Can Singapore citizens work in International Schools in Singapore?

[doitenah]

Hi all,

I am currently building my career to end up teaching at an International School in Singapore, and have noticed that most International Schools employ Caucasian expats. Is there a particular reason for this, such as a limitation on Singapore citizens working in international schools?

[abbby]

I believe they are encouraged to hire more Singaporeans for jobs in Singapore. If you have the relevant teaching experience or related experience, it shouldn't be an issue.

[sundaymorningstaple]

They are probably loathe to hire locals as they don't want their students learning singlish.

[PNGMK]

Hi all,

I am currently building my career to end up teaching at an International School in Singapore, and have noticed that most International Schools employ Caucasian expats. Is there a particular reason for this, such as a limitation on Singapore citizens working in international schools?

There are a couple barriers to hiring in Singaporeans into the FSS (Foreign School System).

1. Accreditation. In order to award valid high school diplomas that are accepted at overseas universities you need to have teachers, curriculum advisers, counselors and sometimes admin (principals) who are accredited and certified into that system. I don't see the local universities churning out teachers certified to teach AP, IB, HSC (Australia) or Ottawa curriculm. That means these teachers have to be recruited from overseas.

2. Racism. Your post implied the FSS is racist. It's not at all IME. There are a lot of Singaporeans working in the FSS but usually in positions where they don't need accreditation or they have gained such by working overseas. Trust me the FSS would love to fire all their overpaid expat teachers and replace them with locals!

3. To work in the FSS (and I'll just focus on the American system) you'll need to be licensed or certified by a US state as a teacher. How will you get that qual? (Hint: you can sometimes get most of it done online).

4. Finally - Being hired by the FSS does not mean you'll be paid the same as a the expats! You'll be paid - as many expats are - on a local hire basis. To get a housing allowance, go home allowance etc you need to be hired from a remote location and brought into Singapore. Many expats locally recruited (for example spouses on DP's) are only paid local packages. In the case of my spouse ~7k pm for a HS math teacher with decades of experience, a TX state teachers licence and a masters in Education (that brings an extra 1,000 pm).

[tiktok]

They are probably loathe to hire locals as they don't want their students learning singlish.

I'd prefer my kids speaking singlish than sounding like Trump.

[PNGMK]

Oh it's on again.

[digitalfruits18]

They are probably loathe to hire locals as they don't want their students learning singlish.

I'd prefer my kids speaking singlish than sounding like Trump.

Seriously? Singlish highly restricts Singaporeans' ability to succeed in a global context. There is a reason why the best Singaporean ministers speak differently (read: properly).

[digitalfruits18]

Yes, @doitenah Singaporeans can and do work in many International Schools, so please don't restrict yourself! That said, you will need to move get international certifications.

[Max Headroom]

Singlish as an option is efficient and to the point. In Singapore, and possibly Malaysia, it has its use case. In fact, code-switching can actually be quite useful, both in social and even in professional settings.

But if all you have is Singlish, you're not going to be taken seriously anywhere outside of Asia. Period.