Comparative analysis of the teachers’ migration

This article analyses Russian and foreign academic research in the field of teacher migration. The study aims to determine the volume of research on the given subject area. In the article, we have used a comparative analysis of sources, as well as such methods as comparative and structural-functional analysis, and statistical means. The objectives were to study the concept of migration, to identify positive and negative aspects of labor migration, to examine the meaning of the terms of educational and intellectual migration, to identify the problems faced by teachers when moving to other countries based on the works of foreign authors. The teachers’ experience in such countries as the USA, Belgium, and Norway was analyzed for this purpose. The main results of the study confirm the relevance of the article’s topic. We came to the conclusion that the narrow focus “migration of teachers” is barely studied and requires additional research to identify the causes and factors in the teacher professional activities.

Examining Teacher Migration in K-12 Schools in the United Arab Emirates: Perceptions of African American Educators

This policy paper discusses teacher migration through the professional and personal experiences of African American Expatriate Educational Professionals (EEPs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Evidence suggests that teacher migration is a strategy employed by some African American EEPs to remain in K-12 schools in the UAE. Recruitment efforts and benefits attracting EEPs to the UAE appear to be effective, whereas retention efforts appear to be a concern. School leaders, thus, face high rates of teacher turnover each year. Few studies have examined why educators leave and where they go when they leave. The data and analysis presented are derived from a more extensive qualitative study conducted from September 2019 to May 2020. The study examines teacher turnover through the experiences of 13 African American EEPs who left K-12 schools in the United States (US) for schools in the UAE. A critical theme that has emerged from this study is a nuanced understanding of teacher migration, which forms a key part of this policy paper’s discussion. The paper concludes with recommendations for implementing professional and personal development related to intercultural competencies and further studies to examine teacher turnover in the UAE.

Veteran Teachers Are Like A Rooted Tree: Comprehensive Formal Mentoring as a Mitigating Factor for Stress, Burnout, and Attrition for K-8 Public School Veteran Teachers

Teaching is known to be a highly stressful occupation. Experiences of prolonged stress can lead to teacher burnout and attrition. Veteran teacher attrition, primarily teacher migration, negatively impacts students with the greatest needs and does not address antecedent factors driving the pattern of attrition. Comprehensive formal mentoring has been documented as a mitigating factor for stress, burnout, and attrition for new teachers. Although veteran teachers also face several salient causes of stress and burnout, there appears to be very little research on, or programs of, comprehensive formal mentoring designed specifically for veteran teachers. Therefore, this qualitative, phenomenological study explored the perceptions, thoughts, and experiences of veteran teachers who participated in a rarely offered comprehensive formal mentor program. This study involved twenty K-8 public school teachers from six different school districts in the Southern California area. Veteran teachers were defined as those who had a minimum of ten years' experience in the classroom. The findings of this study suggest that comprehensive formal mentoring does address the needs of veteran teachers, may mitigate attrition, and may have sustainability. In addition, this study identifies positive administrative support as a necessary component for the success of comprehensive formal mentoring programs. Implications include changes in policy, suggestions for additional support for veteran teachers, and comprehensive formal mentoring as mitigation of teacher migration in urban, Title 1 school settings.

Understanding Women Teacher Transnational Migration: A Narrative Inquiry From Southern Africa

In this article, we explore and seek to understand transnational teacher migration from the narrative expressions of two women who migrated from their home countries to another southern African country. The data are complemented by a self-constructed narrative of a woman who left her home country. Framed through Appreciative Inquiry, the study observes that all individuals, organizations, and institutions are powered by positive thought and have some good or something that works well for them at some point. The data generated from two narrative expressions were analyzed through narrative analysis with emerging themes presented. In addition, data were complemented by a coconstructed narrative of a woman who gave up her career aspirations to migrate with the family. With the latter, the situation got more complicated when the husband untimely passed away. Issues such as gender discrimination and socialization as well as imaginations of positive futures do play a role in women teachers’ transnational migration decisions. We conclude that transnational women teacher migration should be understood within its own socially constructed, relativist ontology and subjectivist epistemology, which may be influenced by the power of appreciative, positive thought.

Arab Migrant Teachers in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar

Globally, studies on migrant teachers have tended to focus on Africa and Asia, while the topic of teacher migration in the Middle East in general, and in the Gulf in particular, has not been examined before. This study examines the status of Arab migrant teachers through both an educational and institutional lens. The research employs a mixed-methods comparative approach to investigate contractual agreements, employment experiences, and social integration of Arab teachers in Qatar and the UAE. The results of the study are consistent with literature on the economic motivation behind migration. Arab migrant teachers come to the Gulf largely in order to make money and, in turn, to be able to provide for their families. In addition to examining the motivations for migration, the study also found that the majority of Arab migrant teachers come to the Gulf with the intention of living and working for significant periods of time. Examining issues such as how the uncertain employment conditions for expatriate Arab teachers manifest in their commitment to teaching, the chapter concludes by providing policy recommendations for improving the conditions and output of Arab migrant teachers in the UAE and Qatar.

Teacher Migration: Extension and Application of the Population Ecology Model to Explore Teacher Transfers in a Reform Environment

This article assesses the association between the Title I School Improvement Grant (SIG) program’s personnel replacement policy and teacher employment patterns within an urban school district. Hannan and Freeman’s population ecology model allowed the authors to consider schools within districts as individual organizations nested within a larger organization. The data are drawn from employment records of 2,470 teachers who worked in 19 high schools in a single school district from 2006 to 2011. The personnel replacement policy of the Title I SIG program appears to have reinforced, and in some cases intensified, existing patterns of teacher selection, retention, and migration.

Teacher salary differentials using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): a South African perspective as both a ‘source’ and ‘destination’ country

Teacher migration is a problem for developing countries as it impacts on delivery of quality education. The potential to earn higher incomes remains the most common factor driving teacher migration. This study seeks to investigate how the South African teacher salary structure compares with the equivalent salary structure in six prominent migrating countries whilst highlighting the economic appeal of South Africa from a Zimbabwean teacher perspective. Using a representative basket of commonly bought goods (including food, entertainment, fuel and utilities), a purchasing power parity (PPP) ratio is used to equalise the international price of buying that basket. Our study makes comparisons, using a PPP index, and allows the identification of real differences in salaries for our selected countries (South Africa, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Zimbabwe) for selected teaching categories. Even when controlling for differences in the cost of living, the incentive for a South African teacher to seek work overseas remains strong and increases with career experience. A worrying conclusion for South Africa concerned with keeping its experienced teachers is that as more human capital is gained by experience, the greater the incentive to emigrate.