MinimumstipulationforalecturerisamasterdegreeandmostChineseuniversitiespreferadoctoratedegree,particularlyinteachingspecialtiessuchasscienceorengineering.Intoday’sworld,havingarelevantdegreedoesnotonlyenhancetheprobabilityofbeinghired,butalso,andmostimportantly,affectsthesalaryandtherankthatonegainswithintheuniversity.
AnotherimportantissuethatforeignersexperiencewhileteachinginChineseschoolsistheissueofteachingandteaching-learningculture.Fromthedescriptiveanalysis,itcanbeinferredthatChinesestudentsaremoreusedtotheconventionalmethodofteaching,whichischaracterizedbylecturingandemphasisonrotelearningaswellasresultantexaminations.However,thereisashifttowardsamoreparticipatoryanddiscursiveapproachtolearning,especiallywheretheteachersarefromtheforeigncountries.
SomeoftheuniversitiesinChinaincludethelecturerpositionsontheirwebsiteespeciallyforspecificpositions.Ifyouhaveaspecificuniversityinmindthenindeeditwillbehelpfultovisitthissectionoftheuniversity’ssitemoreoften.
ButtherearealsorecruitmentagenciesthatareestablishedpurelyforthepurposeofrecruitingforeignteacherstoteachinChina’suniversities.Theseagenciescanalsoassistyouwiththeproceduresofapplyingforeducationvisasandalsothedocumentsthatarerequired.
Tosuccessfullyapplyforauniversitylecturer’spositioninChinaitisadvisabletoincludeandaccentuaterelevantqualificationsandteachingexperienceinyourCVandcoverletterrespectively.Itisadvisabletostressontheknowledgeofinterculturalcontextsorpreviouspositionsofateacherinanothercountry.
SamplequestionsinterviewersforuniversityjobsinChinamaylikelyposetoyouincludeyourteachingphilosophy,yourapproachtohandlingaclassroomandyourapproachtohandlingstudentsfromdifferentcultures.Youmustbereadytotalkindetailaboutlessonsthatyou’vetaught,anditwillbeimportanttogiveexamplesofhowyouhaveaddressedissuesintheclassroom.
Thisiswhyduringtheinterviewyoushouldnotforgetaboutculturalsensitivity.BeforeheadingtoChina,itservesalotofgoodpurposetofamiliarizeyourselfwiththeeducationalsystemofChinaandalsothebasicetiquettetakeninthecountry.
Atthemoment,tobeabletolegallyteachandworkasalecturerinthepeople’srepublicofChina,onehastoobtainaZvisa,whichisavisaforforeignworkers.Thisisrecognizedandyouremployerwillmostlikelyhelpwiththeprocedurebutyouwillhavetobringdocumentssuchasdegreecertificates,teachingcredentials,nocriminalrecordcertificateandmedicalfitness.
Inregardtothevisa,Chinahasarulesdothatallforeignworkersneedtobetestedinamedicalexamination.Youwillalsoberequiredtosubmitacriminalclearancefromyourhomecountrywhichhastobenotarisedandlegalized.
AndifyouhaveanyplansoflivinginChinaforanylengthoftime,it’shightimeyoupickupsomeMandarinaswell.Alargenumberofuniversitiesprovidetheirforeignstaffwiththeopportunitytoattendlanguageclasseswithnoorlowfees,whichwillletyouenhanceyourlanguageknowledge.
AuniversityinChinacanbebusyplaceasmostofthestudentsliveinuniversitydormitories,practiceandattendextracurricularactivities.Participatingintheseactivitiesmayalsoenableyoutofostergoodrelationshipswithyourstudentsandothercolleaguesthusmakingyourexperiencefulfilling.
Someuniversitiesalsoofferperformance-basedbonuses,researchgrants,andcontributionstopensionschemes.It’simportanttoreviewyourcontractthoroughlytounderstandallthebenefitsavailabletoyou.
Differencesincommunicationstylesandculturalnormscansometimesleadtomisunderstandingsbetweenforeignlecturersandtheirstudentsorcolleagues.Beingopen-mindedandwillingtolearnaboutthelocalculturecanhelpyouavoidconflictsandfosterbetterrelationships.
Beforesigningacontract,makesuretoreviewthetermscarefully.Thisincludesthejobdescription,salary,benefits,workinghours,andcontractlength.It’salsowisetoconsultwithotherforeignlecturersattheuniversityorinonlineforumstogetabetterunderstandingofwhattoexpect.
Unfortunately,therehavebeeninstancesoffraudulentjobofferstargetingforeigners.Alwaysverifythelegitimacyofthejobofferandensurethattheuniversityisaccreditedbeforeacceptingaposition.
TheZvisaprocesstypicallytakesseveralweeks,dependingonhowquicklyyoucangathertherequireddocumentsandcompletethemedicalcheck.
Manyuniversitiesofferfreeorsubsidizedhousingforforeignlecturersaspartofthecompensationpackage.
Yes,manyuniversitiesencouragelecturerstoparticipateinresearchprojectsandattendinternationalconferences.
Teachingloadsvarybuttypicallyrangefrom12to20hoursperweek,allowingtimeforresearch,studentadvising,andpersonalprojects.