The impact of international teacher migration on schooling in developing countries—the case of Southern Africa

Abstract

Whilst the migration of teachers has been a phenomenon for hundreds of years, the advent of ‘globalisation’ has seen such migration return to prominence. This article focuses on the experiences of two developing countries in Southern Africa which have been on different ends of the process: South Africa as a net sender of teachers and Botswana as a net receiver of teachers. In comparing these two country experiences it is possible to highlight the complexity and impact of teacher mobility in developing countries. The authors argue that, in both cases, there are signs that international teacher mobility may have been a temporary issue as local markets in both countries have adjusted to meet the new demand. A possible conclusion is that the significance of international teacher mobility for developing country education systems lies less in its quantitative effects in terms of numbers of trained teachers and more in its qualitative effects in terms of the kind of teachers that move.