Doctoral Dissertation Research: International Early-Career Faculty in American Higher Education: The Case of the Discipline of Geography

在过去的三十年里，美国校园里的国际（外国出生）教师的数量和比例都有所增加，但很少有关于他们在工作的校园里的经历的研究。鉴于2001年9月11日恐怖袭击后美国移民政策的最新变化，国际学生参与美国高等教育的社会和地理动态尤其令人感兴趣。本博士论文研究项目考察了所谓的“国际教师”的经历，以及改善或损害他们在美国高等教育机构的机会的因素。研究对象将包括在美国高校从事地理学研究的外国学者和科学家。博士候选人将在地理学科中比较和对比国际教师与国内同行的经验。最近的研究似乎表明，国际学者在教学、研究和服务方面的专业需求和关注点往往与土生土长的同行不同。研究结果将以地理学科为例，适用于与地理学科一样多或更多地聘用外国科学家的其他学科。该项目运用地理和调查分析的工具来了解国际教师的专业经验，他们在美国面临的文化问题，以及可能为支持他们而做出的政策和制度变革。这项研究将采用混合方法的研究设计，结合焦点小组访谈、网络调查和后续访谈，来研究外国出生的教师在关键的早期职业生涯（博士学位和终身教职之间的时间）所面临的经历、能力、态度和担忧，在这个时期，许多专业和个人的决定都是关于继续学术生活的。这些数据将与收集到的国内早期职业教师的类似信息进行比较。学生还将采访管理人员（院长和系主任），以解决招聘和雇用机构的观点。这项研究将参考当前国内和国际上关于高等教育的评论；教师发展研究；越来越多的文学作品——仍然是非正式的——描写了国际教师和他们的美国学生的经历。这项研究有助于制定支持国际教师的机构战略，特别是那些处于职业生涯早期的国际教师。从维持高素质的科学工作队伍和使美国教授多样化的角度来看，这种战略是重要的。它还将提供与不断变化的移民政策对美国高等教育影响的辩论相关的发现，并有助于讨论全球对学术流动性的担忧。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。

The number and proportion of international (foreign-born) faculty on American campuses have increased over the last thirty years, with little research available on their experiences within the campuses where they work. The social and geographical dynamics of international participation in American higher education are of particular interest given recent changes in United States immigration policy following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This doctoral dissertation research project examines the experiences of what are termed "international faculty" and the factors that improve or impair their opportunities at institutions of higher education in the United States. The study population will consist of foreign scholars and scientists who pursue careers in geography in American colleges and universities. The doctoral candidate will compare and contrast the experiences of international faculty with their domestic counterparts within the discipline of geography. Recent research seems to indicate that international scholars often have different professional needs and concerns regarding teaching, research, and service than do their native-born counterparts. While using the discipline of geography as a case study, the research findings will have applicability to other disciplines that hire foreign-born scientists as much or more than geography. The project applies the tools of geographic and survey analysis to understanding the professional experiences of international faculty, the cultural problems they confront in the United States, and the policy and institutional changes that might be made to support them. The study will use a mixed-method research design combining focus-group interviews, web-based surveys, and follow-up interviews to examine the experiences, abilities, attitudes, and concerns that foreign-born faculty face during the critical early-career period (the time between the doctorate and tenure), when many professional and personal decisions are made about continuing in academic life. These data will be compared to similar information collected about domestic early-career faculty. The student also will interview administrators (deans and department chairs) to address the perspectives of the hiring and employing institution. The study will be informed by current commentaries on higher education, both nationally and internationally; research on faculty development; and the growing body of literature-still often informal-written about the experiences of international faculty and their American students.The study makes a contribution to development of institutional strategies that support international faculty, particularly those early in their careers. Such strategies are important from the perspective of both maintaining a highly qualified scientific workforce and diversifying the United States professoriate. It will also offer findings relevant to debates about the impact of changing immigration policies on American higher education and contribute to discussions regarding the global concerns about academic mobility. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.