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

在过去的30年里，美国校园里的国际(外国出生)教师的数量和比例都在增加，几乎没有关于他们在工作的校园内的经历的研究。考虑到2001年9月11日恐怖袭击后美国移民政策最近的变化，国际参与美国高等教育的社会和地理动态尤其令人感兴趣。这一博士论文研究项目考察了被称为“国际教师”的人的经历，以及改善或削弱他们在美国高等教育机构的机会的因素。研究人群将由在美国高校从事地理职业的外国学者和科学家组成。博士生将比较和对比国际教师和国内教师在地理学科方面的经验。最近的研究似乎表明，与本国学者相比，国际学者在教学、研究和服务方面的专业需求和关注往往不同。在将地理学作为一个案例研究时，研究结果将适用于聘用外国出生的科学家与地理学一样多或更多的其他学科。该项目使用地理和调查分析工具，以了解国际教师的职业经历、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化。这项研究将使用混合方法设计，结合焦点小组访谈、基于网络的调查和后续访谈，以考察外国出生的教师在关键的职业生涯早期(博士学位和终身教职之间)面临的经验、能力、态度和担忧，在这一时期，许多专业和个人决定是否继续学术生活。这些数据将与收集的有关国内早期职业教师的类似信息进行比较。学生还将面谈管理人员(院长和系主任)，以阐述招聘机构和聘用机构的观点。这项研究将受到国内外关于高等教育的最新评论；关于教师发展的研究；以及越来越多的关于国际教师及其美国学生经历的文献--仍然是非正式的--的影响。这项研究有助于制定支持国际教师的制度战略，特别是那些处于职业生涯早期的教师。从维持一支高素质的科学队伍和使美国教授队伍多样化的角度来看，这些战略都很重要。它还将提供与移民政策变化对美国高等教育影响的辩论相关的调查结果，并有助于有关全球对学术流动的担忧的讨论。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.