GETTING TEACHER MIGRATION & MOBILITY RIGHT
HIRING MODEL #1— PROFESSIONAL EXCHANGE Characteristics of Professional Exchange Programmes High quality teacher exchange programmes offer rigorous, meaningful professional development opportunities and, as such, have the potential to raise the status of the teaching profession and improve the educational experience for multiple stakeholders. For teachers, professional exchange programmes offer exposure to different pedagogical methods and curricula as both international and local teachers have opportunities to share their expertise. Source and destination country students benefit from teachers’ expanded world view and improved teaching skills that come from experience working in different educational settings.School systems and administrators benefit from the diversity international teachers bring and from exposure to global best practices in teaching. In an increasingly interconnected world, international teacher exchange programmes that provide support for teachers to learn and grow can be equally enriching for all parties involved. In the highest quality professional exchange programmes, international teachers work side by side with peers from the host country to instruct local students in a wide range of subject areas and grade levels. This gives teachers the chance to fully immerse themselves in a different educational environment and maximises the impact on teachers’ professional practice. In contrast to a shortage hiring model, professional exchange programmes are not designed to address gaps in the local labour market. They are of a fixed duration, which serves to align programme design with the expectations of participants, whose primary interest is enhancing their pedagogical practice. A predefined duration of teacher stay provides sending governments with greater assurance that they will benefit from investment in the programme when teachers return. Likewise, a clear understanding of the terms and expectations protects teachers from manipulation and allows them to plan for life and career events. Rigorous candidate qualifications are an essential element of professional exchange programmes. High quality teacher exchange programmes require applicants to have completed a minimum number of years of service or to otherwise demonstrate their teaching competence. The profile of a teacher who pursues a professional exchange opportunity is a career professional who has achieved a degree of expertise in his/her grade level or content area of instruction and who is eager for exposure to new approaches and best practices in education. Well regarded programmes are often government-sponsored professional exchanges in which countries sign official and, sometimes, reciprocal agreements. Such programmes are publicly funded and the direct relationship between educational systems helps to minimise overall costs. Additionally, agreements between governments can add a key
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