International Faculty Mobility Research Articles

Reconceptualising international academic mobility in the global knowledge system: towards a new research agenda

The cross-border movement of people in higher education has been attracting scholarly attention for decades, but the definition of ‘international academic mobility’ bears ambiguities. This article reviews the literature on international academic mobility published in the journal Higher Education and beyond. By bridging the literature on international academic mobility from higher education studies and other disciplines, this article proposes to redefine international academic mobility, which highlights the integration of both international student mobility and international faculty mobility. Furthermore, this article outlines a new conceptual framework and research agenda, on the role of international academic mobility in the national, regional, and global knowledge systems. The framework highlights the relationship between international academic mobility and worldwide knowledge acquisition, production, transfer, circulation, networks, and the geopolitics of science. The article also proposes further methodologies for future research on international academic mobility.

Going beyond the binary of internationalisation: how international faculty programmes enable institutions to function at home and abroad

ABSTRACT Internationalisation is now a prominent feature of the higher education landscape, with many institutions integrating international, intercultural and global dimensions inside and outside the classroom. In this paper, I examine the long-term outcomes of international faculty mobility on individual pathways at home institutions framed within the context of internationalisation. I find that the current mode of internationalisation neglects the role of how abroad activities contribute to subsequent institutional internationalisation at home and abroad. My retrospective tracer study with eight qualitative in-depth interview participants finds that formerly internationally mobile faculty integrate international, intercultural, and global dimensions related to the host country, host region and wider world at their home institutions into their teaching, research and service after returning from abroad. In doing so, I propose a new way of understanding how the complementary pillars of abroad and at home internationalisation maintain an on-going, synergetic process that react and contribute to each other and the way in which internationalisation can be re-visited and re-imagined meeting broader goals.

A Critical Perspective on Short-Term International Mobility of Faculty: An Experience from Kazakhstan

This article looks at the relatively understudied phenomenon of short-term international mobility of faculty from the critical internationalization perspective. It uses data from interviews with academics from Kazakhstan, who participated in short-term professional development trips abroad to understand who benefits and who loses as a result of short-term faculty mobility and how the short-term international mobility may contribute to the process of reproduction of the existing social structures and inequality. Critical internationalization perspective in general, as well as mobility paradigm more specifically, helps to reveal some important insights about short-term international mobility from a non-Western country to predominantly Western institutions. The main conclusion from the study is that host university’s engagement in hosting mobile faculty coming on short visits seems to be driven predominantly by the neoliberal profit-seeking motives rather than by a more humanistic desire to serve the larger global society by sharing its expertise or to engage in equal and mutually beneficial partnership relationships.

The profiles of English medium instruction teachers in higher education

AbstractThe global growth of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in higher education and international mobility of faculty and students necessitates that we better understand commonalities of teachers in these emerging contexts. This paper reports on a survey of 461 EMI university lecturers from more than eight countries which attempted to discern the various profiles of EMI teachers at an international level. Data explored teachers’ disciplines, age, experience, professional development, teaching contexts, and the role of English proficiency in their professional capacity. Results revealed statistically significant differences in profiles according to the disciplines and country of residence of the teachers. For example, teachers in the Natural Sciences and those in Spain were more likely to report having opportunities for teacher training and EMI certification.

Reverse flow in academic mobility from core to periphery: motivations of international faculty working in Kazakhstan

Through expanding flows of labor and knowledge on a global scale, academics are increasingly mobile as higher education institutions compete for talent that transcends borders. However, talent often flows from the periphery to the core as scholars seek out employment in recognized institutions of higher learning in developed economies. This study examines faculty mobility in a reverse direction: from the core to Kazakhstan, the largest country in Central Asia. What factors persuade faculty members to relocate to Kazakhstan for full-time employment? What types of individuals pursue this relocation? Through interviews with international faculty members based in Kazakhstan, the study identifies push factors that trigger departure from one’s previous country of residence: job market, unsatisfactory work conditions, age, and marital status. Alternatively, Kazakhstan attracts scholars via pull factors that include salary, sense of adventure, and the opportunity to build new institutions and programs as well as conduct research. Unlike previous studies that highlight boundaryless mobility and individual agency, this study reveals constraints that mediate international faculty mobility. Furthermore, salary plays a limited role as a pull factor particularly among early career academics who are seeking research opportunities and meaningful contributions in building new academic programs and institutions.

Internationalization within higher education and its influence on faculty: experiences of Turkish academic staff

In this article, findings are reported from a phenomenology-oriented study on prolonged international mobility and the effects of internationalization on the professional lives of six academic faculty at a Turkish research university. Drawing on research on international mobility of faculty and the present context of Turkish higher education, this investigation identifies three distinct phases of the sojourn abroad – motivation to go abroad, being abroad, repatriating to Turkey – being framed by the supportive and demanding culture of the specific institution. For the participants, ambivalently perceived effects at the individual, institutional and national level include networks gained, the imperative to publish in English, and the lack of a comprehensive national policy for internationalization.

Faculty-exchange programs promoting change: motivations, experiences, and influence of participants in the Carnegie Mellon University-Portugal Faculty Exchange Program

The international mobility of faculty is increasing worldwide. Although studies have considered the experiences of academics abroad, less is known about faculty-exchange programs with policy objectives. This study helps to fill this gap by analyzing a nationwide structured faculty exchange program established by Carnegie Mellon University and Portuguese universities to bring change to Portuguese higher education. The findings are based on interviews with Portuguese program participants, whose motivation to participate and experiences with the program, in addition to the influence of their experience abroad on their home institution, were explored. We find that, although the alignment of individual motivations with institutional interests is important to such programs, the complex transposition of individual experiences to the institutional level may be impeded by cultural resistance as well as resource and organizational constraints. Our exploration of the features that determine the success or failure of...

International Faculty Mobility: Crucial and Understudied

Increased global competition not only implies that universities must compete for the best and brightest of undergraduate and graduate students, but they must also seek out talented researchers and teachers on a worldwide scale. The international mobility of faculty is also important in relation to the internationalization of higher education. Yet, the scope and nature of international mobility of faculty is a rather unknown and understudied phenomenon. This article addresses definitional and contextual issues, and national, institutional and individual factors related to international faculty mobility, and calls for more research on the phenomenon.

Exploring Intercultural Pedagogy

International faculty mobility raises important questions about the relationship between culture and teaching in higher education. As international faculty members adjust to new cultural expectations, they may alter their teaching styles. This study uses survey data to examine the teaching styles of international faculty members in South Korea. The study considers whether international faculty assimilate into Confucian heritage classroom culture by testing the hypothesis that formal authority and expert teaching styles will correlate positively with the number of semesters an international faculty member has taught in South Korea. However, the results reject this hypothesis. The findings elucidate teaching styles used by international faculty members in Korea and provide a platform for further investigation into intercultural pedagogy in higher education.

The action researcher as tempered radical and strategic entrepreneur in higher education: a personal reflection

This article describes the discovery of action research by a ‘conscious incompetent’ in higher education. The influences on the development of an action researcher’s individual philosophy are discussed. These shape a specific investigation into the implementation of international staff exchange in a post-1992 UK university from the position of an ‘outsider within’, a tempered radical. Ontological and epistemological concepts of quasi-objectivity, subjectivity, participation and commitment are discussed in relation to entrepreneurship in the higher education context, concluding that action research is a methodology suitable for tempered radicals and strategic entrepreneurs and that the action researcher can play these roles to research the execution of international faculty mobility in higher education.

Going Places: Social and Legal Aspects of International Faculty Mobility

The first part of this article assesses the various determinants, such as academic rank, age, discipline, and sex that influence international faculty mobility. The data indicate that faculty members of higher rank and those having technical backgrounds and who are senior staff members and men travel more frequently than others do. The second part discusses the various legal obstacles to international faculty mobility. The third part presents recent social and legal developments and formulates some recommendations for the enhancement of faculty mobility.

DETERMINANTS OF INTERNATIONAL FACULTY MOBILITY

This article opens with a discussion of the position of international faculty mobility in university organizations. It then turns to an analysis of the motivations which induce faculty members to perform their tasks and more specifically to take part in this type of mobility. The analysis leads to the presentation of a conceptual framework for international faculty mobility; and following sections present some of its major professional and personal determinants. The article concludes with a discussion of how it can best be encouraged by organizational strategies.