Journal of Education and e-Learning Research

Teaching in international schools is challenging for teachers and professional school staff due to language barriers, cultural shocks, teaching and learning expectations, support and even living standards. As a result, international schools often organise recruitment fairs to recruit professionals and prevent them from frequent departures. Such departures always cost resources and reduces the performance and morale of the schools. To understand this issue and provide a solution, the researcher collected data from 28 qualified international school teachers and professional school staff who have provided education services for more than 20 years in Hong Kong. The participants used terms such as “bridging the future leaders”, “connecting both local students and international expatriates in a safe environment”, “transferring foreign, home and essential knowledge to local and international students” to describe their current positions for lifelong career decisions and career development. The results of this study outlined areas on how to improve the managerial styles and teachers’ professional development plans in order to retain staff population and increase the morale of incoming and junior-level teachers.