This study examines the fundamental elements of personal, educational and professional characteristics of international faculty and their job responsibilities at Japanese universities and is referenced to the findings of a 2017 national survey.
The findings reveal several disparities between international faculty and their Japanese colleagues in terms of their highest degree awarded, academic rank and between disciplines. Professor Huang highlighted that to a certain extent, this can be attributed to the adoption of varying policies by universities when recruiting international faculty in comparison to that of the local academics. It also demonstrated that to some degree international faculty are expected to play different roles than their Japanese colleagues. Specifically, the findings revealed that the international faculty are expected to take on activities to help advance the international reputation of their universities.
Professor Huang pointed out that it is critical to establish an appropriate definition of international or foreign faculty in higher education in relation to national, cultural and institutional contexts. This is not just an academic challenge, but is largely relevant to the establishment of effective immigration policies and the extensive measures of internationalising the Japanese academic labour market.