Expatriate Faculty Research Articles

Challenges and opportunities for expatriate faculty teaching graduation seminar classes in Japanese universities

This paper considers the issues facing expatriate instructors teaching English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) graduation seminars (commonly known as the “zemi” in Japan) in Japanese universities and aims to establish better conditions to build Communities of Practice. Since the term “graduation seminar” is widely used globally, and might lead to preconceptions from readers, zemi is the term that will be used in this paper as a common example of Japanese English. This class is one that typically involves aspects of academic mentoring, pastoral care and socialization that differentiate it from regular classes. Lacking any personal experience of the zemi, teachers educated overseas are likely to have different expectations of the system than their domestic colleagues and students, creating a significant challenge in how they design and implement programmes. To investigate these issues, 14 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with expatriate teachers of EMI zemis. Common themes described by informants included difficulties in creating a cohesive syllabus with limited support, challenges posed by thesis supervision, and mixed feelings towards mentoring and pastoral care. The data also revealed unique opportunities afforded to foreign instructors of these classes, which were unlikely to be available if they had not been entrusted with teaching a zemi. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the literature and provide insights into how foreign instructors experience the zemi. The knowledge gained can be employed to help develop Communities of Practice for such teachers. It is also hoped it will be of significance to those interested in comparative education, faculty asked to teach within educational systems of which they do not have personal experience, and anyone who works with Japanese learners, either in Japan or as international students.

Interstices: Workplace satisfaction, inclusion, and the cultural adjustment of expatriate academics at South Korean universities nationwide

The number of expatriate faculty members in Korea has been falling since 2013, intimating that Korean universities face a problem with international faculty satisfaction. This research develops a model for expatriate faculty overall workplace satisfaction at Korean universities by integrating acculturation and enculturation theory, social interaction and social connectedness, and workplace inclusivity considerations while delineating between them. Results are based on quantitative analyses of survey data from 318 PhD holding expatriate faculty working at over 50 universities nationwide. Regression results indicate that social interaction, an “identity blind” inclusive work environment, enculturation, and an “identity conscious” inclusive work environment are positively related to overall workplace satisfaction. By comparison, Korean ethnicity is negatively associated with workplace satisfaction, something explained in terms of Korean organizational culture and associated work expectations. Suggestions to facilitate the development of places to integrate and participate within established Korean university organizational cultures are ventured.

Hong Kong Universities in the Shadow of the National Security Law

How did Hong Kong’s transition from a largely free, semi-independent city to a full-blown Communist Party dictatorship affect its academic life? A watershed moment was Beijing’s imposition, in June 2020, of a National Security Law. The author examines the impact of that law on the conduct of university senior managements, on local and expatriate faculty, and on students. Senior management responded to the new law by disciplining students, monitoring faculty, and cleansing universities of anything deemed hostile to the new order. Faculty rapidly capitulated to government and management edicts, though locals showed more grit than expatriates did. Students were the most defiant actors of all until university managements severed ties with their students’ unions, effectively defunding them. A case of surveillance in Lingnan University, the author’s former place of employment, is related and its implications considered. The author describes how, and explains why, journalists in Hong Kong acted with greater defiance than professors did. He suggests that Identity Politics, a Western import, is congenial to Chinese Communist Party rule in Hong Kong.

Partners in learning: ‘An exploration of multi-cultural faculty and Emirati students' perspectives of university learning experiences’

Numerous articles have been published referring to differences in the way expatriate faculty members at universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and their Emirati students perceive the customs and nature of teaching and learning. Faculty members and students come to class from two varying educational and often cultural backgrounds. As the UAE is a dynamic, young country that is rapidly changing with a diverse residency population, it is necessary to frequently research how Emirati students currently perceive effective classroom practices in order to best support their needs. A possible model to adopt and adapt is culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy. This qualitative study explores perspectives of learning held by local Emirati students and expatriate faculty members at a public university in the UAE. Ten Emirati students and ten faculty members describe their views through interviews. Findings centered around disconnection and misapprehension between faculty members and students in several regards: culture, motivation, concepts of teaching and learning and student needs. Recommendations include developing training on implementing culturally relevant pedagogy by showing faculty how to view teaching and learning through the lens of the student and check their own preconceived notions. It allows for students to have power over their own learning by implementing strategies relevant to their own cultural and background norms. Limitations and suggestions for future studies are also provided.

Enhancing the Social Work Field Practicum Experience through the Practice Development Forum (PDF) at the United Arab Emirates University

ABSTRACT Despite the importance of field education in social work, there are situations when only a few social work educators are involved in supporting students in their field placements. At the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), for example, involvement in field education is reserved for faculty who are fluent in Arabic due to the nature of Organizations and Agencies that offer practice learning opportunities to social work students. More specifically, these organizations and agencies have a clientele of largely Arabic speaking Emiratis, and thus find it easier to work with the Arabic speaking faculty. In this paper, we outline how the Practice Development Forum (PDF) is used, resulting in expatriate faculty becoming involved in field education, not only for their ongoing professional development but mainly as a vehicle through which social work students can maintain links with faculty members with varying local and international backgrounds. The PDF provides a safe space outside the practice learning setting, and a significant outcome has been the development of case studies to be integrated into teaching content in subsequent academic years. With the institution of PDF, there have been additional unanticipated benefits that emerged as well which are also addressed in this paper.

Expatriate faculty job satisfaction and performance in public universities of Saudi Arabia

Expatriate faculty job satisfaction and performance in public universities of Saudi Arabia

Perceptual differences between expatriate faculty and senior managers regarding acculturation at a Korean university

ABSTRACT This research compares the perceptions of expatriate academics and senior managers at a Korean university vis-à-vis the acculturation experience of expatriate academics there. Analyses, based on interview data, depict expatriate faculty who are trying to integrate, but who feel uninformed and pessimistic about trust building and opaque promotion processes. Departments are concerned with maintaining the status quo. Management is cogent of several problems voiced by expatriate faculty, particularly issues revolving around language, but there is evidence of perceptual differentiation concerning several other facets related to expatriate faculty acculturation. A patchwork of support infrastructures leading to varying degrees of expatriate faculty inclusion and marginalization results. Recommendations forwarded include targeted hiring of high-potential early and mid-career expatriate faculty going forward; the hiring of one bi-lingual assistant in each college dedicated to expatriate faculty support; improved transparency of promotion and tenure review documentation and procedures; and the resolution of the Korean language dilemma.

North American Academics in East Asia: Life in the English-speaking Enclave

While the hiring of international faculty is increasing among competitive universities, some universities face a major challenge in doing so: their foreign hires do not speak the primary language of instruction of that university. This study examines the host country language skills of expatriate academics in two countries: Korea and Japan. Specifically, this study investigates (a) the study effort invested and (b) the language proficiency achieved by native English-speaking professors on tenure track positions. Expatriate faculty had several predictors of their language learning success. Specifically, the well-known factors facilitating language learning played important roles. The findings are discussed within the framework of sociocultural adjustment and career prospects that exist for expatriate professors in Korean and Japanese higher education.

A Critical Inquiry into Orientation for Expatriate Faculty in the GCC

With increased internationalization of higher education, many institutions have adopted English as a medium of instruction (EMI). This generates an increasing demand for English language professionals, many of whom are expatriates, potentially creating cultural issues for students, institutions, and teachers. As with most new teachers, orientation programs are organized to assist in their adaptation to their new position, a more complicated undertaking due to the international nature herein. This study takes a critical view of one such program at a higher education institution (HEI) in the Middle East’s Gulf States, also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), investigated through a series of semi-structured interviews with the newly-hired teachers. Several key themes emerged, engendering heightened stress amongst the teachers: official communication, settling in, permanent accommodation, use of time during orientation, and starting classes with new students. In line with other research and the literature, recommendations for orientation programs are made to address the issues arising in this study.

Experiences of expatriate university teachers in a health science university in Saudi Arabia-A Qualitative study.

Background and Objective:A large number of university teachers in Saudi Arabia comprise of expatriates. Their experiences are unique in context of the challenges and benefits of academic expatriation. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of expatriate university teachers in Saudi Arabia.Methods:A qualitative descriptive design was used based on in-depth interviews with academic expatriates, recruited through snowball sampling in a Health Science University in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted from 12 September 2019 to 20 October 2019 after IRB approval. Graneheimian inductive approach was used for content analysis of the data. Standard principles of trustworthiness were applied.Results:Three major themes emerged as ‘conscious venture’, ‘spirit at work’ and ‘coping strategies’. Each theme had 2-3 subthemes, populated by 14-23 statements.Conclusion:Expatriate faculty members described antecedents for their motivations at work. They shared their experiences regarding job adjustments, work environment and professional commitment.

Research Collaboration, Workplace-Related Satisfaction, and Faculty Socialization: Insights from a Korean case university study

This research examines collaborative activity between expatriate academics, both with and without Korean ethnicity, and their (native Korean) peers both intra-organizationally (e.g. at department, college, and university levels) and in terms of location (e.g. within Korea, in Asia, outside of Asia). Collaboration is further explored vis-a-vis workplace satisfaction and socialization metrics. Ethnically Korean expatriate faculty are more likely to engage in cooperative research at the departmental, college, and university levels. Non-ethnically Korean expatriate faculty collaborate more outside of Asia, within Asia, and to lesser extents within Korea and at the case university. There is an inverse relationship between salary satisfaction and collaboration, yet collaborators as a group are more satisfied with the availability of graduate students. Other variables examined vis-a-vis collaboration include feelings of isolation, overall workplace satisfaction, the administrative stance of the department, socializing within the department, and feeling uninformed about funding opportunities.

Dengue in the campus community of an overseas American university: A cross-sectional study.

After a large outbreak of dengue virus (DENV) serotype-3 in Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN) in 2008, we performed a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of anti-DENV immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in expatriate and local persons affiliated with an American veterinary school there. This campus community comprised mostly expatriate students and faculty and Kittitian administrative staff. In 2009, a stratified random sample of students, faculty and staff was invited to complete an electronic survey to assess risk factors for DENV and provide blood for testing for anti-DENV IgG antibodies by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. IgG-positive specimens were also tested by a 90% plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT90) to determine immunoreactivity to DENV (1-4) serotypes and West Nile virus. Risk factors for anti-DENV IgG seropositivity were determined using simple and adjusted logistic regression. Of the 118 participants, the overall prevalence of DENV IgG antibodies was 44.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 35.1-53.0%), ranging from 30.1% in students, 100.0% in staff and 57.9% in faculty (p < 0.001). Duration of residence in St. Kitts was the only variable significantly associated with seropositivity on multiple logistic regression (adjusted odds ratio [95% CI]: 1.21 [1.07-1.37]). The serotype of DENV was determined in 11 persons: DENV-1 (n = 4), DENV-2 (n = 3), and DENV-3 (n = 4). Expatriate students and faculty moving to St. Kitts from non-endemic areas were at high risk of DENV infection. There is a need for increased emphasis on pre-travel mosquito-borne virus prevention education for persons moving to St. Kitts to study and work.

Expatriate academics and managing diversity: a Korean host university’s perspective

Interest in the careers of expatriate academics has rapidly grown in recent years. The specified organizational and cultural norms to which a host-university expects expatriate academics to conform, however, have been left largely unexplored. A conjoined question, too, is whether or not the university is successfully managing for diversity. The present research therefore examines input from six senior managers at a leading Korean university, finding that it has its own expectations for expatriate academics although these expectations are not formally codified. The case university does not expect outstanding research from them because of acknowledged limitations in the research environment. Managers are satisfied with the teaching of expatriate academics with caveats, but their participation in service activities is a perceived challenge. This, language deficiency, and absences over paid term breaks diminish ‘we-ness’ and positive perceptions of expatriate faculty. Change, however, may come in time. For now, some colleges and departments may be defending the status quo rather than pursuing true ‘Leadership Practices for Diversity,’ but there are nonetheless positive developments in some academic units; expatriate academics are making their way up the ranks, and university level initiatives suggest that more change could be around the corner.

Teacher care and motivation: a new narrative for teachers in the Arab Gulf

ABSTRACTSet in an all-female higher education (HE) institution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this paper argues that a caring, teacher-student relationship, based on mutual interdependence working towards reciprocal relationship of self-as-other, is central to students’ academic success. Drawing on an ethics of care we reinterpret mutually held misperceptions of western-educated expatriate faculty and the Emirati student population regarding expectations of the ‘Other’. We offer contextualised insight into nuanced facets of teaching and learning in government-funded HE in the region. Recommendations that leverage the teacher-student relationship in order to maximise students’ academic success, whilst offering an alternative way for expatriate faculty to conceptualise their relationship vis-à-vis Emirati female students’ attitudes and behaviours are also made.

The role of motivation and adjustment in selection of expatriate academics in China: an intensive study of a Chinese university with one of the largest foreign faculty staffs

Throughout the world, numerous universities seek foreign faculty to meet their annual staffing needs for both English-speaking academic lecturers and oral English teachers. Recruiting and selecting quality foreign teachers are a great challenge for many learning institutions, including universities. Although there is ample research on adjustment and selection practices in international business operations, there is a lack of research for academic expatriates (Selmer and Lauring, 2011). This paper concentrates on a 25,000 student university located in central China. Although its location is less developed, pay is minimal, and pollution is significant, this university manages to boast a significantly large population of foreign faculty. This study shows a relationship between the expatriate faculty's motivations for coming to SIAS and their adjustment to living abroad and expands on this relationship's implications on selection of the best candidates.

The role of motivation and adjustment in selection of expatriate academics in China: an intensive study of a Chinese university with one of the largest foreign faculty staffs

Throughout the world, numerous universities seek foreign faculty to meet their annual staffing needs for both English-speaking academic lecturers and oral English teachers. Recruiting and selecting quality foreign teachers are a great challenge for many learning institutions, including universities. Although there is ample research on adjustment and selection practices in international business operations, there is a lack of research for academic expatriates (Selmer and Lauring, 2011). This paper concentrates on a 25,000 student university located in central China. Although its location is less developed, pay is minimal, and pollution is significant, this university manages to boast a significantly large population of foreign faculty. This study shows a relationship between the expatriate faculty's motivations for coming to SIAS and their adjustment to living abroad and expands on this relationship's implications on selection of the best candidates.

Mobilizing and training academic faculty for medical mission: current status and future directions

As more mission groups become involved with health care education, by starting medical and nursing schools, postgraduate training programs and paramedical professional training, there is a need to recruit expatriate faculty from high income countries to help start programs as there are few national health care education professionals available in the mission setting in most low- and middle-income countries. This paper outlines the current status and needs for academic faculty in health care education mission settings. A working group of medical educators met in conjunction with the Global Missions Health Conference in November 2015 and discussed the motivational factors which lead Christian academics to volunteer, both short- and long-term in mission settings. The group then looked at barriers to volunteering and made suggestions for future directions and best practices when mobilizing academics from high income countries.

Emotional Labor: An Examination of Faculty in Two Countries

Although there have been several studies on expatriate adjustment, acculturation and cultural adaptation to a foreign culture in service-driven occupations, there is a dearth of research in many areas. There have been few studies that have looked at jobs that have high emotional labor in the academic field in a cross-cultural context. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining a high emotional labor occupation - the teaching profession, by looking at two different samples of teaching faculty, in two different countries. Two different groups of faculty from the US one teaching in the US, and one teaching as expatriate faculty in China were compared. Findings revealed significant differences in perceptions of emotional labor, stressors and strains. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Expatriate academic staff in the United Arab Emirates: the nature of their work experiences in higher education institutions

As many countries expand their higher education systems, they must attract, support, and retain qualified academic staff. This paper focuses on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a case study of a nation drawing on large numbers of mostly expatriate faculty working in short-term academic appointments. The paper begins by considering the national context within which expatriate faculty work in the UAE. Then, using a published conceptual framework highlighting key elements of academic work, the paper examines defining aspects of the work experience of expatriate faculty in the UAE, including work expectations (teaching, research, and service); equity (compensation, incentives, and benefits); autonomy, academic freedom, and flexibility; collegiality and institutional involvement; and professional growth. The discussion considers the implications of these elements of academic work for the satisfaction, motivation, and institutional commitment of the expatriate faculty members. The sample of 29 expatriate faculty studied is drawn from the population of full-time instructors at three public and three semi-public institutions in the UAE who teach in education or media, humanities and social sciences, science or engineering, and business or economics. The discussion of findings highlights satisfactions and concerns, as well as the relationship of work experiences with organizational commitment. The nature of academic work in many countries is shifting toward temporary and short-term contract-based appointments. Thus, analysis of the experiences of expatriate academic staff working within the UAE, where the majority of faculty members are in short-term positions, raises issues relevant to those in other countries where the non-permanent academic workforce is increasing. Additionally, issues considered are of interest to those who study the academic career and the factors shaping it.

The multipurpose entrance examination: Beliefs of expatriate ELT faculty

Entrance examinations for Japanese universities have come under fire from various sources for having a negative influence on communicative language teaching (Cook, 2010; Sakui, 2004; Sato &amp; Kleinsasser, 2004), for being less valid and reliable than they could be (Brown, 2000; Leonard, 1998; Murphey, 2004), and for largely not having been written by experts (Aspinall, 2005). While these criticisms may be valid to some extent, it is important to realize that university entrance exams may only marginally serve pedagogical purposes; their economic, social, and public relations functions may, in some cases, even outweigh educationally-related concerns. This paper presents some initial findings from an exploratory Japan-wide study of tertiary-level, expatriate English teachers’ perceptions of entrance examination creation (specifically with regard to the English portion) and results reveal that these tests may be fulfilling more functions than we might at first expect. 日本の大学入試は、「コミュニカティブ・ランゲージ・ティーチングに負の影響を持つ」（Cook, 2010; Sakui, 2004; Sato &amp; Kleinsasser, 2004）、「妥当性・信頼性に欠ける」(Brown, 2000; Leonard, 1998; Murphey, 2004)、「概して専門家によって作成されていない」(Aspinall, 2005)、など、様々な研究から批判を浴びてきた。これらの批判はある程度妥当かもしれないが、大学入学試験における教育的な目的の役割はごくわずかに過ぎないと認識することが重要である。入試の経済的・社会的・広報的機能が、場合によっては、教育関連の関心を上回ることさえある。本論では、日本全国の高等教育機関に従事する外国人英語教師の入試問題作成（特に英語の試験）への認識に関する探索的研究から得られた初期の調査結果を提示し、その結果、入試が当初の予想以上に多くの機能を果たす可能性があることを明らかにする。