Being, adjusting and developing satisfaction: a review of ajarn tangchart (non-Thai academics) within the Thai higher education system

ABSTRACT

Academic mobility is an ancient phenomenon that has particular characteristics in an era of increasing internationalisation. However, surprisingly little has been published about academic mobility to Thailand, and available accounts in both Thai and English languages are dispersed and disconnected. This article addresses these challenges by accumulating Thai and English-language accounts and making them accessible for a wider international audience. The article begins by addressing some unresolved debates about terminologies for describing non-Thai academics who work in Thai higher education. After addressing terminological issues, the authors introduce the scoping review methodology employed in this article, and outline the 21 texts included in it. Following this, they explore key themes and gaps in the available literature. The significance of the article is its development of conceptual clarity around the term ajarn tangchart, as well as its extension of the picture of academic mobility to less canvassed locations in the Global South.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• academic mobility
• internationalisation
• expatriate academics
• Thailand

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by Thammasat University under the TU New Scholar Research Grant, No. 7/2560. We also wish to acknowledge Mary Eppolite, Thornchanok Uerpairojkit and Tittaphan Vachananda, who were readers of this review and were a part of the wider research project that this review emerged from.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The Chiang Mai University online publication access catalogue.

2. นักวิชาการต่างชาติ (foreign academics); นักวิชาการต่างประเทศ (foreign academics);นักวิชาการฝรั่ง (White academics); อาจารย์ต่างชาติ (foreign teachers/lecturers); อาจารย์ต่างประเทศ (foreign teachers/lecturers); อาจารย์ฝรั่ง (White teachers/lecturers); อาจารย์ชาวจีน (Chinese lecturers/teachers); นักวิชาการจากต่างประเทศ (academics from abroad); อาจารย์จากต่างประเทศ (lecturers from abroad).

3. These six dimensions include: individualism–collectivism; uncertainty avoidance; power distance (strength of social hierarchy); masculinity–femininity; long-term or short-term orientation; indulgence–self-restraint.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Thammasat University [TU New Scholar Research Grant, No. 7/2560].