Coming to America: International Mathematics Teacher Recruitment and Adaptation to U.S. Public High Schools

• In Event: 41.040 - Addressing the Need for STEM Teachers From and for Diverse Communities

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, there has been an uptick in the recruitment of international teachers to U.S. public schools to teach subject areas that experience perennial teacher shortages, including mathematics, science, special education, and languages, in hard-to-staff, high needs urban or rural K-12 schools. Such recruitment is predicated on staffing deficits, especially in schools which experience high teacher turnovers. This study questions assumptions of transferability of teacher effectiveness and examines international mathematics teachers’ adaptation to teacher expectations in U.S. secondary classrooms. Findings suggest teacher experiences and practices might not be definitively portable across cultures. Implications for practice are discussed.

Author

• Dennis Kombe, California State University, Monterey Bay