Expatriate ?experts? in Indonesia and Thailand: Professional and personal qualities for effective teaching and consulting

Abstract

Structured group interviews with Thai and Indonesian educators indicate that expatriate experts require a wide range of personal and professional qualities to be effective: they must have expertise, be able to establish and maintain good relationships with people, be well organised and effective teachers, and transfer information and skills that are applicable and of benefit to the nation. None of these qualities is simple or uni-dimensional. The study shows, for example, that ‘expertise’ has several elements including technical expertise, cultural knowledge, language ability and expertise in education. Practical implications of the findings are in overseas project design, management and placement of personnel, professional development of experts, and in the design, implementation and evaluation of teaching and training.