International Faculty in East Asian Higher Education: Theory and Reality

Group Submission Type: Book Launch

Description of Session

As the global demand for academic work grows and academic labor markets in Anglosphere tighten, more scholars are attempting to advance their careers abroad. East Asia is a major destination for these international faculty. While some of these academics are drawing critical attention to distinctions between higher education cultures, there has been little in-depth analysis of their experiences as foreign scholars operating in East Asia’s shifting academic contexts, and how those experiences contrast with existing theory on higher education in the Anglosphere. This book contrasts the experiences of international faculty in East Asia with theoretical and conceptual frameworks around higher education, faculty studies, and international academic mobility.

The text is designed to provide new understandings of (1) international faculty experiences of
relocation in East Asia, (2) the ways in which they acclimate to, re-shape, and are re-shaped by East Asian contexts, and (3) how well theoretical scholarship reflects the practical realities of faculty work abroad in East Asia.

This multi-sited research is framed by professors’ past, current, and future explorations of their academic practice in higher education institutions in East Asia. These experiences serve as a lens to explore existing higher education theory and draw attention to issues that exist in the current international higher education practice. This book will provide insight into the realities of international higher education in East Asia and offer feedback in a way that actively considers logistical realities, professional identities, acculturation, and the lived experiences of international faculty in the region. Logistically, higher education is in a period of post-COVID change with lingering effects on operations and instruction. We examine professional identity among international faculty to gain a deeper understanding of their negotiated roles within a host culture. The focus on acculturation and adaptation to rapidly shifting contexts allows for consideration of international higher education in light of changing host cultures and shifting country-level relationships. Finally, we touch on faculty well-being to ensure the presence of international faculty in East Asia remains mutually beneficial for host institutions and those faculty.

The chapters presented in this book are grouped around these aspects of faculty work abroad. The first two chapters focus on the logistics of international faculty mobility, exploring destination choice and adapting approaches to teaching and research in a new cultural context. Chapters 3 through 6 shift to focus on the professional identity of international faculty members, exploring the challenges and opportunities that they face. Chapters 7 to 9 contemplate the external influences that must be navigated by international faculty within their new contexts. Finally, Chapter 10 examines the behavior and well-being of international faculty serving in East Asia. While higher education policy in East Asia often emphasizes quantitative measures of international faculty presence, this book will serve to humanize and learn from the experiences of these faculty members.

We believe that these chapters will shed light on how more localized, contextually relevant, and individualized approaches to international faculty mobility could help institutions and individuals better benefit from one another. The book will also help to demonstrate how working as a short-term or long-term faculty abroad is an important step to doing critical, analytical work that allows one’s active consideration of their relationship to their original academic context in a new light. This work aims to spur growth and challenge traditional views of higher education theory in home and host contexts by sharing the new, critical perspectives of individuals who have experienced international faculty work in East Asia.

Sub Unit

• Book launches and Workshops / Book Launch

Chair

• Peter G Ghazarian, SUNY Oswego

Book Launch Presenters

• Jonathan Damiani, Le Moyne College

• Thatcher A. Spero, Musashino University

• Adam Jones, CET Academic Programs

• Chisato Nonaka, Kyushu University

• Sarah R Asada, Kyoritsu Women's University

• James T Williams, SUNY Dutchess

Non Presenters

• Benjamin Hisung Nam, Shanghai International Studies University

• Yuriko Sato, The University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Rick Derrah, Kindai University

• Young Kim, Azusa Pacific Univerity