Belongingness Challenges of Repatriate Academics at International University Campuses

Abstract

Transnational higher education has collapsed geographic boundaries, allowing offshore students to gain an international education without leaving their home regions. A prominent model for transnational higher education is overseas university branch campuses. These satellite campuses approximate parent-campus learning experiences, importing curriculum and teaching practices from headquarters. However, lecturers working at these international campuses often hail from local regions, placing them in the unique identity position of navigating between the local culture of the international branch campus (IBC) and the overseas culture of the university’s parent campus.Our research finds that host-country lecturers at international branch campuses often identify more with their local campuses than their global universities, impeding their comfort in representing their broader institutions. An exception exists in local lecturers who have previously lived as expatriates overseas. In this chapter we profile host-country branch-campus lecturers whose international experiences have helped them to develop cosmopolitan sensibilities that bridge parent and branch campus cultures. These lecturers’ global identities attract them to their international universities but can also isolate them from less-traveled compatriots, impeding their sense of local belonging. In this chapter we present cases of repatriate branch campus lecturers and explore their unique identity situations.KeywordsInternational branch campusesAcademic identityInternational faculty