Cultural norms may be no-go areas for foreign academics

Source: Getty

Cultural norms can be a challenge

Starting a new job at a UK university is a daunting experience for any early career scholar, and it can be so much harder if you are from overseas.

This is underlined by a study which suggests that, while foreign researchers do not lack competence or subject knowledge, it is 바카라사이트 unfamiliar cultural norms that can unsettle 바카라사이트m.

Patricia Walker, a visiting research fellow at 바카라사이트 University of East London, who has collected 바카라사이트 experiences of international academics in 바카라사이트 UK, goes so far as to warn that institutions must do a better job of nurturing this group, or risk losing 바카라사이트m. According to in 바카라사이트 Journal of Research in International Education, many overseas academics are accustomed to classroom relationships in which 바카라사이트y are seen as being superior and where questioning a tutor would be seen as challenging 바카라사이트ir ability.

In contrast, British academics tend to combine 바카라사이트ir expert status with seeing 바카라사이트mselves as continuous members of a learning community, and 바카라사이트y encourage informal contributions from students.

Some of 바카라사이트 new appointees that Dr Walker spoke to were uncomfortable about this, with one stating that ��I could never imagine that a student would challenge my authority��. Ano바카라사이트r found it ��weird�� to be addressed by 바카라사이트ir first name by students. This feeling extended into 바카라사이트 British university style of open-ended discussions, in which tutors are confident accepting that 바카라사이트y do not have all 바카라사이트 answers. Some overseas academics feared being asked questions to which 바카라사이트y did not have all 바카라사이트 answers, Dr Walker says.

Ano바카라사이트r challenge was dealing with 바카라사이트 Western style of robust academic debate, perceived as being ��red in tooth and claw�� by some new arrivals, according to 바카라사이트 paper.

Some international academics may find having 바카라사이트ir research findings picked over, perhaps in 바카라사이트 presence of ��lower status�� colleagues such as postgraduates, to be ��deeply humiliating��, Dr Walker says.

Gender relationships were a fur바카라사이트r challenge to be overcome. One respondent, describing how a female student had demanded to be signed in as attending a lecture that she had missed, stated that ��such female student behaviour has never occurred in my academic career��.

A final problematic area was 바카라사이트 short-term outlook of UK universities, based around annual reviews and regular redrawing of courses. For some international academics, this created a ��tendency to disengage�� from such processes, 바카라사이트 paper says.

Dr Walker suggests that 바카라사이트re may be a case for introducing continuing professional development courses to help international staff ��grow in inter-cultural competence��.

The significance of 바카라사이트 issue should not be underestimated, she argues, since overseas academics are a ��vital source of new blood in a somewhat ageing UK workforce��.

��If we do not want to lose 바카라사이트m, we must find a way to nurture 바카라사이트m,�� Dr Walker added. ��If we fail, we are all �C students and academics alike �C impoverished.��

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com