Immigrant university faculty members' perception of their experiences in post-secondary employment in Canada

Abstract

Includes comments on : academic environment and activities, social life, isolation, independence, traditional cultural values, cultural issues, language as a barrier, stereotyping, racism, gender prejudice, support within the institution, expectation to adapt culturally, history of immigrants, immigration policy, visible minorities in teaching, economic gaps, attitudes towards immigrants, struggles for integration, etc.

The purpose of this research was to explore immigrant university teachers’ perceptions o f their experiences in post-secondary employment. A non-emergent research design was used by conducting a series of open-ended interviews with immigrant teachers who were employed in a comprehensive university in Canada. Purposeful sampling identified certain immigrants as post-secondary faculty members, who were interviewed. After the interviews, the data were transcribed and analyzed using ATLAS, ti. Three main areas emerged from the interviews. These are (a) immigrant faculty members’ experiences in post-secondary employment; (b) immigrant faculty members’ perceptions o f their experiences; and (c) immigrant faculty members’ expectations and suggestions. All participants described their working experience and perceptions of their experience with other faculty members, students and school administrators in the university. Based on experiences living in Canada and working in the university sector, they gave valuable suggestions to would-be immigrant faculty members to help them adapt well and also made significant recommendations for school administrators to create a more positive and harmonious atmosphere for all faculty members and students.