How British Columbia Offshore School Teachers are Constructed on Government Websites

Abstract

This article examines how the province of British Columbia (BC) constructs teachers on its government websites for the BC offshore school program. BC offshore schools are authorized to teach the BC curriculum with BC-certified teachers abroad, and currently operate in eleven countries. Our critical discourse analysis of BC provincial government websites shows that teachers are constructed as independent and responsible for their own understanding of employment conditions and for adapting to other cultures. A video on the government website does not give teachers speaking roles; instead they appear as background actors in still photographs. A secondary website mentions that teachers help internationalize the BC curriculum. While the main website issues cautionary advice to potential teachers, it does not explain any benefits of teaching abroad such as gaining economic, cultural, and social capital. The findings in this study will advance scholarship in the positioning of teachers in neoliberal global education, particularly in the BC context.