When you are teaching, you should be neat, clean and modest. In general, as long as your shoulders are covered (and all skirts/dresses go past your knees), you’re in good shape. In most schools, nice jeans (no holes) and a nice shirt (t-shirts with no logos) are fine.

However each location is slightly unique depending on the host program’s preferences. In a few countries, the schools require that female volunteers wear dresses or skirts. In our Romania orphanage program, volunteers will need to wear medical scrubs. You will be getting more specific ideas on what you can wear while teaching at the Pre-Departure Training and the details when you’re officially assigned to a location.

We also have programs where modesty (while teaching or not) is extremely important the culture where you are volunteering. In those locations, you’re asked to wear flowy clothing that covers your shoulders and goes past your knees and be mindful of covering up when you’re exploring, just walking around town, swimming, hiking, etc. Being respectful of the culture is an enormous part of your ILP experience, and a huge part of that is dressing modestly, particularly in certain locations. If you think this may be an issue for you, please contact the ILP office about your semester preferences to see which countries would be the best fit for you.