2. The Canadian Education Exchange Foundation is a
Non-profit foundation which handles both Student
And Educator Exchanges. International educational
exchanges offer educators and their students as
opportunity to broaden their understanding of one
another’s cultures, customs, and languages.
3. › FINANCES: You and your family may spend more than you
normally would for a year. The choice is yours but the biggest
expense is usually travel. This is not only to your host country
but also to take advantage of other travel and touring
opportunities available to you during the exchange year.
Exchanges are rewarding, but there are some
factors needed for consideration:
4. › STABILITY & STRESS: An exchange is never a solution to
personal or professional problems. Are you secure in
your current lifestyle and relationships? Experience has
shown that participants who hope to solve problems
related to marriage, family, professional relationships or
other stresses by going on exchange usually find the
problems compounded.
5. ›SCHOOL SUPPORT: Are your principal and
colleagues supportive of your desire and willing
to help and work with your exchange partner?
Discuss this with your principal before applying.
6. › COMMITMENT: The spirit of exchange requires fairness,
consideration, and commitment. You must be available
for matching until the end of June (at least) and must
intend to accept an exchange if it is offered. In recent
years, due to changes in Canadian immigration and visa
procedures, we have been able to make matches right
through until the end of August. This means you will not
be able to apply for promotions, transfers, or any other
program that might prevent you from participating in an
exchange.
7.
8. These are:
› One year exchange: These exchange enable
teachers in Alberta to swap their jobs (and home)
with teachers in countries such as Australia, New
Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States,
Germany, and others for a period of one year.
During this time, the teacher continues to be paid
by his or her school board in Alberta. When the year
is over, the teacher returns home to his original
position in Alberta.
In Alberta, two kinds of exchanges are possible for a
powerful professional development experiences.
9. › Short-term Exchanges. These exchanges
which occur during the spring or summer
holidays, enable the teachers and
administrator to job shadow with the
counterpart in another country.
CEEF- Canadian Education Exchange Foundation
10. › To qualify as a potential exchange candidate, a teacher
must:
• have a minimum of 5 years teaching experience;
• be recognized by his/her employing authority as an
exemplary teacher who is a credit to the profession; and,
• obtain formal approval for the exchange from his/her
principal, supervisory officer, school board or authority;
and,
• have a full time assignment and a permanent contract,
• meet the criteria established by the exchange country to
which he/she wishes to apply.
11. › CEEF is a not-for-profit organization which
administers Teacher/Educator Exchanges at a
minimum fee to Exchange Participants, and
at NO COST to School Boards/Districts.
12. › Normally, the exchange also involves trading
homes with your exchange partner.
Exchanges where no accommodations are
provided are rare.
13. › Exchange co-ordinators share relevant databases. Looking at
assignment, destination preferences, family needs, accommodation
offered and accommodation needed, they look for possible
matches. Once a potential match has been identified, the
documentation for the proposed incoming exchange partner is
forwarded to the authority designated by the Provincial
Department / Ministry as the initial recipient. This may be the
provincial registrar, district administrator or principal. The match
must be approved by the principal, the employing board/ authority,
and you. At that point it will be important that you assume
responsibility for seeing that the "Acceptance of Exchange" form has
all the required signatures, the start and completion dates of
exchange and is returned to CEEF as soon as possible. Generally,
consideration of the exchange takes place simultaneously in both
jurisdictions.
› CEEF does not operate on a quota system, but tries to match as
many applicants as possible each year. Every match requires an
appropriate partner and placement on either end of the exchange.
Some countries, subject areas, and grade levels are harder to match
than others.