Sector research describes retention, wellbeing and professional development shifting from operational concerns to strategic priorities, with a blunt warning attached: schools that fail to address workload and career sustainability will struggle to hold on to people.
Surveys of more than 1,000 teachers and leaders across 70-plus countries keep identifying the same levers — supportive relationships, robust communication, effective support systems and clear leadership — as the foundations of both staff and student wellbeing. None of them are quick wins, and none can be delegated to a single coordinator.
Growing their own
In response, more schools are investing in local teacher and leadership pipelines and in structured development programmes — a slower, less glamorous answer to the recruitment squeeze than bidding harder for the same globally mobile staff, but one that compounds over time.
Sources
ISC Research — How international schools are prioritising wellbeing · TES — International schools sector trends for 2026
