Teacher Mobility, 'Brain Drain', Labour Markets and Educational Resources for the Commonwealth

Page last updated: May 14, 2004

Research by: Amanda Sives
Centre for Comparative Education Research, University of Nottingham/CPSU

Link to: Centre for Comparative Education Research

'Teacher mobility, 'brain drain', labour markets and educational resources in the Commonwealth' is an 18 month research project, funded by the Department for International Development. The project commenced in October 2003.

The project will be conducted jointly by the Centre for Comparative Education Research and the Centre for Research on Economic Development and International Trade, the University of Nottingham, with the support of the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU).

The project is in partnership with local institutions in Commonwealth countries and with the support and co-operation of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Policy objectives

Education has been assigned a key role in strategies for poverty elimination, human development and economic growth in developing countries. Considerable donor funding is allocated for this purpose and ambitious targets have been set for universal primary education by 2015. However, achieving these goals may be complicated by one under-emphasised aspect of globalisation - the significant international flows of trained teachers. In the worst case, these movements may undermine the education sectors in developing countries through a 'brain drain' that allows developed countries to free ride on the investments in training made by developing countries. There is a gap in existing international knowledge on these movements and their implications for the achievement of strategic educational objectives. The purpose of this study is to inform the policy of developing and developed states of the Commonwealth on this urgent matter of common interest. Specifically, it will analyse:

(i) The extent of international flows of trained teachers: Are certain states losing valuable trained manpower, while others are benefiting disproportionately from the output of other countries? Are these flows are offset by significant reverse flows, which may indicate that exporting countries benefit from the experience their teachers obtain abroad? How do such flows compare with those in related fields (e.g. health, tertiary education, IT specialists)?

(ii) The causes of such flows: We hypothesise that much teacher mobility is' demand driven', with flows generated in response to shortages in receiving countries. We will test this hypothesis but also look at 'supply side' factors, such as how inter-generational or gender issues impact on teacher's willingness to migrate.

(iii) The consequences of these flows: we will assess the social consequences of teacher flows, particularly for poverty eradication and human development in developing countries. Crucial here will be the linkages between migrant teachers and their home country, in terms of remittances, return migration and other effects. We hypothesise that a key social cost of teacher flows to exporting countries is the cost of training teachers that subsequently migrate. The implications of teacher flows for recruitment shortages and the delivery of education services in exporting countries will also be assessed.

(iv) The policy responses to these flows: depending on our assessment of the consequences of teacher flows, we will consider appropriate responses from both exporting and importing states. A specific focus here is the financing of teacher training in exporting countries and possible measures to recoup the cost of such training from migrant teachers and/or importing countries. A more general policy of interest is teacher remuneration. We hypothesise that low levels of pay for teachers relative to alternative occupations is the key factor in generating recruitment shortages in both importing and exporting countries.

Methods

The research will be multi-disciplinary, involving collaborative research between specialists in education and economics, and will be conducted using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Case studies: The project will look at two "exporting" and two "receiving" countries. The two exporters will be Jamaica and South Africa. The two receiving countries will be the United Kingdom (specifically England) and Botswana.

Questionnaires: Questionnaires will be given to samples of teachers who have moved from one part of the Commonwealth to another. They will be circulated in conjunction with appropriate teacher unions, and will utilise web-sites. As well as helping to understand the process of teacher migration, the questionnaires will inquire into the remittances and other linkages that remain between the migrant and their home country. They inquire about teacher’s future career plans and specifically into the likelihood of return migration.

Interviews and Focus Groups: We will conduct interviews with those officials responsible for recruiting overseas teachers, with policy makers and with employers at the school and institution level. There would also be a series of focus groups with migrant teachers, with fellow teachers and with pupils and students.

Secondary data: where possible we will use existing survey and administrative data to examine the extent of teacher flows, teacher pay (relative to other occupations and to teachers in other countries), and teacher shortages.

The Research Team

Professor W. John Morgan, Principal Investigator.
Dr Amanda Sives, Research Fellow.
Dr Simon Appleton (Centre for Research on Economic Development and International Trade)
Mr Richard Bourne (Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit, Institute of Commonwealth Studies).

Advisory Group

Dr Gari Donn, Commonwealth Secretariat.
Mr David Jobbins, The Times Higher Education Supplement.
Professor Michael Omolewa, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO.
Mr Steve Sinnott, Deputy General Secretary, National Union of Teachers.
Representatives of the High Commissions.

Contact

Dr Amanda Sives
Centre for Comparative Education Research
School of Education
University of Nottingham
Nottingham NG8 1BB
tel. +44 (0)115 846 7043

Professor W. J. Morgan, Ph.D, FRSA.
Director, The Centre for Comparative Education Research & Commonwealth Education Archive,
The School of Education,
The Dearing Building,
The University of Nottingham,
Nottingham, NG8 1BB.
+44 115 9513717 (direct line)
+44 115 9514397 (fax)
John.Morgan@nottingham.ac.uk