Hi there! I am looking to apply to teach in an IS in Japan next year (fall 2024) and am feeling really down about how difficult it might be. My partner is Japanese and will be going back to Tokyo for his PhD, which is why I want to teach in Japan specifically.
I currently work for a large school board in Toronto. I have a masters degree in primary/junior teaching from Canada’s top education school. I mainly teach spec ed, and have many additional qualifications including in teaching math, teaching students with ASD/intellectual disabilities, etc. (I know the latter is not super useful for IS).
I have one year of occasional/supply teaching, and one year of half-time (for childcare reasons – I have a toddler). I will be teaching full-time next year. In Ontario, it takes a long time to become a permanent teacher, so it can be tricky when thinking about meeting these school’s requirements for “full time teaching” experience.
I know for certain that I won’t get into ASIJ or any of the top schools, given I will only have 2 years of experience teaching my own class (3 years altogether including supply teaching).
I was wondering what people’s experiences with lower-tier IS schools might be.
Any info would be so so helpful! Thank you so much!
8 comments
With a spousal visa and real qualifications I think your most employer’s dream candidate, I think you’ll have no problem at all finding a job. Just make sure to apply at the right time, schools start in April usually and you’ll need to apply well in advance. Good schools will usually hire a year in advance so apply accordingly. If you have an MA you can also consider teaching uni part time as well but that usually requires publications.
You have excellent qualifications for teaching at an international school in Japan. Most international schools that offer a western-style curriculum and teach in English have a school year that starts in late August and goes through May or June. The application period is usually October and November for the next school year, but vacancies do come up from time to time so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the websites. Although you can apply directly to the school, most use Schrole or Search Associates to recruit staff. Either is fine and equally useful, although Schrole is free and Search Associates charges a fee.
The larger schools will truly appreciate your qualifications, especially being certified to teach students with special needs and being able to teach math. The smaller schools will as well, but don’t typically have any positions directly serving students with special needs, at least in my experience. I wouldn’t discount ASIJ or similar schools (there are several good schools in the Tokyo area) because I know of several teachers that were hired with only a year or so of teaching experience.
It’ll be WAY easier if you’re under a spouse visa. That way, schools won’t need to worry about sponsoring you or being your guarantor.
International schools will start to look for hires starting from October or November. Start yoyu search at this time. However to explore the school websites right now. As some have some positions up when someone is unable to to get a visa or some other type of emergency.
Sign up for Schrole or Search Associates to see those postings as well as their website directly
Would you be able to substitute teach when you arrive? That’s a good way to earn a bit of money while getting your foot in the door.
To give yourself a better chance of landing a job, you should try to gain experience teaching the IB programme. There are a few Canadian international schools here and they all teach this programme.
Your qualifications are rather niche and not all schools require a dedicated special ed teacher so this might count against you.
Another thing to consider is that if you are employed from within Japan you could be considered a local hire which comes without certain benefits such as paid tuition or housing allowance.
[removed]
Just sharing opinion. I think the image of being competitive comes from a bunch of issues.
1. Timing, there is a hiring season. Outside of that you’re competing for schools that need a warm body because someone left.
2. Applying from outside of Japan. Like other posters have said if you’re already here on a visa that allows you to work it’s one less time consuming thing a school has to worry about. Also you will be judged as somewhat of a smaller flight risk since you’ve already been in Japan and had time to come to grips with the joys and challenges of it.
3. Clout, Im struggling on how to word this. Image is the most important thing in international schools and specifically important to the people willing to pay big bucks to send their kids there. If a teacher graduated from a ivy league school, that’s a feather in the cap of the school, if the teacher speaks 4 languages, if the teacher is good looking (fits a certain stereotype the school is looking for) that’s good. If you can find a way to market yourself as having desired clout that looks good on a school website you probably have a better chance. Just look at schools website and see what they brag about to get an idea.
4. Networking, it’s not a huge community. If you have no network in the city you want to work in it’s one less thing going for you.
Word of caution
SPED will be drastically different from what you experienced in Canada. I mainly work with ASD population in Tokyo. It’s just so different what expectations and goals look like compared to the west. I would say in Tokyo 80% of families know their kid has developmental delays but refuse to get diagnosis because of very real stigma that will effectively keep kid with diagnosis from accessing many settings. The families will be very demanding of results focused almost exclusively on making their kid “look / act normal”. It’s because in Japan when you don’t fit the mold you get put in a box, it’s a nice box but you’re separate and lesser once you’re in it.
Final suggestion. Unless it’s really important for you to wait. I’d suggest paper marriage (just for the certificate). It makes living together so much easier in Japan. Even if you’re engaged, Japan will essentially consider you single for everything. Renting, buying, healthcare, visa, just everything is easier with marriage cert. Otherwise you’d individually have to qualify for everything.