Experiences of expatriate university teachers in a health science university in Saudi Arabia-A Qualitative study

Abstract

Background and Objective: A large number of university teachers in Saudi Arabia comprise of expatriates. Their experiences are unique in context of the challenges and benefits of academic expatriation. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of expatriate university teachers in Saudi Arabia.
 Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used based on in-depth interviews with academic expatriates, recruited through snowball sampling in a Health Science University in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted from 12 September 2019 to 20 October 2019 after IRB approval. Graneheimian inductive approach was used for content analysis of the data. Standard principles of trustworthiness were applied.
 Results: Three major themes emerged as ‘conscious venture’, ‘spirit at work’ and ‘coping strategies’. Each theme had 2-3 subthemes, populated by 14-23 statements.
 Conclusion: Expatriate faculty members described antecedents for their motivations at work. They shared their experiences regarding job adjustments, work environment and professional commitment.
 doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1896
 How to cite this:Asif U, Bano N, Al-Najjar H. Experiences of expatriate university teachers in a health science university in Saudi Arabia-A Qualitative study. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(4):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1896
 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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“…Asif et al . (2020) presented three aspects of expatriate adjustment: conscious venture, spirit at work and coping strategies.…”

“…The results showed that teacher-student relations (as a job resource) were positively associated with expatriate academics' job satisfaction and adjustment (as job demands). Asif et al (2020) presented three aspects of expatriate adjustment: conscious venture, spirit at work and coping strategies. Although experiencing job insecurity, discrimination and perceived injustice, which lead academics to mental exhaustion and cognitive overload, they demonstrated mental resilience, patience and congeniality in adjustment to the host environment.…”

Self-Initiated Academics Work Adjustment: A Systematic Literature Review

“…However, the research of Agha-Akhilani ( 2018) is a qualitative longitudinal study (first a sample size of 12 and then 10). Typically, in a qualitative research, the sample sizes are smaller (Asif et al, 2020). The larger population samples come from the nonqualitative articles (Isakovic & Whitman, 2013;.…”

“…Being able to comprehend the host country's language has been mentioned in the wider scholarship as being important in adjusting to work and a new country (Asif et al, 2020;(Alsharif, 2022). This is because language plays a major role in the way people make sense of their living environment.…”

“…Fu et al (2017) support the significance other expatriates can have in adjustment and emphasise how crucial networking with other expatriates is, especially in terms of socialisation and emotional support. Furthermore, interacting with other SIEs can be an opportunity to share information about the host country's culture (Asif et al, 2020). Accessing local information pertaining to legal issues about the host country from other expatriates might be particularly useful for SIEs who generally do not get support from their employers.…”