The Pipeline of International Teachers: Opportunities and challenges

Teacher recruitment and retention are global challenges. To address the teacher shortage, recent literature reviews (Courtney, Austin and Zofaghari, 2023) highlight best practices from countries with PISA rankings significantly above the OECD average. Many of these recommendations have already been implemented in England. Examples include funding induction in shortage subjects (DfE,2024a) and mandating mentors undergo additional coaching to support preservice and early career teachers (DfE, 2021). Yet, there have been limited improvements in teacher retention. To address this shortfall new routes to recruit internationally have been introduced. This panel discussion explores the opportunities and challenges of working with an increasingly international cohort of preservice teachers. Each paper presents a unique story of how we support international trainees nationally and abroad. When reviewing these examples in unison, they, for the first time, provide research-informed guidance for ensuring international preservice teachers can successfully secure QTS. This new study provides research-informed guidance on effectively implementing teacher education policy and curriculum development. The panel discussion concludes by exploring possible new research collaborations to inform educational policy and support the UK Government's ambitious aim to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers.