Recruitment of Teachers and Strategies to Retain Them: A Study Conducted in International Schools in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Teacher recruitment procedures are one of the significant factors in providing effective and quality teacheing in schools. However, limited research has delved into how teachers are recruited in international schools. Hence, this study attempts to investigate the factors considered in teacher recruitment procedures and how teachers can be retained in the secondary section of international schools. A sample of 72 teachers from six leading international schools in Colombo was used to obtain relevant information. The study revealed that besides academic and professional qualifications, the six main traits that are considered during teacher recruitment are subject knowledge (80%), language skills (80%), firm personality (70%), voice projection (66%), teaching experience (45%) and teacherstudent interaction (35%).There is a shortage of qualified teachers in all streams, especially in the Arts and Technology streams. Nevertheless, teacher turnover rates are also high in these two streams, 44% and 28% respectively. The four main reasons that were identified for teacher turnover are management interference (76%), strict rules and regulations (69%), lack of job security (56%) and overload of work (56%). The four main teacher retention strategies are financial incentives (30%), reducing workload (20%), flexibility and supportive (15%) and improving working conditions (15%). , It is recommended that management should rethink about the teacher recruitment and retention protocols by managing human resources more effectively.