Lynn,

You're gonna be fairly hard pressed to find a huge amount of positive feedback about Chinese schools anywhere online.

There are an AWFUL lot of bad school employers here. The Chinese approach to business and to education can often easily be seen as dishonest by Western eyes...and perhaps there is very often some justification for this. The odds of your encountering at least one serious employer-related problem during a stay in China are very, very high.

And, of course, bad news gets written up more readily than good news...just like in the newspapers.

There are definitely good jobs in China, but finding one ain't easy. It's a matter of using your head when sizing up potential employers, of getting good solid advice from folks with experience here, of getting experience that will help you learn the ropes and find local jobs that give you access to local reputation...and of course a good dollop of plain ol' dumb luck.

It's way too complex and variable to put into one post or one thread, but some basic tips might include...

- Never, ever use a recruiter to find a teaching job in China. If you can't deal directly with the employer, stop communication and run away. Recruiters rarely offer the most desirable jobs, and themselves have a pretty nasty reputation for honesty and support. It's reeeeeeal easy to find jobs here...you don't need help from a recruiter.

- If you get a TEFL/TESOL certification (itself a very debatable choice for China), avoid using the placement service many of these programs offer. The cert program itself might be fine, but many of these places then simply turn you over to recruiters and wash their hands of you. See the above note on using recruiters...
Some TEFL/TESOL cert programs are themselves thinly disguised pipelines for dodgy recruiters and schools.

- Never take any full-time job, even a short-term one, from a school that can't/won't offer you a residence permit. Working here on a visa alone with no residence permit CAN have serious legal consequences for you; be aware that a lot of schools in China will cheerfully lie to you about this and tell you you're fine with a tourist or business visa. Don't fall for it. A school that doesn't give you a residence permit for a full-time job is either 1) not legally licensed to hire foreign workers, which can have consequences for you, or 2) incredibly cheap, stupid, and dishonest, or 3) all of the above.

- Avoid the chain/franchise schools. Too many horror stories.

- Don't be lulled into thinking a Western-owned/managed school will be more honest than a purely Chinese outfit. The reverse can EASILY be true. Do the research no matter who's in charge.

- Try to get contacts of FORMER teachers at the school, and solicit their opinion. (CURRENT teachers may have a gun to their heads, or simply may not have hit the bad part yet...exiting a job is one of the most critical times for employer honesty!)

- Search the internet for teacher school reviews, and join internet forums to ask about possible employers.

- Research the city where the job is located; venues in China can range from delightful to hellish. The setting can be just as critical as the job itself.

- When offered a contract, never let them rush you into signing it...itself a bad sign if they try. Read the contract VERY carefully, and don't hesitate to ask hard questions about what you find there. If you're not happy with a major plank of the contract (salary, residence permit, required weekly hour load, class location, benefits, etc.) then simply walk away. There are a million more jobs where that one came from.

I'm afraid the fine art of Chinese school contract interpretation is something that can only fully come about through oft-bitter experience...

Good luck,
Raoul
Raoul's China Saloon
http://raoulschinasaloon.com