School Visits

• Description: This type of exchange allows participants to discover another school. By observing other teachers' lessons and meeting new colleagues, partcipants gain insight into a different school culture and/or another school system.

• Target group: This type of exchange is aimed at teachers who have completed their studies and their teacher training, with more or less teaching experience, and for school administrators. It is particularly suitable for teachers who are interested in doing an exchange over the language border but either do not have the necessary linguistic skills to do a post-to-post exchange or cannot find a suitable exchange partner with the corresponding foreign language skills.

 
• Length: School visits can last a few days up to three months (by combining 2-3 school visits).

 
• Costs: All extra costs involved in the exchange (e.g. for travel, food and lodging) are at the visiting teachers' own expense. Teachers may ask the employing authorities (e.g. the Department of Education) for financial support or paid leave.

 
• Reciprocity and terms of participation: The exchange between visiting teachers and host teachers should work in both ways. The host teachers should also be offered the opportunity to visit the school where the visiting teacher usually works. If no such visit can be arranged, visiting teachers are asked to contribute to the exchange programme in another way.

 
• Application deadline: Depending on the destination, applications must be submitted to ch Youth Exchange well in advance, but at least 4-6 months prior to the intended exchange. Please contact us for further information.

Job-shadowing

Description: In the job-shadowing programme the visiting teacher accompanies one or several colleagues of the host school during their work and assists them in their lessons. Before the exchange, the visiting teacher and the host teachers define their expectations and set up a programme that allows the assisting teacher to be actively involved in the  teaching process. In this type of exchange, the visiting teacher gets a deeper understanding of the various facets ot the teaching profession in a particular country. The host teachers, on the other hand, are invited to exchange their ideas on education and teaching with a foreign colleague more intensively.

• Target group: This type of exchange is suitable for teachers having completed their studies and their teacher training, with more or less teaching experience, and for school administrators.

 
• Length: The job-shadowing programme can last a few days - or by combining several schools - up to several months.

 
• Costs: Despite their assisting function, visiting teachers are not paid by the host school; they must make the necessary arrangements to provide for all extra costs (e.g. for travel, food and lodging) incurred by the exchange themselves. They may ask the employing authorities (e.g. the Department of Education) for financial aid or paid leave.

 
• Reciprocity and terms of participation: The exchange between visiting teachers and host teachers should work in both ways. The host teachers should also be offered the opportunity to visit the school where the visiting teacher usually works. If no such visit can be arranged, visiting teachers are asked to contribute to the exchange programme in another way. Please contact us for more information on the terms of participation.

 
• Application deadline: Finding host schools may take very long depending on the destinations. In general, applications should be submitted to ch Youth Exchange at least 6-8 months prior to the planned stay. For rare destinations more time will be needed to arrange the exchange.

 
• Note: The job-shadowing programme should not be confused with the job of a foreign language assistant at a High School. Foreign language assistants are employed by a school and get a modest sum of money to finance their living. ch Youth Exchange does not arrange this type of employment. Swiss students studying foreign languages should contact the foreign language departments at their university for further information.

Post-to-post Exchange

• Description: In a post-to-post exchange, teachers basically swap their posts and assume the teaching role of their exchange partner - if possible their teaching assignments are adjusted to account for their specific qualifications and teaching experience. In most cases, a post-to-post exchange also entails the exchange of accommodation to keep extra costs as low as possible.

 
• Target group: This type of exchange is meant for teachers who have completed their studies and teacher training, with 3-5 years of teaching experience (depending on the country of exchange). Applicants for this programme and their family must show true commitment, openness and flexibility. Further information on the terms of participation.

 
• Length: Due to considerable preparations, this type of exchange usually lasts a whole school year (from August to July for exchanges in the northern hemisphere, from January to December for exchanges in the southern hemisphere). Shorter exchanges may be arranged at particular request.

 
• Financial aspects: Teachers participating in the post-to-post exchange continue to be employed and paid by the employing authority in their home country. Depending on the country of exchange, Swiss teachers are required to make a financial contribution to allow their exchange partner to come and live in Switzerland. The amount of the equalization payment is fixed with some countries (like the US) or to be negotiated by the exchange partners on the basis of all relevant factors such as salaries, cost of living in the two countries, or the number of family dependants.

 
• Chances to find a match: To find a suitable exchange partner, ch Youth Exchange and its partner organisations need at least 1-2 years. The probability to find a suitable match depends largely on the following factors:

1. Preferred destination (country and area)
2. Language of instruction at the two schools
3. Applicants' mother tongues and foreign language skills
4. Level of instruction, type of school and teaching subjects

The greater the host schools' flexibility with regard to teaching subjects and language of instruction, the greater the chance to find a suitable match!

Note:ch Youth Exchange does not act as an employment agency for unemployed teachers. Only applicants holding a regular teaching position in their country can be accepted for the exchange. They must be guaranteed to be employed by their school in their home country during their planned exchange.
 

• Application deadline:  The application deadline for post-to-post exchanges beginning in August 2002 (for the northern hemisphere) and January 2003 for the southern hemisphere is November 1st, 2001. Teachers who have become interested in our programme later and who have discovered a potential match on our website or on our mailings to the schools, should hand in their application by Bebruary 1st. Applications after that cannot be considered for the following school year. Please contact us for our detailed programme description including the application form.

 

 

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