Management Challenges and Training Needs in Transnational EAP Programmes

Abstract

The professional development of academic managers is an established field of higher education research, but there has been little research into the experiences of managers working in the area of English for academic purposes (EAP). Although many EAP programmes are large and complex, requiring skilled management, managers in this field regularly transition from teaching to management roles with little or no management training. This multi-case study focuses on the challenges of managers working on EAP programmes at three universities in mainland China, the UK, and Hong Kong. Questionnaires and focus groups with new and experienced managers identify the challenging aspects of their current roles and their perceptions of effective support to understand their management training needs. The results support the view that management training needs in the field of EAP are diverse, with people management perceived as particularly challenging, and managers are often unprepared for these wide-ranging roles. These findings contribute to research in management needs in general, and in this increasingly important sector of higher education in particular, facilitating additional studies in this under-researched area of higher education.