'Brain gain' in England: How overseas trained teachers have enriched and sustained English education

To date, teacher migration and recruitment have been considered mainly in respect of supply. This article, however, discusses teacher migration and recruitment in terms of demand. England underwent a period of acute teacher shortage during the late 1990s and early 2000s. This prompted the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to sanction the recruitment of Overseas Trained Teachers (OTTs) by teacher recruitment agencies, government office for London, and individual head teachers. This article discusses some of the teacher labour market problems in England, and attempts to establish a link between the 'brain drain' worldwide, and the 'brain gain' that accrued to England through a process of Knowledge transfer, by means of the presence and contributions of OTTs. A summary of the effect of teacher loss on developing countries is also presented.