Migration of Filipino Teachers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): Implications in the Philippine Education Sector

The study examined the migration of Filipino teachers to the UAE and its implications for the Philippine education sector using a descriptive-correlational design with data from licensed teachers in UAE primary and secondary schools. Findings show that most respondents were young, female, single, and postgraduate-qualified with prior teaching experience in the Philippines, and they exhibited a very high level of motivation to migrate, mainly driven by family welfare, financial stability, and better professional opportunities. Demographic and professional characteristics were found to have no significant relationship with migration motivation. Respondents also perceived migration as having significant negative effects on the Philippine education system, particularly teacher shortages, increased workloads, and declining student learning outcomes. A significant positive relationship was identified between motivation to migrate and perceived impacts of migration, indicating that those more aware of its effects were also more motivated to work abroad. Overall, the study concludes that while migration to the UAE offers Filipino teachers substantial benefits such as significantly higher salaries, improved financial stability, family welfare, and better professional opportunities, it also creates serious systemic challenges in the Philippine education sector, including teacher shortages, increased workload for remaining teachers, brain drain, and declining educational quality. To address these issues, the study recommends strengthening teacher retention through improved compensation, career development, working conditions, professional growth opportunities, and family support, within the broader context of global labor mobility.