How do international faculty at Japanese universities view their integration?

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Abstract
The purpose of the study is to explore how international faculty at Japanese universities view their integration. An exploratory study of semi-structural interviews with 40 full-time international faculty hired in Japanese universities with various backgrounds was conducted. The key findings indicate that international faculty perceived their integration as a beneficial longstanding two-way process of acquiring equality, developing engagement, and forming a feeling of attachment towards Japan. Meanwhile, their actual practices towards their integration appear to be diverse, which can be summarized into three broad categories, namely, preventive, occasional, and promotional. The study suggests a disjunction between international faculty’s attitudes and their actual practices towards their integration, which is influenced by the overall host environment from a macro perspective, work role from a meso perspective, and personal intention, origin of country, and previous experience in Japan from a micro perspective. Theoretical and practical implications drawn from the key findings are provided to not only better understand the integration of international faculty at Japanese universities, but also to better serve and support them in practice.

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