Research article | Open Access
International Journal of Educational Researchers 2025, Vol. 16(4) 19-41
pp. 19 - 41
Publish Date: December 12, 2025 | Single/Total View: 0/0 | Single/Total Download: 0/0
Abstract
Parallel to the changes occurring in almost every field worldwide, globalization has also influenced the employment of foreign teachers in educational institutions. Correspondingly, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of foreign teachers coming to work in Türkiye. Regarding this situation, the aim of this study is to determine the reasons why foreign teachers prefer to work in Türkiye. In this study, phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used and in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 teachers using semi-structured questions. The data obtained were subjected to content analysis. In this context, the statements collected from the teachers were grouped into five categories: economic, personal, country-related, school-related, and recruitment-related factors. The study's findings reveal the factors that influence foreign teachers' preference for Türkiye. It also provides school administrators and educational institutions with recommendations for the effective recruitment of foreign teachers and seeks to enhance the existing literature on related research in this area.
Keywords: employment, Türkiye, foreign teacher, foreign private schools
APA 7th edition
Tumturk, S., & Deniz, L. (2025). Why Do Foreign Teachers Come to Türkiye? Case of Foreign Private Schools. International Journal of Educational Researchers, 16(4), 19-41.
Harvard
Tumturk, S. and Deniz, L. (2025). Why Do Foreign Teachers Come to Türkiye? Case of Foreign Private Schools. International Journal of Educational Researchers, 16(4), pp. 19-41.
Chicago 16th edition
Tumturk, Sinan and Levent Deniz (2025). "Why Do Foreign Teachers Come to Türkiye? Case of Foreign Private Schools". International Journal of Educational Researchers 16 (4):19-41.
Akhal, K., & Liu, S. (2019). Cultural intelligence effects on expatriates’ adjustment and turnover intentions in Mainland China. Management Research Review, 42(7), 818–836.
Alexander, P. A. (2008). Charting the course for the teaching profession: The energizing and sustaining role of motivational factors. Learning and Instruction, 18, 483–491.
Alpaugh, M. (2016). The beliefs, motivations, expectations, and realities of native English- speaking teachers at Hagwons in South Korea. Korea TESOL Journal, 12, 65-86.
Aydın, İ., Toptaş, B., Güner Demir, T., & Erdemli, Ö. (2019). Being an expatriate teacher in Turkish private schools: Opinions on education, teaching, and administration processes. Education and Science, 44(200), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.15390/eb.2019.8105
Bai, Q., & Nam, B. H. (2023). Symbolic power for student curators as social agents: The emergence of the museum of World Languages at Shanghai International Studies University during the COVID-19 era. Museum Management and Curatorship, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2023.2188473
Bai, Q., Nam, B. H., & English, A. S. (2023). Acculturation and linguistic ideology in the context of global student mobility: A cross-cultural ethnography of anglophone international students in China. Educational Review, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2023.2285253
Bailey, L., & Cooker, L. (2019). Exploring teacher identity in international schools: Key concepts for research. Journal of Research in International Education, 18(2), 125–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240919865035
Bright, D., & Heyting, E. (2024). Exploring the motivations and career choices of expatriate teachers in international schools: Embracing personal growth, professional development, and teacher autonomy. International Journal of Educational Research, 127, 102426.
Bright, D. (2022). Understanding why Western expatriate teachers choose to work in non-traditional international schools in Vietnam. Teachers and Teaching, 28(5), 633–647. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2022.2062751
Brookfield Global Relocation Services (2016). Breakthrough to the future of global mobility talent. 2016 Global mobility trends survey. Woodridge, IL.
Buckley, J., Schneider, M., & Shang, Y. (2004). The effects of school facility quality on teacher retention in urban school districts. National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Bunnell, T. (2016). Teachers in international schools: A global educational ‘precariat’? Globalisation. Societies and Education, 14(4), 543–559. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 14767724.2015.1068163
Bunnell, T. (2017). Teachers in international schools: A neglected “middling actor” in expatriation. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 5(2), 194-202.
Bunnell, T., & Poole, A. (2020). Escaping the fire for the frying-pan? British teachers entering international schooling. British Journal of Educational Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2020.1853673
Burke, L. E. C. A. (2017). Casting a critical eye on the positioning of the Western expatriate teacher. Journal of Research in International Education, 16(3), 213-224.
Caravatti, M., McLeod Lederer, S., Lupico, A. & van Meter, N. (2014). Getting teacher migration & mobility right. Education International.
Carson, L. D. (2013). Teacher motivation: a case study on what motivates expatriate teachers at an English medium private school in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. (Unpublished master's thesis). The British University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Cassidy, D.J.; King, E.K.; Wang, Y.C.; Lower, J.K. & Kintner-Duffy, V.L. (2017). Teacher work environments are toddler learning environments: Teacher professional well-being, classroom emotional support, and toddlers’ emotional expressions and behaviours. Early Child Development and Care,187, 1666–1678.
Chen, L. (2022). How do international faculty at Japanese universities view their integration? Higher Education, 84, 845-862. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00803-7
Chen, L. (2024). Tokenized but remaining: how do international academics make sense of their decision to remain in Japanese universities? Higher Education, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01191-4
Chen, L., & Chen, L. (2023). To stay or to leave: The turnover intentions of international academics at Japanese universities. Journal of Studies in International Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315323116484
Chen, L., & Huang, F. (2023). Neoliberalism, internationalization, Japanese exclusionism: the integration experiences of international academics at Japanese universities. Studies in Higher Education, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2283094
Chivore, B. S. R. (1988). A review of factors that determine the attractiveness of teaching profession in Zimbabwe. International Review of Education, 34(1), 59–77.
Clark, E., & Paran, A. (2007). The employability of non-native-speaker teachers of EFL: A UK survey. system, 35, 407–430.
Creemers, B., & Kyriakides, L. (2008). The dynamics of educational effectiveness: A contribution to policy, practice and theory in contemporary schools. Routledge.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4. Ed.). Thousand Oaks, Sage.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4. Ed.). Pearson Ed. Inc.
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage Publications.
DeVillar, R., & Jiang, B. (2012). From student teaching abroad to teaching in the U.S. classroom: Effects of global experiences on local instructional practice. Teacher Education Quarterly, 2, 7-24. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1001435
Edmonds, W.A. & Kennedy, T.D. (2017). Phenomenological perspective. In an applied guide to research design: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method. Sage. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781071802779
European Education and Culture Executive Agency, Eurydice, 2021. Teachers in Europe: careers, development and well-being. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Available at: https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2797/997402
Eurostat Database on Migration and Asylum (2023). https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/statistics-migration-europe_en
Foa, E.B. & Foa, U.G. (2012) Resource theory of social exchange. Handbook of social resource theory, Springer.
Garton, B. (2000). Recruitment of teachers for international education. In M. C. Hayden, & J. J. Thompson (Eds.), International schools and international education: Improving teaching, management and quality (pp. 85–95). London, England: Kogan Page.
Gordon, S., Adler, H. & Halsell, S. (2014). Career fairs: are they valuable events? Hospitality and tourism recruiter perceptions of attributes towards participation and activities. International Journal of Hospitality and Event Management, 1(1), 81-94.
Hardman, J. (2001). Improving recruitment and retention of quality overseas teachers. In S. Blandford, & M. Shaw (Eds.), Managing international schools (pp. 123–135). London, England: Routledge.
Johnson, J. (2022). Teacher self-efficacy and teacher work engagement for expats at international K12 schools in China: A correlation analysis, International Journal of Educational Research Open, 3(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2022.100176.
International Education Recruitment Report (2024, September 1). Teachaway. https://www.teachaway.com/recruitment/international-education-recruitment-report-2024-teacher-recruitment-retention-creating-sustainable-schools
ISC. (2024, September 11). International Schools Market Growth. https://www.iscresearch.com/data.
Juozaitienė, A., & Simonaitienė, B. (2011). Motivators of teacher job satisfaction. Socialiniai Mokslai, 2(72), 80-90.
K-12 International Education Recruitment Report (2024, September 1). Teachaway. https://www.teachaway.com/recruitment/international-education-recruitment-report-2024-teacher-recruitment-retention-creating-sustainable-schools
Liu, Y., Nam, B. H., & Yang, Y. (2023). Revisiting symbolic power and elite language education in China: A critical narrative ethnography of the English education major at a top language university in Shanghai. Educational Review, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2023.2184774
Liu, Y., Li, X., & Chen, L. (2023). Where is our way? A collaborative autoethnography of overseas‐educated Chinese female PhDs' academic career decision journey. Higher Education Quarterly, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12480
Luthans, K. W. & Farner, S. (2002) Expatriate development: The use of 360-degree feedback. Journal of Management Development, 21(10), 780-793.
Malik, O. F., Abbas, Q., Kiyani, T. M., & Waheed, A. (2011). Perceived investment in employee development and turnover intention: a social exchange perspective. African Journal of Business Management, 5, 1904–1914. doi: 10.5897/AJBM10.1024
McNulty, Y & Selmer, J. (2017). Introduction: Overview of early expatriate studies - 1952 to 1979. In: McNulty Y and Selmer (eds) Research Handbook of Expatriates. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 3–20.
Ministry of Family, Working and Social Services. (2017). Labour statistics. https://birim.ailevecalisma.gov.tr/uigm/contents/istatistikler/yabancicalismaizinleri/
Moran, A., Kilpatrick, R., Abbott, L., Dallat, J., & McClune, B. (2001). Training to teach: Motivating factors and implications for recruitment. Evaluation and Research in Education, 15(1), 17- 32. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500790108666980
Mullock, B.M. (2009). Motivations and rewards in teaching English overseas: A portrait of expatriate TEFL teachers in South-East Asia.
Nagrath, C. (2011). What makes a school international? The International Educator (TIE Online). http://www.tieonline.com/view_article.cfm?ArticleID=87/
Nam, B. H., & English, A. S. (2022). Trauma-Informed Care: A transcendental phenomenology of the experiences of international faculty during the Delta and Omicron variant outbreaks in East China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11057). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711057
Nam, B. H., Weber, H. L., Liu, Y., & English, A. S. (2022). The 'Myth of Zero-COVID' Nation: A digital ethnography of expats' survival amid Shanghai lockdown during the Omicron Variant Outbreak. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9047), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159047
Nam, B. H., & English, A. S. (2023). Collective resilience and coping mechanisms among international faculty members amid snap lockdowns during the Delta and Omicron variant outbreaks in East China. Psychological Reports, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941231166614
Nam, B. H., English, A. S., Li, X., Van, H. H., & Nyman, J. K. (2023). Subjectivities and the future of comparative and international education: Teacher researchers and graduate student researchers as co-constructive narrative inquirers. Educational Review, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2022.2159934
Nam, B. H., Yang, Y., & Draeger, R. (2023). Intercultural communication between Chinese college students and foreign teachers through the English Corner at an elite language university in Shanghai. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 93(101776), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2023.101776
Nasuhbeyoğlu, T. (2007). Türkiye’deki yabancı ve azınlık okullar. [Foreign and minority schools in Türkiye] http://pusuladernegi.org/wp-content/uploads/yabanc%C4%B1_okullar.pdf./
Law of Private Educational Institution. (2007, 2 Şubat). Official newspaper (Number: 26434).
https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=5580&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5
OECD, 2020. TALIS 2018 Results (Volume II). Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals. Paris: OECD Publishing. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1787/19cf08df-en
Özerk, H., Ada, S. ve Özerk, H. (2018). Öğretmenlerin ve okul yöneticilerinin birbirlerinde algıladıkları ve bekledikleri ego durumlarının ilişkisi. [The relationship between the ego states that teachers and school administrators perceive and expect from each other] Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 17(66), 779-800.
Patton, M.Q. (2014). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. (4th Edition) Sage, Thousand Oaks.
Poole, A., & Bunnell, T. (2023). Teachers in international schools as an emerging field of inquiry: A literature review of themes and theoretical developments. Compare, 49(3), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2023.2212110
Poole, A. (2019). I am an internationalising teacher. International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, 21(1), 31–45. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCED-08- 2018-0026
Rey, J., Bolay, M., & Gez, Y. N. (2020). Precarious privilege: Personal debt, lifestyle aspirations and mobility among international school teachers. Globalization, Societies and Education, 18(4), 361–373. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2020.1732193
Richardson, P. W. & Watt, H. M. G. (2006). Who chooses teaching and why? Profiling characteristics and motivations across three Australian universities. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34, 27–56.
Rutledge, P.B. & Hogg, J.L.C. (2020). In-Depth interviews. In The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology, J. Bulck Edition. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0019
See, B. H., Munthe, E., Ross, S. A., Hitt, L., & El Soufi, N. (2022). Who becomes a teacher and why? Review of Education, 10(3), e3377. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3377
Selmer, J. (2001). Expatriate selection: Back to basics. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(8), 1219-1233.
Soeling, P. D., Ajeng Arsanti, S. D., & Indriati, F. (2022). Organizational reputation: Does it mediate the effect of employer brand attractiveness on intention to apply in Indonesia? Heliyon, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09208
Wang, X. (2002) Expatriate adjustment from a social network perspective: Theoretical examination and a conceptual model. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 2 (3), 321-337.
Sharif, T., Upadhyay, D., & Ahmed, E. (2016). Motivational factors influencing teaching (FIT) as a career: An empirical study of the expatriate teachers in the Emirates. The Journal of Developing Areas, 50(6), 209-225.
Silkes, C., Adler, H., & Phillips, P. S. (2010). Hospitality career fairs: Student perceptions of value and usefulness. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 9(2), 117-130.
Struyven, K. & Vanthournout, G. (2014). Teachers' exit decisions: An investigation into the reasons why newly qualified teachers fail to enter the teaching profession or why those who do enter do not continue teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 43, 37-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.06.002
Tarc, P., Mishra Tarc, A., & Wu, X. (2019). Anglo-Western international school teachers as global middle class: Portraits of three families. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 40(5), 666–681. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 01596306.2019.1570635
Teven, J. J. (2007). Teacher temperament: Correlates with teacher caring, burnout and organizational outcomes. Communication Education, 56, 382–400.
Turban, D.B., & Greening, D.W. (1996). Corporate social performance and organizational attractiveness to prospective employee. Academy of Management Journal, 40(3), 658–672.
Ünver, G., Bümen, N. T., & Başbay, M. (2010). Ortaöğretim alan öğretmenliği tezsiz yüksek lisans derslerine öğretim elemanı bakışı: Ege Üniversitesi örneği. [Instructor's perspective on secondary education field teaching non-thesis master's courses: The example of Ege University] Eğitim ve Bilim Dergisi, 155(35), 63-77.
von Kirchenheim, C., & Richardson, W. (2005). Teachers and their international relocation: The effect of self-efficacy and flexibility on adjustment and outcome variables. International Education Journal, 6(3), 407–416.
van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience. SUNY Press.
Yıldırım, A. & Şimşek, H. (2011). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırmaya giriş. [Introduction to qualitative research in social sciences] Seçkin Yayıncılık.
Yong, B. C. S. (1995). Teacher trainees’ motives for entering into a teaching career in Brunei Darussalam. Teaching and Teacher Education, 11(3), 275–28.
Zhang, Q., Cao, M., Zhang, F., Liu, J., & Li, X. (2020). Effects of corporate social responsibility on customer satisfaction and organizational attractiveness: A signaling perspective. Business Ethics: A European Review, 29(1), 20-34. https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12243
Zembylas, M., & Papanastasiou, E. (2006). Sources of teacher job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in Cyprus. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 36(2), 229-247.
Zembylas, M., & Papanastasiou, E. (2004). Job satisfaction among school teachers in Cyprus. Journal of Educational Administration, 42, 357–372.