Being an Expatriate Teacher in Turkish Private Schools: Opinions on Education, Teaching, and Administration Processes

Abstract

The employment of expatriate teachers in educational organizations increases each day under the influence of globalization. Accordingly, a significant increase is observed in the number of expatriates. This study aims at determining the opinions of expatriate teachers who serve in private schools in Turkey in the areas of education, teaching and administration processes and parent-student relations. In this study, a phenomenology design based on qualitative research methods was used, and semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 teachers. The collected data were analyzed using a content analysis method. Within this scope, the statements collected from the teachers were thematized as views on education, teaching, school administration, students and parents. According to the results of the research, expatriate teachers stated that the education program is heavy, though they expressed that it is not up to date, there are deficiencies in the assessment and evaluation dimension, and Turkish teachers do not use differentiated teaching methods. In addition, the teachers stated that the centralist structure of the education system creates difficulties for them and that although coordination is high within the school and there are positive relations with the administration, the administrators are insufficient in terms of their competence. The teachers identified injustices concerning the employment of expatriate teachers, in those teachers from the United States of America and Europe are in general preferred. The teachers stated that although the students have a high level of motivation about learning languages; in particular, they have a tendency to be results-oriented, focusing on memorization. The expatriate teachers expressed that they have friendly relations with parents but that they sometimes experience difficulties due to the language barriers and the interfering behaviors of parents.