Sustaining Faculty Development through Visiting Scholar Programmes: A Transformative Learning Perspective

Xiantong Zhao and Xu Liu
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Xiantong Zhao: Faculty of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Xu Liu: Centre for Higher Education Studies, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: International academic visits by university faculty members are common around the world. While most researchers approach such an international experience in terms of intercultural communication and acculturation, in this study we view the travel experience as a learning opportunity in light of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (TLT). Drawing on Singleton’s ‘3H model’ (head-heart-hands), we find that the outcomes of transformative learning (TL) are related to cognitive, affective and behavioral domains, the prevalence of which were then explored among 314 visiting scholars. The results are further interpreted by drawing on key concepts from TLT to better understand the learning process. We conclude that the international experience is beneficial for scholars’ sustainable development, and call for more study abroad opportunities for Chinese university faculty.

Keywords: Chinese visiting scholars; transformative learning; mixed-methods study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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