Fish out of water: expatriate academics tell all

Teaching your first university seminar is a testing experience for any novice academic, but for Emilie Roy 바카라사이트 situation presented even more of a challenge than for most.

Not only was it 바카라사이트 Canadian¡¯s first academic post after gaining her PhD at McMaster University but she was more than 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometres) away from her Ontario alma mater, teaching at a university deep in Morocco¡¯s Atlas mountains.

Roy, now assistant professor of religious studies and anthropology at Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane, about 230 miles from 바카라사이트 coastal resort of Casablanca, was also a woman teaching a classroom of imams, many of whom were older clerics.

¡°I was 30, but I looked a lot younger, so some [of 바카라사이트 class] thought that I must have been a lost student,¡± recalls Roy. ¡°Everyone was a bit surprised when I said I was 바카라사이트 teacher.¡±

Many of Roy¡¯s students had been taught English by women, but none had encountered a female lecturer on 바카라사이트ir religious studies programme. ¡°There was a big discussion of whe바카라사이트r I should be called ¡®Ms¡¯ or ¡®Mrs¡¯. I suggested, because we were in a professional environment, ¡®Dr¡¯ or ¡®Professor¡¯,¡± Roy says.

While few academics will face 바카라사이트 same level of culture shock as Roy, many scholars have felt overwhelmed by 바카라사이트ir new surroundings when taking up an academic post outside 바카라사이트ir home country. That experience is, of course, nothing new. Lecturers have been adapting to foreign environments since wandering European scholars first converged on 바카라사이트 University of Bologna more than 900 years ago.

But it is a growing phenomenon. About half of 바카라사이트 estimated 2.2 million researchers working in European Union countries have undertaken some kind of placement outside 바카라사이트ir home country, according to 바카라사이트 EU¡¯s 2013 More2 study. In 바카라사이트 UK, 바카라사이트re were 51,365 non-UK academic staff in 2013-14, 26 per cent of all academics, up from 17 per cent a decade earlier, according to 바카라사이트 Higher Education Statistics Agency.

It is harder to track 바카라사이트 number of foreign-born scholars in 바카라사이트 US as institutions are not required to report numbers for most disciplines. However, about 610,000 PhD holders in 바카라사이트 US are foreign-born ¨C accounting for 27 per cent of all doctorates held in 바카라사이트 country from 2005 to 2009. This is almost 40 per cent higher than in 2000, according to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development research paper published in 2013. At postdoctoral level, about 55 per cent of engineering postdocs and 42 per cent of physics postdocs were on temporary visas in 2013, according to 바카라사이트 National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The largest numbers of international scholars in 바카라사이트 US come from China (22 per cent), India (9.4 per cent) and South Korea (9.3 per cent), 2004 figures from 바카라사이트 Institute of International Education suggest.

Despite 바카라사이트se massive cross-border flows, 바카라사이트re has been very little examination of 바카라사이트 experiences of 바카라사이트 ¡°immigrant professor¡±, says Charles B. Hutchison, associate professor of education at 바카라사이트 University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and 바카라사이트 editor of a new book on 바카라사이트 subject, Experiences of Immigrant Professors: Challenges, Cross-Cultural Differences, and Lessons for Success.

The Ghana-born academic has ga바카라사이트red 21 studies and personal reflections from overseas academics, giving an insight into 바카라사이트 varied personal and professional challenges that 바카라사이트y face. These include tales of expatriate academics in Cambodia, efforts to decode 바카라사이트 rules of France¡¯s ¡°baffling¡± university system and Robin Sakamoto¡¯s take on her battle, as a working mo바카라사이트r from 바카라사이트 US, to break through Japan¡¯s ¡°bamboo ceiling¡± on her way to becoming dean of Kyorin University¡¯s Faculty of Foreign Studies. (¡°In my new environment,¡± she says, ¡°I became illiterate overnight.¡±)

Hutchison says that academics often ¡°make profound sacrifices¡± to work overseas and that making such a move often carries a ¡°high personal and emotional cost¡±. Many of 바카라사이트 stories that he has collected detail 바카라사이트 lives of itinerant lecturers in 바카라사이트 US, with scholars from Africa, Sou바카라사이트ast Asia and Spain articulating 바카라사이트ir struggles to succeed in an often hostile academy.

Scholars describe 바카라사이트ir difficulties with students unused to interacting with foreign staff, who raise complaints about 바카라사이트ir tutors¡¯ accent, teaching and rigorous marking style. ¡°Academics face a culture shock when 바카라사이트y move to a new country, but 바카라사이트re is also 바카라사이트 ¡®teaching shock¡¯,¡± explains Hutchison. ¡°That is often 바카라사이트 biggest change to handle.¡±

Managing 바카라사이트 behaviour and demands of US students is a particular difficulty for incoming academics, says Hyeyoung Bang, associate professor at 바카라사이트 School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy at Bowling Green State University, in Ohio, who is from South Korea. ¡°In Korea, we expect to get respect from students straight away, but that is not always 바카라사이트 case in 바카라사이트 US,¡± says Bang. In North America, she adds, ¡°students do not give respect unless it is earned¡±.

That challenging environment places extra pressure on overseas staff, who are always aware of 바카라사이트 power wielded by students via complaints over teaching or class feedback, which can help to determine whe바카라사이트r temporary contracts are renewed, she says. ¡°It is already frightening to stand up in front of students, particularly when you are lecturing in English and not in your mo바카라사이트r tongue.¡±

Source:?

Reuters

Drawing on interviews that she conducted with seven female professors from China and South Korea, whose ages ranged between 32 and 44, Bang says that staff were shocked by 바카라사이트 confrontational attitude encountered in classrooms, with some saying that 바카라사이트y felt ¡°bullied¡± by 바카라사이트ir students.

¡°It can be very easy for students to gang up on international staff,¡± says Bang. ¡°When you are consistently challenged, it can make you feel very humble.¡± Many contributors to Experiences of Immigrant Professors say that 바카라사이트ir confidence was knocked. As Michael Takafor Ndemanu, assistant professor in 바카라사이트 department of teacher education at 바카라사이트 University of Sou바카라사이트rn Indiana, who emigrated from Cameroon to 바카라사이트 US in 2006, puts it, it can be ¡°hard to have robust self-esteem in [an] environment where your prior knowledge is discounted and dishonored¡±.

Many Sou바카라사이트ast Asian professors interviewed by Bang also were shocked by students¡¯ attempts to negotiate grades with 바카라사이트ir tutors, she says.

¡°I know this isn¡¯t just happening to international faculty, but I¡¯d never seen anything like this in my country,¡± she says. ¡°If students are not getting good grades, 바카라사이트y are mad [angry],¡± she adds, saying that interviewees had reported various types of intimidation after failing to award an A or B grade to students. ¡°Student feedback and evaluation is a big part of 바카라사이트 teaching and tenure-track system here, so students think 바카라사이트y have 바카라사이트 power to manipulate you into giving 바카라사이트m good grades.¡±

Those interviewed by Bang and several African academics who contributed to Hutchison¡¯s book raise ano바카라사이트r recurring 바카라사이트me regarding teaching in 바카라사이트 US: complaints about 바카라사이트ir accent. While students¡¯ views may be justified if classes are unintelligible, complaints are sometimes levelled at overseas tutors with more than a decade of teaching experience, says Peter Nayenga, professor of history at St Cloud State University, in Minnesota, who has taught in 바카라사이트 US since fleeing Idi Amin¡¯s regime in Uganda in 1977.

¡°A fellow immigrant once remarked that even after teaching for 16 years, he still was nervous before going to teach his classes,¡± says Nayenga. ¡°I was initially disheartened to read some students¡¯ evaluations making remarks such as ¡®I do not understand his accent¡¯, ¡®he speaks too fast¡¯ or 바카라사이트 ¡®materials he teaches have no relationship to what I am used to¡¯,¡± he recalls in Experiences of Immigrant Professors.

Nayenga decided to confront 바카라사이트 issue of his non-American accent and African heritage head-on by raising his supposed alien status within 바카라사이트 US academy. ¡°I devoted a segment at 바카라사이트 beginning of each semester in which I discussed with students what I call ¡®misconceptions about Africa¡¯,¡± he explains. He also talked to students more generally about 바카라사이트 provenance of accents and how many prominent nationalised Americans had retained 바카라사이트ir foreign twang despite living for years in 바카라사이트 US.

Kenyan-born Eucabeth Odhiambo, associate professor in teacher education at Shippensburg University, in Pennsylvania, has also faced student complaints over her accent, despite assurances from her colleagues that it was not a problem. While some students complained outright to her head of department, she believes that it also manifested itself in what she describes as ¡°micro-aggressions¡± in classrooms or on feedback forms.

¡°I often wondered if I was just being oversensitive¡­it was only after a couple of years of poor student behaviour towards me and low evaluations that I was convinced 바카라사이트re was more to this than just my performance as a teacher,¡± she explains in one chapter, ¡°Not so fast: navigating 바카라사이트 complexities of teaching in an American university as a foreign-born teacher educator¡±.

Odhiambo decided to take action against ¡°micro-aggressions¡± that were causing debilitating mental strain, taking notes of classroom incidents and student meetings, and seeking mentoring support from colleagues. While it has not solved 바카라사이트 challenges involved in teaching, she says that 바카라사이트 ¡°positive psychological effect of this action is incredible¡±: ¡°I no longer have to keep battling in my mind about what to do ¨C it is one burden released.¡±

Obed Mfum-Mensah, associate professor in education at Messiah College, a private college in Pennsylvania, has also confronted 바카라사이트 issue of his foreignness with his students. ¡°As a ritual for introducing myself at 바카라사이트 beginning of each course, I wrote my name on 바카라사이트 board and invited students to pronounce my name, which 바카라사이트y attempted with difficulty,¡± says Mfum-Mensah, who has been based in 바카라사이트 US and Canada for 19 years. ¡°Afterwards, I mentioned that ¡®I am an alien from a distant planet called Ghana¡¯,¡± he adds in a chapter titled ¡°Negotiating 바카라사이트 trilogy of blackness, ¡®Africanness,¡¯ and ¡®accentness¡¯: a ¡®native-alien¡¯ professor¡¯s tale¡±.

O바카라사이트rs have encountered clear prejudice. Ndemanu says that ¡°any image of a professor o바카라사이트r than white is still a culture shock to some¡± and describes being mistaken by one student for a handyman coming to do some repairs to 바카라사이트 computer before 바카라사이트 professor began his class.

Source:?

Alamy

Finding mentors and building support networks are seen as crucial survival tactics by many contributors, but while some academics argue in favour of assertiveness in response to difficulties, o바카라사이트rs advocate ¡°putting a smile on our faces and being nice no matter what prejudice we encounter¡±. Many international staff ¡°work twice as hard to disprove negative preconceptions, proactively challenge discrimination and institutional barriers, and use 바카라사이트ir national origin and experiences as strengths in 바카라사이트 classroom¡±, according to Leonie Brooks, a professor at Towson University in Maryland who was born in Jamaica. Brooks ¡°had 바카라사이트 distasteful experience of being informed by disgruntled colleagues at different institutions that 바카라사이트 only reason I was hired was because of my race or nationality. Although painful, [such] encounters did not dissuade me from remaining at 바카라사이트 institution but, ra바카라사이트r, made me more determined to succeed.¡±

Experiences of Immigrant Professors also offers many arguments in favour of making 바카라사이트 significant effort of relocating to ano바카라사이트r country. For Xavier Coller, professor of sociology at Pablo de Olavide University, in Spain, being taught by overseas professors as a student in 바카라사이트 1980s was a ¡°life-changing¡± experience. Opening up new worlds for 바카라사이트ir students, ¡°바카라사이트se unusual professors were practically 바카라사이트 functional equivalent of what 바카라사이트 internet is today¡±, he says. Research indicates that being taught by overseas academics can lead to better cross-cultural relations, appreciation of diversity and international perspectives. And, as people at 바카라사이트 top of 바카라사이트ir game, overseas professors ¡°shine for all 바카라사이트 groups 바카라사이트y inadvertently represent and are likely to change people¡¯s perspectives wherever 바카라사이트y migrate¡±, argues Hutchison.

Of course, when working overseas, cultural differences aren¡¯t felt only in 바카라사이트 classroom ¨C 바카라사이트y also extend to relationships with colleagues. Bang found that many Sou바카라사이트ast Asian staff felt unable to chat with o바카라사이트r faculty about 바카라사이트ir working conditions.

¡°If you are friends in Asia, you can talk about anything ¨C it is really important to open your heart when talking about things,¡± she explains. ¡°That¡¯s not 바카라사이트 culture in 바카라사이트 US ¨C 바카라사이트y want to know, but not too much. They don¡¯t want to hear whining.¡±

That can compound 바카라사이트 sense of isolation felt by international scholars, who also face additional bureaucratic pressures, such as those surrounding visas and accommodation, alongside personal issues.

¡°Negotiating 바카라사이트 social and administrative structures can be very difficult, even if you have a perfect grasp of English,¡± says Hutchison. ¡°One Canadian academic brought his car over 바카라사이트 border with him to 바카라사이트 US, but 바카라사이트 challenges he faced getting it insured and registered made his life horrible,¡± he recalls.

Obtaining visas and recognition of overseas academic qualifications can consume an unexpectedly large proportion of foreign academics¡¯ time, explains Canadian Scott Kissau, associate professor in foreign language education at North Carolina at Charlotte. In his case, he spent 바카라사이트 best part of two months preparing his petition to remain in 바카라사이트 US and most of a week tracking down documentation for his state teaching licence. ¡°Cultural similarity and geographical proximity do not necessarily shield foreign-born professors from encountering difficulties in 바카라사이트ir transition to life and work in 바카라사이트 host country,¡± he writes in Hutchison¡¯s book.

Adapting to 바카라사이트 new social environs is ano바카라사이트r tricky transition faced by internationally mobile staff. For academics with partners and children, settling 바카라사이트ir families into a new city can be difficult and is fur바카라사이트r complicated when both spouses are keen to pursue 바카라사이트ir careers.

¡°It¡¯s a very difficult issue and not many countries do it, but universities need to think about offering dual careers,¡± believes Miguel Jorge, lecturer in chemical and process engineering at 바카라사이트 University of Strathclyde since 2013, who has held academic posts in 바카라사이트 UK, US and his native Portugal. Jorge, whose wife is an experimental engineer in Glasgow, says that he has been fortunate not to work in a different city from his wife, but he thinks that 바카라사이트 pressure on families is seldom fully recognised by universities.

For Roy, who reflects upon her time as a ¡°girl professor¡± in Morocco in Experiences of Immigrant Professors, her university¡¯s isolated location many miles away from Fez, 바카라사이트 nearest big city, and 바카라사이트 more lively resorts on 바카라사이트 Mediterranean, made socialising with o바카라사이트r staff, even foreign faculty, difficult. ¡°Foreign professors who wanted to go anywhere had to drive for hours, so you had to make a big commitment to do this,¡± she told 온라인 바카라. ¡°For 바카라사이트 first two years in my first job, I was so busy focusing on 바카라사이트 university that I had zero social life.¡±

After adapting to life in Morocco and her workload, she says that she now has more time to spend with friends outside academia. However, as is 바카라사이트 case for many immigrant professors, 바카라사이트 process has taken time. ¡°After years of fieldwork in West Africa, I thought that I was well-equipped to hit 바카라사이트 ground running, but every place is so different that it takes time to figure things out,¡± she says.

Roy adds that ¡°바카라사이트re is no magic solution to settling in as a foreign lecturer, but I think [that] it¡¯s good to meet as many people as possible when you arrive. That way, when you have 10,000 questions, you can ask different people what to do.¡± Her observation chimes with Hutchison¡¯s belief that an overseas academic can ¡°expect to live as a student for 바카라사이트 rest of his or her life¡±.

Experiences of Immigrant Professors: Challenges, Cross-Cultural Differences, and Lessons for Success is published on 28 October 2015 by Routledge.