10 Tips For Getting
Hired as a Teacher

Teaching Job Resources

Teaching Part Time

There are many reasons why people choose to teach part time as opposed to full time. A part time position is, by implication, a permanent or regular position and not a temporary position. It may be job sharing or it may be involve an element of self-employment, such as is the case for tutoring.

Part time teaching is a valid career choice for many teachers. Teaching part time can provide a means to juggle the various facets of a teacher’s life. In some cases, the prospect of working part-time is an attractive alternative to an undesired career break and can appeal in particular to women teachers returning to work after maternity leave, teachers who wish to pursue courses of study or work in other types of employment but also retain their involvement in teaching, teachers seeking part-time employment to allow them to play an active role in rearing their children or to undertake other caring responsibilities, mature teachers who, after an absence of some years from the profession, would like to return to teaching but not full time and teachers with disabilities or progressive medical conditions who may, with a lightened teaching load, be able to remain in employment.

That explains why teachers may choose to go part time but what is the attraction for employers? Part time teachers can help schools with recruitment and retention and be surprisingly cost-effective. It encourages more women teachers to remain in teaching after maternity leave or to return to teaching. It can also reduce turnover because teachers with convenient hours of work are more likely to stay on. It is argued that the choice of teaching part time may be a factor in job satisfaction, helping to reduce teacher stress, tension and illness, enabling teachers to come to the job fresher and more energetic. Schools then benefit by having more highly motivated teachers who feel that their professional experience and expertise is appreciated.

Applying for and securing a vacant post advertised as part-time due to the particular needs of the school is fairly straightforward. It is also possible to apply for part-time working in vacant full-time posts on a job-share basis if you know someone you can share with or the school agrees to find someone to work with you. It is vital to understand how the educational system works and one easy way, if available, would be for you to join a Teachers’ Union or an Association if a union is not available where you are. These will provide you with the information you need before you begin to apply for a part time teaching job.

The things you will want to know about the school you are applying to are not difficult to find out for yourself. Firstly, is there a part-time working or job sharing agreement in place. Is there an equal opportunities agreement which refers to part-time working? Are there any other teachers in similar posts or circumstances who are working part-time or in a job share?

There are many different methods of designing part time teaching jobs. Some part-time teachers are employed on permanent contracts while others are employed on fixed term contracts. Some are employed on a job-share basis, either permanently or temporarily, sharing a single full-time post. In some cases, supply teachers or home tutors are referred to as part-time teachers.