An exploratory study of the cultural experiences of expatriate English teachers working in higher education and living in the Middle Eastern Gulf States

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates the experiences of expatriate English teachers working in higher education and living in the countries of the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC), or the Gulf States. The growth of higher education there has necessitated the wide-scale recruitment of expatriate faculty for the region’s higher education institutions (HEIs). While this study acknowledges some level of national difference, termed large cultures, it rather embraces the more dynamic concept of small cultures as the means for members to function within their context (Holliday, 1999). Thus, the expatriate teachers in the study encounter myriad different cultures from their beginning orientation; in the HEIs interacting with students, colleagues, and management; and in their personal lives outside of the HEIs. To investigate those English teachers’ cultural experiences, this research was undertaken as an exploratory study with data collected through a two-step process beginning with focus groups, enabling potential themes to emerge for a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 participants – expatriate English teachers (from a wide range of countries) working in HEIs across the GCC. The findings suggest newly-arrived English teachers experience great inconsistencies within HEI’s orientation programs, as most participants report broad support from new colleagues as an informal induction, but formal orientation to teaching and students was generally lacking, amplifying their feelings of uncertainty. Regarding institutional cultures, the participants’ students mostly come from the local populations, towards whom teachers felt positive and empathetic on a personal level, yet were mixed regarding students’ academic aptitudes and pessimistic towards the standardization of teaching and assessments. Horizontal collegiality was characterized just as positively as vertical collegiality was negatively: top-down leadership and short-term contracts meant teachers felt their positions in the HEIs were tenuous, resulting in feelings of “permanent temporariness”. Those feelings extended outside the workplace due to a separation between the expatriate and local populations. This led to a general aversion to learn about the local cultures, particularly the language. The results have implications for expatriate English teachers and administrators, who can both work to improve aspects of the cultures within HEIs to facilitate teaching and learning.