3. I think that salary is probably pretty important to most other teachers. I think that