To Greener Pastures: Transnational Teacher Migration from South Africa
Perspectives in Education, v25 n2 p55-65 Jun 2007, 25 (2):
55 (0601 2007)EM: 2007.Abstract
Globalisation of the world economy has intensified migration in the twenty-first century. Professionals are vulnerable to transnational migration and the trend is for professionals from developing countries to fill labour gaps in developed countries. South Africa's (SA) inclusion in the world labour market suggests that she is not immune. She is losing workers in five fields: health, teaching, engineering, accounting and information technology. Whilst, research has focused on migration in health and science there is a dearth of literature on teacher migration. This article provides a discussion of migrant teacher heterogeneity and complexity of their thinking by focusing on the migration of South African teachers to the United Kingdom (UK) and their return. Three aspects of teacher migration are discussed: teachers' motivations for leaving SA, their experiences in the UK and their reasons for returning. The study revealed two cohorts of teachers leaving SA to pursue socio-economic and career opportunities abroad. In the UK migrants were bombarded by conflicting experiences in schools and society. Poor student discipline, loneliness and climate led to a stream of return migration, but within a year remigration was being considered. The article concludes by calling for further research to contribute to a greater understanding of teacher migration.
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